Property managers and owners can gain a competitive edge by taking advantage of social media tactics. Social media allows real estate investors to foster new business relationships as long as the proper social media strategies are used. In order to capitalize on the potential that social media outlets offer, it is important to explore all of your options. When used correctly, social media marketing can provide a robust supplement to the property management applications that you already have in place.

First, it is important to know that there are several social media platforms available. Facebook and Twitter are just a few of the social media options available these days. While social media may be a cheap or free marketing option, they can be time consuming. For this reason, it is important to choose the social media platforms that you believe will serve your marketing efforts the most. Wasting your time with subpar platforms that you aren’t comfortable working with will waste valuable time that could be spent strengthening your other marketing efforts. Carefully review your options, and then choose that outlets that you believe will serve you the best.

Resident retention should be one of the primary goals of any savvy property owner or manager. By maintaining loyal residents, you will not have to put so much effort in filling vacancies and will avoid missing profits caused by vacant property units. Social media can be used for resident retention as well. Many of today’s leading property managers are using social media outlets to communicate with residents, which can be especially helpful when you are not always available at the property management office. Using social media in this way creates a more personal relationship between you and your residents, and will allow you to answer their questions or concerns in a timely manner. This will create happy residents who are much more likely to continue renting with you.

Making your property’s information available to tenants or potential tenants electronically can be of great help as well. Take advantage of property management applications that provide an easy way to share information about your property electronically.

Blogging can be another way to get your business name out there. You should blog about relevant information in order to draw traffic to your website. It’s all about getting your name out there as much as possible by providing positive communication and relevant information. Social media has become a way to boost marketing efforts for many property managers.

Terry Johnson is a writer Rockend, creators of for body corporate software for real estate professionals.