Social media is the means of fostering a community digitally and sharing information among like-minded people.

Or is it?

Yes and no. For condo associations in New England, the trend seems to be websites, private groups, and web portals with only the occasional community opting for social media (namely, Facebook). Despite their popularity among many internet users, resources like Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and the other platforms aren’t players here yet.

“Not many of our boards or communities have embraced social media as an outlet for communicating to/from their owners at this point,” says Justin Gargiulo, senior vice president and director of corporate operations at Great North Property Management, headquartered in Exeter, New Hampshire. “We certainly would be more than willing to help a community set up a Facebook page. The demand just doesn’t seem to be there at this point, though.”

Janet Aronson, an attorney at the law firm of Marcus Errico Emmer & Brooks, P.C. in Braintree, Massachusetts, and Karla Kelley Brenner, vice president of client services at American Properties Team in Boston, agree. When it comes to brainstorming, Kelley Brenner has seen discussions emerge in Google or Yahoo groups. Rather than exchange lots of emails, communities hash things out via a group discussion.

But the most popular option is a website with public and private areas (the latter are called portals). From a public standpoint, says Aronson, a well-done website can be a marketing tool and can show a prospective buyer what a community is like.

Attorney Kate Carter of the law firm of Dain, Torpy, Le Ray, Wiest & Garner, P.C. in Boston, elaborates on the use of portals, which are provided by the management company and accessed by unit owners via individual log-in credentials. “These can be great — trustees can post meeting minutes or vendor contracts to keep unit owners informed. Message boards can be used to advertise group gatherings, post updated policies or condominium documents, or help match up unit owners who might want to have a standing tennis match.”

Ashish Patel of Pilera Software in Nashua, New Hampshire, which provides community management software for websites, adds that conducting transactions (e.g., condo fees) is a popular feature as well. If websites can be one-stop shopping for communication, information, and payments, then he believes it saves time for everyone—residents, management companies, and board members.

For those who do wish to migrate online, Patel believes the trend is toward portals, which require less maintenance than public-facing websites. He offers https://soapfactoryct.pilera.com and https://islandshoresestatesnh.pilera.com/page/home as examples of sites with both public and resident-only information. Once upon a time, “we had to convince management companies and associations the value of how websites or web portals can save them time.” Now, however, they see the value, and more and more people make inquiries about how technology can help them. However, Carter notes that some users assume online interaction equals instantaneous response: “A resident who is told that they can view something online, rather than view it upon making an appointment to visit the property manager’s office, may become more demanding and a real management challenge for the trustees and their staff.” As with most innovations, there are (at least) two angles to consider.

Engagement is at the heart of communication, of course, whether or not it’s online. Gargiulo says that while his property management company itself has a social media presence, most communication from and with associations is done through phone and email. Patel concurs, noting that some of the more recent developments from Pilera include the ability to communicate with residents via mass phone calls (including in Spanish as needed) and SMS text (available with automatic translation in more than 60 languages).

Why So Few?

Websites, portals, and texts may do the trick, but the question remains: Why aren’t more condo communities on social media, which typically takes the digital lead in developing virtual communities?

Aronson thinks it may be, quite simply, that there simply aren’t enough association residents on social media. What’s more, she points out, “under most condo documents, you’re supposed to give notices by first-class mail.”

In essence, it’s a matter of prudence. The positives of communication and engagement via social media are evident. So, too, are the pitfalls. The perception among property managers is that social media can all-too-easily be a Pandora’s box for negativity. “Things could get personal,” says Aronson, “and there’s some concern about things from a legal perspective—which is why many property management firms prefer websites over Facebook.” Kelley Brenner echoes this contention, noting that while social media is a great resource for educating owners and trustees, “caution is key. Some owners don’t understand what condo ownership is about. Community that makes financial decisions—it’s neither a home nor an apartment.” As a result, when people are unhappy, things can go downhill quickly, and suddenly there’s a feud or offensive comments on a public forum.

Carter concurs, adding that the issue isn’t limited to social media: “What makes these online communities so great—their accessibility to and by all members of the community—can also be what makes them a challenge to regulate. Ultimately, whether it’s a Facebook site or a management-run website, if unit owners have the ability to post comments to these online communities, trustees will inevitably run across situations where they will need to make decisions about what speech they can and cannot regulate.”

This can, of course, become the dreaded slippery slope regarding free speech, regulation, reputation, and a host of legal considerations.

Set Ground Rules

To prepare for such potentialities, Carter recommends establishing some ground rules. “Having clear, understandable, guidelines in place…avoids situations where the website is co-opted by users trying to undermine the positive goals of an online community forum.” She suggests rules such as forbidding the posting of defamatory, lewd, excessively violent, obscene or otherwise objectionable messages, defining the prerogative of the board to remove posts in violation of policies, and, for portals and prior to issuing credentials, having users provide written consent agreeing to abide by the policies.

One question that often comes up is what to do once a damaging remark has already been posted. Either leave the post as is, says Carter, or remove it altogether: “When the trustees start playing editor, they can run afoul of laws governing speech and find themselves exposed to liability, as though they were the original poster.”

Dealing with rogue posts is one problematic scenario, and Carter elaborates on another, less common scenario—one that many associations may not contemplate in advance: when the trustees learn that someone living in the community is alleged to have committed a crime.

What should the trustees do? Should they send out a notice to all unit owners? In this scenario it is the trustees’ speech that needs to be regulated. Obviously, the trustees want to implement policies that keep their residents safe. But the trustees need to be concerned about sharing information that they believe to be true, but may ultimately turn out to be false, or may be protected or restricted by law. In those circumstances, the trustees can be subject to significant monetary penalties, including damages to compensate the subject-resident for emotional distress.

Her advice in such a case would be to avoid community-wide alerts and instead to send out general reminders about general public safety tips (be aware of one’s surroundings, lock doors, sign up with the local police department to receive community alerts, etc).

It’s important to understand the drawbacks of online communities, but it’s equally worthwhile to take a look at the benefits. Longmeadow Condominium Association of Milford, CT, which has a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ LongmeadowCondominiumAssociation), offers a great example of creating a community online.

Resident Liza Sivek, who has a background in social media, is the page administrator. She says the association wanted a digital community bulletin board and to build a sense of community in their development of 215 units. Not everyone’s online, of course, but Sivek says those who are often disseminate information to their neighbors.

The page has everything from up-to-the-minute pool opening/closing information and gas company notices to posts about the farm stand across the street from the association. There is a terms of use in place, and there’s been the occasional need to hide a post. All in all, though, it’s a success. Residents are invited to submit posts (which need approval before going live), particularly about charitable endeavors.

Social media is also less expensive than other platforms. Websites and portals are fee-based; social media accounts are free (though they take time to maintain).

The consensus seems to be that social media, while far from the dominant means of creating online community, will certainly play a larger role as time goes on. “I think a Facebook page could be beneficial to a community if it’s maintained. Project updates, pictures of events, and so on are all positive and communicative items that I believe many would love to see,” says Gargiulo. Aronson also thinks that as the population of condo owners skews younger, social media will become a factor because it’s something that’s “second nature” in their communications. Kelley Brenner believes that social media “will be very big,” adding that can see it as both an external marketing tool and an internal resource for community-building. She would like to see property management exercise caution but also step up their game when it comes to on-trend community engagement.

Regardless of the form it takes or how it evolves, one thing is clear: Online communities are here to stay.     

Jodie Lynn Boduch is a freelance writer and a frequent contributor to New England Condominium.