Marketing your apartment is an essential part of the property management process. To effectively market your multifamily property, there are many marketing tactics that you can use today to rent more apartments. It’s all about knowing what works and then doing it, often – until it becomes second nature.
If you’re trying to rent more apartments, this guide is for you. These eight marketing tactics will help you rent your properties faster and for more money.
Website
Where is the first place you search to find info on any topic? Online. That’s where potential tenants will search. When they search will they find your exact property or one with a similar name? Do they see clear pictures and floor plans of your property? Do they know your amenities and location within seconds? If not, then you need to work on your website. Your site should be user-friendly, mobile-friendly, and contain SEO verbiage. A user should see your contact info with several ways to contact the property within minutes of reaching your site. A great add-on to your site is videos of the property, links to social accounts, and reviews. Summerfield Property Management can help ensure your website is maximized for the best results.
Online Reviews
Reviews can make or break your business. The goal is to have honest, positive reviews for your property. It is essential to have a process in place to respond to reviews. It is a smart idea to respond with facts and even pop in some branding to further establish your property. While you don’t want negative reviews, it is important to keep them on your property page on various review sites like Google, yelp, apartments.com, etc. Take the time to thoughtfully reply to the negative reviews without being defensive. When you only have perfect reviews, credibility is an issue, nothing is perfect. We recommend you strive for an 80-20 ratio positive to negative reviews or better. In order to get more reviews, consider adding a QR code to internal tenant correspondence so they can easily link to leave a review.
Social Media
There are thousands of apartment units in any given city. As a property investor, you want to be set apart from the others. This doesn’t mean you have to have a luxury apartment with a lot of flash to stand out, but you should have an online presence. One of the easiest and inexpensive ways to do this is to establish a strong social media presence. On this page, you can advertise specials, new amenities, and allow residents to share their experiences. It is also a free way to disseminate information, such as a water leak, pool closure, pest control, and more. Potential renters are often worried about whether or not they’ll like living in a certain area, so showing off the neighborhood around the complex can help alleviate those concerns as well as make people feel more comfortable about moving there.
PPC Ads
Pay-per-click ads are a smart way to attract new tenants. In the past, you would need to spend thousands of dollars to create an ad and even then you weren’t sure it would attract the right prospects. Now you can pay for ads to be directed at demographics that suit your business. While housing ads cannot discriminate, you are able to target areas, rather than age, race, or sex, and only pay when someone clicks on the ad. You can choose your budget, which allows you to measure overall spend versus leasing results. This can increase your reach even with a smaller budget.
Community Events
Just like with single-family housing, people are always curious about what is available in certain areas. There are potential tenants who might want to look at the multifamily units without the obligation or sales pitch. A community event for the tenants where they can invite friends and family who do not live at the property can help spread the news about your property in the local community. The signage alone for this type of event can be eye-opening for the public when they drive by.
Referral Program
An inexpensive way to attract more tenants is through a referral program. Establish a system where current residents can receive a gift card, rental discount, or some other perk in exchange for bringing in a new tenant. It will be important to ensure the rules are clear and the payout is similar to avoid discrimination and favoritism.
Local Business Partnerships
A great way to build a community is with local business support. Not only will your property benefit but you can help a local business increase their revenue. Think about a local pizza place and how they could advertise for your property on their boxes while you advertise their pizza to your residents. You can get creative with your partnerships as well. Maybe a cleaning service, dog groomer, or even a car detailer could advertise your property on their social media or on the bottom of their mailers, explaining your partnership. When your property name has positive recognition within the local community, there is a sense of trust.
Move-in Specials
Everyone likes to save money. Using a special can draw in tenants who may be on the fence about moving, but when they see a good deal, it gets them over the hump. A move-in special can be a great draw to compete with other nearby properties. If your move-in costs are less than a similar property, potential renters will appreciate the savings you can offer.
In the end, you’ll have to decide which of these tactics will work best for your business. You’ll need to weigh the costs and the benefits of each strategy and determine how you can use them to your advantage. These 8 steps have a high ROI in relation to the money you will spend to implement them. No matter what method you choose, however, be sure that you are taking the marketing aspect of your business seriously. None of these strategies will be effective on their own. You’ll have to combine them with hard work, care, and dedication if you want to see results. Summerfield Property Management can help you create an effective marketing plan to take your property to the next level.
