Social media has become table stakes for the apartment industry, but a social media presence is so much more than tweeting your latest deal or posting about your newly finished fitness center. In multifamily marketing, listening to prospects, residents, competitors, influencers and even employees gives you a window into what they search for and dream about.

Social listening is the art and science of collecting an audience’s valuable insights around relevant keywords, topics, phrases, brands, your residents (both potential and current) — even your competition — and then using it to create content and other engagements as part of an effective marketing strategy.

Here are five tips to set up a social listening program at your communities.

1. Answer why

Knowing what your audience wants is an appealing idea, but you first need to define your goals. Do you need to discover prospects and learn how to connect with them? Are you interested in identifying a neighborhood influencer who can help boost your reach? Do you need some ideas for a targeted pay-per-click (PPC) campaign? There are a ton of good reasons to set up a social listening program as long as it meets the goals for your community.

2. Determine your keywords for social listening

Now that you know your goals, you can think about what questions you want answered. What do renters enjoy or dislike about apartment living? What are your specific tenants’ hobbies? How do they search for an apartment? Brainstorm keywords around these questions. For example, you can set up a search for “love my apartment” on Twitter and see what people are saying. Or think about using your location in your keywords — “(neighborhood) rentals.” Be on the lookout for neighborhood or activity-based hashtags that give you clues about what your audience is into.

3. Set up your searches, but stay flexible

Once you define your keywords and phrases, it’s time to set up searches. Twitter is a great place to start. Even if you aren’t using the platform to market your community, Twitter offers a wealth of information about the people you want to connect with. There are dozens of free and freemium tools such as Hootsuite and Google Alerts as well as pricier monitoring software that lets you search multiple social networks. As you monitor and learn, your searches will shift to stay on top of what is important to your audiences.

4. Digest what you learned and apply it

Every two weeks to 30 days, review what your social listening has told you and decide what you can apply to your business or try out in your messaging. Did you hear that your residents love yoga, but you don’t provide mats in your fitness center? Take this as an opportunity to purchase a few and delight your residents. Maybe you find out that people who are searching for an apartment in your neighborhood want a pool, something your community has. Put together a PPC campaign around that.

Be ready to move quickly if you notice a lot of activity around a certain local event, such as a concert or street fair, or if you hear chatter about an upcoming season finale of a popular TV show. You could throw a pre-party before residents attend the concert, sponsor the street fair or host a viewing party for the season finale. The possibilities are endless and go a long way toward attracting and retaining residents.

5. Test, learn, tweak, repeat

If social listening alerts you to something that may resonate with your audience, try it in some form. The right messaging connects with your audience in meaningful ways. If it’s a digital campaign, try it for 30 to 60 days then take stock. Is it performing? What can you tweak to make it stronger? Sometimes a small, targeted and considerate action can go a long way.

This article was originally published on April 7, 2016.