Social Media Examiner

Here is a website I often read, Social Media Examiner, which is full of ideas and information relating to managing your business’s social media such as Face Book pages.

I have to admit my brain is not naturally wired for technical information…I would much rather be off doing something creative that takes no instruction.  But learn it we must or be left behind…or left out altogether.   This site lays it out in terms I can appreciate and understand.

Hope you find it helpful.

While checking out some vacation information this morning I came across a FANTASTIC resource for social activity ideas.  Some vacation resorts have their whole season of activities posted on their websites for potential vacationers to check out.  How many of you already promote your community as “resort style” living? Here is a link to give you an idea of what I mean.

There are major all-out theme parties and daily adult and children activities.  Check out resorts that would appeal to clientele similar to your residents, i.e., family, singles, couples.

I hope this helps some of you who want to promote more social activities for your community, but are just stumped for ongoing creative ideas.  If you are just getting started with social activities please understand its not uncommon to have very few show up at the first several events.  Do not get discouraged, plan for several but be thrilled and know how to make it enjoyable when two show up.  Simple social math equation, 2 + fun time = 4 at your next event and the formula will continue to multiply….while 2 + a disappointed staff = 0 for your next event.

Don’t just assume that you can post it on your FB, send out fliers and have a full house. By definition “social” means human interaction. If you want residents to become involved in your community, then make the invitation human and personal, not just a posted event aimed at anyone and everyone.

I was reading a great post this morning about social media success and had a flashback of something we use to do many years ago (before social media) when I was on-site.  Our community had a marquee sign (manual letter changing) near the entrance to the community.  We used the sign constantly to remind residents about parties, impromptu community bocce ball games etc.  Once a week we would post a Trivial Pursuit question on the sign with the 10th, or other number caller, winning the prize for correct answer.  We had a lot of fun with this, talking to both the residents who were always around and those who we rarely ever saw or heard from.  It was a simple way to create conversation with our customers.  The prizes though took this idea to a marketing level.  Depending on the time of year, we would print t-shirts, sweat shirts and beach style tank tops with our logo and a catchy line.  We opted for a good quality material and a professionally designed imprint.  We wanted to make these “highly coveted” prizes so that our name, and the fact that it was thee place to live, made its way up and down the isles of the local grocery store, gyms, and neighborhood pubs.                                                                                                            

Flash forward twenty years…why can’t FaceBook be your community’s marquee sign?  My brain is running faster than my fingers can type with ideas.  Have the sample shirt or jersey framed in a shadow box frame like sports jersey’s (again this is a coveted prize) set in your office.  When residents ask how they can get one, explain the only way is through your FB page.  Everyone can post their answers with first correct person winning so make it somewhat tough.  Encourage residents to ask their friends to answer (which means they have to “like” your page first).  If a non-resident wins two things just happened…they have to pick up their prize in person at your office and they are now wearing a XYZ Community shirt.  Barter with a local restaurant by asking what local rib joint is located 1.5 miles from the community, due north, and has a pig’s head stuck to the side of their building, in return ask Hoggy’s BBQ to display one of your “famed, framed” sweat shirts on their wall, right along side their other memorabilia.  You literally can take these ideas in hundreds of directions.

Bottom line these are two community building projects combined into some fun.  For show me the numbers people, sorry I can’t produce rental stats…but I do know we enjoyed some pretty impressive occupancy numbers in a very competitive growing market with some unusual means.

ed. Thanks to Daniel Soule for pointing out the article, 9 Companies doing Social Media Right and Why, on socialmediaexaminer.com

Spring is fast approaching and soon everyone’s attention is going to be focused on their “summer” look.  For a good portion of us, now is decision time for annual flower selection. Even though budgets dictate quantity there are still decisions on type, colors, and locations.  Its also the time to remember mistakes from the past and vow not to repeat them. If things didn’t flourish the way you expected them to, figure out if it was realistically too much to handle, did grounds staff  not have (or want) the knowledge, or did they not have the tools such as an efficient watering system?

Was there an efficient means to water the plants?

In May it seems reasonable that hoses can be pulled out on a daily basis to water –  but about mid-July not only are flowers more stressed but the thought of dragging that water hose across the property one more time becomes “what the heck, its going to rain any day now” mentality.  The other reason I hate pulling hoses is for several hours every day your beautiful landscapes are blemished with hoses draped everywhere.  A watering system can be as elaborate as a professional irrigation system or as simple as cutting a wedge of soil out in damp spring lawns, burying a garden hose, and tamping the soil back over it and connecting with or without a timer to a water spigot.  If your community has a grounds golf cart or a maintenance truck, try purchasing a 30 gallon tank sprayer (about $130)  that runs off the vehicle battery. I like these because you can easily add fertilizer into the water and they have long wands to reach baskets.  Some sites I did this with purchased a larger pump motor (available at farm stores where you can buy the sprayer) to increase the speed it pumps the water out.

Did your staff have the knowledge to care for the particular variety of flowers that were planted?

Different flowers take different care. Example, a huge bed full of yellow marigolds is a great eye catcher, but if marigolds aren’t dead headed regularly, few new blossoms set leaving you a bed of shriveled up seed heads.  Lush purple petunias are a carpet of color if they are pinched back regularly, but if not they are scrawny long vines with a single flower on the end.  The internet has a wealth of information on caring for flowers if you take the time to educate the person taking care of them.

Was there an incentive (besides keeping their jobs) to have landscapes look lush and beautiful by season’s end?

Of course you have every right to expect your grounds staff to do their jobs which means taking care of the flowers…but face it unlike maintenance installing a disposal which either works or doesn’t, care for flowers can have degrees of success…a little love and nurturing can take flowers from barely alive to lush and gorgeous.  A company I used to work for (50 communities in the same city) had an annual beauty contest pitting sister communities in a friendly but fierce competition.  It came with notoriety, an annual banquet and prizes.  Needless to say our company had a well deserved reputation for beautiful landscapes.

Were the flowers spread out so far that they lost their impact? What to do when there is virtually $100 bucks in your landscape budget?

Many would assume that you make it go as far as you can.  So head to WalMart and and purchase 10 – $10 flats of annuals and plant one flat per each of your ten buildings.  That’s like taking a beautiful bouquet of roses and spreading them out one to a vase all over your house.  You totally loose the Wow! factor.  Instead, try purchasing 4 beautiful lush baskets at $25 each, and place them at the focal point of your community (hang them or take them out of their baskets and plant near each other in the ground) where you can easily keep them watered and beautiful.

Part I of Community Landscapes, More to Come…

Video is our business and certainly one of my passions….landscaping is another.  I am glad to help with landscape/flower questions especially if you are in the mid-west.

I came across a post earlier this week…the more times I read it, the more I liked it.  Thought I would share.

Realize the power that lies within you…but only if you choose to use it.    You: Stable and Strong by Cynthia Occelli

Thanks to The Training Factor for sharing this on their FB page.

Photo credit:  Redwood National & State Parks

Its a bite when the local pizza store decides to hang fliers on your resident’s doors…one big gust of wind and there are 300 fliers floating throughout your community.

Here’s a great Win-Win-Win solution that keeps those fliers out of your community.  Instead of denying solicitors, why not make it work to everyone’s advantage. Once a month make arrangements with those solicitors; restaurants, pizza shops, insurance agents, cable companies, etc.  to serve a casual bite to eat at your clubhouse .  You could pick the first day of the month if many of your residents still pay rent in person, or you could have “Free First Friday Food”.  They can set up in your clubhouse or use a grill and have sizzling food greeting residents as they come home.  Using a pizza shop as an example, you are able to provide something nice for your residents at no cost to you (you win), the resident gets free pizza (residents win), the pizza shop gets your residents to sample their pizza and pass out coupons without their guys walking your entire community (pizza shop wins), and oh yea, your grounds person wins because he doesn’t have to pull fliers out of the prickly bushes!

Promote it by putting  reminder signs out the day before and the day of as residents come home from work. Sandwich board signs work great for this. Post it on your facebook, your blog, &  your newsletter.  This is also an added incentive for your solicitor host by getting  additional exposure.   It really is a Win-Win for everyone.

Economic concerns over the last couple of years has introduced a new term to our everyday vocabulary: Staycations. It refers to the economical way individuals, couples or families are choosing to spend much needed vacation time without the expense of travel ($3+ gas), accommodations and such. 

Promote Your Community As The Perfect Staycation Destination!

Summer vacation months will be upon us before we know it…could this be a creative marketing approach? How about a resident retention project?

My mind can go a hundred different directions with this concept. How many of you market yourself as a resort community already? This could just be a creative marketing approach to things you already do.  You can make it a week long intense event (vacation)  or a season long series of events.  You can make it fit any type property, from upscale urban to affordable family. In my mind the ideas are varied and endless, here are just a few.  Please feel free to add your creative thoughts.

• Use whatever sporting amenities your community offers to host tournaments, leagues or weekly games.  Tennis, volleyball, basketball, billiards, bocce ball,  darts, Wii, even poker.
• A series of discounted tickets to local professional sporting events, museums, zoo’s, amusements parks.
• A chartered trip of any kind.  Take a bus to a nearby outlet mall.  A yacht outing at a local marina.
• An “Around the World Dining Adventure”  as either a week long event or weekly or monthly dinners.  Visit Italy, Greece, Germany, Mexico, France, and the Polynesian Islands by serving regional food.  Make it more authentic by adding appropriate music and decor.  Example, Italian night has red checker table clothes, loaves of Italian Bread, wine and an accordion player rooming throughout.
• Promote a bike outing if there is a nearby bike trail.  Check out renting bikes and provide a picnic lunch mid-way.  Or promote a day outing at a nearby canoe/kayak or horse riding livery.
• Book an after hours party just for your residents at a local spa.
• Provide different Dive-In Movies each Friday night at your pool.  You can choose recent releases or do fun flash back movies like Blue Hawaii or Gidget.
• Family oriented communities can offer a camp out by renting tents, setting up a camp fire (if local code allows), have community field day for adults and kids.  Just think of all the activities you were offered if you ever went off to summer camp.
• You could kick off a Staycation Week with a community yard sale allowing residents to clear out clutter and make some spending money for their upcoming week.

So, how can you market your community as The Perfect Staycation Destination for 2011?

I realize several of these ideas are extreme for some communities. Some could require a lot of effort or expense…but the idea is to get your wheels turning. Your community may have the budget to fund these events; or you could subsidize a discount, or simply make the arrangements and coordinate reduced prices through different sources. Try bartering a discount with local businesses in exchange for advertising.

Are Your Prospects Just Walking Through Your Model Or Are They Experiencing It?

We know its important that our models look good, but looks only appeal to one of our senses. When we think of food, taste quickly comes to mind… yet we know how its looks, smells and even sounds, like the sizzle of a steak, can affect us.

Here are a few suggestions that will add to the positive experience prospects have touring your models.

Each month we will offer some timely ideas for resident newsletter/blog post.  January is a great time to start a newsletter/blog idea calendar.  If you are like me, ideas come to you all the time….unfortunately they hit you when you are in line at the bank or in the shower…not when you sit down to write.  So jot your ideas down when they hit you and transfer them to a year long calendar with information on everything from voter poling locations, to baseball league sign ups, Christmas tree farms, etc.  Many of your residents  have moved into the area and are not familiar with local activities and things you might take for granted.

Ideas for January

• Do a google search…example,  Cincinnati Events January.  Trendy on-line magazines post interesting information on events and offer surveys such as “The Best Nightlife….The Best Restaurants” etc.  You can simply provide the link to the article or just use the part of the article you want.  Be sure though to give credit to your sources.
• Update Titles for DVD Library
• Provide Information on Local Wine Tastings
• Provide Location and Information on Ski and Snowboarding destinations (for those of us with snow!)
• Provide Information on Local and State Park’s Winter Hikes
• Introduce the Local Library Along with Winter Reading Programs
• Introduce you Local YMCA and provide  Membership and Program/Classes Information
• Recipe of the Month –  There are hundreds of kitchens in your community so isn’t a good recipe worth sharing?  I happen to love to cook so I will share with you one of my “tried and true” recipes every month.   Hope you enjoy it and share it!

To download and/or print  recipes and monthly newsletter inserts, scroll to bottom of page and click on Newsletter Insert