Hi, it’s John from Fourandhalf – if you don’t already know, we’re an Internet marketing agency for property managers. This week, we’re talking about Facebook for property management. Specifically, I want to talk to you about why you should not be posting your rental vacancies on Facebook.
Facebook is a great social media tool – it is great for building a network, then communicating within that network. What it’s not as good at, is announcing things to the world at large – remember, your posts only go out to people in your network. A property manager’s network is likely to have current tenants, colleagues, and most importantly, owners. None of those people are really interested in your vacancies. We all have someone in our Facebook network who is always posting things we aren’t interested in. Many property managers post vacancies very often. Don’t be that guy. Avoid posting your vacancies to your feed one at a time, spamming your network.
Instead, do what we do for our clients: we place a “Find a Rental” button on the page near the “Photos” button. That button links to their vacancy feed, so people can access it if they choose to. That way, you have the vacancies on your Facebook page, but aren’t spamming your social network with stuff they aren’t interested in.
Either way, you want to market your vacancies outside your current network. You want to bring in new tenants, not cannabalize your current tenants to fill vacancies. If you want to use social media, try something like Twitter, to broadcast a link to a vacant property’s page; or Pinterest, to post photos of your vacancies, either of which might bring new people into your network, and grow it.
Some people might point out that by posting on Facebook, a current client might see it and remember they have a friend who is looking for a vacancy, then share the post. To me, that’s like taking a printout of your listing, rolling it up into a ball and throwing it into a crowded room, hoping that when it hits somebody, they open it up and say “hey, my brother needs an apartment.” I don’t think that’s a method for success.
Go for the good numbers. Continue to send vacancies to your different feeds which send that listing out to tons of people who are not already in your network. This will lead them into your network, which will strengthen your reach.
Yes, you want to have activity on your Facebook page. Activity is good for SEO, but you always want activity that current and prospective owners would be interested in. For example, if you have a rental home that comes up for sale, you’d prefer someone who is already a client to buy it, as then you’d be more likely to keep the management contract.
That’s the type of thing that you would want to post on Facebook. For more on what you should be posting, check out our next blog. Alex is going to continue talking about Facebook for property management and how you can make that resource work for you, growing your business.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us here at Fourandhalf.
