Apartments for Rent Made Easy

We’re all on Facebook. And if you’re not, 483 million daily active users are. And if we’re not personally hooked up to a page, chances are, the company we work for is. Then there’s Twitter, this little micro-blogging beast that boasts upwards of 140,000,000 active users. And don’t forget about YouTube, the second-largest search engine, which is owned by Google itself and receives 60 hours of video per minute.

Some experts argue that engaging potential customers through social media channels via any means of social media marketing will improve a company’s credibility to the public. Generally speaking, we tend to agree. When a business, like Microsoft or Apple, with a following of faithful return customers launches a new product or company-wide initiative, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube will work wonders in spreading the word. Sales staff and customer service reps will jump online and join the conversation—all in the name of selling the current product before the next best thing hits the market.

Our team here RentSeeker are major proponents of social media marketing. However, when it comes to marketing apartments for rent, we put out a question to our team: How much time should landlords dedicate to engaging with potential renters on a personal level? This includes opening up Facebook walls and other discussion channels to the public.

Companies like Microsoft and Apple are untouchable. In other words, a couple hundred – or thousand – angry wall posts aren’t breaking their brands. For landlords, though, opening up the channels of communication produces a great opportunity for criticism.

With such a narrow timeframe to capture the attention of an apartment hunter and convert him/her to a signed lease, you want to show them how great your buildings are, give them contact information, get them in for a showing and sign them. Period.

You don’t want prospective renters cruising around your Facebook page checking out all the negative posts from disgruntled residents—because that’s what they’ll pay attention to. Not your community-service initiatives or awards for service excellence. It’s the posts of those five to ten disgruntled residents that will inhibit your ability to lease up a property.

With marketing tools like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, you CAN control the information. For landlords with a few hundred or thousand renters, it seems to go against common sense to open the floodgates to criticism. Sure, it’s an opportunity to display your customer service skills, but a carefully constructed, public response to criticism on a Facebook wall isn’t saving your reputation. In fact, it’s drawing even more attention to the renter’s original problem and inviting to post again. Repeat after us: “My Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages are not forums for negative discussions about my company!”

Instead of allocating resources to responding to this type of criticism, channel the manpower to marketing these pages by custom designing the backgrounds (a service RentSeeker.ca provides FREE to clients) and optimizing your social media presence to lease available apartments. Post photos and videos of all of your buildings and channel the traffic to your website; brand each page so that they’re consistent across the board; talk about staff members who are making a difference in the community; ask your staff to get involved and like photos; add media outlets to your network to encourage editors to cover your company and note, ALL channels allow users to disallow comments on these pages, allowing landlords to use them strictly for marketing and branding.

There will always be angry renters who will try to tarnish your company’s reputation in whatever way they can. So let them write blog posts that will likely go unseen—but don’t open up your precious Facebook wall to them, in MOST cases, it’s just simply not worth it.

For more information about RentSeeker.ca’s social media marketing services or any other online marketing services, including: listings & syndication, property video production and marketing, 3-D floor plans, QR codes, and website design and search engine optimization, contact our team at: contact@rentseeker.ca.

-The RentSeeker.ca Team

There’s nothing worse than being treated as though you’re something that you’re not. It’s like being back in highschool and getting scolded when you’re not the one doing the talking. For baby boomers, it’s being marketing to as though the deathbed is behind the next door. There is a common misconception among rental market advertising that seniors are out of touch, that they’re not as actively involved online and that they’re not nearly as important an audience as their kids and grandkids.

On the contrary, the baby boomer demographic is the fastest growing group to jump on the computer technology bandwagon, spending a whopping $7-billion annually online. In other words, much like 18-34 year olds, this generation is completely open-minded when it comes to new products, lifestyles and marketing.

When it comes to marketing your available apartments for rent, you would be wise to allocate a fair amount of resources targeting this demographic, providing your property can cater to some very high expectations. Throughout your campaign, though, keep in mind that you’re not advertising to a sleepy audience, but rather, a lively, virile group with discerning tastes and extensive wish lists.

Marketing Professor Tom Barry of SMU’s Cox School of Business urges companies to focus the message on feel age as opposed to real age, explaining, “Use models that are cognitively younger; they don’t have to look younger, but have a persona that is psychologically younger.” In other words, he says, the content of advertising, sales, and marketing messages should be based on the cognitive state of the audience. Age, after all, is nothing but a number, so if you’re marketing rental suites to this demographic as old or elderly, you’ve alienated the majority of your audience.

The key to advertising rental units to seniors is research, in addition to knowing what, exactly, your building has to offer that might be attractive to someone in this demographic. If you’re feeling slightly out of touch, here are some tips on how to engage baby boomers, capture their attention and get them in for an apartment showing.

Go Live
Did you know that the largest percentage increase in Internet use has been credited to the 70-75 age group? And they’re not just checking into an email account that stays open all day. Rather, they’re on Facebook, YouTube and other social media sites. Don’t believe us? Take it from the pros then: Kinesis Inc., a Portland, Oregon, web design and branding firm, found that more than 60 percent of baby boomers actively consume socially created content like blogs, videos, and podcasts. So next time you’re posting, tweeting or liking, don’t forget to consider whether grandma or auntie would find your content interesting.

Advertise with Intelligence
We all know that advertising apartments for rent is becoming more and more of a web-based phenomenon. This is not to say, however, that print ads have become obsolete. Baby boomers are still heavily reliant upon magazines and newspapers to get their information, meaning that certain dailies and monthlies could have a positive impact on getting traffic to your property. When targeting seniors in particular, it’s important to take several technical items into account, namely font size. Simply put, the font should never be smaller than 11-point and color ads always attract more attention. Also, keep ads un-cluttered with a clearly marked call to action that includes both email, address and phone number.

The photos should do the talking—but keep them honest. We’ve seen enough old people playing tennis and laughing by a pool. Get creative by promoting what your company can do to enhance their lives. Do you offer a shuttle bus for errands? Is your rental property near a fitness facility? Tell the story, but do it in a way that isn’t patronizing or alienating. This means abandoning labels like “golden years” and “elderly”.

Don’t forget to ask advertisers if they’ll give you editorial space alongside the ad to showcase the property in greater depth.

Build Trust with Customer Service
The baby boomer generation has been around a while. They’ve had more experiences than most of us, meaning you’ll be hard pressed to pull the wool over their eyes. The truth is, the best thing your leasing agent can be is his/herself, to sell the property and the surrounding neighbourhood as a “package deal” that caters directly to the prospect. This means adding a personal touch by doing some legwork to find out about the appealing features of the area and promote them.

Build rapport by letting the individual know that their landlord is just a phone call away should any concerns in their rental unit arise. Another way of doing this is by having honest testimonials by like-minded individuals ready to share at some point during the viewing process. You might even host a baby boomer event and invite some prospects to come along. This is a great opportunity for current residents to speak to their experiences with the property, the management and what the community has to offer.

Finally, always follow up with a note. Handwritten is a unique way of engaging, but again, this is a demographic that’s heavily involved online—email is just as acceptable.

Sell Gently
Hard sells rarely work with this group. Again, they’ve been around a while and have seen it all. One of the most effective tools of persuasion is honesty and compassion. If a person of this age group is moving into your rental property, chances are, they’re downsizing from a house. This could be a giant lifestyle change whereby moving means culling decades of possessions in order to accommodate a smaller space. Perhaps your leasing agent has gone through a similar experience and can empathize as a way to reassure the individual that your property is the right move. If you have storage units available for rent, promote them (and perhaps offer a deal on the monthly fee).

Cut a Deal
Everyone likes a bargain—and many landlords are offering deals to all demographics as a way to fill available apartment units. Purveyors of apartments that cater to baby boomers have jumped on the bandwagon, offering a range of bonuses and incentives to make prospects feel as though they’ve made the right choice by signing with your company. These incentives include rent reduction, waiving of move-in fees, gift cards, fitness memberships, and the list goes on. Put in the work and make the extra effort to get this age group into your apartment building. In the long run, they make loyal residents who are with your for the long haul, and care for your property just as much as you do.

The RentSeeker.ca Team

Want to understand QR Codes, how they work, potential benefits and uses for the apartment rental industry? Follow these simple steps:

1) Download the QR Code Scanner Pro (free) on Blackberry or iPhone APP worlds:

2) Scan RentSeeker.ca’s QR Code  —>

3) Your Smart Phone should direct you to a must see video on RentSeeker.ca’s YouTube channel about the importance and value of web and social media marketing presence.

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Q. So…what is a QR Code and how can Landlords, Realtors, Condo Developers and Property Managers use them?

A. A QR Code is short for Quick Response Code, a barcode readable by smart phones that can store information which can be encoded text, URL or other data for quick reference.

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Here are a few uses we quickly thought up with for uses specific to the apartment rental industry & our clients. Message us, or comment on this post if you can think of more to share!

1) Add a QR Code to your print ads so mobile readers can scan the code while sitting on a bus / or subway and be taken directly to you web / mobile site on their smartphone!

2) Add a QR Code to your business cards or print ads with information for prospective renters to be able to scan and see a rental incentive, contact information or url to that specific listing on your website!

3) Add a LARGE QR code at the lobby door of each apartment so prospective renters / walk in traffic/ can scan, and retrieve contact information for the rental agent or building superintendent!

-The Rentseeker.ca Team

Signage is the best source of marketing

For a property owner or manager, understanding the results of your marketing dollars, including appropriate sources for your company and their ability to translate into business, is invaluable to measuring the effectiveness of your advertising campaign.

Marketing tools for rental properties include a range of vehicles, including property signage, print advertising, online marketing, social media, 3D floor plans and video. While each one carries its own merits, in order to effectively raise awareness of your property’s listings, there are three major resources to consider in order to garner maximum return on investment.

Property signage is by far the most effective use of marketing dollars as it’s a one-time fee that can reach hundreds of eyeballs a day. Fresh, contemporary signage that’s placed strategically on your property can result in the most rentals per marketing dollars spent. Take advantage of signs on your apartments for rent by ensuring that they’re clearly visible and unobstructed. Don’t forget to include corporate branding, website information. A call to action, including a rental office address and phone number, should be large enough for passersby to read, ideally from across the street or when stopped at a red light. As social media is quickly gaining momentum as the “new” way of communication, include icons such as Facebook and Twitter where applicable.

On the topic of social media, the next best marketing tool from a cost perspective can be found online. The benefit to promoting your rental properties in this space is that many sites allow you to convey your message to thousands of users a day—for free! Those that do charge a monthly fee do so in such a way that’s nominal compared to other sources of marketing, such as print. Using websites like www.RentSeeker.ca, which offers landlords and property managers a unique syndication model, directly target an online apartment search audience that gains momentum by the second.

A major component of the RentSeeker model is social media. Overwhelming at first glance, applications like Twitter and Facebook can be custom-designed for branding and marketing purposes, giving those in the real estate business the opportunity to promote rental incentives, building events, property upgrades and more. Not only will you reach current tenants and staff, you’ll promote tenant relations and retention while increasing brand awareness. As you expand your follower base over time, the potential to influence thousands of web users internationally is quite literally at your fingertips. And, for the most part, this kind of reach doesn’t cost a penny.

While print sources can be a costly way to advertise your apartments for rent, it certainly has a time and a place. With massive distribution and readership, print outlets—selected based on your target audience—make their way into the hands of those who have not yet made the transition to the Internet. However, before allocating advertising dollars to just any rental resource, determine who you are speaking to, including age, gender, socioeconomic status, etc. From there, research a few newspapers and magazines, find their sales contact and start a dialogue with the company. Let them do the legwork by coming up with an advertising plan that is tailored to your company and vacancies. Once you have a group of proposals that you’re satisfied with, select the one that makes the most sense to your business and try it out.

So what’s advertising doing for you? This is a tough question to answer if you’re not keeping tabs on return. To help break down cost metrics, ensure that you are keeping traffic reports to understand which demographics are driven by each specific source. This will help you to understand cost per lead, which requires looking at dollars spent relative to inquiries received. If a traffic report tells you that signage received 14 calls in a week while print attracted just one, start thinking about re-jigging the print ad. If after a few weeks inquiries haven’t picked up, implement the ad change or consider another source altogether. Remember, one lead can pay for the ad it came from.

When it comes to advertising your rental properties, patience is the key to filling vacancies. Determine your budget, find your audience and experiment with a range of resources until you find your niche.

Written in collaboration with the Marketing and Communications team at Greenwin Property Management: offering safe and vibrant rental apartments for all budgets in central and eastern Canada. Read more about apartments for rent, industry news and upcoming events in the community by visiting Greenwin’s blog and news page (www.greenwinpm.com). Join the conversation on Twitter (@GreenwinPM) and Facebook (facebook.com/GreenwinPM).