Social Media Trends and How Businesses Can Stay on Top of Them

Tik Tok, Instagram Live, Facebook: The Ever-Growing Social Media Platforms and Tools  

In the past decade, social media platforms have become a go-to resource for audiences searching for apartments, condos and townhouses. And while most multifamily communities have a social media presence, the need to expand their digital footprint on the various platforms has grown exponentially. 

In many cases, posting images of apartments and amenities isn’t enough to attract attention. Audiences want to see more – and social media marketing trends such as video, live streams and disappearing content (content that is only available for a limited time) are the answers. 

In the following article, we’ll discuss some of the ways multifamily communities can connect with new audiences via these popular content styles on trending social media platforms.  

How To Use To Social Media Content to Connect with Audiences

Creating and posting video content, broadcasting live streams or conducting polls on social media channels helps multifamily your community stand out from competitors. It adds personality to your apartment social media posts instead of relying on static still images and photos. Plus, it helps build brand awareness with your target audiences in your target areas. 

Yet, the most important thing to understand about creating and posting video or disappearing content for social media marketing is that it really boils down to what the content provides for your audience. Sure, a clever video post may get a lot of attention for a little while – but if it doesn’t add value to your intended audience’s life then it won’t accomplish any of your goals (phone calls, website clicks, form fills, etc)? 

To successfully reach target audiences, your social media content must do the following: Engage, Educate and Inspire. 

Engage Your Audience with Social Media Marketing Content  

When audiences use their social media accounts, they’re typically using their phones. And most of the time they’re scrolling through post-after-post without stopping. When they do stop, it’s because they found a post that engages them. 

While photos, images and illustrations are still great ways to catch their eyes, video content (especially things like Facebook Live, Instagram Reels and Tik Tok videos) are proving to be terrific attention grabbers. Although you don’t have to create Hollywood studio caliber productions, your content should look good, be brief (videos should be anywhere from a few seconds to five minutes), and compel the audience to stop scrolling and have a look.  

Educate Your Audience with Social Media Marketing Content 

While this doesn’t pertain to many businesses, offering video and disappearing content that educates your audience is key for multifamily social media marketing. Audiences who are actively searching for new apartments, condominiums or townhouses want you to show them how your community stands out from the others. They want to know how your multifamily property solves their pain points. 

Video content allows you to show instead of tell. Use video clips and live streaming on social media platforms to take your audience on a tour of an individual unit or the whole property. If you have community perks such as pools, fitness centers, dog parks or lounges, posting video content about these amenities offer more detail than a post featuring a still image. Post videos to communicate how convenient your multifamily community is to major highways, public transportation or desirable school districts. Demonstrate how your apartments are perfect for remote work opportunities. 

You can also learn more about your audience from the type of content you post. Conducting limited-time polls or audience votes on your platforms can help your team determine what matters most to your prospective residents. Is having a pool a deal breaker for apartment searchers? Do potential residents prefer fitness centers to community lounges? Is your pet friendly policy really that friendly for pet owners? Using video or disappearing content that engages audiences to answer important questions can educate your team and help shape your future marketing efforts. 

These social media marketing trends allow you to answer popular FAQs in mere seconds and encourage audiences to take a desired action. 

Inspire Your Audience with Social Media Marketing Content 

Posting video, live streaming and conducting discussions on your social media platforms can also be effective when it reflects your audience’s needs and wants. With videos, reels and live streams, you can effectively showcase your community amenities. Let audiences see your residents enjoying their time at your property’s pool, game room, fitness center, lounge, grill area, dog park or playground. Show your residents relaxing in their spacious living rooms, working remotely from a spare room office or enjoying their morning coffee from their balcony or patio. 

The best part about using inspirational content is that the content does not always have to come from you. Sharing user-generated content that your resident’s post is a great way to offer audiences authentic glimpses at life at your apartment community. 

By showing scenes from these slices of life in your community, audiences can picture themselves there. They’ll be able to see themselves living their best lives in your multifamily community. You’ll not only inspire them with this social media content – you’ll inspire them to contact your leasing office for a tour or more information. 

What Social Media Platforms Are Best for Multifamily Marketing? 

Now that you know how these social media marketing content trends can help you reach and connect with audiences, you may be wondering which platforms are the right choice for you. You’re probably familiar (and using) existing favorites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. But what about some of the other trendy social media platforms such as Tik Tok, Snapchat and Nextdoor? Or how about tools you can use for live streaming or disappearing content? 

The answer to those questions really depends on two things: 

What platforms are your target audience using?

What do you want to accomplish with your content? 

If you’re trying to connect with audiences who are 35+, then Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube are typically the most popular platforms for this demographic. However, if you’re trying to reach a Gen Z audience, posting content on platforms such as Tik Tok, Snapchat and YouTube are proving to be their preferred social media destinations. 

Second, you want to choose the platform that best suits the type of content you want to post. For video content that may be longer (ex. property tours), YouTube is a smart choice since it hosts videos of all lengths and audiences do less scrolling and more active searching on that platform. 

For extremely short videos and disappearing content (such as and audience polls), Instagram/Facebook stories and Tik Tok are the perfect outlets. And if you want to capture an event in real time, then Facebook Live, Instagram Live and YouTube are the perfect tools.  

As you can see, there are lots of social media platforms, tools, trends and content that multifamily properties can use to connect with their audiences and accomplish their goals. However, these platforms and trends can suddenly change. That’s why it’s important to stay up to date with the latest social media marketing platforms, strategies, trends and news – which can be difficult when you’re busy managing multifamily properties full time.  

The experts at Prelude are here to help you navigate the busy world of social media marketing trends for the multifamily industry. 

Contact us today if you would like to know more about how you can use social media marketing platforms, tools and trends to reach your target audience and build your awareness!