Why Virtual Options Should Be In Your Community Engagement Strategy
One aspect that can make your community engagement strategies that much more effective is including a virtual option. Virtual options allow those who want to participate from the comfort of their home to feel included.
Continue reading below to learn more about community engagement strategies. If you found this information helpful, subscribe to the Realync newsletter to learn more!
Community Engagement Strategies
If you want to operate a successful multifamily community, you need to maximize your occupancy rate. Even though you are probably focused on attracting new residents, you should also focus your attention on maintaining your current residents as well. This means keeping your retention rate as high as possible, and the right community engagement strategies can help you do exactly that.
There are plenty of ways for you to increase your retention rate. You need to respond to resident concerns quickly, collect feedback from them, and position yourself as one of the premier multifamily communities in the area. On the other hand, you can also increase your retention rate by building a strong sense of community. If you foster a sense of community in your multifamily apartments, your residents will be less likely to leave that community. This highlights the importance of community engagement, and it is why you need to use some of the top community engagement strategies to make sure your residents are involved.
So, what is community engagement? This is the process of trying to involve your residents in the day-to-day activities of your community as much as possible. It is easy for your residents to simply retreat into their apartments when they get home from work or school. Even though this might be more comfortable for your residents, you need to do everything you can to get them out and about, ensuring they are engaged with other people in the community. This way, everyone will have a sense of belonging, meaning that your residents will be less likely to leave and go somewhere else.
So, if you want to increase your level of community engagement, what are a few ways you can do so? Take a look at a few of the top examples below, and do everything you can to increase the sense of community in your multifamily apartment building.
Community Engagement Strategy Examples
If you are looking for community engagement strategy examples, it is important to take a look at the different forms of community engagement you might have.
For example, you might want to get your residents to interact with the community more on social media. Even though you do not need to have a profile on every social media platform, you do need to figure out which platform your residents use. Then, encourage them to interact with you on social media.
As you take a look at community engagement planning samples, you also need to find a way to get your residents out of their apartments. For example, you may want to have a happy hour from time to time. To get more people to show up, consider giving away free food, items, or entries into a raffle.
Then, make sure you engage with your residents by encouraging them to provide feedback. You can foster a sense of community if your residents feel like they have the power to change things they don’t like. Make sure you learn what your residents like, what your residents don’t like, and what changes they would like to see. This can go a long way toward increasing your sense of community.
All of these can play a significant role in your ability to increase your retention rate. Remember that the overall goal is to convince your residents to stick around when it is time for them to renew their leases. If you collect feedback from your residents regularly, communicate with them often, and throw parties and events for them to attend, they will be more likely to sign on the dotted line when you ask them to stay.
Community Engagement Ideas
If you are looking for a way to increase your community engagement, you need to develop a strong community engagement strategy action plan. There are plenty of community engagement ideas from which to choose.
For example, you may want to have a barbecue from time to time. You can use some of your budget to purchase fresh food that you can throw on the grill. Then, encourage everyone to show up to get a free bite to eat.
You might also want to have parties around the holidays. For example, you may want to invite some Christmas carolers to entertain the people in your community during Christmas. Or, you may want to have a costume party during Halloween. You can even have a contest where you award a prize to the person with the best costume.
There are plenty of other ways you can foster a strong sense of community engagement as well. For example, you should try to communicate with your residents regularly. Make sure you send them updates on issues that are taking place throughout the community. Then, invite them to provide their feedback. If your residents feel like you are listening to what they have to say, they will be more likely to share their feedback with you, which can go a long way toward increasing their ties to the community.
Ultimately, anything you can do to tie your residents closer to the community will make a significant difference in your retention rates. Therefore, you need to brainstorm ways you can get your residents more involved if you want to convince them to stay when it is time for them to renew their leases.
Types of Community Engagement
As you try to put together a comprehensive plan, it is important to take a look at the different types of community engagement as well. You might want to have a community engagement checklist as part of your toolkit. That way, you can try to engage with your residents as much as possible.
For example, you might be interested in an online community engagement. There are plenty of ways you can put this to work for yourself and your community. You might want to encourage all residents to participate in a forum online. Or, you might want to have a contest online where residents show off what they have done with their apartments. Do not underestimate the importance of getting your residents to engage with you online.
You can also engage with your residents through videoconferencing software. For example, you might try video technology from Realync. All you need to operate this program is your iPhone and the mobile app. You can use this platform to send how-to videos to your residents or show them how to perform maintenance on their own. If your residents take care of their apartments, you’ll be less likely to deal with an expensive repair bill.
You can also use Realync to record videos of different events and parties that take place around the community. Then, you can send this to all of your residents, showing them what they have missed. There are plenty of community engagement strategies out there, and you should diversify your approach to engage as many of your residents as possible.
Community Engagement Strategy Template
Even though you probably have a lot of great ideas, you need to develop a cohesive strategy if you want to maximize the return on your investment. Therefore, if you had to choose one form of community engagement, what would you choose? You may want to take a look at creative community engagement ideas to figure out which ones would work well in your multifamily communities. You might even want to use a community engagement strategy template that can guide your approach.
If you want to engage as many residents as possible, you need to diversify your options. Of course, you need to use emails to stay in touch with your residents, but you may want to send more videos than text. The reality is that nobody likes to read a page of text, and your residents will be more likely to look at your email if you record them and send them a video.
Community Engagement Strategy Template
Of course, communicating with your residents through video messages is not enough. You also need to have different events and parties around the community if you want to encourage people to get out of their apartments and get to know one another. That is why they should also play a role in your community engagement strategy.
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because consumers retain 10% of a message when reading it via text, but 90% of a message when viewed in a video.
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