There’s a lot of buzz around location-based applications right now, and one of the services at the head of this pack is a mobile application called Foursquare.

Foursquare allows users to earn points by “checking in” at various locations around town. Users can connect with their friends from Facebook and Twitter, and the user who checks in at a location the most over a 60-day period can become the “Mayor” of that location. (Here’s how Foursquare describes some of their opportunities for businesses.)

But what if you’re not a restaurant or coffee shop or bar or other venue ideally suited for a service like this? Are there still ways you can use a location app like Foursquare for your business? Absolutely. Let’s take a look at how an apartment company could use Foursquare:

• List your business location so it shows up in results when users are nearby.
• Add unique tips and to-dos for local restaurants, retailers and other venues.
• Track Mayor deals and check-in coupons for other businesses in the area, and post them on your website.
• Get out in the neighborhood and help more businesses create their own Foursquare deals.
• Create a referral special for Foursquare users, or offer a freebie for stopping by your leasing office.
• Link your Foursquare account to Twitter, then check in around town to share local hidden gems with your network.
• Encourage as many people in your community as possible to join Foursquare, then share their best tips and to-dos on your blog.
• Offer a reserved parking spot to the “Mayor” of your community.
• Use the “Shout” feature to let locals know about upcoming parties or other open events at your community.
• Partner with a local coffee shop or bar to offer a special discount to their customers “brought to you by XYZ Apartments.”

What else would you add to the list? Are you using Foursquare? Have you tried it for your business?

Connect with Mike on Foursquare.

If there’s one thing I hear most often about social media, it’s that it can get overwhelming fast. (Here are a few tips if this is you.) Whether it’s a blog, Facebook, Twitter, or a Ning site, there are many, many ways to connect with friends, colleagues and prospects, and there are even more tools that try to help you get the most out of all of those sites. Through an ongoing series of posts, I want to go through some of these tools and highlight the ways I think you can use them specifically to help your business.

I’m going to cheat a bit on this first one, because I’ve selected an app that I had a small hand in creating, called TurnSocial. TurnSocial is a social layer that you can add to any website — in fact, you can see it in action at the bottom of this page.

To understand the tool, I think it’s important to know what problem we’re trying to solve. We saw that lots of people and businesses were creating profiles and connecting with people on multiple social networks. These sites make great ‘outposts’ where brands can connect with their audiences. But once you get a lot of these outposts going, it can be a major task just to let people know where and how they can connect with you. So we saw sites like Friendfeed, Chi.mp and a number of others, that helped us aggregate this content on their sites. One more site, one more profile to manage. Ugh, right?

But let’s say you’re doing a nice job of driving traffic to your website. Maybe it’s your blog, maybe it’s PPC ads, maybe it was that great deal in your last e-newsletter. How do you let people know about all that time you’ve spent making connections and building relationships across all of those social media sites? You could use an online profile widget like Retaggr, or you could add rows and rows of social media icons in the sidebar. How many times have you seen this before?

Except every one of those icons takes the visitor away from your site. It takes a lot to keep someone engaged on your website … you shouldn’t lose them just because they want to click on some icon they’ve never seen before! Twitter badges and a Facebook fan box provide more information, but each only pulls content from one site, and it’s not long before you have a sidebar full of widgets that may or may not be relevant to your audience.

THIS is why we created TurnSocial — it’s intended to keep your socially engaged visitors on your site. You’re already creating content on your website, on Facebook, on Twitter, on Flickr, on YouTube, in lots of places across the web. You don’t need another site to manage. You need a better way to show a more complete snapshot of your online presence to your reader. Provide context. Show some personality.

TurnSocial brings all that social content back to your site. And if you’re in real estate or if you’re interested in highlighting local content on your site, we threw in some bonus features for you. Add your location, and TurnSocial can pull local content from Yelp, WalkScore and RentWiki, as well as posts from local bloggers on Outside.in. There’s are a bunch of other cool features for brand marketers that we hope to announce soon, so stay tuned. In the meantime, play around with the bar on this page and let me know what you think.

You can sign up for your free TurnSocial bar here. Would you use this on your site? What other apps would you want to see included in the bar? What are some other ways you are featuring your social content on your website? What other social media tools would you like to learn more about?

What does this have to do with me?

Social media has made it much easier for us to spread the word through blog posts, status updates, photos and videos. Unfortunately, it has also increased the amount of noise that you need to cut through to ensure that your message is heard. You need to work harder than ever to get your message in front of the right people … there are just too many other options that are pulling at them for their attention.

The best email marketers have known this for a long time. It’s a basic formula, really — segment your database by interest, deliver relevant content to each of those niche audiences, watch open rates go up and unsubscribes drop.

So how can this translate to social media tools? Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Blogs: Some blogging systems like WordPress allow you to create separate RSS feeds for each category that you write about. You may want to publish these feeds (maybe using a tool like Feedburner) to give readers the option to only hear about topics that interest them most.
• Facebook: You’re only allowed a single account, but you can broadcast your message to a specific list of people, or you target your message by age, location or several other categories. Set up well-defined groups or fan pages to make it easier for your audience to find the information and the like-minded folks they’re looking for.
• Twitter: You can’t send tweets to specific lists (yet), but there are many companies that are successfully using multiple accounts to target specific customers or communicate from different parts of the organization. A great example of this is Dell, which has over 35 different accounts — as well as the employees who manage those accounts — on their corporate Twitter page. These accounts range from the Dell Outlet to small business offers to investor insights. It’s a good bet that your current customers might not be interested in the same deals or updates as prospects who have never done business with you. Why not have separate accounts to cater to both groups equally?
• Tools like Ping.fm and Posterous allow you to choose the individual sites where you want to send a post, or you can post a single message to all of your affiliated accounts at once.
• Targeting current customers or employees exclusively? Try a private group on LinkedIn or Facebook, or start a private networking site using a tool like Ning. Put up the velvet rope and cater only to their needs. (I think I first came across the velvet rope concept here.)

The bottom line is that it’s harder than even to grab someone’s attention. Even the smallest of organizations may have many different audiences, each with different needs and objectives. A shotgun approach almost guarantees that you’re missing the target for at least two-thirds of your audience. You don’t need to reach everyone with each update. Instead, try focusing on one group … give them something that’s incredibly relevant to them, then do it again. Practice targeting.

What else can you do to better target your message and engage your audience? Have an example of a company that has effectively segmented their marketing efforts? Let’s hear it.

There is one message that works for all audiences — THANK YOU. Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for all you do. Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone!

Photo by viZZZual.com

Is social media just a fad, or is it fundamentally changing the way we communicate?

Think about some of this data:

• By 2010, Gen Y will outnumber Baby Boomers — 96% of them have joined a social network.
• 80% of Twitter usage is on mobile devices. People update anywhere, anytime. Imagine what that means for bad customer experiences!
• YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world.
• 54% of bloggers post content or tweet daily.
• 25% of search results for the world’s top 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content.
• 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations.
• Only 14% trust advertisements.

Of course, this doesn’t mean stop everything else. If your offline efforts are working, keep at it!

What do you think … is social media permanently changing how we communicate? What do these numbers mean for business owners?

If you’re building a wide-reaching web presence for your business, that probably means that you’re using sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Flickr and Vimeo, as well as tools like WordPress, Google Analytics, SocialMention and Tweetdeck (or Seesmic) to connect with customers and spread the word about your products and services.

That’s a lot of different things to know and manage, and I haven’t even started to scratch the surface … and new sites continue to be introduced almost daily that are changing the way we communicate.

Whether you’re looking to get more out of these tools or you’re just trying to figure out how/where to get started, it shouldn’t have to be an overwhelming endeavor … that’s why we’ve started offering the Quick Fix.

Here’s how it works:

• Use our online tool to schedule an appointment. You can prepay when you book, or you can pay at the time of your consultation. It’s a flat rate of $50.
• Give us a few details about your questions, as well as a link to the site/page you want to discuss.
• When it comes time for your appointment, we’ll call you and provide you with a link to login to the online meeting.
• We’ll spend the next 30 minutes answering your questions, helping you understand the features of the tool and working with you to make sure you understand how it fits into your communication strategy.
• If for some reason we can’t help get your questions answered, we’ll help you find someone who can or we’ll give you your money back, no questions asked.

The way we look at it, we spend a lot of time learning these tools, determining which ones are most effective for business and exploring ways to dig in and get the most out of every site. You spend more time connecting with your customers, not trying to figure out the latest Facebook feature. Consider it your online marketing help desk.

Want to schedule a Quick Fix? Go ahead – give it a shot. We’re giving away the first three for free.

Earlier today, we promised a special offer for the apartment industry.

If you follow the discussions and blog posts on sites like Multifamily Insiders, you know a lot of people are paying close attention to this new game, trying to gain as much knowledge as they can. They’re learning about these new tools … some are jumping in with both feet, while others have major concerns about how to use them within their organization. When it comes to things like this “social media stuff,” it seems as though many of our friends in the apartment world have a lot more questions than answers. To us, that’s not a bad thing.

Of course, the Internet Listing Sites aren’t sitting still. They are utilizing social media to drive traffic to their sites (as they as should be). But does this help their clients build their brands? It doesn’t. I’m not telling you to dump them … not by any means. Effective advertising is a critical piece of most marketing strategies.

Website designers are also reacting to this new game. They’re talking to their clients about these new tools and working to incorporate more interactive features into their designs. But today’s world requires honest, frequent communication with a conversational tone … those flashy buttons linking out to your company’s Facebook and Twitter pages are not an effective online marketing strategy.

Before you entrust an ILS or a design shop with your online marketing strategy, ask yourself if they’re the right partners to help you build your comprehensive online presence. Google — and sites like ApartmentRatings.com — remember public mistakes for an awfully long time … it will be your brand that will suffer, not theirs. Is that a risk you’re willing to take?

You absolutely can (and in almost all cases, should) keep the traditional tactics, but you cannot ignore the trends. Customers expect more from the companies they do business with, while prospects demand a reason to care — online word of mouth is one part of the “new game” that cannot be ignored.

So if you are a multifamily marketer, we think you should take a hard look at your online marketing strategy, then you should take a look at 30 Lines. Our team would love the opportunity to work with you, even if it’s alongside your more traditional marketing partners … we believe strongly in an integrated approach that taps into best-of-breed partners from all disciplines.

Get in touch with me here at the conference, and I’ll set a time when we can provide one hour of free consulting to discuss any or every aspect of your online communications strategy. Social media, search engine optimization, reputation monitoring, mobile … we can cover whatever you like. Give us some time in advance and we can even provide a brief analysis of your current online presence, plus some initial thoughts on how to best move forward. If you like what you hear, figure out a way to work us into your lineup alongside your existing marketing vendors. The types of services we can provide on a per project or ongoing basis can be found here.

So how can you meet me at the conference? Grab me anytime (Friday before #AptChat would be good), send a tweet to @30lines or call 386.795.8000.

Couldn’t make it to the conference this year? Get in touch with us, we’ll be happy to work something out.

Here at 30 Lines, we’re big fans of the multifamily housing industry. Our work involves building online communities that benefit businesses; the apartment industry is in the business of building physical communities that benefit renters and often entire neighborhoods … there are a lot of interesting parallels, and it’s a good fit. We have the privilege of working with some great apartment companies as clients.

With that in mind, as we kick off one of the biggest events of the year for the apartment industry, we’d like to make a special offer for those in the multifamily business as a way to say thank you.

First, take a look at how much the game has changed. Just ten years ago, many apartment companies had simple websites (or no website at all), and they were unsure how the Internet would ultimately play into their marketing strategy.

Today, many of these same companies have much more complex websites that feature dynamic virtual tours and complete online leasing capabilities.

However, online marketing today goes well beyond the corporate website. Besides countless advertising opportunities and free classifieds sites, trends in search and consumer interaction are changing the way people shop for a new place to live. With almost 80% of apartment searches starting online, it’s more important than ever for multifamily marketers to have a comprehensive, consistent online presence. Like the theme of the NAA Conference this year, “It’s a New Game … Knowledge is Power.”

We don’t just want to see you trying to play this new game — we want to see you win. That’s why we’ll be announcing a special offer to any apartment company or their marketing agencies here at the conference. Stay tuned … more details to follow by the end of the day.

Thanks to a whole bunch of people (especially Lisa Trosien), the first #AptChat was a great success, with many industry professionals participating in the conversation.

Consider this recap a high-level overview of the top tweets as we wandered through a variety of questions and topics related to social media and its use in the apartment industry. As a co-moderator with Lisa, I’ve tried my best to capture the key observations and as many differing points of view as possible. This recap is compiled entirely from participant tweets … I have made some effort to keep threaded conversations together.

You can view all of the tweets in full using Twitter Search.

Have a topic you’d like to see discussed in a future #AptChat? Tell us about it … send a tweet to Lisa, Mike or AptChat, or drop us a line here.

Employee guidelines for use of social media:

@PeggyHale: Need some guidelines on how to prepare employee guidelines to social media – where do we start? Peggy

@firebelly: @30lines @PeggyHale Performance based job description is what we use. Do what you want as long as you get your work done

@HappyAllDays: @30lines We are using what we have learned & applying guidelines/best practices. Adding do’s and dont’s mostly.

@HappyAllDays: I think @firebelly & I are on the same page. Ensuring a balance & not interfering w/ what is important to accomplish. @ the prop.

@drivebuy: First thing we have employees read re:twitter is @guykawasaki’s http://twurl.nl/omcmhy how to use twitter as a twool

@DavidKotowski: Our CEO @AlbertMBerriz recently joined Twitter and has sent out several emails to our entire company encouraging participation.

@HappyAllDays: One part of our policy/guideline is a strong disclosure that you are the voice of your prop & the company.

@Aptdoctor: Two words – flexibility & trust – can’t be too restrictive on policies if you want good participation & representation

@lisatrosien: EDR Trust has also firmly embraced SM as a company. I need to check with them on their policies. @peggyhale I’ll check for you.

@HappyAllDays: @Aptdoctor Agreed on the flexibility. That’s why we based it as a guideline not a policy.

@drivebuy: Important thing to do is to follow employees on twitter to monitor how you’re being represented.

@Aptdoctor: Love the word “guidelines” – implies trust – and requires guidance and coaching

@Aptdoctor: I allow anyone who is trained on who we are and what we stand for

Aptdoctor: Training and monitoring are the partners of trust and flexibility

@dschleppe: @Aptdoctor you hit the nail on the head. It’s all about your people and the culture in your org.

@PeggyHale: We mandate honesty, creating a community of residents and prospects, up to date information and response to good and bad comments.

@lisatrosien: @30lines I hear a lot of companies talking an SM game, but there is no way to access SM sites from the properties.

@DavidKotowski: @LisaTrosien Very true. Too many try to protect “productivity” without realizing it limits our onsite efforts.

@PeggyHale: @Aptdoctor yes, we need guidelines on “officially” approved corporate content. Don’t want frustrations, negativity or bad pics.

@PeggyHale: @30lines We need to train site consultants on how to create, build and add value to their social sites. If we do this, we win!

@PeggyHale: @30lines Yes, with well over 100 sites, they have taken it on as their own before we opened our eyes. With focus, they rock!

@lisatrosien: @firebelly Several studies I’ve seen have shown that employee participation in SM does, in fact, increase productivity.

@Eric_Urbane: @CharityHisle I respectfully disagree, and think the whole “Need Training” is overblown. Put some faith in our staff

Employee representation (personal vs. professional accounts) on social media sites:

@CharityHisle: @drivebuy At the same time, it’s important for employees to have a protected personal account.

@drivebuy: @CharityHisle agreed, however, personal accounts can become associated with your brand.

@CharityHisle: @HappyAllDays @30lines I do believe in personal accounts now, yes. I used to believe in one for personal/professional.

@HappyAllDays: I do think employee’s should have pers. account sep from Business & the pers. protected. To protect the emp & comp. Sep. voices.

@CharityHisle: @lisatrosien Unfortunately, I’ve already established personal relationships via prof. account. Trying to separate now is hard.

@drivebuy: monitoring brand language should pick up overlap when it occurs personal/professional

maya_tony: And on FB and on Google etc RT @drivebuy Important thing is to follow employees on twitter to monitor how you’re being represented.

@DavidKotowski: @30lines I expect all of my managers to become personally involved, but not promoting their site on their own FB page.

@danielrmccarthy: FB has added nice tools for segmenting info distributed to different groups of yr contacts. Hlps solve personal/prof. dilemma

@30lines: @danielrmccarthy Great point, privacy settings should be part of any training on Facebook pages.

General comments regarding social media use (or lack thereof) by apartment companies:

@DavidKotowski: @LisaTrosien Would you agree the most companies ARE NOT actually using SM, but THINK they are?

@CharityHisle: @drivebuy I think we will see a growth of communities making efforts to engage residents on Twitter/FB.

@lisatrosien: @drivebuy I’m not seeing companies use Twitter for the most part to engage residents. Mostly to get new residents.

@lisatrosien: @Aptdoctor For the most part, I think companies don’t see value as much as they fear engagement and negative resident commentary.

@HappyAllDays: @drivebuy We do post our social avail in our leasing offices and the common areas.

@HappyAllDays: @30lines We believe there should be a balance of specials, local events, community events, apt living tips.

@Aptdoctor: @lisatrosien Certainly something I see alot – “I want to hear the truth from my customers – or do I . . .?”

@dschleppe: @Eric_Urbane isn’t the term “using SM” the problem. “participation” in SM is where the benefits come from IMO

@Eric_Urbane: Companies that first and truly Embrace Rating Sites will win over prospects

@Eric_Urbane: @Aptdoctor I became a True Believer in Sm after our 1st MySpace page and residents quickly told us where we were dropping the ball

@Aptdoctor: @Eric_Urbane Aha! Can’t fix it if you don’t know it’s broken and SM is a simple, easy cheap way to hear about it.

@Eric_Urbane: @Aptdoctor I am pretty sure most of us already know what is broken, but when a resident puts it out there, awareness increases

@CharityHisle: The question I hear often is “How would I engage my residents on Twitter & Facebook?” Hence my poll: http://twtpoll.com/6s9pcg

@30lines: @CharityHisle Notice the majority of respondents want to hear about local events/activities, not the latest specials.

@danielrmccarthy: #AptChat Think of SM in 2 ways: turbo-charged Word of Mouth & a way to get electric Google juice. Both can drive good bus. results.

@mbrewer: we collect FB and Twitter names during the leasing process

@Eric_Urbane: If you are going to effectively utilize SM, there is no time or place for approvals from a hierarchy, which causes heartburn

@llarocca: @Eric_Urbane I fully agree, it is instantaneous, immediately relevant and real time is everything

@lisatrosien: AptRatings needs to be acknowledged, especially now that Google Local pulls their apartment data from them.

@DavidKotowski: @LisaTrosien Google Local also now pulls reviews from Yelp.com into their listings.

@danielrmccarthy: @30lines WOM is driven by the whole mktng plan, & the more embedded u are, the more you get. SM is a WOM leverage point.

@Eric_Urbane: I also think that incompetent staff will get fired faster when a company engages SM, There is no where to hide

@llarocca: @Aptdoctor Simple & easy but dont u agree that right ppl responding consistently is key- once u are in, you have to fully engage.

@BarBri: If one resident is happy and renews from SM efforts, isn’t that worth the efforts. Just like WOM, it will build.

@danielrmccarthy: @30lines Scalability is abt systems & process… hi touch around human interactions, low touch around other parts of the program.

@Ian_at_DriveBuy: RE: retention, using SM for organizing events and dialogs seems promising. Residents feel more involved, looked after.

@HappyAllDays: Here is an example of how we let people know we are involved in SM at the offices. http://twitpic.com/67kg5

Questions for potential future discussions:

• How can marketing partners help with communities’ social media efforts? (Submitted by @BarBri)
• How do you deal with the varying competencies of each manager? (Submitted by @MultifamilyLaw)
• Are most companies using social media at the property, or through some regional/portfolio marketing person? (Submitted by @30lines)
• How can companies encourage their tenants to follow them on Twitter/FB – ie; report problems, csup? (Submitted by @drivebuy)
• Are there any particular social media success stories by property managers? Links to pages/profiles? (Submitted by @IowaFinance)
• How do you measure success in social media? (Submitted by @30lines)
• Is there a difference between privately held companies and REITS in their approach to SM? (Submitted by @lisatrosien)
• Who should respond? Property managers or upper management? Who should be reading the ratings? (Submitted by @CharityHisle)
• How does social media scale within our organizations? How do you maintain consistency across your portfolio? (Submitted by @lisatrosien)
• How can we improve the conversation with residents? Conversation = Increased Retention (Submitted by @Eric_Urbane)

Lately I’m starting to see a lot of social buttons, widgets and feeds popping up on websites and blogs of all types. They all say basically the same thing … “Follow Me!” “Be our Fan!” “C’mon, you know you want to!” “Click this glossy icon, then click on more of our junk.”

Stop it. Just stop. Step back and take a look at your feed … or button … or your little blue birdie icon. Sure it’s cute, and you can tell everyone you know that your company is “doing social media.” But are you giving that reader any reason to “follow” you or become your “fan?” I’m guessing no. People follow leaders. They become fans of people and brands that earn their trust over time.

So give me a reason to follow you. Give me a tip. Give me a deal. Or just be fun and unique. Find a way to give value first. Then ask to connect. Show that you’ll reciprocate. Show that you CARE.

If you still need one of those slick buttons for your site, start here.

Recently, BusinessWeek asked readers to submit their nominations for the “Voices of Innovation” in social media. Out of all the names that were submitted, they choose four individuals to profile, including Scott Monty from Ford, Beth Kanter from the Sharing Foundation and Noah Brier from Brand Tags.

The fourth person profiled was Eric Brown, President of Urbane Apartments. (Full disclosure: Urbane Apartments is a 30 Lines client.)

Now I could easily stop there, cheering for Eric and 30 Lines, saying, “Woo hoo, look at our client in BusinessWeek.” But that’s not the point of this post.

Who is listening?

When you get to the end of the article, you can see the comments left by other readers … this is where it gets good. The first comment came from Mark Juleen, another apartment marketer who works for a company in Indianapolis. (Eric’s business is in the Detroit area.) Mark says:

Eric has been a great pioneer not only for social media in the apartment industry, but for changing the stigma of the term “landlord”. It’s not just an apartment at Urbane, it’s an experience…

A nice compliment from a fellow apartment industry professional, no doubt.

But it’s the next comment that shows Eric is deserving of the recognition given to him in the article. It comes from John McCarthy, one of Eric’s residents. Remember, this is the second comment made on a BusinessWeek article:

I live in one of Eric’s Urbane apartments and can vouch for the community feel he has created. A large part of it is his use of social media. I really like the ability to follow on Facebook what is going on with Urbane.

Not a bad sales pitch, eh? It’s only one resident out of hundreds, but it’s a pretty good indicator that Eric’s customers like doing business with him.

Eric himself then chimes in, leaving a comment that thanks BusinessWeek, Mark and John for their respective contributions. He puts himself in the middle of the conversation, acknowledges each person for their input and feedback and lets everyone else know that he really is engaged. He seems like a guy you might want to do business with. Heck, he seems like a guy you might want to have a beer with.

The point is that it’s not enough to have a presence in social media. Setting up a Twitter account or a Facebook profile is only the first step. You won’t benefit from these tools if you’re not willing to put yourself out there (or “stand outside in your underwear” in Eric’s terms). If you are finding ways to communicate with and engage your customers, they’ll notice that you’re listening and that you care. They start listening back. And when you’re able to have real conversations with customers that listen back, that’s when your business can really start getting interesting. I’m not sure how innovative that concept truly is, but clearly it’s working for Eric, Scott and the others profiled in the article.

Do you customers listen back? What has it meant for your business? Who else would make your list of social media innovators?