What follows is the introduction and framework for a strategic connectivity plan I am working on using Twitter. The plan I am constructing will use Putnam’s social analysis to identify opportunities to build trust and reputation and use bonding and bridging capital to improve residents’ social experiences. Find me on Twitter: @jaynesayswhat.
Homeowner Associations as a Fertilizer for Community Growth
Homeownership is an exciting and stressful responsibility, but within certain communities, the social benefits that can come along with it have great potential for additional homeownership success. One of these benefits is a built-in community of neighbors composed of potential friends and resources that can be cultivated by a well-run homeowner association. For this strategic plan, I seek to find successful communication strategies that are working in other communities so that I can construct a plan for board members of struggling associations to use as a foundation for positive communication, relationships, and growth across the whole association of homeowners.
Project Description & Goals
I am a resident of a neighborhood comprised of 726 homes. Our community is overseen by a property management company and homeowner association with a board that is made up of five residents and various resident-led committees. Over the year and a half that I have lived in this neighborhood, I have noticed that most neighbors do not attend HOA-organized activities including meetings, social events, neighborhood watch activities, or beautification activities. The board of the association appears to be experiencing a high rate of turnover, negativity from the homeowners, and over-dependence on the property management company. On top of that, there is minimal and often ineffective communication between the board members and the rest of the homeowners.
I am pursuing this project because I believe it is important to love, feel safe in, and be engaged with the community where you live. Not only does a well-organized neighborhood with strong leadership improve property values for the homeowners, it also encourages a strong community by promoting social interaction and interpersonal relationships. I believe it can bring residents out from inside their homes or their backyards and encourage interaction, vigilance, and compassion. I think that improved communication among all stakeholders would contribute to more consistent leadership, increased organization of and participation in community activities, and a more positive residential experience overall.
In building my network, I am targeting homeowner associations and the homeowners, board members, and property managers of which they are comprised. I will also be seeking out apartment and condo managers and some real estate companies and construction companies. Interacting with individuals and groups who have positive and negative experiences with their homeowner associations and property management companies will help me identify opportunities for improvement of my neighborhood’s HOA board. Engaging the Twitter community in the conversation would help to spread the positivity to other homeowner associations and open the door to new ways for HOA boards to communicate and engage with more residents productively.
Community Analysis
So far, I have found surprisingly sparse discussion on Twitter from or about homeowner associations. Specific neighborhood HOAs are especially difficult to find because, I assume, they are not on Twitter at all or they are using the name of the neighborhood to communicate. For my own neighborhood, I have not discovered any engagement yet. Even from the sparse discussion, it is clear that all of those engaged in HOA conversations understand the responsibility of homeownership, and all are protective of owners’ homes as investments. Those pointing out flawed HOAs seek to protect residents from boards or managers that rely too heavily on unfair or oppressive policies, how ever well-intentioned they were when they were created.
As they relate to this topic, those who use the hashtag #HOA most often are people highlighting corrupt, ineffective, or otherwise problematic associations. One of the most outspoken individuals in this area is @Ward_Lucas, an investigative journalist from Colorado. This user has recently pointed out the struggle for several residents across the USA who have wanted to display American flags somewhere on their property. Other users share sporadic tweets about something their HOA did that they disagree with; @ShawnaCoronado shared a link to her blog that tells the story of her HOA disapproving of and fining her for trying a new strategy to combat graffiti on her fence. In general, most HOA posts offer support for arguments against HOAs. On the other hand, the @KuesterCompany, an HOA management company based in Fort Mill, South Carolina, appears to be one of the most active entities representing the positive side of HOAs. They send tweets targeted to HOA boards and to homeowners that provide recommendations for best practices in running a board and for maintaining appealing homes and properties. They are followed closely by @HignellCompany, a property management and construction company based in California that has a similar approach.
In following these and several others in their conversations, communication looks relatively one-sided with more impressions rather than true engagement. Tweets are posted by users, but there is little response, retweeting, or favoriting. I see that many posts originate from or link to the users’ own websites or blogs. The most provocative tweets are those coming from the anti-HOA argument, while the most productive come from the management companies.
Strengths and Challenges
On Twitter, there is a distinct lack of communication regarding HOAs, and what is out there skews negative. It will be difficult to steer the conversation in a more productive direction. Another challenge is that, in general, there does not seem to be a significant presence of homeowner associations on Twitter, only management companies. In discussions with friends, many of their communities have only Facebook and/or neighborhood websites, but Twitter is not something they have ever used.
I have nearly 100 followers on Twitter so far, and a current potential reach of over 1.6 million users according to Twitonomy. My feed includes friends, colleagues, professors, celebrities, authors, scientists, charitable organizations, entrepreneurs, marketing and ad agencies, journalists, and key influencers from LinkedIn. I will have to get creative in finding my curated content and employing the most relevant hashtags to maximize engagement. Adapting to my surroundings and persistence are strengths of mine, and one I think will work in the Twitterverse. Ultimately, I think that the gap in communication makes HOA online presence an intriguing subject for study.
Theoretical Framework
For this plan, I will be applying Robert Putnam’s social analysis theory and its concepts of bonding and bridging capital, reputation, and trust. As McArthur (2014) asserts, “For scenarios related to internal community building and development of organizational trust and internal reputation, Putnam can provide a window into the community or cultural sentiment of an organization” (p. 57). In the case of homeowner associations, it is vital for the board to encourage a strong, positive community while maintaining trust and a good reputation in the eyes of all residents in the neighborhood. First, creating a board that evokes trust through its good reputation will help to grow the community. Then, through a trusted reputation, the board can increase social engagement by building upon existing bonding capital and taking advantage of bridging capital available through all residents.
References
Ihlen, Ø., van Ruler, B., & Fredriksson, M. (2009). Public Relations and Social Theory: Key figures and concepts. New York, NY: Routledge.
McArthur, J. A. (2014). Planning for strategic communication: A workbook for applying social theory to professional practice.
Jayne Says What 