Social Media- What’s Love Got to do with it?

Over the past few months I have been noticing and measuring responses to my Facebook profile and fan page updates.  I like sharing so I wanted to give you some thoughts on what I have been doing and how I have been working with some other communities.  One of the constant concerns that most of us have with our pages is trying to get folks to interact.  We post what we think are interesting articles, questions, pictures etc. and yet the response to them is sometimes minimal or none.  This is discouraging isn’t it!  So what needs to take place next?  Well certainly not doing the same thing continually.  Consistency is paramount but type of content needs to be established.  Our role is to establish what our viewers want.  Our role is to provide information that is beneficial and interesting to our fans and friends.  It really has little to do with us.  So what can we do to find out what our Facebook fans want, need, like and appreciate?  It goes back to just our normal conversations that we have with residents each and every day.  Consider this scenario. 

Let’s say you are a community manager in South Florida.  One of your residents comes in to the office to drop off their rent with a completely dejected look on his face.  Out of concern you simply ask, “What is wrong?  Is everything ok?”  He then goes on to tell you how he went and did some shopping and came out to find scratches on his car as a result of a runaway grocery cart.  No one confessed to this and the body shop told him that it would cost him a crazy amount of money to fix and repair the problem. 

Now what can you do?  Here is your opportunity to experiment and see if you can turn this scene into an opportunity to help and connect with a resident who is a Facebook fan.  You have heard of mobile companies that do small paint repairs for cars.  You do a Google search for painting bumpers in south Florida and mobile paint repair.  You spend about 15-20 minutes looking through the various options available which are quite a few and you decide on a particular company that looks good and your post the link on your Facebook page tagging the individual in the post if he is a friend already, or simply calling him and letting him know you did some research for him and posted a suggested option for him on the Facebook page. 

What have you accomplished?  You have successfully found something that would definitely benefit your resident.  You have also demonstrated to your community your interest in their challenges and needs.  When you do this on a regular basis for your residents, what do you think the end result will be?

My point is simply that we need to experiment with the content we post and we definitely need to find out what matters most to the people we are trying to interact with.   I have been experimenting myself for The Training Factor and I also have just started working with Lee’s Crossing in LaGrange Georgia with their outreach program.  Charity Hisle regularly blogs about Facebook topics and has great insights on how communities can continue to improve their outreach programs.  If we continue to share what is working with each other, success is assured as we move through 2010 together.  So what does “Love got to do with it”?  Love itself has little to do with it, but throwing out some interesting content and getting results…. that has everything to do with it.  Check out one of my latest status updates.  I was amazed at what a simple question could do to strike up an interesting conversation.

Written by Jonathan Saar --- The Training Factor

Making Eye Contact in Social Media

Just when I thought some of the heat and debate would start to die down, then I find that the fire just keeps on burning with some.  I am not against other people voicing their opinions.  That’s what freedom of speech is all about.   I scratch my head though with repetitive comments and thoughts from 2009 already streaming into 2010.  Using social media simply has core attributes that cannot be ignored if you want a measure of success. 

Let me quote you what Mike Schnaffer said in Forbes.com this morning.  He was referring to Ford’s campaign when he stated the following. 

“A good example is Scott Monty who heads up social media for Ford. Monty is very effective in getting Ford's message out by talking with customers rather than just talking to customers.”

The basis of the entire article was talking about how certain groups of people could actually be killing Social Media.  The spammers and the blatant advertisers who want to get you 2 millions followers and whiten your teeth are the ones who are ruining the experience.  There are a lot of good techniques to avoid these people in the first place which will be the subject of another post.  I want to leave everyone with the simple thought of the title of this blog.  How do you make eye contact in social media? 

There are some gross misconceptions out there as to how you should interact on these platforms.  I had one individual the other day ask me how to have a conversation and interact on twitter?  The question itself was very perplexing to say the least.  Making eye contact in regular conversation is a fundamental communication principle that we learn through leadership programs and through just LIFE!

Should it be any different with how we have conversations on a social media platform?  I think not.  When you are using these tools, pretend you are looking the other person in the eye.  That is talking with a person and not just to them.

Written by Jonathan Saar- The Training Factor

Where the Blogs Have No Name

Content Content Content.  What does it take to keep your blog fresh and up to date?  The worst thing in the world is to plagiarize.  The search spiders do not like this and if you are working on your SEO then this is not the way to go.  How hard is it to blog for your multifamily community?  That is the million dollar question.  I guess it all depends on your perspective.  Does your community have a story within itself?  When you are walking through your community, what is running through your mind besides the fundamentals of making the day successful from a curb appeal, Fair Housing, leasing perspective?  What about the people?

Every resident has a story.  Do you know what it is?  It will be quite challenging for you to have a social community blog when you have no connection with the people that make your community alive....  with the people who give your community a name.

So now you are approaching 2010 and you want to add a community blog and a Facebook page.  You are wondering what the best approach would be, who is going to do it and what kind of content will reach your audience.  Your first question should be: How do my residents view me and the staff or our community?  Are you viewed only as the rent collectors and the curb appeal enforcers.  If you want your outreach efforts to have a name, then you need to reach out to the residents with the names.  Who is your Betty the baker, Joe the DJ, Eileen the retail manager, and Bob the county inspector?

If you want your blog and other outreach programs to have a name, reach out to the people who already have one.  The rest will take on a life of its own.

Written by Jonathan Saar --The Training Factor

Certified Social Media Consultant! Huh??

I get really confused with this TITLE at times.  This post is more to warn people not to get sucked in by claims that they are an “expert” or a “guru” of social media.  I was reading a post from Aliza Sherman (@alizasherman) this morning.  I really appreciated her four points of advice to anyone considering hiring outside help with their social media initiatives.  Here they are:

1. "Question the source. While the Internet and new media industries have been around now for over a decade, social media as its own industry is young. If someone is touting social media certification, question where they received it and what they had to do to earn it.
2. Google them. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been approached by potential clients who have been ripped off by people claiming to be social media consultants. A quick Google search of those consultants and companies reveal little in the way of evidence that the consultant/company in question is engaged in social media. A good social media consultant will be active in social media including LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook but also other more niche networks.
3. Read them. At this early stage of social media consulting, those who are doing it are also writing about it because there is so little credible documentation of what we are all doing and learning. Read their blog, white papers or articles, and check out the recent books by some of the top social media thought leaders of today for greater perspective.
4. Check their references. Why someone would hire a social media consultant without checking their online portfolio and references is a mystery to me. A few phone calls and emails, and you’ll have a much better sense about the reputation, professionalism and skills of anyone claiming to be a social media consultant."

I posted my own comment on her blog this morning out of appreciation for her post.  I have my own thoughts to add as well.  There is education then there is application.  Does that make sense to you?  Think of three items you learned in school that you thought you would never use.  Now think of where you actually use them now.  Do you see the difference?  There is really plenty of free education out there to get you going.  Google any social media topic and a wealth of resources will appear for you.  Setting up Google alerts is a way to have information sent to you.  There are numerous chats on twitter to participate in or just observe to get education.  Some of my favorites are the following:

#aptchat on Friday’s 4pm EST – Hosted by Lisa Trosien (@lisatrosien) and Mike Whaling (@30lines)

The focus is on any multifamily topic.  Items such as Fair housing, resident retention, marketing, apartment training etc are discussed.

#blogchat on Sunday’s 9pm EST- Hosted by Mack Collier (@mackcollier)

The subject changes each week, but essentially the main topic is the same which is how to blog and learning best practices from others.

There are others such as #journchat on Tuesday night 8pm EST and #socialmedia on Tuesday’s 12pm EST hosted by Marc Myer (@Marc_Myer)

The list can go on regarding education that is out there to help you in social media.  The application is a different story.  This is where I have a hard time with individuals who declare themselves “certified” or a “guru”.  Some of have even gone as far as calling themselves “The King”.  Then you do a little digging and you find out the truth.  Please be very careful.  Social Media and its impact on the way we do business are all still very new.  The application is still being defined.  Every business model is different so it makes no sense to take a one-size- fits-all approach. 

Work hard to educate yourself.  Ask questions.  Observe how others implement and use social media as part of their every day strategy.  Don’t be selfish either.  Always remember the first word in the expression “Social Media”.  Sharing and expressing our thoughts will only help us improve as we all share this path and learn together.  What has helped you in learning social media?  What resources did you find best?  Do you think that anyone can really call themselves an expert?  I have been educated and instructed by many great professionals who do have real experience in Social Media.  Just ask me who they are and what help you need, and I will tell you for free.

Written by Jonathan Saar – The Training Factor

Don't Drink and Facebook

Two conversations I had yesterday compelled me to write this post today.  One I had on Facebook itself with an acquaintance of mine who very eloquently pointed out the complete shallowness of some guys who pretend to be sweet and sensitive by posting status updates that reflect some movie or emotion that are supposed to be endearing to the female crowd but obviously are completely shallow and are no different than the pickup line at a bar, “Can I buy you a beer?”. 

The second conversation was involving shameless posts where the user supposedly feels empowered by posting something that he or she would never be able to say to someone’s face.  In other words, one’s inhibitions are let down as a result of not having a physical face in front of them.  However you want to word it, to me it’s Drinking and Facebook.  Lisa Trosien posted a good article from the Los Angeles Times on twitter last night that I wanted to share that elaborates a little further.  Here are key points to remember before you decide to post something.

Potential and existing employers are monitoring social media posts and using them for or against their employees.  Some employers are asking for login addresses for Social Media sites you may be using.  We can only expect this trend to continue when it is very easy just to Google your name and see what comes up in the search engines. 

We are professionals 24/7.  Keep me in mind celebrity goof ups that were highly publicized.  One minute you look at them with respect and dignity and the next it’s all gone as a result of a misplaced word, photo or action.  It is no different with us.  Many people would agree that at the top of our list of the most important things in life would be our career and our reputation.  Why wouldn’t you want to be extra careful with what you post since these important items are at stake?

Don’t burn any bridges.  Stop thinking of the now and think of the future.  Stop and think about what you post.  It takes a lifetime in some ways to build up a good professional reputation and can take mere seconds to see all of that disappear.  One of the purposes of Social Media is to build relationships, not tear them down.  You never know who or when you will be interacting with any given individual in the future.   

The multifamily industry and many others are working feverishly to understand and properly implement Social Media tools such as Facebook.  Just remember how embarrassing it was in school when you were caught passing notes during class time and the teacher caught you and read it out in front of the whole class.  It’s no different with what you post on Social Media sites, except the consequences can be much greater.  Don’t Drink and Facebook.  I hope you get the analogy.  Letting your inhibitions and guard down can lead to a serious blow to your reputation and career. 

I really think this is a subject that merits serious concern.  What have you been doing professionally to monitor and check yourself?  Do you feel it’s important to know what social sites your employees are on?  Do you have any actual examples where you have seen inappropriate posts and how have you dealt with it? 

Written by Jonathan Saar- The Training Factor