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Sep 17, 2022 | News

Marketing Tips for Property Managers

Jess blog pic

Written by Jessica Van Sack

Updated: January 9, 2023

In this article we will detail 23 strategies for digital marketing and social media content marketing to help Multifamily Residential Real Estate Property Managers hit occupancy targets and create a sense of community.

Beautiful mural in a lobby of a multifamily residential asset

Image source: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/shuffles-by-pinterest/

At Yellow House Creative, we understand how to use digital marketing and social media strategies to create buzz around a pre-leasing asset, a stable asset or an asset that needs repositioning.

Being a property manager for Multifamily Residential means wearing many hats. Property management means you’re an operations manager, maintenance expert, psychologist, CFO, sales director and marketing director … to name a few!

Well, we can’t help to fix leaky faucets and loud parties (although we actually have, now that we think of it). But the social media and marketing stuff … that’s where we shine!

We know the competition is fierce. And it’s hard to make your brand stand out when you’re responsible for literally everything. But don’t worry. We’ve got you. And we have a ton of resources for marketing for Multifamily Residential in 2022. So, we’ve compiled the best ones in this handy list.

At Yellow House Creative, we understand how to use digital marketing and social media strategies to create buzz around a pre-leasing asset, a stable asset or an asset that needs repositioning.

Being a property manager for Multifamily Residential means wearing many hats. Property management means you’re an operations manager, maintenance expert, psychologist, CFO, sales director and marketing director … to name a few!

Well, we can’t help to fix leaky faucets and loud parties (although we actually have, now that we think of it). But the social media and marketing stuff … that’s where we shine!

We know the competition is fierce. And it’s hard to make your brand stand out when you’re responsible for literally everything. But don’t worry. We’ve got you. And we have a ton of resources for marketing for Multifamily Residential in 2022. So, we’ve compiled the best ones in this handy list.

23 MARKETING TIPS FOR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT TEAMS IN 2022

1. Optimize Your Web Site

Firstly, this is your property management and leasing office, but virtual. And it needs to stay FRESH. Secondly, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Model websites already exist. So, let’s get inspired by them! We’ve pulled three of our favorites that check all the boxes. For instance:

  1. One Greenway
  2. Eastern Market (check out their great blog!)
  3. The Avalia (stunning virtual tour).

Why did we choose these sites? Simple. All have key features in common:

  1. Clear CTA to Lease and Tour
  2. Prominent Email Opt-In
  3. Detailed Neighborhood Info
  4. Consistent Branding
  5. Virtual Tours and Floorplans
  6. Social Media Integration
union on queen

The playful Gen Z vibe of Union Q is consistent throughout its collateral and web site.

the tower one greenway

One Greenway has timely, actionable info and clear CTA’s throughout.

the residences at eastern market

Eastern Market features the top three items prospects look for on a multifamily residential web site.

2. Use Email Marketing

One of the most effective marketing tools is still email marketing. So, build that list! Here are some specific tips:

  1. Nurture your prospects, use data collected for smarter marketing decisions and keep your residents informed with a newsletter.
  2. Here’s a great roundup of email marketing topics for apartments.
  3. Add opt-in forms anywhere it makes sense: to your website, your social media channels (even your iPad kiosks if you’re fancy like that). Your most valuable traffic is the traffic that you own, so be sure to keep your email marketing powered with a visible opt-in form.

3. Create Drone Videography

There’s something amazing about drone videos for multifamily residential. They’re a great way to make even a construction site look cool and cutting edge.

Plus, aerial videos are a great way to fill your well of content. They create thumb-stopping imagery. What’s more, drone videos make even the most unremarkable scenes look interesting.

Image source: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/shuffles-by-pinterest/

4. Implement a Resident Referral Program

Renters want social proof before deciding where to rent. Get an edge over your competition by connecting prospects with current residents. Your residents are your greatest asset because they create trust.

And a resident referral program makes it easy. Rentgrata is a tool that does the hard work for you. According to Rentgrata, 36% of prospective renters who speak with a resident on Rentgrata sign a lease.

5. Host Property Management Event Programming

EVENTS like this are an amazing strategy. Events encourage a sense of community. They provide photogenic moments. Above all, you’ll have something to talk about on social media and in your emails!

If you invite them, they will come. In other words, your local dietitian, artist, chef and more WILL want to visit your community. They want to create connections for their business. And you’re giving them an audience. So,consider holding events. They can supercharge your email marketing strategy and your social media strategy.

Some ideas include:

  • Host themed events around wellness like “free diet counseling” or “vegan recipe ideas”
  • Ask a local car dealership to offer free test drives to your community
  • Allow a local animal shelter to host an adoption event at your community
  • Hire a psychic or Astrologer to do free readings for the residents

6. Get Your SEO in Gear

Often overlooked by apartments, SEO is a great way to round out your marketing efforts. What is SEO? SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Simply put, SEO is the art and science of being seen on the web. It’s about positioning your brand to show up in search results. Use keywords that will help you get visible, for instance. Secondly, try a service like ahrefs.com or SemRush to automate some of the work.

 

SEO involves making various changes to a website’s content and structure in order to make it more attractive to search engines. This includes optimizing the website’s content and metadata, improving its loading speed, and making sure it is mobile-friendly. SEO is an important part of any digital marketing strategy, and it’s not difficult to learn. But it is time-consuming.

At Yellow House we provide SEO as a service for our clients. You can learn a bit about how to get started with SEO at technicalSEO.com.

7. Reverse-Engineer the Property Manager Competition

Property managers can reverse-engineer the competition in several ways, such as walking through their buildings to see what they offer, following their marketing funnels to understand how they attract and convert leads, opting in to their email newsletters to see what types of content they are promoting, and tracking the customer journey to see how they guide potential renters through the leasing process.

By understanding the strategies that are working for competitors, property managers can identify opportunities to improve their own marketing efforts and stand out from the competition.

8. Don’t Overlook Real Estate Referrals

Set expectations on commission clearly, early and often. Ensure that real estate agents in the area are aware of your building. And be clear on your rates. Also communicate exactly what is required to gain a commission.

9. Post Social Media Virtual Tours

Matterport is no longer the only game in town. And that’s great news for property managers for multifamily residential. It’s easier than ever – and expected, that you’ll put a virtual tour on your web site. Tenants and prospects want to tour on their terms. Some will rent sight-unseen, and that makes your job easier, so don’t neglect it.

10. Do Neighborhood Outreach on Social Media

Neighborhood outreach is essential for multifamily developments. You’re new here. You need street cred. And nobody can recommend you to the locals better than the neighborhood hair stylist, the dog walker and the fitness studio. Social media is your BEST tool for reaching out. Property managers don’t have time for this.

So, find a social media manager who will get to know your community. (A great example of a social media presence with neighborhood love is Alluvion Las Olas).

Neighborhood businesses love when a new apartment moves into town. It means more business and more traffic. Even better is if they can get their special deals in your residents’ hands. Property managers can make it happen. Create a special discount code for your residents. Add these promos to your email marketing newsletter. Residents will love you for it.

11. Install Instagram-able Scenery

Think of it like a “Kodak moment” for the 21st Century. Your multifamily residential asset needs to be Instagram-worthy. But that doesn’t mean fancy. It just means photogenic. For social media. Add this to your property management checklist. Decorate bare walls with fun phrases (see our favorite store for moss art), light-up letters and even a step-and-repeat.

12. Implement a Lead Generation System

A lead generation robot uses your content as advertisements. And it turns leads into leases. With this system, property managers can automatically generate appointment bookings, brand awareness and qualified leads. This will ensure you reach occupancy goals. And that you do so quickly and inexpensively.

At Yellow House, for instance, we offer the Leads to Lease® prospect generating system which streamlines bookings, from first point of contact to five-star-review – so you don’t waste time on no-show appointments and have a steady pipeline of tours and interest.

13. Create a Lease Renewal Program

Having a good strategy for lease renewal is important. Firstly, a good lease renewal strategy should be simple and focused. Secondly, you know when the peak move-in and move-out dates are for your market. And you know when your leases are scheduled to expire. So, make sure that you budget your advertising and marketing spending plans to begin two months before the season.

14. Fair Housing Education for Property Managers

Familiarize yourself with the federal Fair Housing Act. And ensure that a property manager’s direct reports are knowledgeable as well. Avoid discrimination because failing to do so will land you in big trouble. Above all, it’s the right thing to do.

15. Try Using Virtual Staging Software

Digitally decorate your units! It makes financial sense. But it also allows residents to envision their future surroundings, resulting in more leases. Eon at Flagler Village has done this. As a property manager, this is a no-brainer.

16. Launch a Social Media Influencer Program

Having in influencer on site gives your building great exposure. Follow these steps to create an influencer program for your multifamily community.

Launching a social media influencer program can be an effective way for multifamily real estate property managers to reach a wider audience and attract potential renters and buyers. By partnering with influencers who have an engaged following on social media platforms, you can tap into their audience and showcase your properties to a larger group of people. Influencers can create content that highlights the amenities and features of your properties, and can also give their followers a sense of what it’s like to live at your community. This can be especially effective for reaching younger audiences, as many influencers have a strong following among Gen Z and millennials. In addition to attracting potential renters, a social media influencer program can also help to build buzz and create a sense of community around your properties. Overall, partnering with influencers can be a powerful tool for reaching a larger audience and promoting your multifamily real estate properties.

17. Use Chatbots

Use chatbots effectively – to give and get useful information. According to Sprout Social, Chatbots are programs built to automatically engage with received messages. Chatbots can be programmed to respond the same way each time, just as a property manager or leasing manager would. Read up on chatbots here. Integrate an automated chat into your web site, your social media and your SMS marketing with this guide. Launch a chatbot on your web site for free with Hubspot’s free chatbot builder.

18. Generate 5-Star Reviews

Collecting testimonials and reviews can be a huge property management challenge. But here’s why it’s worth it: negative reviews will be written whether or not you ask for them. The same cannot be said for the happy ones. So, you’ll need to ensure that you have enough positive reviews to negate those occasional hits.

Here are some resources for property managers:

19. Use SMS Marketing for Property Management

Few things are more annoying than repeated no-shows. Prospects book time on your calendar. And then they don’t even have the courtesy to cancel or reschedule! We know, it’s the worst. But people are busy. And if you don’t remind them, confirm and double confirm, expect no-shows.

The best solution is SMS text message automation. Lots of digital services offer SMS marketing, but here’s one that we find is intuitive and reliable.

20. Get serious about YouTube AND Google Business

Your brand needs to be on YouTube, the second largest search engine behind its parent company Google. Speaking of which, do you update your Google Business page regularly? YouTube and Google Business come up first in search results, a great way for multifamily real estate property managers to showcase their properties and attract potential renters.

Creating videos of your properties, including virtual tours and showcasing the amenities and surrounding neighborhood, can help give prospective renters a sense of what it would be like to live at your property.

By uploading these videos to YouTube and creating a Google Business listing, you can make it easier for potential renters to discover your properties and learn more about what you have to offer.

21. Use Cohesive Multifamily Residential Branding

Go back to basics on branding! A common misconception in property management is that branding starts with a logo. Not so! And, your logo is not your brand. A new, modern logo isn’t enough. It’s not even the first step. The building, amenities and features must reflect that look and feel.

Brand is everything that comes to mind when a consumer thinks about your business. So here’s how to start: Create a mission, vision and values for your building. An ensure everything your team does reflects that branding.

22. Create a Discord Server

Discord is an incredible tool for multifamily residential marketing. Discord allows property managers to create automated and interactive chat flows, virtual events and interactive experiences all within a moderated framework that you control. Not only will Discord help to strengthen your community online and offline, it will also become a fun tool for residents and staff alike.

discord

23. Put Your Property on TikTok

And at Yellow House, our real estate clients are on TikTok, where they’re achieving insane growth. Get in front of these trends before your regional manager forces the issue. It’s trickier than ever to achieve organic reach on Facebook and Instagram. Savvy marketers know that TikTok and YouTube are where the greatest returns are found these days.

This social media platform is especially popular with Gen Z, and creating fun, engaging content that showcases your properties and the lifestyle they offer can help attract potential renters. You can also use TikTok to show off the events and activities you host for residents, or to give a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to live at your property. By creating a presence on TikTok, you can connect with a younger audience and stand out from the competition.

At Yellow House Creative we specialize in helping multifamily residential property managers create a great sense of community. Drive leases and condo sales in 2023! Reach out to us to chat about your project: info@yellowhouseconsulting.com.

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