Have you ever heard the phrase, "write about what you know?" The purpose of my social media continuity blog is to shed light on how Athens businesses are successful or fall short of their social media goals and whether or not the businesses are giving an accurate depiction of their business on their digital media outlets. Having knowledge of the business and experiencing the business's product offering are important prerequisites for my analysis. When I was deciding on what this week's post would be about, I figured I would write about the business I spend the most time engaging with. I signed my lease with the Flats in the fall of last year and my experience living here made todays selection especially interesting.
The Flats at Carrs hill is an off campus apartment complex located 0.5 miles from downtown Athens. Boasting a large list of amenities, the Flats is positioned as one of the city's luxury student living options. With furnished rooms, an indoor basketball court, two small gyms, study rooms, lounge areas, and a pool, the Flats attract Athens residents who are willing to pay for an apartment that provides more than just a living space. To break down the Flats' digital media efforts we will take a look at the three outlets that they focus on, The Flats website, Instagram, and Facebook. In my analysis I will answer three questions for each platform. "how connected is their audience?", "How realistic is their presentation?", and "How effective is their digital media at connecting their media outlet to the product offering?" WEBSITE Although a company's website isn't considered a social media outlet to interact with existing or potential customers, a website acts as the face of a brand and often creates the first impression for a potential customer. The Flats Website depicts a realistic picture of the product offering in its front page. Two pictures used are actual pictures of the Flats, however, the page link pictures are stock photos. The stock photos don't correlate well with the different page purposes. A girl eating ice cream represents the rewards page and a puppy is shown for the frequently asked question page. A picture of some of the rewards offered for the rewards page and a simple question mark for the FAQ page would be good replacement photos. The reviews page could use improvement as well. The current review page only contains 4-5 star reviews. A simple yelp search will show that there are plenty of people who feel the Flats apartments are worth 1-3 stars. My suggestion would be to make an effort to be honest with the reviews. People can sense when you are trying to seem a certain way. If you are going to show positive reviews (theres nothing wrong with that) then simply say "here is SOME of what our residents have to say about the Flats." Trying to format the page to seem like a comprehensive list when it isn't is only going to create distance between you and your audience. Overall, the page looks professional and has hints of authenticity to it. The page is sufficient in connecting their product to their digital media. The Flats Instagram page is visually pleasing and informative. The pictures are almost always taken at the actual property and do a good job of creating an accurate picture of apartment life at the Flats. The account, however, lacks wholesomeness that an audience can connect to. Almost all of their content is promoting their tours, events, and special offers. The formal and stiff outfit the Flats have created isn't effective in drawing an audience .Without an audience, their informative posts will not be recognized. The stale feeling created by their posts translates into their audience interactions. There are few "Likes" and I couldn't find any comments. Building a rapport with potential and current customers is crucial for loyalty and customer satisfaction. The Flats would be more aware of problems they could solve if they engaged in a conversation with their followers. Facebook presented an almost identical situation as Instagram. The Flats use the same post for Facebook as Instagram and people are disengaged. The one positive aspect Facebook presented was that there were 776 people that liked the page. Overall, people engaged less on Facebook than Instagram. The pictures did provide an accurate representation of apartment life a the Flats but ultimately the Flats are missing opportunities to engage with their potential and current residents. In conclusion, the Flats are doing a good job of adding authentic photos that show what life is really like living at in one of the Flats apartments. The media outlets the Flats have chosen are full of professional and informative posts. The posts are effective at indicating upcoming events, tours, and rent information. The one aspect the Flats could focus on is the connection they have with their audience. Seeking out conversations that help shed light on what the Flats are doing right and what they can improve will help take their business to the next level.
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AuthorDigital Marketing student at the University of Georgia ArchivesCategories |