How multifamily milestones help you build community and loyalty
Happy 250th birthday to the United States – and happy 150th to our home base of Colorado. Celebrating these dates do more than mark the passage of time: They give people a chance to reflect on shared history and to come together in a spirit of belonging and community. Similarly, marking multifamily milestones can give your community a way to develop stronger resident engagement and retention.
Why celebrate
Humans love a reason to throw a party, right? There’s good reason for that: Parties actually improve our mental well-being.
Optimum Health Institute writes:
“…celebrating — whether it’s a personal achievement, a communal milestone, or even a simple moment of joy — plays a crucial role in our well-being. The act of celebrating isn’t just about reveling in success; it has profound psychological, physiological, and social benefits.“
Those benefits include:
- reduced stress
- a greater sense of well-being
- positive reinforcement
- an increased sense of social support
- deeper bonds between people – feeling part of something and belonging
- pro-social outcomes that include more cooperation and volunteerism
Everyone wants to have a little fun, and the added benefits of less stress and better social connections make it imperative that we find time to throw a party or two.
In multifamily communities, celebrations and parties serve as much more than fluff. They create a foundation for better relationships between team members and residents alike.
What to celebrate
Ok, so your community might not have centuries of history, but there are so many reasons
to celebrate. How about:
- Your anniversary. One year, five years or 50 years, you and your team deserve to celebrate the legacy you’re building or have built, and it never hurts to invite residents to join in.
- A national holiday. Yes, everyone is celebrating – and you should, too. Put your own spin on the day and do something small (American flag cookies, anyone?) or go all out (terrace fireworks and decades-themed costumes). Make it your own.
- A regional or neighborhood accomplishment. Here’s where your community can shine as a place-maker within your neighborhood. If the local area or nearby historical venues have reached a milestone, find a way to make your community a key part in recognizing it.
- Local food. Everyone comes for the food. Do you have an incredible local cuisine or food truck scene that deserves a spotlight? Create an event that showcases it.
- Arts and culture. From local makers and farmers to bigger name artists and venues, you can connect your community to the local culture scene with a small event or big festival.
- Ask your team and residents. When you draw others into the planning, you will uncover hidden passions and local gems that will create a more personal draw.
Get creative and don’t feel hemmed in by what others celebrate. Find your own reasons to bust out the balloons and fancy cocktails.
Make celebrations part of your brand
Consider what potential renters want to see when they view your website or social media. First, they want to know that your property offers a safe, comfortable and homey space that matches their lifestyle needs.
While most renters don’t want to live in a cruise ship commercial with 24-hour amusement, people respond positively to images and videos of other people having fun.
Research shows that consumers tend to make decisions based on emotions more than logic. As reported by Shopify:
“Gallup reports that 70% of consumer purchase decisions, including brand preferences, are driven by emotion, with rational factors accounting for only 30%.”
Using party and celebration imagery in your branding can evoke a number of emotions in viewers who want to feel happy, optimistic, joyful, connected to something bigger, accepted, relaxed and at ease, welcomed, etc.
Life can often feel stressful. The news, traffic, overwork, loss, loneliness and grief can feel like they earn too large a share of people’s lives. Authentic brands don’t deny or negate that reality, but they offer a respite from the real-life heaviness that many people experience.
As the Content Marketing Institute writes, the brands that use positive emotions as triggers rather than negative ones do so successfully when they acknowledge both:
“They identify a potential (or actual) negative or challenge but pivot to an insightful or ‘aha’ moment that inspires and uplifts the audience. They make people feel joy, connection, and hope — the positive emotions in the spectrum of that human experience.”
When you work in the business of selling home and place, you have a unique branding opportunity to offer people the real sense of belonging and escape that they crave. If you do it with heart and make it an integral part of your brand, potential renters and residents will respond.
Final thought
In short, life is hard – throw a party anyway. Your residents and your team will be better for it.
Looking for ways to infuse some fun in your multifamily branding and marketing? Reach out. We would love to collaborate with you in making your community memorable on and off paper.
