We are all familiar with the value of alliances. There are military alliances, political alliances, business alliances, and a host of others. At Rental Housing Alliance Oregon, we connect small landlords, large landlords, property managers, and the trades that serve these constituencies. Are you taking full advantage of this alliance?
The way in which individuals and organizations build and maintain alliances have changed dramatically over the past few years. In addition to face-to-face events, we now network through Facebook and LinkedIn and Instagram. We use Nextdoor to find a babysitter or report crimes in our neighborhoods. At RHA Oregon, the Marketing Committee is expanding our use of social media in order to improve the way we communicate with our members as well as the broader community. A primary goal of these efforts is to make it easier for affiliate and dual members to place their products and services in front of our landlords, and to make it easier for landlords to find reputable providers who are familiar with the rental property market.
We know this is no simple task. Information overload is widespread. There are dozens of resources on the internet available to landlords ranging from Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor to BiggerPockets and Rehab Valuator, to name a few. As more of us have shifted to the internet to find information, contractors, or suppliers, paid advertising in RHA Oregon’s UPDATE magazine has fallen markedly, while printing and mailing costs have increased. We recognize that we need to update the UPDATE. Towards that end, effective immediately, RHA Oregon will be publishing only a limited number of UPDATE magazines each month. These will be used primarily for distribution to new members as part of their welcome package; there will also be a few copies available at our office. Even though we will no longer be mailing out the hard copy of UPDATE, we will continue publishing a digital version. We are also evaluating printing a pocket directory of affiliate and dual members.
We will continue to improve our website and increase our social media presence through Facebook and LinkedIn. An advantage of communicating over these platforms is that we can provide timely information about rapidly-evolving issues such as legislation or local ordinances that affect our members. On another technology note, we are upgrading the audio and video capabilities at the RHA Oregon Annex to enable video conference meetings; this will also allow us to offer Webinars or video training sometime in the future so that members may stay informed even if they are unable to attend a class in person.
If you are an affiliate member of RHA Oregon, I encourage you to update your contact information, company logo, etc. on the RHA Oregon website. If you provide goods or services to the rental property business, you should be a member of RHA Oregon! And if you are a landlord, please look first to the affiliates of RHA Oregon when you need goods or services. When you do use their services, leave them a review! Online reviews are a key part of marketing in today’s world for businesses small and large.
The mechanics of networking will continue to evolve, but the goal remains the same: providing resources to Oregon landlords so they may provide safe, fair, and affordable housing. Let’s support the alliance and get connected!
Sincerely,
Ken Schriver, RHA Oregon President