Want to amplify your marketing returns and build a loyal customer base? Developing a strong brand identity can help you do both. Whether you’re an established midsized business or a burgeoning small company, it’s never too late to strengthen your brand identity. We attended the Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations conference with Sam Amin, marketing manager at Yardi, to learn more about creating a brand. What is a Brand Identity? Brand identity is more than your logo and color templates. Those are important, but your brand extends beyond what you can see and touch. At its foundation, a brand is a distinguishing mark, such a logo and other design choices. It tells us the source (company) behind a product (multifamily community). But as the “father of marketing” David Ogilvy explained it, the brand is “the intangible sum of a product’s attributes.”  That means that your brand is also a set of associations connected to your business based on facts, emotions, and customers’ aspirations. How to Create Your Brand There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Amin recommends choosing from several branding formulas online to help you get started. Most formulas will require you to carefully articulate who you are and identify your customers and competitors. You’ll need to determine the type of community that you want to provide for your renters, physically and socially. As you work through each piece of the formula, be specific and authentic. Select messaging that feels natural even if (and especially if) it’s an unexplored angle for real estate. Your Brand—Everywhere, All the Time For the greatest impact, keep your brand in front of audience’s eyes. Be consistent with your messaging and steady with fresh marketing efforts that convey your messaging. “Use all your marketing tools including SEO,...

Want to capture high quality leads and increase occupancy at your senior living property? Of course, you do! One tool from the Yardi Senior Living Suite, Senior CRM, can help you boost lead conversions in four ways. Wait, What’s CRM? CRM stands for customer relationship management. It’s software that’s used to handle interactions with prospects and mine their data. That data is then used to strengthen your understanding of the prospects so that you can better meet their needs. CRM software captures quantitative and qualitative data about your prospects’ behavior. That information can help you strategize your marketing efforts with greater precision. Robust CRM software can help you increase occupancy in four key ways. 4 Ways CRM Can Help You Increase Occupancy 1. Improve Marketing: CRM enables you to track and analyze the performance of your online marketing channel. Once you identify the most effective channels, you can tailor your marketing spend to optimize your return on investment. You’ll learn what works, what doesn’t, and where to spend your money. 2. Shorten Lead Response Times: Did you know that 64 percent of online shoppers give the first company to call them back an advantage over the competition? If you don’t respond to customers within 24 hours, they begin to question your professionalism, reports Velocify. CRM makes it easy to shorten lead response times and get an advantage over your competitors. You can automate follow-up emails and appointment reminders. Mobile-ready CRM software also enables your staff to contact leads on-the-go so that they never miss a beat. 3. Optimize Contact Strategy: With CRM, your marketing team can test and compare strategies to learn what works. Nearly 60 percent of companies use testing to optimize conversion rates. Testing is important because every company, prospect, and marketing...

Apartmentalize 2019 features famous speakers – including Mindy Kaling and Laila Ali as the 2019 event’s closing address. But only one session had people camped out on the floor: that of the Apartment All Stars, a spirited group of four well-known apartment marketing consultants who shared the fun and creative marketing strategies they’ve recently observed nationwide. Working with a variety of multifamily clients with unique market conditions and challenges, here’s a quick list of fun apartment marketing ideas shared by Lisa Trosien, Toni Blake and Jackie Ramstedt. Kate Good, the fourth All Star, acted as moderator for the event. “This business is full of heart, and our humanity is our greatest amenity,” Blake said. For the crowd of leasing, management and operations professionals, there couldn’t have been a better reinforcement of their work’s value. Here are some creative ways that America’s apartments are attracting new residents in 2019: Pop culture themed marketing events. One community that Trosien worked with hosted a play on the hit HBO show Game of Thrones called “Game of Homes.” A combination of an apartment tour and an escape room challenge, prospects flooded to the property for something unique based on their favorite show. If you made it out of the “escape room,” your reward was a discount on move in fees. A large bump in leads and leases signed was the result of the event. Celebrating the character of your company. Multifamily managers and operators are known for their volunteerism and community-focused nature. Tell your residents! “We need to take the best part of the apartment industry, which is US, and make it a part of our marketing,” Blake said. Unique amenities focused on resident convenience. Trosien’s daughter lives in an East Coast property managed by Yardi client Bozzuto...

As is the seasonal custom, spring cleaning is a great way to start summer with a fresh slate. We detail five ways to “spring clean” your social media profiles. Keep reading for easy strategies you can implement now! Refresh your graphics Spring is the perfect time to switch out your cover photos and profile avatars. Have new branding to share? Do you have property themes for the spring or summer? Even if you don’t have a dedicated design team, free graphic design platforms like Canva offer a low-cost way to update your social media channels, presentations, brochures and logos. Update your contact information It sounds basic enough, but updated contact information is an easy way to ensure prospects and customers can connect with you. Contact information checklist: Phone number Email Website Physical location address Display other social media channels Add spring and summer hours When was the last time you updated your hours on your social media accounts? Especially if your property or office features extended hours in the spring or summer, adding hours of operation can help you communicate when people can reach you. Do a quick content audit Conducting a social media audit is a smart way to analyze your current social media marketing efforts. Each social media platform offers analytics on individual post performance. The Insights tab on Facebook and Instagram, and Analytics tab on LinkedIn and Twitter, provide ways to assess your content. Questions to ask: In the past three months, which posts had the highest engagement? Which posts had the lowest engagement? In the past three months, what post types performed best? (example: video, image, link) Are you hitting your social media goals? If not, how can you use this social media data to inform your strategy moving forward?...

With more senior living options than ever, competition is fierce for would-be residents. Communities must set themselves apart to attract customers – and the most effective way to do that is through online marketing. It might come as a surprise, but Baby Boomers spend more time on the internet than Millennials, with 31% reporting they use their laptop, tablet or phone more than 15 hours per week. So how do senior living operators get the biggest bang for their buck? The answer is simple: CRM. What is CRM, exactly, and how does it help cut through a crowded marketplace to grow occupancy? First, a definition: CRM stands for customer relationship management. It is technology used to oversee interactions with potential clients with the goal of improving relationships through use of data. CRM software captures both qualitative and quantitative data across various channels and stores it in one centralized location to paint a holistic view of prospects, surfacing insights to make strategic decisions and optimize your marketing. This increased visibility boosts the effectiveness of your outreach. And because CRM allows you to track and analyze the performance of various online marketing vehicles to see where your dollars are working hardest. you can decide which campaign types are most meaningful for your business. Here are just a few of the ways CRM helps optimize marketing spend to maximize ROI. Tailor Messaging The first step of developing an effective marketing effort is identifying your audience and what types of marketing content they respond to. CRM systems like Yardi Senior CRM allow you see prospects’ interactions and identify which channels and messages are most compelling. If consumers are ignoring display ads but opening your emails, you can dial down advertising spend and invest more resources in refining your...

Word of mouth marketing (WOMM) is an old hat that has learned new tricks. Nielsen reports that 92 percent of consumers believe recommendations from friends and family over all forms of advertising. A study by The American Marketing Association adds that 64 percent of marketing executives believe that word of mouth is the most effective form of marketing. So why have only six percent of marketers mastered the new potential WOMM? WOMM with Purpose Jay Baer’s latest book, “Talk Triggers,” explores how businesses can capitalize on WOMM. His first tip is to strategize. Too often, businesses rely on happenstance, like tripping on a rock and noticing that it’s a chunk of gold. But by intentionally creating word of mouth opportunities, you get people to talk on purpose and control the message. Next, Baer recommends repeatable strategies. One-hit-wonders don’t build a brand. What can you do, and continue to do, to keep customers talking? Doubletree’s free cookie program is a prime example of intentional, repeatable WOMM. Every check-in and free cookie is a WOMM opportunity. More than 25 years later, the free cookies still generate buzz. Learn from Sprint’s Mistake Lastly, Baer encourages businesses to be unique. Sprint demonstrates how sameness backfires. Sprint hired actor Paul Marcarelli, formerly of the Verizon “Can you hear me now?” campaign. Verizon’s campaign, which lasted for nearly a decade, was a huge success. Sprint’s attempt at piggy backing on that success only sort of worked. Sprint spokesperson David Tovar told the New York Times that the new commercial was viewed 14 million times on YouTube. Nearly 1,000 articles (including this one) mention Marcarelli’s brand switch. Sprint’s Marcarelli stunt stimulated more than 3 billion impressions but the conversation wasn’t exactly good. Few consumers talked about Sprint’s improved network. People wanted...

In last week’s post, we answered your basic questions about landing pages: What is a landing page? Why is it powerful? What should it include? But landing pages are tricky tools. What they should exclude is just as important as what they should include. When landing pages include undesirable features, your conversion rate suffers. That means that you sabotage your return on investment, paying more for less. The pointers below will help you craft a landing page that fulfills its potential. What should my landing page exclude? Landing pages aren’t like other pages on your website. More information and options is not better! The features below decrease the likelihood of conversion. Exclude them from your landing pages. Navigation links The menu on your website or any other navigation links should be hidden from view. Remember, prospects reach your landing page through an ad with a specific purpose. Presenting other options will be confusing at best. At worst, the links will navigate them away from your offer. Multiple calls-to-action (CTA) If a prospect clicked your ad for a studio apartment deal, there should be a single CTA for studio apartments. Other CTAs or even social media links are a distraction, resulting in a lower conversion rate. Presenting multiple CTAs on a landing page activates Hick’s law.  Increasing the number of options increases the time needed to make a decision. That extra effort and time decreases the likelihood of a successful conversion. If you’d like to offer multiple deals, create multiple landing pages for each one. There is no such thing as too many landing pages! Each page offers a tailored user experience. Long-winded copy When it comes to copy, or text, stick to details about the benefits of your offer. Prospects have short attention spans....

If your pay-per-click (PPC) campaign leads prospects to your home page, you’re missing out on conversions. Creating a landing page for your paid ads is a proven way to increase your conversion rate. What is a landing page? A landing page is not built into your website through the navigation menu. It is a stand-alone page that prospects land on after clicking your paid ad. The sole purpose of a landing page is to get your prospects to take action. The landing page should provide a quick summary of what you have to offer. It should then direct the prospect on how to take advantage of the offer (the conversion). That’s it. Why are landing pages so powerful? Organizations that use landing pages experience more conversions. Research reveals that more landing pages lead to more conversions. Paid ads placed in internet searches, emails, or social media campaigns should guide prospects to a landing page. In fact, landing pages help ads achieve a greater return on investment. They also improve your site’s quality score. Without a landing page, your cost per lead rises and your conversion rate lowers. You’ll pay more for less business! What should my landing page include? Keep your landing page informative yet simple. Landing page essentials include: Your logo Quickly reestablish your brand with by placing your logo near the top of the landing page. A captivating headline A solid headline does two things. First, it confirms that prospects have arrived to the correct page after clicking your ad. You can achieve this by using the same language in the headline as you did in the ad. Secondly, the headline entices the prospects to read more and take action. Copy and media that mimics the language of the ad Your copy...

Commercial property photos are notoriously unimaginative. Prospects have grown accustomed to mundane shots of empty spaces. But what if you offered something more interesting? Your property will gain the competitive advantage. Below are five tips for better commercial property photography that will help you stand apart from the crowd. Show Interactions, Not Spaces All commercial spaces have a ceiling, walls, and a floor. Skip the boring space photos. Instead, showcase interactions and operations within the space. Here are a few examples: Accentuate the room’s natural light by depicting an employee as she waters thriving, indoor plants near large windows Capture a team effortlessly unloading packages on the spacious and updated loading dock Emphasize your rapid WiFi availability with teams working simultaneously on their laptops and mobile devices Highlight your services by showing a vendor removing a recycling bin from the site Stage Like Sales Depend on It! As you’ve gathered by now, staging a commercial space may require models and supplies. It could be worthwhile to invest in office furniture so that you can stage spaces now and in the future. Otherwise, you can find models, photographers, and props on sites like MuseCube, Model Mayhem, and OneSource Talent. Commercial tenants want to see the potential of the space that you offer. If live staging is cost prohibitive, consider virtual staging. Virtual “renovations” are a great way to show potential uses for the space. Showcase Versatility Think beyond expected uses of the unit. Consider creative approaches for the space, such as coworking and CrossFit. By thinking outside of the box, you may attract a prospect that had not previously considered your site. Location, Location, Location Your property’s neighborhood may be a noteworthy part of your marketing efforts. Are there restaurants nearby that tenants may enjoy...

The Yardi Marketing Forum took New Orleans by storm earlier this month. This sold-out event drew top multifamily property marketers from across the country to The Big Easy for three days of fun, education and networking. View the photo album for a behind-the-scenes look. Attendees enjoyed focused attention from Yardi team members and exclusive guest speaker presentations. Google’s session on “The Age of Assistance” gave the audience three tips for winning in today’s competitive search environment: be there, be quick and be useful. Keep reading to see how you can apply these marketing takeaways from the forum to your property management business today. Be There You can’t win clicks if your customers can’t find you. Ben Waltzer from Google Fiber shared that today’s consumers are “more curious, more demanding and more impatient than ever before.” In fact, 15% of Google searches today are ones they’ve never seen before. Co-presenter Jeff Kirschenmann asserted that searchers “expect us to deliver relevant results at the right time.” Do you have a plan in place convert prospects by connecting during moments of intent? A successful marketing strategy includes being present at every stage of the customer journey. This might include SEO for long tail searches, paid ads for different demographics and nudge marketing that spurs website wafflers into action, as well as a healthy presence on review sites and social media platforms. If that sounds like a lot and you just don’t have the time or staff to handle it all, you might want to consider the advanced property marketing services of RENTCafé Reach. Be Quick Filmmaker Gavin Garrison’s talk focused on the emotional impact of storytelling – not just for video but for all forms of marketing. He spoke about using the power of relatable emotion to...

Does your company have a purpose? It might seem like a trick question, but it’s not. The concept of purpose has seeped into brand-building conversations thanks in large part to Jonathan Mildenhall, one of the world’s most influential CMOs, who claims his success at super brands like Coca-Cola and Airbnb are a result of the power of purpose. In this post, we’ll examine what purpose-driven marketing is and how it can help differentiate and propel your senior living brand. What is purpose-driven marketing—and how does it relate to senior living? Purpose-driven marketing is, as Mildenhall describes it, “a compelling brand purpose that transcends the business model and reaches into culture.” It’s looking beyond day-to-day transactions and committing your business, publicly, to a broader social mission. In the senior living industry, most companies are not operating on a global scale. They’re serving communities, and they thrive only when they create bonds with residents and locals. For this reason, operating with purpose is a competitive necessity. Purpose drives performance The concept of creating a purpose for your business can seem like marketing fluff, but purpose-driven companies outperform competitors financially, creating much more shareholder value. They also attract and retain top talent more effectively, a struggle for many senior living operators. Building a philosophy—one employees can articulate in just a couple of sentences—is even more important in today’s climate, where Millennials, who value socially-responsible brands, comprise the largest segment of America’s workforce. Let creativity and humanity be your guide In order to effectively bring about change and find your company’s purpose, look at things creatively. “Bring your eight-year-old self to work,” says Mildenhall. “Geek out like it’s your first time playing Legos.” Seeing things as a child would breeds curiosity. It allows you to view things with...

In a perfect world, you’d create all of your own content. It would all go viral. You’d burst with success. All the content creation would all be completed in less than an hour per week. Unfortunately, that’s not how life works. You likely excel in real estate, not content creation. Time minimizes how much original content that you create. Sometimes you have difficulty getting readers to engage with your posts. Piggyback marketing may be able to help. Piggyback marketing describes the use of recycled, trending content on your social media feeds and blog. It allows users to borrow and benefit from the popularity of someone else’s content. Sometimes piggybacking is sharing a video, meme, or post. Other times, it’s referring to a trend within your original content. There are advantages and disadvantages to piggyback marketing. When used wisely, it can build engagement and improve the reputation of your brand. When abused, it can erode trust and water-down your brand identity. The dos and don’ts listed below will help you use viral piggybacking to your advantage. DO supplement your content with piggyback marketing.Viral piggybacking of relevant content allows you to tap into what’s already successful. There is no need to reinvent the wheel, which is great when you feel creator’s block or you’re pressed for time. DON’T rely on piggybacking. Limit how often you use others’ content to market your brand. Keep the percent of borrowed content in the single digits compared to your original content. There is no substitute for content that reflects your brand, your objectives, and the unique tastes of your audience. DO stick to content that is relevant to your brand, market, and clients’ interests. Use tools such as Buzzsumo and Scoop.It to identify relevant content. Those tools allow you to...

Many content creators are only getting one use out of blog posts. You are missing out on countless opportunities to get noticed by potential renters! Get more from your blog with repurposed content. What Is Repurposed Content? When you repurpose content, you’re finding different ways to tell the same story. Each new way that you tell your story may appeal to a different group of people. For example, when you create a blog post, you tell the story to readers. You can tell that same story to visual learners using video on YouTube or pictures on Instagram. By appealing to different types of learners (or different types of entertainment) you reach a greater audience. A broader audience increases your prospect pool and your potential for leads. Below are a few ways that you can repurpose your blog content to reach new groups of prospects. Master Infographics Infographics are a great way to combine facts from your blog text with visual media. Infographics can be consumed anytime, anywhere because they are not hampered by audio access, buffering speeds, and data availability. Many content creators love infographics because they don’t require photography, video, or illustration skills. Many programs allow you to drag-and-drop into templates to create fantastic infographics. Try making your own free infographics using Venngage or Picktochart. Curate an Instagram Slideshow For a short blog post, you may only have one image. You can use that image to create an Instagram post, including a teaser excerpt for your blog post. (Unless you’re paying Instagram for clickable links within captions, be sure to put the link for your blog post in your bio.) For multiple images on a blog post, create a slide show. Rather than several posts on the same topic, a slideshow allows you...

There are several reasons why a client may not be able to tour the property in person. Our increasingly mobile and digital industry makes remote tours an excellent alternative, yet it also requires that agents are ready to sell to a client, sight unseen. The six tips below can make selling to remote clients easier and faster than ever. Master the Basics By now, you know that your website must have a virtual tour—or virtual reality tour—along with detailed a floor plan and a description of the condo. Make sure that all information is up-to-date. Even minor changes to appliances or fixtures may matter to a remote client. If any of those essential features are missing, get the tools you need for a better website. Request Client’s Must-Haves In Writing Let’s face it: you’re busy. A written list of your client’s must-haves, desires, and deal breakers is a cheat sheet for you. But most importantly, having a concrete list means that the remote buyer has a clear understanding of what he wants. This list will expedite the condo hunting process, especially if he can choose between several similar unit styles. FaceTime, Skype, or Zoom Tours with Clients The virtual tour on your website is the first step. A live video tour, however, gives the client greater control over what they see and how they see it. It’s like he gets to walk through the home himself. That greater control over the details will help the client feel more comfortable with the unit and ready to seal the deal. Send Listings with All the Local Details If your client has already said the school system, crime rate, or walkability score are important to her, why not email those details with the listings? Presenting a complete...

Emails can be valuable tools that convert prospects and build loyalty with existing residents. Below are seven emails that every leasing agent should send. Emails for prospects Prospects want to feel courted. They also expect information that anticipates their questions and interests. These three emails hit the spot, helping to forge the relationship between leasing agents and prospects. Automated (Yet Personalized) Introduction Email This important communication serves three purposes. It satisfies prospects’ expectation to receive prompt responses. Secondly, it lets prospects know that you received their inquiry or that you recall your encounter with them. Lastly, it gives them a way to contact you simply by responding to an email. Availability Updates Let your newly available units shine with a showcase email. Be sure to include high quality images and descriptions with plenty of personality. End each listing with a call to action such as “Schedule a Tour” or an option to see similar units. Just Leased Updates Remind your prospects that your property is a desirable place to live and that units are going fast! Consider including the number of days the unit was on the market, particularly if it’s less than three. This is a great incentive for prospects who are on the fence. Emails for residents Renewing a lease costs less than turning a unit, so use emails to build resident loyalty! These three emails reinforce the residents’ bond and promote higher occupancy. Property Newsletter Inform your residents of exciting value-add events for families and perks for pet owners. Such events keep your residents engaged in the community, which increases perceived value. The newsletter is also a fantastic way to notify residents of upcoming maintenance and upgrades to the property. Show your residents that you’re proactively invested in the quality of...