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<\/p>\nTake a guess. How much time do you spend on your phone every day?<\/p>\n
Add up all those downward glances, text replies, phone calls and photo filters. If you\u2019re like the average American, you spend 5.4 hours on your smartphone. And if you\u2019re like me, that\u2019s way more than you expected.<\/p>\n
Those numbers come from a recent study<\/a> asked 2,000 smartphone users to check their phone settings and report their screen time. Not only did the study reveal just how attached we all are to our devices, but it showed that usage across generations is similar. Millennials spend only a little bit more time on smartphones (5.7 hours) than baby boomers do (5 hours).<\/p>\n Over 50 times a day, we\u2019re checking our phones. This year, Gartner<\/a> anticipates that there will be over 20 billion connected devices. Just imagine how much more dependent we\u2019ll be as these tools continue to pervade our homes and habits. Smart devices have led to incredible innovations, and they\u2019re changing our lives like very few other communication technologies have before.<\/p>\n By far one of the biggest differences is the way we interact with businesses. Why grab your car keys or dial a support line when the services you want are available at your fingertips in a mobile app? We now spend about 90% of our smartphone time<\/a> in apps. Remember, that\u2019s hours of every day.<\/p>\n So for businesses looking to stay competitive, your mobile presence has to be top-notch. Of course, that goes for multifamily businesses too. You\u2019ve spent so much time and money defining your brand strategy and designing your physical properties. Shouldn\u2019t your mobile apps match?<\/p>\n Put your brand in the palm of your residents\u2019 hands<\/strong><\/p>\n Your residents are on mobile, so you should be too. Take advantage of this opportunity to connect with residents in the channels they prefer. \u201cBut wait,\u201d you might say. \u201cWhat about our company website? Doesn\u2019t that work on mobile too? Why do we need an app?\u201d<\/p>\n Mobile websites are a valuable resource, but they can\u2019t do everything a native mobile app can. Your mobile website is most often a shrunken version of the desktop website, accessible only from a browser and unable to offer a unique user experience or leverage phone capabilities like GPS, cameras or notifications. To top it off, consumers simply prefer mobile apps \u2013 by a large margin. One report<\/a> suggests up to 85% of people prefer apps over mobile sites. Why? Convenience, speed and ease of browsing.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just a matter of preference either. Apps have shown practical results as well. The conversion rate for apps<\/a> is more than three times higher than on mobile websites. And if the app is poorly designed<\/a>, 55% of people say it\u2019d put them off using a company\u2019s products or services, and nearly as many would be less likely to recommend the company to others. Clearly, your mobile app experience matters.<\/p>\n It\u2019s why we\u2019re excited to introduce MyCaf<\/em><\/strong>\u00e9<\/em> by RENTCaf<\/em><\/strong>\u00e9<\/em><\/strong>. The new white label mobile app for residents<\/a> helps you promote your brand on the devices they use every day. Build awareness for your business and offer residents the convenience they expect in an app you own.<\/p>\n You can brand the look and feel of the entire experience:<\/p>\n MyCaf\u00e9<\/em> has the same powerful and popular features that are built into our standard RentCafe Resident app. Your renters can submit maintenance requests, make online payments, reserve amenities, interact with neighbors and more, all from their smartphone. And your property managers have the ability to offer lease renewals and electronic signatures on the go, with push notifications to let residents know when action is needed.<\/p>\n If your property already uses RENTCaf<\/em>\u00e9<\/em> Resident, you won\u2019t have to redo all your content and settings. Everything carries over into MyCaf\u00e9<\/em>, except now you get the chance to brand it to your liking. Your renters don\u2019t need a separate login either. They can access their account with the same username they\u2019ve always used.<\/p>\n Carry your brand\u2019s momentum forward <\/strong><\/p>\n Perfecting your app experience is just one piece of the brand puzzle. You still need to ensure your properties stand out in the crowded digital marketplace. As Paul Yount, industry principal for marketing solutions at Yardi, shared in a webinar<\/a>, \u201cThere is a special saying: If you build it, they will come.\u00a0 Wrong. In multifamily, you must build it, tweet it, optimize it, maximize it, and then they will come.\u201d Tweet this<\/a>.<\/p>\n To take that next step in your brand journey, it\u2019s helpful to have guides who\u2019ve been down the road many times before. Ensure your business doesn\u2019t miss opportunities to attract prospects or impress residents by partnering with RENTCaf<\/em><\/strong>\u00e9<\/em> Reach<\/strong>. Our team of property marketing experts can help you with search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising (PPC), promoted internet listings and, of course, social media management.<\/p>\n By this point, you already know how popular mobile apps are. But among apps, the kings of time-consumption are social media networks. According to the same smartphone study<\/a> shared earlier, we spend 64.5 minutes a day on Facebook and 48 minutes on Instagram, which beats out texting, email and phone calls.<\/p>\n Let us build you a holistic, digital marketing program that covers every base and gives you the brand exposure you deserve. We can even post on your behalf on social media and monitor conversations across the web to ensure your business is represented professionally. Interested in what RENTCaf<\/em>\u00e9<\/em> Reach can offer? Join a webinar<\/a> to learn more.<\/p>\n Make your brand the best it can be<\/strong><\/p>\n If your goal is to attract and retain residents, then optimizing your brand is a must. And in today\u2019s mobile-dominated, highly connected ecosystem, you can\u2019t ignore your app or your social media efforts. They\u2019re both vital elements of any successful brand strategy. Yardi marketing solutions<\/a> can help you get there. Put your brand in renters\u2019 hands with MyCaf\u00e9<\/em>, and let RENTCaf<\/em>\u00e9<\/em> Reach promote your business wherever they spend their time.<\/p>\n\n