Why Video Is Important for Your Apartment SEO

As technology continues to improve and become more ingrained into our daily lives, video has taken the main stage. Platforms like TikTok have made binging short, quick videos easy for anyone with a smartphone. YouTube countered this with its feature called “YouTube Shorts.” 

However, video isn’t just for show. There are fundamental benefits that videos add to your apartment SEO efforts. Not everyone is energized by recording videos of themselves for their properties. However, these may inspire you to reconsider an SEO video marketing strategy.

Local Geodata of Videos

Similar to photos you take from your smartphone, videos capture embedded and local geodata within the files. For example, Brotherly Love Real Estate, a homebuyer starting in Philadelphia, PA, expanded to the west coast. They began their SEO video marketing efforts in Southern California, utilizing videos to help increase their rankings. 

Brotherly Love Real Estate went to each city they wanted to rank in, recorded a video, posted it directly to YouTube, and placed it on their respective website pages. This website shows how they now buy and sell houses in San Diego from the success of their videos.

The geodata gets stored in the video file through location-identifying features from the smartphone. Google recognizes that, allowing it to carry weight when considering which multifamily website to rank for certain local search terms. It can feel tedious at times to record videos and then upload them. However, the results can be worth pursuing.

Increases Time on Page Through SEO Blog Writing

Another ranking factor that Google considers when determining which websites to show for a certain query is time on page. The more real, local users spend on your multifamily website, the more authoritative Google will consider you. They assume that if people spend tons of time reading through multiple pages or posts on your site, you must know what you’re talking about. Your content is viewed as credible, trusted, and rank-worthy.

Adding a video to your pages and posts is a great SEO video marketing strategy to encourage users to linger on your pages for longer. Over time, this will boost your apartment SEO. It also makes your SEO blog writing more robust. 

Certain people prefer to learn audibly or visually. For these types of people, videos are sometimes preferred over long blogs full of text. Videos will add a different channel for your users to consume your content and get value from it.

Provide Additional Web Traffic

Google likes to see traffic from different channels (sources). For example, if your property website gets traffic from Google search, Twitter, and Pinterest, it will assume you are a more legitimate business than others that only get Google search traffic. This shows Google that people find you from different areas of the internet, which is a good sign. You can show traffic through your videos on both YouTube and TikTok. This will help boost your apartment SEO efforts.

Additionally, the more traffic you get to your site, the more other apartment SEO metrics can increase. Users can find you through YouTube and then begin crawling your property website. Your time on page for certain pages can increase. 

Ideally, you can create a naturally flowing funnel for users to continue watching your videos. They can hop from YouTube into your property website through a link in the video description. From there, they can start exploring the other videos on your website’s different pages.

Shows Legitimacy

The more places you are around the internet, the more trustworthy you appear to search engines. If you have a large following of subscribers on YouTube or TikTok, that carries weight with your rankings. You are viewed as an authority in the online space regarding certain topics. 

Your brand also appears more legitimate to the renters surfing your property website. For example, showing your face to potential apartment leads on your site will add credibility to your multifamily brand. They will naturally feel more comfortable with your apartment communities if a more personal connection is made through your SEO video marketing.

Users will be encouraged to continue crawling your website if they trust you. A high bounce rate is a negative factor to search engines. Bridging the gap of personal connection between your property brand and your users will decrease the number of people that bounce directly after hopping on to your site. 

Videos encourage people to continue browsing other areas within your site, thus making it easier to get more prospective renters on your pages and convert them. SEO video marketing will only increase in popularity as we head into the future. You must keep up with this trend and use it to your property’s advantage.

Jenn is an experienced writer for the real estate industry and a house flipper for We Buy Houses in Denver. If she’s not swinging a hammer, she’s either writing about different real estate topics or reviewing investment property opportunities.

Is the Paradox of Consumer Choice Still Valid?

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the number of product choices available today? Whether it’s cars or toothpaste, consumers have more choices than ever. Sometimes, all these choices can leave you feeling confused or even regretful when you finally make a buying decision. This idea has been called the “Paradox of Choice,” and it impacts apartment marketing more than you think.

The Paradox of Choice

More than a decade ago, the Paradox of Choice was a popular consumer behavior theory, debunking the old idea that more is better. Instead, more choices — too many, in fact — overwhelm shoppers and create anxiety. Ultimately, these shoppers walk away without a purchase because they could not decide or they feel deep buyer’s remorse: “Ugh, I could have picked something better!”

Consequently, some companies simplify product choices to avoid this conundrum. Think of Apple’s product branding and packaging motif: clean, simple, and minimalistic. The company uses only a limited spectrum of bright colors, and the latest and greatest Apple products and iPhones typically come in up to four quintessential colors, not ten.

Regarding logistics, McDonald’s and several other fast food chains have cut several items from their menus. According to McDonald’s, people take longer to order when an extensive menu holds up lines.

The Internet: More Choices, Easier Decisions?

With smartphones in hand, the internet gives us access to more product choices than ever before. Yet, it has also adapted in wildly creative and efficient ways to help us sort through (literally) millions of options.

The question remains: does the Paradox of Choice still apply? Are consumers still overwhelmed by all the options today — or have “hundreds of options” become a natural part of the consumer process?

Yelp and Consumer Reviews

On any given day, you have hundreds of restaurant choices (overwhelming, right!?). However, today with sites like Yelp, you can capture the opinions of thousands of consumers in a single star rating (e.g., 4.5 out of 5 stars). Read in-depth reviews, see first-hand photos, and check the credibility of the reviewers. With hundreds of restaurant choices in your area, you can then sort and select them based on multiple criteria (e.g., ratings, cost, type of cuisine, etc.).

The “Yelp model” can be found in other forms (e.g., TripAdvisor) and on any retailer site. It helps us quickly sort through countless product options and make an informed consumer decision. Consumer review sites seem to make the Paradox of Choice much less daunting and, for some, quite enjoyable.

Contextual Advertising

With contextual advertising, consumers receive coupons and promotions based on their location. This advertising trend is quickly growing as our GPS location determines which digital ads might be relevant to us.

In theory, ads for nearby businesses can be pushed out to consumers as they get close. For example, a coupon for a local restaurant appears on my phone as I come within the vicinity. That restaurant, for the moment, becomes both top-of-mind and incentivized. As contextual advertising becomes more prevalent, consumers will be served relevant options without even seeking them out.

Equally impressive, geo-tracking also filters search results according to your location. Google’s Shopping tab notes nearby stores and their distances for your items. A hundred places may have your items, but most of us will only consider buying at the stores closer by. We narrow our choices depending on proximity, and geo-tracking helps us do that.

How It Impacts Apartment Marketing

How does the Paradox of Choice impact the multifamily housing market? With so many options available, it can be overwhelming for renters to choose where they want to live. The Paradox of Choice makes it difficult for renters to decide where they want to live and can lead to them becoming disengaged and uninterested in the options available to them. This presents a problem for apartment marketing, creative advertising, and brand development.

To overcome this challenge, creative advertising and brand development in the apartment market must focus on simplifying the decision-making process for consumers. This can be achieved through effective messaging and branding that emphasizes the unique selling points and benefits of each community or building. By highlighting what sets a particular community or building apart from the competition, it can help consumers to see the value in choosing that option.

Additionally, apartment marketing should aim to create an emotional connection with consumers. Using compelling images, stories, and testimonials can humanize the experience of living in a particular community or building. Connecting with residents emotionally can help overcome the confusion and indecision caused by the Paradox of Choice.

Finally, apartment marketing must be flexible and adaptive to changing market conditions to remain relevant and effective. This can be achieved through ongoing research, market analysis, and developing new apartment marketing strategies and tactics.

Is the Paradox of Choice a Hindrance or a Benefit for Multifamily?

While the Paradox of Choice may seem to hinder the multifamily market, it can also have several benefits. Firstly, it creates healthy competition among communities and buildings. With more options available, communities and buildings must work harder to stand out from the competition and offer something truly unique to attract renters. This can lead to better amenities, more creative apartment marketing strategies, and a better living experience for renters.

Additionally, the Paradox of Choice pushes the line of creative advertising in the multifamily market. To stand out from the competition, communities, and buildings must develop new and innovative ways to market themselves to renters. This can result in more creative and engaging advertising campaigns, which can more effectively capture potential renters’ attention.

Finally, the Paradox of Choice offers renters more choices in where they want to live. Renters are no longer limited to a few communities or buildings in their area; they can now choose from various options. This allows renters to find a community or building that truly fits their needs and lifestyle, leading to a higher satisfaction level and a better living experience.

Answering the Big Question

Is the Paradox of Choice still valid with the tools that the internet has enabled? Is having more choices making us more anxious? In the realm of consumer products, we don’t think so. Yes, we have more choices, but we are better at sorting through it all. Ratings, reviews, geo-track: It helps us find the diamond among the rocks of products and services. With so many tools accessible at the click of a button and tap of a finger, more choices mean no problem!

Unlocking the Mystery Behind Email Marketing for Apartments

Email marketing is one of the most effective and cost-efficient ways for apartment communities to reach their residents and grow their email lists. Email marketing lets you stay in touch with your residents, keep them informed about special events or promotions, and increase resident loyalty. 

It’s also an incredibly valuable tool for engaging potential renters who may be interested in leasing in your community. However, email marketing success depends on various factors, including open rates, click-through rates (CTRs), content quality, email design, subject lines, and more. 

In this blog post, we’ll discuss our top email marketing best practices so that you can maximize engagement from your current residents as well as attract new ones.

1. Grow your email subscriber list with lead forms.

Email list growth is key to successful email marketing. You should always use opt-in apartment lead generation forms to encourage people to join your email list. This can be done through various channels, such as email blasts, social media posts, and website CTAs. Additionally, you can work with an email marketing agency that will help you maximize the effectiveness of your campaigns. 

The best way to earn a new email is to offer the person something valuable in exchange. For example, an eBook, guide, checklist, or another valuable downloadable offer can be offered in exchange for their email.

Want to see this in action? Check out our CTA button below! You can click the landing page to see how we have this offer presented, along with our lead capture form.

2. Segment your email list.

Another email marketing tip that can be used to increase engagement is segmenting your email list. By creating tailored messages for different audiences within your email list, you can optimize the content of each email to better suit each audience’s needs. This can result in higher open rates and more relevant content being sent out.

For example, once your email list is large enough, you’ll want to segment the list by current, prospective, engaged, non-engaged, etc.

3. Monitor your email marketing analytics.

Email marketing should be tracked closely to see what is and isn’t working for your email campaigns. You should track metrics such as open rate, click-through rate (CTR), email forwards, and unsubscribes to understand your email campaigns’ performance better. 

Statistics show that email marketing continues to be one of the most successful multifamily digital marketing tactics. Email marketing has significantly risen in recent years. According to Campaign Monitor, email open rates have increased by 6% from 2020 to 2021, and email click-through rates increased by 9%. And email open rates in 2022 average 21.5%; typically, open rates between 20% and 40% are viewed as average.

This clearly indicates that email marketing is becoming an increasingly effective way for businesses and apartment communities to reach their residents.

Pay close attention to email open rates to determine the success of your subject lines. To determine your open rate, divide the number of unique opens by the number of emails sent minus those that bounced. Although it’s not always exactly accurate, open rates provide a good gauge of your engagement over time. If your open rate starts to dip, it’s a sign that you need to review your subject lines or sending frequency.

4. Pack your emails with high-quality, relevant content. 

Never (and we mean NEVER) send an email to send an email. Writing quality content that resonates with your target audience is essential for email marketing success. Ensure that emails are well written and offer valuable information to readers so they will open them in the first place. 

It’s also important to ensure that content is properly displayed on different devices, including mobile phones and tablets since most people now access their emails via their phones. 

5. Don’t stress about your email design.

Email design matters too. But not in the way you think it does.

Designing visually appealing emails with engaging images and colors CAN help keep your email list engaged, but you need to determine what is best for your audience.

What we mean by this is that you don’t always need a fancy email design to build, maintain, and grow a successful email campaign. We’ve tested this theory with designed and visually appealing email newsletters vs. a plain text html email we send to our list. In every occurrence, our email open rate and CTR were higher with the plain text email.

Our theory? People are inundated with emails every single day. Emails flood your inbox and the designed sales emails typically end up in the spam folder. Or, if the person opens it, they quickly delete it if something (the content) doesn’t grab their attention immediately.

Html text emails feel and look more personal. We started sending these emails to our list from one team member. It’s sent as a one-on-one email exchange and garners more engagement than a highly designed email.

So, next time you plan your next email campaign, we recommend A/B testing a designed email vs. html text to see what works best for your audience.

6. Subject lines are critical.

First impressions matter and that’s exactly what a subject line is. It’s arguably the most important part of your email and should talk almost as long to perfect the subject line as it does to write the whole email. 

Attention-grabbing subject lines will encourage people to open your emails instead of sending them straight to the trash bin. We treat subject lines like a landing page: Keep it straightforward, pique your audience’s interest, and don’t overwhelm your audience.

Here are a few things we’ve learned from A/B testing email subject lines:

• 60 characters MAX or no more than 9 words.
• Most email subject lines are 41-50 characters long, but the true sweet spot is 25-30.
• Punctuation is not needed.
• Sentence case is favorable.
• Emojis can be added but they should be done with intention.
• Emojis at the beginning of your subject line tend to perform better than at the end.

Our most popular subject lines:

• 3 keywords for more lease traffic
• 🚨Property SEO mistakes to avoid
• Win Yeti merch in 5 minutes
• Potential renters will love to see THIS
• Are you using this type of ad?
• This will keep leads on your website longer
• Increase open rates with this 1 tip!

After 4 months of A/B testing email subject lines, we’ve increased our overall open rate per email from 10% to 20%. Specifically, our five best-performing subject lines all had an open rate of 25%-30%.

7. Invest in email marketing automation software.

The final tip we suggest when it comes to email marketing is email automation. Automating email campaigns can save apartment communities time and money while also providing a more personalized experience for users. The key here is to provide targeted content at specific times to maximize the impact of your email marketing campaigns.

You can use platforms like Campaign Monitor, MailChimp, SharpSpring, HubSpot, and many more to help you automate your emails. The goal of automation is to make sure no lead is forgotten. You can create email workflows triggered when someone signs up for a property tour, fills out a contact form on your multifamily website, or clicks on a link in one of your email blasts.

Email marketing software will also make tracking your analytics and A/B testing content a breeze.

Get the Most Out of Your Email Campaigns

Email marketing can provide great results for apartment communities — if done correctly. Email offers an incredible opportunity to engage with current residents, attract prospects, and build renter loyalty. 

By following email marketing best practices and taking advantage of email tracking data, you can get the most out of your campaigns and see positive outcomes for your property.

3 X (Twitter) Social Media Marketing Features You Should Already Be Using

As a multifamily property manager, staying on top of the latest X (formerly Twitter) marketing trends and social media platforms is important. X is one of the world’s most influential and widely used social networks, offering multifamily marketers an excellent opportunity to reach potential residents. From engaging with prospects to showcasing your properties, X marketing services can provide various benefits. 

With X, engagement is directed toward a broader community: residents, local businesses, other properties, corporate management offices, the multifamily industry, etc. While Facebook is predominantly B2C (business to consumer), X’s social media marketing incorporates more B2B (business to business).

Understanding the basics of X

X is a social media platform that allows users to share short messages limited to 280 characters. Users range from individuals to major corporations, and they can follow or subscribe to each other’s updates. 

Hashtags allow users to carry on conversations with larger groups, and X’s retweet feature enables messages to bridge networks of people quickly. You can also use trending hashtags related to current events or popular topics, which can help get more eyes on your posts and boost engagement levels.

X marketing lends well to news-like updates, quick conversations, and viral messages. Several multifamily properties have found their way onto X, and our X marketing agency is frequently asked for direction on its use. 

What are the use cases for X?

• Important updates: While residents are one of many audiences on X, they’re still important. X is an excellent tool for sharing information updates, including upcoming resident events, inclement weather, or reminders about daylight savings time. Quick thoughts and well wishes (e.g., Happy holidays! Safe travels, everyone!) are also conducive to the platform.

• Community engagement: Begin following and interacting with local businesses. Your multifamily property is part of a larger community, so being a good community member is essential. Support local events by spreading the word and sharing business specials when they’re relevant to your residents or your community. You’d be surprised how much support you’ll receive in return, both online and off.

• Environmental scanning: X marketing is an excellent tool for monitoring conversations surrounding your property, city, and industry. What are people saying about your property? Banter the good and address the bad. It’s essential always to respond. Is someone searching for apartments in Uptown Dallas? Perhaps you could be the one to reach out and offer to answer any questions they have about the neighborhood. A simple keyword search allows you to keep an eye on conversations that might be relevant to you.

• Cross-platform promotion: X is a great way to spread the word about your actions on other platforms. If your property keeps a blog or if you’re holding a contest on Facebook or Instagram, X is an excellent platform for sharing links or sending out reminders.

• Displaying your personality: When interacting on X, people should feel like they correspond with a person, not a business. Be friendly, be personable, and be neighborly. Remember that social media is a cocktail party, so take the time to get to know the other party members. The customer-centric approach pays off through relationships, the foundation for referrals, retention, and leasing. Trust us on this one.

• Lead generation: You can also use X’s targeted advertising features to reach new audiences interested in renting an apartment home at your property. With targeted ads, you can select specific demographic criteria such as age, location, gender, etc., which allows you to target specific users who are likely interested in renting from your property. This helps ensure that your ad spend is efficient and effective by focusing on users who are more likely to convert into leads or tenants for your property. 

Don’t forget that social media activity improves your SEO (search engine optimization) — that is, the likelihood that your property will appear near the top of search engine rankings. This is important because it helps more people find your property.

Who is using X?

X is an amazing place. With over 368 million monthly active users worldwide, X has an active community that all different types of people embrace.

Almost every type of industry has a community on X, including engineers, multifamily marketing professionals, fashion designers, lawyers, and even realtors. But how can these industries use X to their benefit and gain something positive out of a social network?

We’ve talked a lot about social media and how it benefits the multifamily market, but let’s talk about one specific thing that may interest realtors, developers, and everyone: Tweetchats.

What are the benefits of online chats?

Online chats have been around for years and are continually rising in popularity.

These online chats are scheduled, moderated conversations about a specific topic. Any X user is welcome to join any chat of their choice, but it’s a chance for users to connect with influencers and other uses and converse over similar interests. For instance, a chat about community fitness will probably bring groups of social runners and yoga lovers together to talk about health and wellness in community settings.

How to get involved

There are several types of chats within real estate, each catering to people interested in multifamily, apartment hunting, developments, or traveling. However, chats are scheduled at a certain time each week. Make sure to find out when exactly your chat is and add it to your calendar. There are a few websites out there that list almost every chat created and their time.

Questions & Answers

The format for a chat is fairly simple to understand: a moderator from a single X account usually tweets out questions for other users to respond to. Using the form “Q1” or “Q2”, moderators can let you know what question they’re on, and you reply to those questions with “A1”, “A2”, or whichever number corresponds to the question. This makes it easy for other participants to understand what everyone is responding to and ultimately helps everything stay organized.

Engage With Others

So you’re answering the questions, getting favorites on your tweets, and maybe a few replies. What do you do now? Engage with them! This is when you can interact with the rest of the community, reply to interesting answers you see, and favorite some tweets that catch your attention. Overall, it’s your chance to get your name out there, grow your following, and make some connections.

While you may think chats won’t help people in the industry, it’s still important to know that a social presence benefits all types of professionals. With the digital age constantly evolving, multifamily must stay on their toes; engaging with the community through social media is one way to stay up-to-date.

Beyond X: What are the latest features you should be using?

With countless tools and features at your disposal, it’s no wonder that many businesses are taking advantage of X’s social media marketing to boost their reach. So, what are some of the newest features? And how should your property be using them? Let’s take a look. 

Threads 

The thread feature allows you to create longer messages by connecting multiple tweets in one thread. This is great for sharing lengthy stories that would otherwise be too long for a single tweet. To do this, hit the “add another tweet” button when composing a tweet and start adding more content. You can also add images and videos to make your threads more engaging. 

Polls 

Polls allow you to gather feedback from followers quickly and easily without having to send surveys or contact people directly. You can ask simple questions with a few options for responses or complex ones with up to four answers each. This is a great way to get valuable insights into what potential renters may look for in an apartment complex or what amenities they prioritize if given a chance. 

Moments 

Moments are related tweets about noteworthy topics, such as events, trends, or announcements from around the world or within your community. They can be shared through links and hashtags and embedded on websites, making them highly visible and easy to access. This is an excellent opportunity to showcase some of the events at your property, like upcoming concerts or weekend activities, so you can reach new audiences who may not already be following you on X. 

Add X to your multifamily marketing toolbox.

X marketing services is simply another tool in your multifamily marketing toolbox, and it has the power to foster relationships and positive word-of-mouth. With the ever-growing community on X, putting yourself out there and interacting with your residents is essential.

X social media marketing has endless possibilities for getting your message out there — but only if you know how to use its tools effectively. By taking advantage of new features, you can unlock powerful opportunities that will help get your property noticed by potential renters who may not have been aware of it.

How to Convert Apartment Leads Into Leases Using Your CRM

Sales are all about converting apartment leads into residents. And a CRM (customer relationship management) system can be an invaluable tool for making that happen for your property. 

You can improve your chances of converting leads into leases by tracking apartment leads and resident interactions. Key features to look for in a CRM include apartment lead management, multifamily email marketing automation, and contact management.

Apartment lead management is important for monitoring prospects and keeping track of their progress. Multifamily email marketing automation can help you nurture leads with automated email campaigns. And contact management can help you keep track of resident interactions and follow up with them effectively.

When it comes to multifamily marketing, these CRM features can be extremely helpful in booking more property tours. By using a CRM system, you can better manage your apartment leads, automate your email multifamily marketing, and keep track of resident interactions. This will all lead to more sales and a higher conversion rate.

That being said, not all CRMs are created equal. Some CRM features are more helpful than others when it comes to conversions. 

Here is a closer look at what our team views as the most important CRM features for conversions (and what we use every day in our multifamily marketing efforts!): 

1. Customizable lead capture forms

A good CRM will allow you to create custom lead capture forms that fit your needs. This is important because you want to ensure you’re capturing all the information you need from potential customers to follow up with them effectively.

Custom lead capture forms are online forms that allow you to gather leads for your multifamily property. By collecting contact information and other key data points, you can nurture leads through the sales process and ultimately convert them into residents.

There are several features that can be included on custom lead capture forms, but some of the most important for conversions include the following:

• Property type: By asking leads what type of multifamily property they’re interested in (e.g., apartments, townhomes, etc.), you can ensure that you’re marketing to the right audience.
• Budget: Collecting budget information helps you qualify leads and determine whether they can afford your multifamily property.
• Location: Knowing where your apartment leads are interested in living helps you target your multifamily marketing efforts and ensure that you provide relevant information.
• Contact information: To follow up with leads, you’ll need to collect their contact information (e.g., email address, phone number, etc.).

By including these key data points on your custom lead capture form, you can increase the likelihood of conversion by ensuring that you’re marketing to the right audience and providing relevant information.

2. Lead scoring and grading

A lead scoring system will help you determine the most promising leads, so you can focus your energy on converting them. This is important because it allows you to prioritize your time and resources and increase your chances of making a sale.

If you have access or interest, marketing automation software offers lead scoring to qualify your apartment leads. Lead scoring involves tracking any lead in your CRM across your multifamily website. With lead scoring, you can ascribe value to different blogs or page views, offers or email interactions. When a lead reaches a certain score, decided on by your team, they become sales qualified.

3. Automated follow-up

Automated follow-up is one of the most valuable features a CRM can offer. Once an apartment lead has been captured, it’s important to follow up with them as quickly as possible. An automated follow-up system will ensure no potential sale slips through the cracks. It allows you to set up automatic email or phone reminders to follow up with apartment leads, so you never miss an opportunity to convert them. 

For example, you will want to set up automated follow-up emails for anyone who fills out a form on your multifamily website to book a tour, contact your leasing team, or if they download any of your free resources.

Don’t forget to use personalization tokens in the body copy of your email to ensure your message is catered to the specific resident. However, be cautious with personalizing your subject lines, as recent studies found that emails with personalized subject lines get lower open rates (18.79%) than those with generic ones (22.14%). Further, the personalized subject line click-through rate was 1.74% versus 2.74%. 

4. Detailed customer profiles (AKA get to know your prospects)

The more information you have about a resident, the better equipped you are to provide them with what they need and want. A detailed resident profile will include contact information to lease history and interests. 

This profile can also help you refine your resident buyer persona. Potential residents should never be looked at as an entry in a database or a contact in a CRM. Multifamily marketing messaging is meant to connect and provide powerful content that is useful and relevant to their problems. All the while, it’s helping transform your properties through real and honest data. 

What renters perceive is reality to them, which is why it is important to ensure your residents feel comfortable and welcome at your property. This requires properties to anticipate the needs of community members, and the best way to do that is to get to know them.

Qualifying your apartment leads to increase conversions

Just because a lead is sales-qualified does not mean they are a good fit. As a multifamily marketer, you’ll likely never know if a lead meets sales’ needs. That requires sales to engage with the lead first. Instead, it’s imperative to use lead qualification methods to ensure your apartment leads are qualified from a multifamily marketing perspective and ease sales jobs on the rest. 

With the right CRM tool and marketing automation software, you can more easily determine who your hot leads are and take action, so no sales fall through the cracks. Or, you can use this information to nurture those leads to eventually become leases. Ultimately, with the right tools, you’ll be well on achieving your leasing goals.

Our Top 10 Tips to Increase Your Ranking in Google SERP

If you manage a multifamily property, you know how important it is to be visible online. After all, potential residents will likely start their search for a new place to live by turning to the Internet. But with so many properties vying for attention, how can you ensure that yours stands out from the rest? The answer is multifamily SEO.

SEO, or search engine optimization, is improving your property’s ranking in Google and other search engines. Following a few simple tips, you can ensure that your property appears at the top of the search results when potential residents are looking for a new place to live.

Solving the Mystery of Multifamily SEO

The mysterious art that is multifamily SEO is not that mysterious at all. From this perspective, things become a little clearer when we think about multifamily SEO. We all do searches and all happen across results less than valuable to our needs.

Google only cares about one thing and one thing. Relevance. That is it — just relevance. They do not care about you or your multifamily business — they only care about the person searching.

Google’s job is to get the user the best results as quickly as possible. It is not easy when so many people are trying to game the system to increase traffic to their site. Google gives us one directive, “Be Relevant.”

From time to time, you hear about Google’s major algorithm updates and descriptions of what they do from a technical standpoint. You need to know less of the technical aspects and more of the overarching strategy — relevant content. If you can follow that advice and do it well, you will find yourself rising in the ranks of Google.

So you want to know how to do it well? Do you want to know the secret to get your multifamily business listed?

Just follow these SEO tips to improve your ranking in Google:

1. Create remarkable content

Remarkable content is sharable content. You want your content to be so good that people want to share it with their friends, families, and others within their circle of influence. This, while a little daunting, may be simpler than you think. You can start by identifying pain points that your prospective renters may have and give them a solution. 

Your content shouldn’t be about driving a sales pitch, it should be about educating. Add value to your viewers. They will appreciate it, and in turn, pass it around to those within their circle of influence.

2. Create a catchy, relevant headline

Your headline is your first impression, and first impressions count. It’s just as important as having a strategic meta description and title tag. You want your headline to be catchy and engaging but also contain your primary keywords.

Try using numbers combined with the primary keyword you are trying to rank for. People are drawn to lists because they are faster reads, such as:

• 5 Ways to Decorate Your Luxury Apartment in Dallas
• 10 Steps to Declutter Your One-Bedroom Apartment
• 30 Things to Do in Charlotte, N.C. This Summer.”

3. Always include a call-to-action (CTA)

Throughout your blog, or at least at the end of it, provide a way for your viewers to get more helpful information by providing you with a little bit of information. Give them something of value for providing you their name and emails, such as a whitepaper on the “Top Multifamily Market Trends of This Year,” an infographic on “What Amenities Your Residents Really Want,” or perhaps an eBook on how to win more business by using your multifamily product or service. (Psst … a great example of a marketing offer is the one you see promoted throughout this blog!)

This is one way to help identify which content is truly remarkable and what is not. When someone fills out your form requesting additional information, this is what we like to call an apartment lead — it shows interest!

4. Distribute your multifamily content

Simply put, don’t just post content to your site and leave it at that. Get the word out. Post a link across your social channels, send it out in an email blast, and get your coworkers and others in your circle to post it. This will create a buzz around your multifamily business, and you will start seeing a spike in traffic to your site just because of this. Every post you make needs to include social sharing icons, making it easy for your viewers to share it. The easier it is to share, the wider your reach. 

5. Enhance your outreach backlink strategy

Distributing your content is also a great strategy for enhancing your backlink strategy. A backlink is a link from another website to your multifamily website, web page, or web directory. This is comparable to a citation. These backlinks are critical to any good multifamily SEO strategy as it shows Google that your multifamily website has authority and relevance in the market.

By getting the word out about a new blog you published, for example, you increase your chances of similar websites linking back to your content and increasing your authority with Google (and thus, your ranking!) Distributing your content and reaching out to similar publications are two easy (and free) ways to increase your backlinks.

Just be very cautious about blackhat multifamily SEO tactics that could harm your rankings, such as irrelevant and spammy backlinks.

6. Encourage commenting and respond to comments

This point is not that hard, invite viewers of your content to leave you feedback through comments. This provides a great way to build relationships with prospects interested in using your multifamily product or service. These comments can come from social media or your multifamily website.

7. Claim your Google Business Profile

Google Business Page (formerly Google My Business) is a free service offered by Google that allows businesses to manage their online presence. When you claim your listing, you can control what information appears about your property when it comes up in a search. Ensure all of your property’s information is accurate and up-to-date, and take the time to respond to positive and negative reviews.

8. Optimize your multifamily website for SEO

Your multifamily website should be designed with SEO from the beginning. That means incorporating relevant keywords into your content, ensuring your site is easy to navigate, and ensuring all your content is original and error-free. You should also ensure that your site is mobile-friendly, as more and more people use their phones and tablets to access the internet.

9. Get involved in local community events

Local community events are a great way to get your property’s name out there. Sponsor a Little League team, host a food drive or partner with a local charity. Anytime you can get your property’s name in front of potential residents, you’re increasing the chances that they’ll remember you when they’re ready to start looking for a new place to live.

10. Make use of social media

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram are great ways to connect with potential residents and create an engaged online community around your property. Use social media to share your property’s news updates, highlight available units, and promote community events. 

And don’t forget to respond quickly and courteously to any questions or concerns posted on your social media accounts — you want potential residents to know they can count on you for excellent customer service.

Writing Remarkable Content to Earn Higher SERP Rankings

To sum up, there is nothing magical about these SEO tips. As a wise man once said, “If it is not worth doing right, then it’s not worth doing.” Writing remarkable content to improve your multifamily SEO takes time and effort, but it ultimately pays off.

Following these simple SEO tips can improve your multifamily property’s ranking in Google and attract more attention from potential residents. Investing in SEO will pay off in the long run as you see an increase in traffic to your website and ultimately lease up more units at your property.

The Secret to a Successful Multifamily Marketing Strategy: Influencer Marketing

Millennial and Gen Z renters no longer consider commercials or ads the major influence in their decision-making process. Many brands know this, using their marketing tactics to focus on influencer marketing to reach beyond the typical leasing billboard.

From reviews to thought leadership, social media for apartments offers a unique outlet to build fans as an influencer. Social media influencers in the real estate world are recognized for their large following and insights covering all aspects of the multifamily space. 

A strong social presence is necessary to hold an influencer status in addition to quality posts. Turning to these influencers as a voice within the industry will result in valuable relationships that companies can leverage.

So who exactly are these valuable assets? 

Social media influencers are users with a large following and are “influencing” the community. They are often viewed as a more trustworthy resource than advertisers, thus better capturing an audience. 

According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from individuals (even if they don’t know them) over brands. It makes sense, right? Who sounds more reliable, a brand trying to sell you something or an individual just stating opinions?

Influencer marketing has become an increasingly important tool for businesses in recent years, and the multifamily industry is no exception. Influencers are social media users with a large and engaged following who can help to promote your brand or product. When done correctly, influencer marketing can be an extremely effective way to reach new prospects and generate apartment leads.

What does influencer marketing mean for multifamily?

As property managers take to more nontraditional methods for reeling in renters, social media influencers hold an interesting opportunity for multifamily. Influencer marketing is an indispensable asset as it allows a third party to promote your property.

For instance, influencers have brought attention to properties through guest blogging and social promotion, like TweetChats. Most of them participate or host weekly Tweetchats, like #AptChat and #REOnline, where real estate professionals exchange ideas while networking. Apartment communities can join the conversation and leverage the popularity of online hashtags run by influencers.

Leveraging influencer marketing for your property

There are a few key things to remember when leveraging influencers for social media. 

• First, it’s important to identify influencers who are a good fit for your multifamily brand and who have an audience that overlaps with your target market. 
• Second, you’ll want to develop a clear strategy for working with influencers, including what type of content you’d like them to create and how you’ll promote it. 
• Finally, ensure you measure the results of your influencer marketing campaign to continue improving your multifamily marketing strategy over time. 

Connect and Engage With Influencers

Connecting with real estate professionals is the first step to becoming aware of how influencers can help your marketing. Engaging with these professionals in relevant topics will help develop a network that can be used to get involved with the community.

Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn have a large commercial real estate community, so it’s important to know where to go to connect with the right professionals. TweetChats and LinkedIn groups are great places to engage with property managers, so use these to your advantage. As long as you’re getting your name out there, other professionals will start to see you as a reputable source.

Socialize With Quality

Focusing on sharing quality content is important to real estate influencers. Social media should be an outlet for property managers to be themselves and talk with other professionals. Sharing relevant content and using popular real estate hashtags will elevate your presence. Further, voicing opinions on certain trending topics will show a positive interest in building an active, involved community.

Boost Your Multifamily Marketing Efforts

Influencers are great marketing tools because they know the ins and outs of the industry. Connecting with these professionals allows property managers to market their property simply by becoming visible to their followers. 

Rather than spending large marketing dollars on billboards or print ads, influencer marketing is free or significantly cheaper. Consider allowing one of these professionals to guest blog on your property’s site, for example. They can share your article with their followers, and you have more content to add. It’s a win-win!

By following these tips, you can maximize the impact of influencer marketing for your multifamily business.

Winning Tactics to Attract More Gen Z Renters to Your Property

The oldest members of Gen Z are turning 25 this year. They were only seven years old when Facebook launched; they had never known a time before the internet.

And guess what else? They will be the largest generation of apartment renters the industry has ever seen.

We just adapted to millennial renters, and now here comes Generation Z in full force. Before long, it will be time to adapt again to Generation Alpha (AKA “mini millennials”), but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.

Meet your Gen Z renters

First, who are your Gen Z renters? They’re the buzzed-about generation, and rightfully so, with $360 billion in disposable income. And Gen Z’s spending power is continuously on the rise.

While millennials have historically garnered all the attention from multifamily apartment properties, Generation Z has overtaken the rental market. This age group is typically born between the mid-1990s and 2010.

When comparing them to previous generations, online connectivity emerges as the defining characteristic. As such, this young population should be an extremely important part of your apartment marketing strategy.

Gen Z by the numbers

Let’s consider a few stats from a recent rentcafe.com survey of 2,500 Gen Z renters:

• 39% of Gen Z renters searched Google for their next apartment, while 27% specifically went to apartment search websites.
• 52% of Gen Z said they prefer non-agent apartment tours (e.g., self-guided or virtual tour options).
• 30% of this generation check ratings and reviews first, as compared with 28% of millennials and 25% of Gen X.
• 62% of Gen Z said apartment technology is either “extremely important” or “very important.”
• The No. 1 most important amenity to Gen Z renters is high-speed internet, followed closely by garage and parking.
• 36% of Gen Z renters said Instagram is their #1 social media platform.
• Smart locks and smart thermostats are twice as important to Gen Z as to millennials or Gen X.

What do Gen Z renters want?

Gen Z renters seek efficiency in leasing, new communication channels, and enhanced amenities. As these young adults continue to enter the rental market, it will become increasingly crucial for you to understand their expectations.

1. Smart technology

Now is the time to get ahead on your smart apartment technology and high-speed internet connectivity, as these amenities are more important to Gen Z renters than gyms, pools, and coffee bars.

2. Mobile-first strategy

Gen Z’s technology use is fast-evolving in consumer marketing and the real estate industry. Smartphones are considered an extension of the body. Gen Z touches their smartphones 45 times daily for communication, entertainment, and informational purposes. About 29% of Gen Z are on their phones after midnight every night, and 31% said they feel uncomfortable without their phone for 30 minutes or less.

We don’t know what will if these stats don’t tell you to prioritize your mobile-first website!

3. More activity on social media

Social media is a natural forum for Gen Z to interact with friends and companies. In fact, their preferred method of communication is on social media rather than in person (even when it comes to their friends and family). This generation’s lifestyles and technology habits are causing us to rethink how we approach brand development, particularly in real estate.

With technology at their fingertips, everything of interest to Generation Z is connected to social media. Your apartment marketing should focus extensively on the most popular social media platforms (i.e., Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok) and continually adapt as new social tools gain popularity.

While these young adults are known for their multitasking abilities when juggling various social platforms simultaneously, they are also known for “scrolling.” Your social media ads should, therefore, be attention-grabbing and specific. Hone in on your core message quickly or risk losing engagement. Focus your apartment marketing efforts on videos and other visually appealing content for the best results. 

4. Rent longer. Rent by choice.

Aside from being the most coveted demographic, they’re also the most baffling for a traditional multifamily industry to understand. Compared to the generations before them, changing lifestyle preferences are beginning to propel several trends in multifamily development. 

Gen Z is poised to rent longer than generations before, often by choice. If you compare it to the millennial generation, who waited longer to get married and start a family, Gen Z is expected to follow in a similar path. This trend will undoubtedly extend their rental lifetime well into their professional years.

5. More tour options and an adaptable leasing process

With over half of Gen Z renters preferring non-agent apartment tours, it will be up to your property to adapt and offer a mix of in-person, self-guided, and virtual tour options to increase conversions.

Regarding communication and the leasing process, a mobile-first strategy is also important. Gen Z is unlikely to hand-write a rent check or manually fill out a leasing application. They expect everything online, which includes leasing paperwork and payments.

Marketing to Gen Z renters

Gen Z lifestyle preferences drive key changes in multifamily development, but what does that mean for multifamily marketing? If you understand what’s important to them, you can understand how to attract them. This is how to maintain a customer-centric approach. 

However, remember that being familiar with multifamily marketing trends is only a starting point. Your greatest demographic insights will come from the research you do yourself. The best way to research your target market is to develop resident personas. You can learn all about developing personas on our blog.

Again, when we know what’s important to prospective residents, we can understand how to attract and engage them.

Understanding the Relationship Between Multifamily SEO and Social Media

Did you know that multifamily SEO matters on social media?

More and more multifamily properties are hopping on social media, which serves as another channel for them to share and interact with renters and the community. But perhaps you don’t see the appeal of a social media presence?

Well, we’re here to give you another very important reason to be on social media, and that’s search engine optimization (SEO). Multifamily SEO is essentially the process of optimizing your content for search engines. 

For most platforms (i.e., Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, to name a few), there are a few simple steps you can take to move your multifamily property up in search engine rankings:

How do you optimize your social media profiles?

1. List Basic Information

All social media platforms have a place for users to list basic information: Company Name, Location, About Us, Address, etc. Make sure to fill out all the information sections on your profiles with specific keywords. The more information you share, the more chances you have to be indexed by Google. Besides, you want to make sure that anyone who comes across your property online knows exactly where it’s located and how to contact you.

2. Anticipate Popular Keywords

Brainstorm words or phrases that are relevant to your multifamily property. Perhaps it’s “lofts in downtown Dallas” or “Houston apartments with a dog park.” What is your property or multifamily business offering? What would your target audience search specifically? Use these keywords at a high density throughout your social media profiles and bios; include them in your social media captions when it’s natural to do so. You also might want to use them in hashtags (within the caption and not the comments) to get users on social media to find you more easily.

3. Invite Reviews

Display a section for reviews when possible. Facebook pages have a review section on the left side panel with 1-5 star ratings for the user to evaluate and post comments. It shows real people living in your multifamily property, providing real feedback. Again, it’s more opportunities to be indexed by search engines. This also allows you to publicly address any issues that your residents may be having, ultimately showing potential residents that you’re on top of handling problems.

4. Link Often

Outbound links are one of the most important aspects to multifamily SEO, so be sure to link to other sources! In your use of social media, provide links to relevant blog articles and neighborhood events. Spread the word out about the great happenings going on around your neighborhood and property. Not only is it good for multifamily SEO, but “linking” is a great way to connect with people and businesses in your community.

5. Create Shareable Content

Inbound links are equally as important to SEO, yet you have to earn them. When people link back to your multifamily website or social media pages, it means you’re sharing content that is high quality, compelling, and helpful. 

Some ideas include:

• Make and share a weekly newsletter with information about what’s going on at your property.
• Post interior design tips for small living spaces. 
• Write about apartment decorating and storage hacks.
• Promote local events and happy hour specials in your community.

Creating shareable content starts with knowing your audience and what they would find interesting and resourceful.

6. Utilize Multifamily PPC

While SEO is the organic approach to driving traffic, multifamily PPC is the paid. PPC ads display at the top or in the sidebar of search engine results. A successful multifamily PPC campaign combines your keyword research and your insights to design highly targeted ads that drive traffic to your website. It’s important to note that well-qualified traffic is the result of research and continued testing. Understanding your residents should be an ongoing learning process and the foundation of any SEO or PPC campaign (not to mention, all digital marketing).

7. Update Your Instagram Bio

Potential renters don’t just use Google to find new apartments, they use Instagram too. They go to the search bar on the explore page a type in “apartments in [city]” and maybe even include a descriptor such as “affordable” or “luxury.”

The way you give your property’s account the best chance of showing up in a related search is by adding keywords right into the “Name” of your profile’s bio. While the label for this section might make you assume you’re limited to just having your property’s name, there are actually no rules for this section. You can put whatever you want for your bio’s name. There’s also quite a bit of space you have to work with. 

Here are some examples: 

• Rio Villa Apartments | San Angelo, TX
• LVL 29 | Luxury Apartments in Plano
• Willow Creek | Affordable Apartments in Austin
• Prairie Pride | New Homes in Midlothian 

If you feel like your Instagram handle is enough to communicate the name of your property, you could even remove the name entirely and focus more on longer or multiple keywords. 

Following these simple steps is a great way to improve your search engine ranking with the social media platforms you’re already using. It ultimately makes your content easier to find, allows you to connect with your audience, and helps you build the brand that you’re striving towards.

Summary: Criterion.B, a leading digital marketing and multifamily branding agency, has completed an extensive rebranding effort in response to accelerated company growth.

DALLAS, TX April 26, 2022 — Criterion.B, a leading digital marketing and multifamily branding agency, has completed an extensive rebranding effort in response to accelerated company growth and renewal of its mission and core values. At the heart of this rebranding is a complete website redesign.

The marketing industry is ever-changing, and so are multifamily marketing methods. The latest shift — beyond the focus of snappy headlines and eye-catching graphics, is one that has staying power. In this rebrand, Criterion.B plans to continue to forge its own path through innovative methodologies, with a fresh new look and more targeted brand identity. 

The website redesign includes additional work pages highlighting the multifamily branding agency’s past work, clients, case studies, and achievements. Also included on the new site, is an enhanced resource section full of free downloadable marketing tools and a much more succinct yet informative layout.

“Over the years Criterion.B has cemented its status as one of the leading marketing and multifamily branding agencies with a growing team and client roster,” said Jon Simpson, CEO of Criterion.B. “We want our brand refresh to reflect that success so that we can best position ourselves and our clients for continued growth and scalability in this ever-changing industry.”

Operating as Criterion.B, the agency aims to drive strong ROI, business growth and build brand identities for its clients. Visit criterionb.com to explore the new multifamily branding layout and learn more about the multifamily marketing agency.

About Criterion.B

Criterion.B is an agency focused on branding and inbound marketing for the commercial real estate industry. We provide ROI, drive business growth, and build brand identities for our clients. 

For more information, visit www.criterionb.com.

Contact Ashley Tyndall at ashley@cb.agency with any questions.