Wondering what type of property amenities perform well on your organic social channels? How about seasonality and when is it too early to post pool pictures? Whether you’re a stabilized property or a lease-up here are some helpful suggestions, strategies, and metrics on determining what amenities – both community and apartment features – perform well.
80% of apartment seekers refer to social media before choosing their next rental property.
Multi-housing New, 2021
Rule of Thumb
Social Strategy: Do keep in mind that social platforms’ fierce and ever-changing algorithms factor in posting cadence, favoring consistency, optimal days and time, hashtag strategy, and type of content, such as video versus picture. Check out our blog on metrics to measure and best practices for Organic Social.
Seasonality: Consider the season and location of your property when posting amenities. Avoid posting about outdoor amenities, like rooftops, pools, and balconies in the Midwest, Northeast, Mountain, and Northwest regions during the colder months (November – March) unless it’s during the season changes and creating excitement among residents of warmer weather in the near future.
Outdoor Amenity Social Posts
1. Swim Into The Season
Pool pictures perform. We see high engagement among pool posts, and if your property is located in a colder region, a pool opening countdown (30 or 60 days) is a fun way to engage residents or highlight local businesses that provide pool attire (bathing suits, towels, sunglasses).
Sun Never Sets on a Bada$$
Regardless of location or season, we see a high engagement rate with sunsets and sunrises. If you have limited photos, this is a great way to engage residents and ask them to tag your property in their views of the sunset or sunrise.
2. It’s All About That Balcony
Private balcony or patio posts typically perform well May – October. Highlighting space to relax, enjoy a beverage or a good book but also engaging residents with decor tips, or balcony decor contests (great for Halloween!). It’s also a good opportunity to highlight any prohibited items on balconies at your property, such as no smoking, grills, or bikes
- We Suggest: Engage your residents and ask them to tag your property in their pool and balcony pictures. You can utilize this USG (user-generated content) by either sharing it on your stories or reposting it with appropriate credit. Remember to keep social media social.
3. Apartment Exterior & Parking
Exterior posts perform well all year long, regardless of location.
Parking. Does your property have a parking garage or street parking? It’s definitely worth highlighting as this can be a make-it or break-it for many apartment seekers, specifically in urban areas.
No Parking? No Problem.
If your property doesn’t offer parking or has limited space, try highlighting bike storage, proximity to public transport, average rideshare costs to nearby points of interest, and electric car charging stations, if applicable.
- We Suggest: Exterior property posts highlighting unique building attributes, abstract architectural structure, the historical context of the building or neighborhood, and if the property is LEED-certified is also worth noting. Not only does this showcase your property’s unique attributes, but it also highlights your location relative to points of interest and the history of the neighborhood.
Indoor Amenity Social Posts
4. Entertainment, Coworking, & Fitness
Coworking/Study Areas. Are great community amenities to highlight all year round, since more people are working from home. Be sure to include available WiFi, private conference room, coffee bar, and if you’re a student housing property, this is great to highlight during finals week.
Entertainment. Featuring community lounges and indoor game rooms are great all year round, but save the outdoor clubhouse, cornhole, and BBQ photos for the summer months.
Fitness Center features typically perform higher during October – March, depending on location, as it may not be ideal weather for outdoor activities or setting New Years’ fitness goals.
5. Unique & Smart Features
Definitely highlight any unique property features to stand out against your competition. Like a rotating art gallery, smart thermostats, pet-spa, or keyless entry. Gen Z apartment seekers look for sustainable, eco-friendly, and smart features more than any other generation. Here’s everything you need to know about Gen Z renters.
6. Kitchen, Bedroom, and Living Area
Can’t forget about the bathroom either. Unless you have a royal flush of bathroom photos, we recommend featuring steam showers, linen closets, deep soaking tubs, or vanities. Avoid posting photos with a direct angle of the toilet, which may be aesthetically unpleasing to your audience.
We see higher engagement with kitchen features during October – January as many people are spending more time indoors, cooking, and hosting for the holidays.
It’s also worth noting that when your audience saves a post on Instagram, as well as shares, this positively impacts your engagement rate.
Instagram saves are a signal for how the Instagram algorithm works. The more saves your posts get, the more people will see it, according to the algorithm. That means, if you want to grow your account, focus your efforts on getting people to save your posts.
Final Thought
We get it. As multifamily marketers, the goal is often to get heads in beds, but remember: not all organic social posts should be direct sales pitches. Organic Social is meant to create brand awareness, engage current and future residents, and build trust and loyalty among your followers while highlighting your property’s unique attributes. Essentially, foster a community and sense of belonging.
Want to delve into your Organic Social strategy? We’d love to chat.