Fostering community is important in the multifamily industry, as it boosts resident satisfaction and retention. Property managers should take initiative in creating a strong sense of community to create loyalty and connection with their residents. If you want to boost your property’s reputation and improve overall community morale, take these tips for building your connected community.

Foster connection

Fostering connections between you and the residents, as well as residents and their neighbors, can really improve the sense of community. You can take simple steps like introducing new residents to their neighbors or attending community events and socializing with the residents. You can also create a bulletin board for residents, giving them an opportunity to post about shared interests. These little steps can go a long way in your community.

Host community events

Hosting regular events is a great way for residents to socialize with one another. Give residents a reason to leave their unit and connect with their neighbors. These events should be organized throughout the year and vary in theme/activities to appeal to different tastes. Make sure you or a property manager attend the events as well, to show your involvement with the community, too. Leverage tools like resident messaging and send out invites directly to tenants via text. You can even use the same platform after the event to gauge the popularity of different kinds of events, and do more of what your residents enjoy. 

Create shared spaces

Well-designed communal spaces are necessary for promoting community interaction. Amenities like swimming pools, communal gardens, or even rooftop lounges encourage residents to spend time outside of their home and connect with their neighbors. You can create a system to manage reservations for their personal use as well as use them as the location for your community events. 

Encourage resident feedback

Surveys are often what we think of when it comes to resident feedback, but so often it falls short. When you are looking for more feedback, there should be multiple touch points where residents can share their sentiment. Host a town hall to gather feedback as a group, or use messaging to reach out to residents individually throughout the year. The more feedback you get and respond to, the more they will feel cared for as a community. As an added benefit, leveraging tools that enable you to aggregate feedback from residents will help you spot trends and patterns, leading to better-managed properties overall. 

Upgrade your communication

Effective communication is key to a strong community. Use multiple channels, including emails, newsletters, and resident messaging to keep your residents engaged and connected. Leverage these channels to keep residents informed about events, updates, and important announcements. Send texts with media files that include the newsletter or invites to events, or send outreach texts to send a mass message about urgent matters.

By investing the time and resources appropriately, you will foster a strong community where current residents will want to stay, and new residents will want to join. 

Resident messaging is a great tool to keep residents connected - check out our multifamily solutions or schedule a conversation with us today!

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