Planning and Running a Social Media Campaign

Over My Shoulder: Planning and Running a Social Media Campaign for a Lubbock Apartment Community (2025 Edition)

In 2025, social media isn't just a nice-to-have for apartment communities—it's a make-or-break channel for lease-ups, brand visibility, and resident retention. But for leasing agents and property managers in Lubbock, the question isn't if you should be on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. It's how to do it well—without burning out, wasting time, or sounding like every other property.

So let's do something different. Let's walk through a realistic, step-by-step campaign together—like you're looking over the shoulder of a seasoned marketer building a campaign for a real apartment complex in Lubbock.

🏡 Meet Redbud Flats

Redbud Flats is a fictional but totally believable student-friendly apartment community in North Lubbock, just a mile from Texas Tech. 120 units. Pool. Pet-friendly. Jenna, the leasing manager (who may or may not run on coffee and pure determination), is prepping for the summer 2025 leasing cycle.

Her goal? Lease 10 units by August 1—and she's going to do it through Instagram and TikTok.

🎯 Step 1: Define Your Audience + Goals

Jenna creates two renter personas:

• Sam the Sophomore: 19, wants walkable living, fast Wi-Fi, and a pool. (Also wants to sleep until 10 minutes before class starts.)
• Melanie the Grad Parent: 46, lives 4 hours away, wants safe, quiet housing and clear communication. (And possibly a weekly reassurance that her child is eating vegetables.)

Her SMART Goal:

• Lease 10 units by August 1, with 50% of leads coming from social media platforms.

📱 Step 2: Choose the Right Platforms (Not All of Them)

Instead of trying to be everywhere, Jenna focuses on:

• Instagram: For polished visuals, resident stories, and parent-friendly content
• TikTok: For fast-paced, student-facing content that feels authentic and fun

Why not Facebook, Pinterest, or LinkedIn? Because her audience isn't there for apartment hunting. (Facebook is where Sam goes to see what his grandma is up to, not to find his next apartment.)

🛠️ New in 2025: Instagram now offers "Trial Reels"—a way to test content on non-followers before you post. TikTok's smart editing and trending sound tracker make it easier than ever to create scroll-stopping clips.

🧠 Step 3: Build the Content Plan

Jenna doesn't wing it—she plans content with real intent. Here's her first week:

Weekly Calendar (Week 1)

☕ Coffee Break Thought: The best social media isn't about apartments—it's about the life that happens inside them. Show the study sessions, the roommate game nights, and the sunrise views from the balcony.

✅ Tools Used:

• Canva for templates (and saving Jenna's sanity)
• CapCut for TikTok editing
• Later for scheduling
• Instagram Insights to track reach + profile visits

💡 LAA Member Perk: Don't forget—the Lubbock Apartment Association offers professional photography services and 3D tour scanning at a very reasonable cost for members. If your team doesn't have time or gear to shoot great visuals, this is a perfect solution.

🤖 Pro Tip: AI Can Help You Out Need help writing captions, generating post ideas, or responding to DMs? Tools like ChatGPT, Lately.ai, and even built-in AI features in Canva can save hours of work each week. (Because you have better things to do than stare at a blinking cursor for 20 minutes wondering how to make "washer/dryer connections" sound exciting.)

🎥 Step 4: Make It Real, Not Perfect

Jenna tries two styles of content:

1. A professional walk-through of the model unit (well-shot, edited)
2. A casual "Day in the Life" TikTok from a resident walking to TTU, stopping for coffee

Guess which one outperformed the other by 300%?

Spoiler: It wasn't the polished one. (Plot twist that surprises exactly zero Gen Z renters!)

TikTok in 2025 = relatable > perfect

🧩 Step 5: Track What Matters

Forget likes. (Seriously, they're the empty calories of social media metrics.) Jenna tracks what actually matters:

• DMs received from posts
• Website leads from Instagram bio link
• Tour signups that mention social media
• Reach + Saves (signals of interest)

She skips vanity metrics like follower count and focuses on engagement + conversions.

📣 Step 6: Promotion + Community

Midway through, Jenna launches:

• A limited-time offer: $200 off first month if lease is signed by July 31
• A hashtag contest: #MyRedbudVibe where residents post their favorite spots in the complex for a chance to win a $50 DoorDash gift card
• A pet spotlight series: Weekly "Pet of the Week" TikToks (because who can resist Bulldogs in bandanas and cats judging the pool furniture?)

📊 Step 7: What Worked, What Didn't

After 3 weeks:

• "Day in the Life" TikTok had 8,300 views
• Testimonial Reel had 2 leads directly from DMs
• Only 1 person clicked the Facebook ad she tried for fun (waste of $20 and a reminder that not all experiments work—and that's okay!)

✅ Jenna signed 13 leases by campaign end, with 7 directly tied to social.

🧠 Industry Insight: Apartments.com

Apartments.com, a major partner and sponsor in the Lubbock Apartment Association, shared this perspective:

"You don't have to go viral. You have to be consistent, visual, and human. The communities winning in 2025 are the ones who show up online like they do in real life."
— Stacy Cain, Apartments.com Regional Rep

We asked Stacy what works best in apartment social media, and here's what she shared:

Most engaging content? Apartment tours by actual residents (or even better, influencers). The second most popular? Practical tips like "how to make a small bathroom look larger." (No influencer on speed dial? No problem—a well-liked resident with great style can be your local celebrity!)

Common mistakes to avoid:

• Using outdated photos (nothing says "we don't care" like a poolside pic from 2018)
• Making your monument sign or office the main photo (spoiler: renters care about where they'll live, not where you work)
• Only posting about availability and specials (mix in some lifestyle content!)
• Neglecting review management (today's renters absolutely read these)

Biggest trends for 2025: Renters are making decisions faster than ever—within 27 days on average—and narrowing searches to just 1-3 communities. Pet content remains huge (shocking absolutely no one), so highlight those fur-friendly amenities!

Stacy also mentioned Catalina West as an example property that updates their main website image seasonally—smart targeting that drives more clicks. And for smaller properties looking for inspiration? "Look at what properties in larger markets like DFW are doing and adapt their strategies to Lubbock," she suggests. (Imitation with local flavor is the sincerest form of marketing efficiency!)

❌ Common Mistakes Jenna Avoided (That You Should Too)

• ❌ Using the same post on every platform (Instagram is not TikTok is not LinkedIn!)
• ❌ Ignoring DMs for two days (speed matters in leasing)
• ❌ Skipping captions or hashtags (Would you skip showing a bathroom during a tour?)
• ❌ Focusing only on interiors, not lifestyle (no one's dreaming of your crown molding)
• ❌ Posting only floorplans and promos (yawn...)

Instead, she:

• Showed off the neighborhood (Lubbock pride, y'all)
• Posted residents and staff (the real stars of the show)
• Made polls and giveaways part of her strategy (because who doesn't love free stuff?)

🛑 Bonus Tip: What If You Get a Bad Comment?

Negative reviews or social feedback are part of the game. Here's how Jenna handles it:

• Respond quickly and calmly: Acknowledge the concern. (Deep breaths help.)
• Take it offline if it's sensitive or complicated.
• Stay professional: Don't argue—offer a next step. (No keyboard warriors allowed on the Redbud team!)

📎 Downloadable Templates Coming Soon:

• 1-Week Social Calendar (Instagram + TikTok)
• Caption Starter Pack for Leasing Teams
• Redbud's Campaign Recap as a Case Study PDF

🧠 Final Thoughts

If you're a Lubbock leasing agent heading into the 2025 season, your social media strategy doesn't need to be viral—it just needs to be intentional, consistent, and human.

Focus on platforms that matter, tell the story of your community through real people, and don't forget to track what actually drives leads—not just likes.

With the right tools, a little strategy, and some creativity, your next lease might just start with a scroll.

And remember—you're not alone in this social media adventure. The Lubbock Apartment Association is here to help with professional photographers, 3D tours, AI content tips, marketing education, and the community support you need to shine online.