This is a combo post written by Bill Szczytko and Peggy Hale:
We weren’t fortunate enough to travel to Boston for NAA this year. Honestly, watching our Facebook friends post status updates about their travel and arrival at Logan Airport, photos from hotel room windows with great views (like Israel Carunungan’s)
We even saw #NAAEduConf actually trend on Twitter on the opening day! Very cool.
As we sweated out another hot summer week in the Mid-Atlantic, we did what all multifamily technology nerds would do who couldn’t attend… we watched the events on social media! Here’s what were able to learn through social media in the comfort of our air-conditioned offices:
- The parent company of Apartmentratings.com acquired Satisfacts research for Doug Miller’s birthday.
- In addition to their zany photo booth, Leasehawk talked about their awesome new smart phone application to manage prospects and other communications.
- The Apartmentguide was thinking WAY big with a new social media manager program.
- Tom Brokaw urged us all to be more socially responsible “Join arms, citizens; welcome home our military families. Embrace them. Heal our Great Americans.†He also urged us not to focus all our social efforts online: “No tweet will ever replace your 1st kiss, your 1st whispered “I love you”. Use tech wisely . . .reach out & really touch.”
- Tamela Coval reported the following quotes: “The vision of a Champion is One drenched in sweat, bending over & gasping for breath when no one else is watching” ~ Mia Hamm. “Let’s grow up to be ‘Life Is Good’s’ Jake. We’re doin’ what we like, we’re likin’ what we do. ~Bert Jacobs“
- Stephanie Helling shared this great quote: “You get to pick your defining moment.” -Nomar Garciaparra
- NAA Education Institute shared this great stat: “1 in 5 mobile web visits leads to an immediate call to the business”.
- Charity Hisle reported that Lisa Trosien urged consumers want things that will make their lives easier. Not all about “engagement”.
- Mike Whaling reported that of all review sites, Yelp was trusted the most by the respondents in the J Turner study.
- Sara Graham attended “Put Your Best Facebook Forward”: Research suggests posting at 7am, 11am, 3pm, 5pm, and 11pm. Frequency is key, but don’t overwhelm your fans.
- Paula Blum Crawford attended the Mobile Session and shared fun stats: 39% people use phone in bathroom, mobile and desktop usage complement each other, tablet/mobile usage higher nights and weekends when away from desktop, 1 in 5 mobile web visits leads to an immediate call to the business and the panel urged to measure everything when designing mobile site, make it easy for residents to interact.
- Maintenance Mania achieved a New Record! Over 900 spectators were present at the Maintenance Mania championship! Jose Torreblanca won for the second time in a row!
We didn’t get a massage, win any iPads, cash or even collectable swag. While our feet didn’t hurt and we didn’t stay up past our bedtimes, we have both concluded that nothing beats being there in person. We missed the full content of the sessions, interacting directly with our vendor partners and sharing thoughts and ideas in more than just 140 key strokes. So while we enjoyed our social adventure, we will follow Tom Brokaw’s advice to reach out and really touch… so next year you will see both of us in San Diego!
What were your big takeaways? We’d love to get comments from those of you who were there!
