Snapchat for Marketing: Reaching Your Target Market in the Age of Social Media

Is a Snapchat Marketing Strategy Right for Your Multifamily Property?

If you don’t use Snapchat, you’ve probably heard of it. It’s an app that allows you to share photos and videos with friends, but there’s a catch: within a few seconds of viewing the content, it disappears! Gone forever.

Seems a little silly, right? And yet, millions of people are using Snapchat.

In today’s digital age, social media has become an essential tool for businesses of all types, including multifamily properties. With many social media platforms available, choosing the right one can make all the difference in effectively marketing your multifamily property. 

One platform that often gets overlooked is Snapchat. But is Snapchat still a relevant social media marketing tool for multifamily properties? And how can you effectively market your multifamily property on the right social media platforms? 

Let’s dive in.

Is Snapchat Still Relevant for Multifamily Marketing?

When Snapchat first emerged, it was largely known as a platform for personal use, with its primary feature being ephemeral messaging. However, over the years, Snapchat has evolved into a powerful social media marketing tool, with features that allow businesses to connect effectively with their Snapchat target market.

As if you didn’t already know, Snapchat skews young. While Snapchat may not have the same user base as Instagram or TikTok, it still has an impressive number of users. 

According to Demand Sage, Snapchat has 375 million daily active users worldwide as of March 2023. That is an 18.6% increase year over year. And the number of users is up from 265 million back in January 2021. 

What’s more, Snapchat is particularly popular among younger demographics, with most users ages 18-24 using the platform.

So, yes, this platform is still a relevant social media marketing tool for multifamily properties, especially if your Snapchat target market is a younger demographic. 

(Pssst… If you are a student housing multifamily property, we highly recommend you jump on the Snapchat for marketing bandwagon!)

What’s the Value of Snapchat for Marketing Properties?

Although it seems counterintuitive, Snapchat content (photos and videos) is among the most engaging social media platforms. You probably wonder how disappearing content can be engaging, but that’s it! Viewing a “Snap” requires your undivided attention for a few seconds because if you don’t pay attention, you’ve missed the message (it’s gone).

Compare this to platforms like Facebook and Twitter, where we may passively “like” photos, doom-scroll our feed, or “save” articles with the best intentions of reading them later. But Snapchat is in the moment. It’s immediate, succinct, and convenient. And in return, Gen Z renters find it reasonable to invest a few precious seconds of their time. 

It’s this disposability that makes Snapchat so unique. It’s the fleeting nature of Snapchat that drives such high user engagement.

Should You Hire a Snapchat Marketing Agency?

Do we recommend hiring a multifamily marketing agency for your Snapchat marketing strategy? Typically, we want to promote our multifamily marketing services, especially our work on social media for apartments. But we also pride ourselves in being transparent and good stewards of your marketing budget and time — so no, we recommend you keep your Snapchat marketing strategy in-house. 

Why?

Snapchat is a highly personal platform. It’s not the platform where you share Stock images or promotional information about your property. This is the platform to offer behind-the-scenes content or promote things like resident events, local happenings, and funny anecdotes in your leasing office.

This is the type of platform you’ll want to hand over to your leasing agents and let them have some (professional and appropriate) fun with the platform! Let them use their creativity and share on Snapchat during downtime throughout the day. An agency will not be able to be at your property to share the type of personalized content your leasing agents will be able to. So leave platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to your multifamily marketing agency and let your leasing team take the reigns on Snapchat!

How to Market on Snapchat (and Across Other Social Media Marketing Tools)

Now that we’ve established that Snapchat is still a relevant social media marketing tool for multifamily properties, here are some tips for marketing your property effectively on the right social media platforms.

1. Define Your Target Audience

Defining your target audience is essential before you start marketing your multifamily property on social media. Who are you trying to attract to your property? What are their interests, needs, and preferences? Once you clearly understand your target audience, you can choose the social media platforms that will be most effective in reaching them.

2. Choose the Right Social Media Marketing Tools

As mentioned earlier, numerous social media platforms are available, each with unique features and user base. Choosing the right social media platforms is essential to market your multifamily property effectively. 

If your target audience is primarily younger demographics, then Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram may be the best platforms to focus on. On the other hand, if your target audience is more mature, platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn may be more effective.

>> Want some Instagram inspiration? Check out the Top Instagram Accounts for Multifamily!

3. Use High-Quality Visuals

Regardless of which social media platforms you choose, it is important to use high-quality visuals to showcase your property effectively. This includes professional photos and videos highlighting the property’s amenities, location, and overall vibe. On Snapchat, you can also use filters and lenses to create fun and engaging content that will appeal to your target audience. You can even create and sponsor your filter so nearby users can utilize it in their Snapchat photos.

4. Engage with Your Audience

Social media is all about engagement. To effectively market your multifamily property, it’s important to engage with your audience regularly. This includes responding to comments and messages, reposting user-generated content, and creating interactive content like polls and Q&A sessions.

With a unique platform like Snapchat, you will want to make sure you don’t have any missed Snapchat messages, photo tags, or mentions from your residents and prospects. Be sure to check your notifications and respond when applicable regularly.

5. Measure Your Success

Finally, it’s essential to measure the success of your social media marketing efforts regularly. This includes tracking engagement rates, follower growth, and website traffic. Regularly analyzing your social media metrics can refine your marketing strategy and optimize your efforts for maximum effectiveness.

Tap your Bitmoji/avatar in the top left-hand corner to find your Snapchat analytics data. This will take you to the home screen. Click the “Insights” tab to see your Snapchat analytics data.

Opportunities for Multifamily Marketing on Snapchat

There are many ways multifamily can leverage Snapchat at the property level; let’s take a look: 

• Direct snaps to and from residents: Once a property begins to connect with residents on Snapchat, they can send and receive ephemeral messages from one another. Likewise, sending quick and private messages to the management team can be a suitable medium. This feature is a fantastic way to empower your leasing office and the property staff to connect with residents. As the face of the property, these employees will be able to get to know residents uniquely.
• Geofilters: Geofilters allow users to create custom-branded artwork that will appear as an optional filter within the app in a specific geographic region. Users within that region can then add the geofilter to their messages and videos to friends. Aside from affordability, geofilters create an opportunity to reach and communicate with your residents within seconds. Properties should consider leveraging geofilters within their geographic area to take advantage of an event or holiday and target future residents.
• SnapStories: In addition to the traditional disappearing direct messages, Snapchat also includes a “story” feature that allows users to post public messages and videos that last for 24 hours. This allows property managers to create a story about their property and those living and working there. This can impact the way current and potential residents view your brand and, more importantly, how they view your property as a potential home.

Develop a Snapchat Marketing Strategy to Attract Residents

While Snapchat may not be as popular as Instagram or TikTok for marketing, it’s still a relevant social media marketing tool for multifamily properties, especially if your target audience is younger demographics. 

The bottom line for apartment marketers: Snapchat is here. The multifamily industry has seen the rise and adoption of other burgeoning social media platforms, but why? because that’s where their renters are. That’s where their renters spend time, consume information, and interact. If you can’t speak Gen Z, it’s time to learn.

By defining your Snapchat target market, choosing the right platforms, using high-quality visuals, engaging with your audience, and measuring your success, you can effectively learn how to market on Snapchat to promote your multifamily property and attract new residents.