Trend Setting The idle time of shelter-at-


home has spawned an explosion in TikTok use among people ranging in age from their teens to their 40s. TikTok has quickly and eas-


ily become the latest addictive social media craze. Just consider it was the fourth most download- ed app on iPhones in 2019 with 46 million downloads, trailing only YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat. Its growth rate, how- ever, makes them blush. Clever apartment mar- keters are already jumping in. Trailblazing brander Tony Sousa, Regional Manager, at Embrey Management Services, says he was stuck and home during a rainy day in quarantine with his three young children and they started watching them for fun. “Yes, they quickly became addicting, and a light bulb went


off – we should be using this platform at our apartment communi- ties because it’s the social platform of the future!” Smartphone user-generated, TikTok videos are 15 seconds long and humor generally are their main purpose, with clips that often include dancing. TikTok-ers can add their own audio or mu- sical background. Images and emojis can be layered in, enabling creativity to flourish. Check out @southlineresidences Jasmine Toney, Marketing Strategist for Embrey Management Services who supports TikTok marketing campaigns that feature this San Antonio luxury community and its staff, subtly touching on mar- keting, and always focused on the hilarious. “The application is extremely user-friendly, where an un-


skilled techie can shoot and edit video, add music or create silly voiceover videos easily,” Toney says. “Creating this content re- quires minimal time commitment. The cost benefit is based on the time it takes of putting on your creative hat and developing a video that is relevant and appropriate for your brand and audience. After you have interacted with the app once or twice, creating dynamic content can be done in a few minutes with just a handful of clicks


This heading contains information on Management & Leasing.


TIKTOK MAKING ITS WAY INTO APARTMENT MARKETING (JUST FOR FUN) By Paul Bergeron


and Voila – engaging content!” Kate Good, Partner, SVP of Multifamily


Development


with Hunington Residential, Houston, is launching a new community in June. She and her staff have already put mind to creating before-and-after TikTok videos that feature


amenities,


among other things. These will be used in her marketing. “We subscribe to the idea


that if people are having fun, they will remember us,” says Good, who employs three leas- ing professionals who are under 25 “and know how to do this.


“I’m not sure if it will turn leads our way but we hope it gener-


ates awareness for the community and let prospects know that we are open for business,” Good says. “It’s too early to measure how successful this will be for us,


but what I do know is my team is having a lot of fun creating them! That is important to keep morale up during these tough times.” Sousa has been a laugh-out-loud marketer throughout his ca-


reer. He burst onto the scene about 10 years ago as the star of Sequoia Properties’ video series “The Most Interesting Man in Property Management.” He says today he’s not trying to “sell” anything on TikTok.


“For us, we’re just joining the ‘fun’ train,” he says. “The plan is to show residents and prospects we are hip, relevant and know how to have fun – even during a lock down!” Good says she first hooked onto TikTok in January by follow- ing the Kansas City Chiefs’ account leading up to the Super Bowl. “I was spending almost an hour a day watching TikTok,” she said. “If I am doing it at my age, I knew my target renters ages 20 to 40 also is spending a lot of time on TikTok.”


NOT JUST FOR KIDS ANYMORE TikTok’s user base still very closely matches that of its pre- decessor Musical.ly. Most of its U.S. users are young, with 25.8


CORONAVIRUS CLICK HERE TO SEE GUIDANCE TIPS 8 APARTMENT ADVANTAGE 27


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