Banner

Training Trivia

It is wise and acceptable to use a criminal background check to eliminate any candidates with a criminal record prior to getting to final interviews when hiring.
Powered by Grace Hill
 
 
Total votes: 31
Home Insider Blogs Jasmine R. Brooks's Blog Marketing Trends to Take Advantage of in 2012
Enter your email address for weekly access to top multifamily blogs!

Apartment Blogs


Sep 07
2011

Marketing Trends to Take Advantage of in 2012

 Print

Posted by: Jasmine R. Brooks on Sep 7, 2011 08:30

Tagged in: Untagged 

*Updated as of 11:06 a.m. on Sept 19, 2011.

Hey there, MFI family!

I've been thinking about marketing trends that our industry should take advantage of in 2012. Here's my list. Please share yours!

1. Video tours - Ever consider filming a prospect tour? When you follow-up with the prospect, be sure to send the video also. You will surely give them the most memorable tour. (Be sure to get permission first!)

2. Community marketing video - I'm not talking about the kind of video that apartment advertisers put together for you. Get creative and put together your own video! It doesn't take a huge budget to create a great video. All you need is a flipcam and iMovie or Windows Movie Maker. (Shout out to the Apple users!)

3. QR Codes - These babies are gaining popularity and you have to know how to use them effectively. Quick reference codes can be used to "unlock" move-in specials or host community contests! 

4. '+1' - Fellow Insider Brent Williams wrote Will the Google +1 Button Amount to Anything? I think it's safe to say that it's time for you to add a +1 share button to your communities' websites! (P.S. If you don't already have Facebook and Twitter share buttons, you'd better get those in a hurry!)

5. Facebook Page - I'm happy to see that many apartment communities are already on Facebook. For those of you who aren't there - what are you waiting on?! This is simply an extension of your community and if you think your residents aren't on Facebook, you better think again. P.S. It's FREE! 

6. Twitter - Okay, okay. I realize that if you haven't put your community on Facebook, you probably aren't think about Twitter. But I have homework for you: Go to twitter.com, type 'looking for apartments' into the search box, press Enter. Come back and tell me what you see.

7. Text Customer Service - Now this is one trend that none of you can deny! Everyone, including your grandmother, is texting these days! It's time we started communicating the same way! We have to speak our renters' language! Think about setting up text leasing, text maintenance, text advertising and even ongoing texting for community events and/or courtesy weather updates.

8. Handwritten Thank You Notes - Yep, I realize this is the exact opposite of #7; however, this is a great way to make a lasting impression in a world where everything has gone digital. It's definitely more personal than e-mail. You can send anyone an e-mail but it takes time and thought to send a handwritten note.

9. Community Application - Better known as an app, you should definitely look into creating one that will allow your residents to pay rent, submit service requests and contact the leasing team right through their phone.

10. Mobile Websites - I just added this one so that I could have a list of 10 items. Your website should already be mobile-optimized by now! :)

11. Live Chat - Internet has bred a generation of people who need that instant gratification. They want what they want, and they want it now! Prospects want their questions answered now! Satisfy their needs by adding a live chat feature to your website!

12. Managing Review Sites - Review sites are another form of social media marketing and, as you know, the results of this type of marketing can either be bad or good. Bill Szczytko (@BSitko) talks about how we can manage ApartmentRatings.com in his post ApartmentRatings.com follow up: 10 tips for managing your ratings. Going into the new year, communities should put more focus on managing reviews on these sites and actually providing responses on both positive and negative reviews. This will really make an impact on any prospect who just happens to be researching your community on a review site.

Alrighty, that's all I can think of for today. I will update as I come up with more ideas.

Thanks in advance for sharing!

Jasmine R. Brooks
Marketing & Social Media Specialist
TriBridge Residential
jasmineb@tbrs.com


Comments (6)Add Comment
0
written by Shenita Hicks, September 07, 2011
I Love it!! i think that this is a great idealsmilies/smiley.gif
6368
written by Jasmine R. Brooks, September 07, 2011
Thank you, Shenita!
1909
written by Tracy Vegeler, September 14, 2011
I think everyone should be engaging in these trends. I have them all covered except for Google + and the app. Do you know if we are able to create the app ourselves or does it need to be outsourced. Any insight on the app is greatly appreciated.smilies/smiley.gif
6368
written by Jasmine R. Brooks, September 19, 2011
Tracy,

If you have developers within your company, you can absolutely create the app in-house! However, I think most companies outsource this. I believe it's a time-consuming project and it definitely requires specific technical skills.

Thanks for reading!
77
written by Mike Whaling, September 21, 2011
Awesome list, Jasmine! I'd put the mobile site ahead of #3, just to make sure you're getting the most out of those codes!

A few thoughts:
Flip cams are great, but spend the money on a local videographer if you can. The quality of the audio, editing and end result will be worth it.
Texting is a great tool, as long as you have a program to manage this without steering the communication to onsite staff's personal phones. Even Google Voice is a better option.
LOVE #8.
There are some nice tools out there to help you build an app. Just be sure that you're providing a solid reason to keep your residents coming back (that means more than paying rent and submitting maintenance requests).
I see a lot more focus this year on resident referrals, deeper integration between online tools and more efforts to build word of mouth marketing efforts. Thanks for getting the conversation going!
6368
written by Jasmine R. Brooks, September 22, 2011
Mike, thanks for reading! I agree with all of the above.

Google Voice is definitely helpful for texting. Some of our communities are already using it.

I like your idea about going more in depth with the app.

Regarding focusing on resident referrals: I believe that this is where your advertising should start! Why spend so much money trying to reach new prospects, when you can use the residents you already have to reach new prospects?!
feedSubscribe to this comment's feed
What Do You Think?


security code
Write the displayed characters


busy

Insider Blogs

Judy Bellack What does the Satisfacts Research survey on “All That Apply: ... written by Judy Bellack
NAA’s UNITS magazine published a Satisfacts Research survey in their April issue titled “All That Apply:  Residents’ Leading Marketing Sources.”  The web-based survey queried 34,000 apartment residents who had m ...   (Read More)

Brent Williams Fair Housing Does Have “Costs” And Should Be Part Of The Dis ... written by Brent Williams
I have a one year old daughter, so when I think about where I want to live, one of the major elements is simply whether there are other families with young children in the area.  So imagine me touring an apartment community and asking if there a ...   (Read More)

Buildium LLC Why Should You Get a Property Manager? written by Buildium LLC
A guest post by Gabriel Knight, Mortgage Fit, Chicago, IL While rental property investment might look like a rewarding and positive venture, managing both tenants and properties can be overwhelming. As such, you may need to hire a professional proper ...   (Read More)

Talisa Lavarry Kids and Pets- A Key piece to your Resident Retention Puzzle written by Talisa Lavarry
Let’s face it. Major media moguls have known for years that the best way to evoke emotions…I’m talking warm and fuzzies is with kids and animals. Children and pets are a universal symbol of pure love. It’s just understood tha ...   (Read More)

Nadeen Green A horse is a horse, of course, of course... written by Nadeen Green
And now you will have that lovely ditty in your head for the day.  (You’re welcome – LOL.) Today’s post is about the use of miniature horses as guide animals for the blind.  I have found when teaching that I often get skep ...   (Read More)

Read More Blog Posts