Today we are talking about having your kids help set up your property management social media presence. Teenagers are pretty savvy when it comes to setting up and maintaining an online presence, so it’s no surprise many property managers ask their kids to give them a hand with Facebook, Twitter, etc.

However, we all know, for instance, that because your son played football in middle school, it doesn’t mean he’s ready to be the starting quarterback for the 49ers. Becoming a quarterback for a professional team takes thousands of hours of deliberate practice and years of coaching. The same thing applies here. Just because your daughter is on Facebook and Twitter doesn’t mean she understands how to leverage those social networks to benefit your business.

At Fourandhalf, we do Internet marketing for property management companies, and we take on plenty of clients with existing social media accounts that are a mess. They are often inconsistent and incomplete, so anyone who lands on one of those social media pages will be instantly confused – and probably turned off.

So, if you are going to have your kids help you manage your social media presence, here are four tips to help you organize that process and develop a successful social media strategy.

Here’s how to make this work:

1. Set up clear deliverables. You want to be very specific so your daughter or son knows exactly what you want to do. Provide a list of the things you expect, such as a business Facebook page, a Google + account, a Twitter account, an adjusted logo, etc. You need to have a clearly defined set of deliverables. This is easy to do, just identify what you want, document it, and make sure your kids understand.

2. Provide benchmarks. Find something you like out there in the online space and use it as a standard for your page. For example, if you find a property management Facebook page that you really like, have that in your agreement with your kids so they know how you want yours to look. Identify what you like and the results you want.

3. Check all work before you accept it. Review each deliverable thoroughly once it’s complete. Make sure your logo fits on your Facebook page and check that the cover image represents what you guys do and what area you service. Make sure the buttons are clickable and they go to the right places. All information such as location, hours, address and categories should be set up and functional.

4. Pay. To really have quality work done by your kids, set up a pay scale that is based on the project. We don’t recommend paying them by the hour or having them come into your office every day for three months. Instead, pay them per project. Estimate how long it will take them to complete the work and include that timeframe in your deliverables. Pay when the work is complete. That will keep the kids happy and it will make you happy.

Having your kids set up your social media presence can be a great idea, and following these four tips will help all parties. If you run into trouble, contact Fourandhalf and we would be happy to professionally set up your social media platform.