Published September 2011

This article summarises research undertaken on behalf of the Salford-based arms-length management organisation, Salix Homes.

The research investigated how Salix Homes, as an organisation and social housing landlord, could use social media as a new platform for communication, stakeholder engagement and transparency.

It looked at the way social media can support engagement with residents, provide them with new ways to access services and better position Salix Homes at the forefront of social housing.

In the main, the research explored:

• The potential of the internet as a communication tool, what social media and social networking means in practice, and the most dominant social media platforms.
• Examples of other social housing providers using various forms of social media.
• The benefits and challenges of social media.
• The resources required to manage social media and associated access and security issues.
• The potential customer base for customers of Salix Homes.

It also put forward:

• Recommendations as to how Salix Homes could make best use of social media and which tools are most appropriate.
• A potential social media strategy, guidelines and acceptable use policy.
• An action plan for Salix Homes to put in place for using social media successfully.
• A schedule of what needs to be done on a daily, weekly, monthly and less frequent basis in the up-keep of social media networking sites going forward.

Social media personifies organisations. It allows them to see who it is they are hoping to reach and what motivates them. Social networking sites are a huge social force which can bring unquantifiable benefits as well as problems.

In particular, within a social housing context, they have the effect of blurring the tenant/ resident and landlord domains, which should not be a problem for most social housing providers who look to encourage customer driven services.

The Tenant Services Authority (TSA), the social housing regulator, expects providers to engage meaningfully with customers and offer them opportunities to agree how service delivery against the regulatory standards can be tailored to reflect local priorities. The use of social media has the potential, therefore, to support co-regulatory engagement between providers and customers that is central to the TSA's regulatory approach.

Housing providers face dramatic funding cuts at a time of rising social needs, therefore the ability to engage with customers at a low financial cost is paramount. The Government is asking all providers to deliver more for less and to fulfil their social commitments to customers; therefore social media is the definitive answer. Working with communities to help them launch their own community web pages costs time, not money. And in the new age of austerity this has to be the key driver for developing social media.

How social media is used will determine the amount of return. If an organisation genuinely seeks to engage their customers, show an interest in the world around them and communicate that they care about their customers, rewards will follow.

In order to reassure people who are reluctant about social media, organisations could (and should) offer to regularly report different measures of performance. This means the audience will have a stake in the growing community and will start to understand its value.

No one method of communication should be neglected for the sake of another, and there will always be people who are not online and to whom social media is not relevant. For example, South Essex Homes, which has Facebook and Twitter pages, promote these social media outlets via their quarterly printed magazine. It is about making clear that social media does not replace other means of communication, rather, it should complement them.

A risk of social media is exposure to criticism or negativity. Social media makes it easier for customers to voice their (good and bad) opinions of services or products. But, crucially, whether an organisation is using social media does not appear to make a difference to whether people will talk about them on it. People will still use social media to air their gripes, it's just, if social media is not used by an organisation, it will not be heard.

Criticism is not necessarily a bad thing, complaints should be treasured because they allow for learning and improvement. By using social media, you give your organisation a chance to win that particular customer back in a public forum - which will also mean other customers' respect for you grows when they see how well you handled it.

The benefits and opportunities offered via social media undoubtedly outweigh the challenges. Social media is not perfect, it can be imprecise and, at times, risky. But it does provide a way to re-engage effectively with customers at a time when it has never been more important to have real conversations with them about the challenges that lie ahead.

It is important to be aware of the dangers and security risks associated with many of the social network sites, but as long as adequate resources area assigned to manage the content uploaded, and queries, complaints and compliments are responded to in a timely manner, these can be overcome. Moreover, the implementation of a sound social media strategy, acceptable use policy and guidelines help to guard against the risks associated with social media.

A number of recommendations based upon the research were put forward. These covered the following points:

• Where Salix Homes' best efforts could be used;
• what resources were needed;
• what to say and to whom;
• who is best placed to provide content and setting targets; and
• measuring success.

The research's primary rationale was to put forward a business case for implementing social media in Salix Homes. In doing so, it involved consultation with residents groups and partners who were keen to support Salix Homes' move into social media, including members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) panel, the customer communications panel, and one external partner.

All those consulted agreed that the marketing potential for social networks, like Facebook and Twitter, is massive and Salix Homes' role in social media is vital in order to engage with its 'hard-to-reach' customers (those within the 20-50 year old age bracket).

The full research report went to Salix Homes' Executive Management Team and the action plan (embodied within the full report) is going to be put in place. Salix Homes' Marketing and Communications Team is currently working with Salford University to link up with their Social Media course to implement the recommendations and provide hands-on experience for the students.

Telephone: 0161 295 6184

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