paul b tiktok pg 60,61.qxp_Layout 1 5/18/20 2:12 PM Page 1
Image © Kravtzov | Dreamstime.com
T
TikTok Makes Its Way into Apartment Marketing Learn how to utilize this new, fun and creative platform to market your apartment community and engage with your residents. By
60
PAUL BERGERON
ABODE
June 2020
he idle time of shelter-at-home has spawned an explosion in TikTok use among people ranging in age from their teens to their 40s. TikTok has quickly and easily become the latest addictive social media craze. Just consider it was the fourth most downloaded app on iPhones in 2019 with 46 million downloads, trailing only YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat. Its growth rate, however, makes them blush. Clever apartment marketers are already jumping in. Trailblazing brander Tony Sousa, Regional Manager, at Embrey Management Services, said he was stuck at home during a rainy day in quarantine with his three young children and they started watching them for fun. “Yes, they quickly became addicting, and a light bulb went off – we should be using this platform at our apartment communities because it’s the social platform of the future,” Sousa said. Smartphone, user-generated TikTok videos are 15 seconds long and humor generally are their main purpose, with clips that often include dancing. TikTok-ers can add their own audio or musical background. Images and emojis can be layered in, enabling creativity to flourish. Check out @southlineresidences Jasmine Toney, marketing strategist for Embrey Management Services, who supports TikTok marketing campaigns that feature this San Antonio luxury community and its staff, subtly touching on marketing and always focused on the hilarious. “The application is extremely user-friendly, where an unskilled techie can shoot and edit video, add music or create silly voiceover videos easily,” Toney said. “Creating this content requires minimal time commitment. The cost benefit is based on the time it takes of putting on your creative hat and developing a video that is relevant and appropriate for your brand and audience. After you have interacted with the app once or twice, creating dynamic content can be done in a few minutes with just a handful of clicks and Voila – engaging content!” Kate Good, partner and senior vice president of Multifamily Development with Hunington Residential, Houston, is launching a new community in June. She and her staff have already put mind to creating before-and-after TikTok videos that feature amenities, among other things. These will be used in her marketing. “We subscribe to the idea that if people are having fun, they will remember us,” Good said, who employs three leasing professionals who are under 25. www.haaonline.org
