Communication and Engagement

Communication and Engagement with Residents During COVID-19

How to communicate with and engage your residents during a pandemic. Also included are fun activities for your residents to do during the COVID-19 pandemic. By BARBARA SAVONA, Sprout Marketing

A note from the editor: This article was written in late March and edited on the first of April. The situation in Houston may have shifted by the time you read this article. Please consider the tips in this article for resident communication and engagement. Refer to the CDC and NAA for any additional questions you may have. A partment community operators impact many lives. After all, we are talking about people’s homes. This is our opportunity to step up from a communication and engagement standpoint. First things, first. You need to continue to communicate with your residents.

During times of crisis, there is no such thing as over-communica

tion. People are anxious and idle, both of which can lead to a lot of frustrating requests that our onsite teams will have to field. We can't eliminate frustrations, but many can be avoided or reduced by how and what we communicate.

It’s crucial during this time to let empathy guide all of your

communication regardless of the response from your resident or prospect.

When it comes to communication with your residents, you have options, so be selective and pick which ones work for your apartment community.

Various Communication Tools and the Pros and Cons of Each:

Phone:

Pro: People are used to calling in.

Con: If staff is limited, calls can quickly become overwhelming, and you may be responding to repetitive questions.

Tip: Set up a voicemail that answers FAQ and/or directs them to your website and/or resident portal where they can find the appropriate information. That way, if phone calls become overwhelming, residents can get answers to the most common questions.

Email:

Pro: Most people are accustomed to this form of communication. It’s fast and effective.

Con: People’s inboxes are flooded with COVID-19 related emails right now. It will be easy for your emails to get lost in the shuffle.

Tip: Use a consistent subject line to let residents know that emails are from your community. Example: Sprout Apartments: Community Updates 3/18.

Resident portal:

Pro: If residents are already used to accessing your property’s resident portal for updates and information, they will automatically go here for updates.

Con: There isn’t really a con we could identify.

Tip: Keep your resident portal up to date, so people will continue to check the portal. Doing this, may also reduce the amount of calls.

Chat Feature on Website:

Pro: Residents and prospects may already be going to your website to determine how to reach out. A chat feature allows for quick responses, lowering phone calls and increasing capacity for your team.

Con: People expect a quick response time with chat. If your team isn’t able to quickly respond to chats, turn it off. You should also turn it off if you step away from your computer to go to the bathroom or to take a break (which, by the way, is totally allowed).

Tip: Reach out to your web provider. This can be an easily added means of communication.

Physical Notices and Signage Throughout Your Community:

Pro: For now, people are still able to walk around the community to get a breath of fresh air. Posting signage will be one more way to make sure your residents see your information.

Con: Someone would have to physically post the signage.

Tip: Include information for residents about where to look for more information or how to contact someone.

Text:

Pro: Text messages are an easy way to reach your residents on their cell phones, many are glued to them.

Con: Many communities don’t have this setup.

Tip: If you have a third-party service, providing text message updates can be useful in relaying time-sensitive information.

Social Media:

Pro: For diversion, many people are turning to social media. Seize this as an opportunity to buid your online presence and to be part of the online conversation. You can also post videos that feel a lot more personal in a time when you can’t have face-to-face interactions with your residents.

Con: Conversations can quickly turn negative and threads can spiral out of control with varying opinions on how things should be done.

Tip: Consider setting up a Facebook group where you can approve comments or respond privately. Get creative and post about topics that encourage engagement with your residents.

Engaging with Your Residents:

Consider this an excellent time for you to go above and beyond for your residents by giving them the resources they need. Resources can look like activities to do during the quarantine. Let’s face it, everyone is probably about to be stir crazy if they aren’t already.

Social Media:

In the previous section, we made the point that this is a great opportunity to boost your property or management company’s social media presence. You can also use social media to engage with your residents and to give them a fun activity to do. Here are some ideas for social media posts: ● Tag a Friend Challenge: You can encourage followers to tag a friend who you can’t wait to do a certain activity with, such as going to the dog park, or other captions to get them chatting. ● Spring Cleaning Challenge: With residents cooped up inside their apartments, encourage them to use this time to do spring cleaning and to send you a photo of their clean apartment home or organized pantry. You can either post a photo that challenges them to clean a specific area or a room of their apartment home every day. You can share the photos your residents send you to one of your property’s social media stories. ● Recipes to Try: Find a yummy recipe from Pinterest or your favorite personal cookbook and post it on social for your residents to cook for breakfast, dinner or lunch. ● DIY Projects: Encourage residents who are at home to try those projects they’ve been eyeing on Pinterest for way too long. You can find project ideas on Pinterest to give your resident inspiration. ● Best Balcony or Door Decoration Contest: You set a theme or allow a free-for-all, but this is a great way to get residents in a creative mood and feel connected, while still practicing social distancing. ● Learn a New Skill: There’s probably something your residents have always wanted to learn but never had the time to. Now is the chance to encourage that! ● Have a Virtual Book Club: If you have a resident Facebook page, or even just through your social media channels, you can have residents vote on a book to read and then invite them to chat about it through social media.

Entertainment Ideas for Your Residents:

Here are some ideas that you can pass along to your residents for entertaining people of all ages during COVID-19.

Ideas for How to Keep Kiddos Entertained at Home:

● Play a board game or card game. ● Bake and decorate cookies. ● Build a Lego set. (Bonus: if you build it, you probably won’t step on those darn things so much.) ● Build a blanket fort. ● Create a scavenger hunt that allows them to search for items inside. ● Have a movie marathon (Frozen II is out on Disney Plus. You’re welcome.)

How to Entertain Teenagers to Get Them off Their Phone During Social Distancing:

● Minute to win it games. These are so fun and they will make you laugh. Two of my personal favorites are “grab bag” and “junk in the trunk.” ● Have an at-home spa day with manicure, pedicures and face masks. You can also make your own face mask. ● Do something or have them teach you something they enjoy, like how to play an Xbox game or a TikTok dances. ● Play a board game or card game. ● Play charades. ● Encourage them to read a book. ● Family exercise session.

Ideas for Adults to Do (Besides Nap, Clean, Work and Watch the News): ● Play a board game or card game. (The kids can’t have all the fun.) ● Do a crossword puzzle or play Sudoku. ● Start a hobby you’ve been wanting to try. ● Learn a new skill. TED talks are great for getting the brain pumping. ● Plan that trip you’ve wanted to take (just wait on the travel part). ● Practice all the self-care you forget to do or never do any other time.

Bonus: No matter the age, create an activity jar with all these activities written, and when you hit the boredom wall, draw an activity.

The main goal here is to encourage your residents to have fun during this challenging time while keeping them informed on the most upto-date information.

Barbara Savona is the CEO and co-founder of Sprout Marketing, a Texas-based marketing company specifically for multifamily professionals and realtors. Sprout Marketing offers social media, outreach marketing, resident retention and apartment community engagement services. For more resources, many of which are free, on how to operate and communicate during the coronavirus pandemic visit www.watchyourbusinesssprout.com. Come out on the other side of this craziness with a reputation of an apartment community that goes above and beyond for their residents, regardless of the situation.

Once disinfection is completed by a professional, its critical to set the protocols previously mentioned in place, so that these previously treated areas are not re-contaminated. Inform all residents of the proper protocols.

Protecting Apartment Communities Amid COVID-19