Approximately nine in 10 U.S. companies of all types and sizes use social media to help generate awareness about their products, projects and services and to connect with prospects and potential customers. This should come as no surprise considering nearly 80 percent of Americans are currently active on social media.
Following are some tips on how you can use social media to market your new development.
In the City of Madison, development proposals that follow permitted land uses do not require any type of public review. On the other hand, development proposals such as subdivisions, rezonings or conditional uses require “consistency with adopted plans, review by several City departments, a public hearing and involve neighborhood input.”
It’s important to note the requirement for neighborhood input, as overlooking this step can spell doom for your proposal in Madison. That’s because, according to the City, “neighborhood associations are organized groups and … are likely to be the strongest community voice on a project within the neighborhood.” In other words, they can be your supporters, or they can be your opponents.
Businesses of all varieties have taken to the social media scene in an effort to connect with potential customers and clients. In fact, about 90 percent of U.S. companies use social media marketing for that reason.
Following are five social media platforms your company should consider using to market your developments.
Facebook. Share features of your development as well as local amenities to help intrigue prospects. For instance, if you are targeting families for a new subdivision, they will want to know how close the grocery store is or how many schools are in the area before they think about purchasing a plot.
Boast partnerships with builders/contractors and share their current or past projects to help create an image of what your completed development may look like. Make sure to tag them in your posts to encourage cross-promotion. In other words, if they see you sharing their content, they will hopefully share yours.
Another way to increase your reach is to use Facebook ads that specifically target your prospects. For example, you could set up an ad that reaches 25-40-year-old first-time homebuyers with annual income greater than $100,000 who live within a 25-mile radius of your development.
Twitter. Post content that provides value to your followers in 280 characters or fewer. Content can take the form of a photo, a short video, an article or infographic related to your development or to the industry in general. Make your content easier to discover by using hashtags of the community in which you’re building (e.g. #Madison).
Share pertinent news and updates about your development, but avoid talking up your company too much. For instance, your followers don’t want to read about the awards you’ve won. Be ready to respond to questions or comments that are directed to your account, and don’t hesitate to use Twitter to communicate with others.
Use the Tweetdeck dashboard to load and schedule your tweets.
Instagram. Post pictures or videos of the various stages of your project, scenic photos of the surrounding area or images depicting a day on the job. Just like in Twitter, include hashtags in your photo/video description to make it easier for consumers to find your posts. Aim for a minimum of one post per day.
Facebook controls the advertising on Instagram, so when you set up your Facebook ads, you may have them appear on Instagram, too (and you should).
YouTube. Create short videos (30 sec. or less), such as weekly snippets of the building process or even a time-lapse video of your progress, that will intrigue your prospective customers, and share them on your other social media channels (and your website). You may upload videos to YouTube directly from your smartphone or tablet.
If you have multiple projects, create a separate playlist for each project within your YouTube Channel. Try posting at least once a week on each to keep your channel active. About once a month, monitor analytics to see what types of content resonate the most with viewers.
Pinterest. Create separate boards for each of your developments as well as boards dedicated to specific target groups, such as builders, potential home buyers and brokers.
Besides pinning photos of project or design plans, you should pin photos of houses that could be built in your development–ask your preferred builders to send you photos to use. In the same vein, you could ask a landscaping company to send photos of backyard patios they’ve designed to use on your boards.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Each month, receive a short e-newsletter with the latest tips and news on various social media platforms.
INTRODUCTION
In the City of Madison, development proposals that follow permitted land uses do not require any type of public review. On the other hand, development proposals such as subdivisions, rezonings or conditional uses require “consistency with adopted plans, review by several City departments, a public hearing and involve neighborhood input.”
Businesses of all varieties have taken to the social media scene in an effort to connect with potential customers and clients. In fact, about