Nobody likes people who constantly stir up trouble. You’ve seen them on Facebook, Nextdoor, and online forums: instigators, rabble rousers, gadflies. Whatever you call them, they’re pretty annoying to the rest of us. And even worse, they have a way of ruining your otherwise pleasant social media experience.
What’s their problem, anyway?
Maybe they weren’t hugged enough as a child. Maybe they thrive on the contention. Or maybe they’re just too cowardly to air their resentments out in the street. Whatever their problem is, it doesn’t have to be YOUR problem.
As an HOA manager, you have enough to worry about.
Believe it or not, social media can make your job easier. When neighbors are social, they can solve many of their own problems between friends – before you have to throw the hammer down (we know you hate that).
So, why do some HOAs shy away from social media?
It’s those nasty instigators again: the malcontents who do nothing but complain and dig up trouble. It’s a real concern, and we totally get it. That tiny fraction of users are pretty good at drowning out more reasonable minds. So what can you do about it?
An HOA-specific social media application can keep things in check for you.
The application you choose should feature the following:
- No anonymity: Since most people want to be liked, they’ll only cause trouble if nobody knows who they are. Choose a system that forbids anonymous accounts and verifies addresses. Less work + more security = more peace and quiet.
- Explicit rules: Your system should have clear rules for civility, without excessive fun-squashing restrictions. And because nobody wants the title of HOA Guerrilla, it should enforce the rules automatically and take care of the riff-raff for you.
- Hands-off moderation: Choose a system that makes it easy for cooler-headed members to hide and/or report any post that breaks the rules. If 5% of users are trolls, then the 95% should be able to do the clean-up for you. Not being a nazi means you get to have friends, too!
The key is to keep things clean and friendly without clogging up the social flow. A robust and user-friendly social media application can do a lot of the work for you, leaving you with a healthier, happier HOA.
Punks need not apply.
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- HOA Meetings That Don’t Stink - January 23, 2019
- Setting Up Your HOA Record Keeping System - November 28, 2018
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