Instagram is a social network widely popular among millennials and Gen Z. Instagram mimics Facebook because our focus shifts back to resident engagement. It has a single function (picture-sharing), which makes it highly visual and a great platform for conveying the personality of your resident community.
Instagram (The Basics)
With Instagram, users have several formatting options for editing pictures. Color treatments called “filters” can be applied to photos to make them more artistic and visually interesting. Again, users can be individuals or organizations. Similar to Facebook, users can favorite or comment on pictures, as well as tag other users.
Driven by the freedom to format and a quick-scrolling mobile platform, Instagram is among the most interactive social networks. For multifamily properties, it’s an excellent tool for branding and resident engagement.
Uses for Instagram Apartment Marketing
Share Visual Updates: Think visually. Consider how you can create visual interest when it comes to your everyday resident communications. Are you opening the pool this weekend? Post an inviting picture! Are you prepping for a resident event? Show them! Are there cupcakes in the lobby? Are there amenities your residents aren’t taking advantage of? (You catch my drift).
Before you start, however, you need to ask yourself what tone or personality you want to convey and which property features you want to highlight. Know the type of audience you want and find a way to cater to their personalities. Check out the Instagram for 2660 at Cityplace in Uptown Dallas. They do a great job creating visual interest and keeping residents up-to-date about what’s happening around their property.
Tap Your Resident Community: As active as millennials are on Instagram, multifamily properties should consider how they can use the platform to create opportunities for engagement. Inviting your residents to participate is perhaps the simplest way to do so.
Gigi Giannoni, Vice President of Marketing and PR at Gables Residential, said they recently launched an Instagram contest focused on resident engagement.
“Sometimes [multifamily marketers] get so caught up on driving new traffic, we forget about the value of resident retention,” said Gigi. “With our Instagram contest, we were focusing on resident retention. We wanted to make our residents feel a part of the Gables family.”
The #GablesOasis Instagram contest asked residents to share a picture of a ‘summer oasis’ in their Gables community. As residents submitted photos, Gables shared the entries on their Facebook page. It allowed them to start conversations with their residents and gave Gables an excellent collection of pictures to showcase their properties.
“People are a part of where they live,” said Gigi. “That’s what drove participation in our contest. Choosing where to live is like choosing a way of life, and we want our residents to take pride in that.”
Remember that when participants share pictures of your property on Instagram, those photos also appear on the newsfeed of their followers.
A well-planned Instagram contest can generate awareness of your property to relevant audiences. The Instagram platform presents several opportunities for apartment marketing, and you’ve just got to think visually.
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