Use of Social Media to communicate Board meetings

Hi everyone,

Curious if other boards actively use any social media platforms to communicate meeting dates? We currently post hardcopy on community bulletin board by mailboxes and email blast to members, but both seem to be overlooked at times. Members have said they are unaware of meetings though they are definitely posted in the manner described above.

Has anyone used social media platforms (NextDoor, Facebook, etc) for communicating basic information like this, in addition to other methods? Are there pros/cons to consider? One point someone raised was not communicating dates/times of physical meetings as it may indicate to potential burglars that people won't be home - though I think this is fairly silly as attendance is not mandatory at these meetings. At any rate, currently all meetings are virtual due to COVID and will likely continue as virtual in some capacity going forward, so that would not be a concern anyway.

One other tangential point - our community is smaller and we have no community room. We do have an outdoor community pool area but typically rent space from local community centers for board meetings. As we are virtual now with COVID, we'd like to continue in this manner but by-laws seem to require a physical meeting location with at least one board member present in person (rest can be virtual). In that event, I would not mind offering pool area or my living room as physical location (if indoor space is needed due to weather) but would expect most would attend virtually. Can anyone advise of pros/cons to this approach? Would save the HOA ~ $800/yr for facility rental costs for meetings.

Thanks,
JT

I am assuming you are self managed, so I would have a website setup to pass on information and have information available when needed by owners. Never, and I repeat, NEVER use social media ion a HOA, unless of course you want your tenure as a board member to be a very short one.

If they are ignoring the emails and the notices by the mailbox odds are they will ignore social media. Like others, I would avoid social media like the plague. We also use email and notices by the mailbox. In addition, three days before the meeting we post signs announcing the meeting by our two entrances. This did increase attendance which we wanted.

We have a gmail address site where owners can send the BOD Emails. All Emails get automatically distributed to each BOD Member and the BOD decides what to reply to. Same with replies.

Stay away from Social Media, got it. Glad I asked, ha ha.

And good point on the personal residence but it is a small community and everyone knows where I live. So not a big secret if anyone did want to ring my bell at midnight, but so far no one here will do that. Perhaps we can just use the pool area rain or shine, as long as there is a virtual option as well.

Hi Jignya,

Communication is always tricky, but, as others have suggested, I would stay away from social media when it comes to meetings or any other formal community issues/business.

It's just very difficult to moderate and manage, and often, the page turns into a place to post complaints. Continue with the emails, and you could create a basic password-protected website if the community wants something more digital.

what about when homeowners get together and use the HOA name and create a social media group to bitch and complain about the HOA and the Board?

Agree. As long as they're not trying to pass themselves off as anything official, ignore them and beef up communications through official channels so that they're not the only voice people are hearing. If they're using things like your community logo and/or signage, the cease and desist letter from the association attorney may be appropriate.

People may not want to spend association money on this, but remember, a determined group of complainers can do a lot of damage. They can poison the atmosphere of a community and affect the opinions of even those who don't particularly agree with them ("if there's smoke, there's a fire"). And prospective buyers may see the complaints and decide they don't want to live there.

But the best way to derail complainers is by effectively communicating with homeowners, and the board has a number of tools to do this - they just have to use them. Let the gripers discredit themselves.

While I agree, I'm a little surprised by the Social Media comments. Absolutely, the HOA should never utilize FB or Nextdoor as a sanctioned or official means of communication.

But more often than not, you will still find your residents creating their own group, if not on Facebook then on Nextdoor. The trivial infighting and complaints are sure to come, and while I would suggest avoiding social media, if one does exist it would not be bad to share upcoming meetings, events, or important notices on it (as a resident).

Personally, we've seen a huge jump in participation moving to meeting over Zoom rather than in person (+1200%), so luckily our board will be continuing that direction post Covid. Written communication and email didn't help attendance much, but just letting folks know on social media (that already existed) and online Board meetings have definitely helped.

Who knows, one day we may even move into the 21st century and do our voting online and such.