How to Build, Measure, and Scale Your Multifamily Marketing Approach

When most real estate developments begin to create their multifamily marketing strategy to attract marketing-qualified leads, you can imagine that the conversations are more or less the same each time. 

Namely discussions on ad buys, billboards, large banners, and sales calls. These methodologies are often inefficient, having little ROI and little reach in meeting business goals.

A key reason these methods are inefficient is that multifamily marketing has changed. 

For many years, marketing was based on interruption through things like cold calls and advertising. But as society became more digital — from VHS and DVRs allowing people to fast-forward to programs like AdBlock preventing ads from displaying on websites — these methods have become inefficient. 

Technology has empowered consumers to take the buyer’s journey online; therefore, your multifamily marketing efforts should be online too.

How is multifamily marketing evolving?

The better question is, how are residents evolving? Whether you like it or not, millennials (and now Gen Z renters) make up a sizable share of the multifamily market.

Millennials rent longer and by choice, and their lifestyles are vastly different from those of generations before. Trends like pet ownership and hyper-connectivity definethis generation, along with a willingness to sacrifice square footage for prime locations.

And yet, while these lifestyle trends drive development, they’re only a starting point for multifamily marketing.

Here are a few secret keys to attracting and converting web visitors into marketing-qualified leads for your multifamily business:

1. Giving every property or organization a custom approach.

Development and the creative process should cater to the audience — not the other way around. 

Let’s start by really understanding the target demographic for your property or organization. Immerse yourself in understanding their lifestyle, pain points, and interests. Bring in a multifamily branding agency that can help you turn insights into a concept that will remain top of mind throughout the development process, from contractors to vendors, from building to multifamily branding.

Customizing your apartment marketing approach is essential in today’s world. Marketing strategies vary per market because each market is remarkably different. It would be ignorant to believe that Lincoln, Nebraska, residents want the same things as Charlotte, N.C., residents, for example.

2. Creating a narrative and telling your multifamily brand story.

With an earnest understanding of your target audience, a narrative about your residents should unfold. Their motivations, lifestyle choices, and demographic characteristics should come together as a story. From these insights, the concept for your property will be born.

Focus on building something that inspires the people living there. Watch a car commercial, and you’ll see how well the auto industry understands this concept of storytelling. It’s not so much about the product as the lifestyle it promotes.

This aspirational lifestyle affects every facet of multifamily development — from site selection to design and multifamily branding.

When it comes to differentiating your property, it starts with knowing your audience better than they know themselves. Only through thoughtful research can you begin to develop the environment, the lifestyle, and the creative messaging that resonates (and ultimately generates marketing-qualified leads).

3. Building your digital marketing funnel.

What’s the first thing you do when you’re looking to buy something? Odds are, you do some research on Google first. This is where apartment marketing begins in the modern age. As everything moves online, the internet has become the source of major information exchange.

What keywords should you be using? Well, imagine what your typical buyer is searching for. If you’re looking to attract people to your blog about real estate developments in Dallas, you shouldn’t mention attractions in Chicago. From there, the information needs to be broad enough and address the buyer persona’s problem in a way that drives interest.

The information should be presented as a content offer and will be “gated,” so the visitor must complete the required information to download it. That information turns the visitor into an apartment lead. 

These apartment leads might then consume more relevant information and provide more sales information to become marketing-qualified leads, and so on. This is called building the multifamily marketing funnel, and this funnel ensures that leads are qualified before reaching sales. This methodology also sees apartment leads pulled in to ask questions and conduct research, rather than pushed and bombarded with unwanted advertising messages.

Why is this significant? Not only are you spending less on obtaining these types of leads, but these marketing-qualified leads are more likely to convert, minimizing your overall ROI.

4. Tracking how you are featured online.

You need to build a funnel to be successful with your apartment marketing to ultimately generate more marketing-qualified leads. The next issue is ensuring you present this information well. As we stated before, it’s not enough to exist online. Your presence needs to be in tip-top shape!

Why, you ask? Because first impressions are important on the web. People will leave your site within 5 seconds if they cannot find the information they are looking for. So how do you make sure you’re relevant?

Keywords

Ensure you’re using accurate multifamily SEO keywords that your customers will search. You want to feature these regularly enough that search engines will map your content, but not so much that they’ll dock you for keyword stuffing.

Focused Content

Staying relevant with your content — including linking to other trusted sites and keeping your information objective — is key to keeping consumers on your site. When a consumer feels like they’ve stepped into an infomercial on your homepage, they’re likely to leave. However, if you keep your content focused and informative, from blogs to social media posts, consumers will more likely see you as an authority and keep coming back.

UX Multifamily Web Design

People are tempted to go with style over substance in multifamily web design. Contrary to what your boss might believe, multifamily websites should always be designed for the consumer and with their interests in mind. What does that mean? The consumer doesn’t want to hear about you. They want to hear about how you’re going to solve their problem.

Keeping your content and multifamily web design consumer-friendly makes consumers more likely to stay on the site. This includes making the site ADA-compliant for your users as well. Mobile-friendly designs are here to stay, so make sure your site cooperates.

The Future of Multifamily Marketing

With these aspects implemented, you can expect improved search presence and a lead ROI that delivers substantial returns. 

This is the future of multifamily marketing. Rather, this is the roadmap for building brands in today’s world to bring in more marketing-qualified leads, and this industry has finally got its hands on it.

From Likes to Leases: Here’s What You Need to Be Doing on Instagram

Instagram marketing has become a powerful tool for multifamily businesses and properties to engage with their target audience, showcase their unique offerings, and build a strong sense of brand loyalty. 

In the competitive commercial real estate market, successful Instagram accounts are those that understand the value of creative content, personalized experiences, and a genuine connection with their audience.

Let’s explore some of the top Instagram accounts for multifamily (in no particular order) and uncover the reasons behind their success:

1. LVL 29

Located in West Plano, Texas, LVL 29 is a luxury apartment community that has harnessed the potential of Instagram to the fullest. Through captivating visuals, this Instagram showcases unit interiors, available floorplans, leasing specials, and unique community amenities. What sets LVL 29 apart is its consistent Instagram marketing strategy, fostering a growing following and encouraging residents to engage by tagging the property and resharing posts actively.

2. Discovery Park Apartments

Discovery Park Apartments in Denton, Texas, is another property that uses Instagram as a leasing tool. While the graphics are not ground-breaking or design-heavy, they are clean, eye-catching, and focus on showcasing the property’s interiors and amenities in a way that will engage potential renters.

3. 3700M 

3700M is a luxury apartment complex located in West Village, Dallas that frequently uses its Instagram to highlight property staff. This Instagram marketing strategy allows both current and prospective renters to put a name to 3700M managers and employees. By personifying the property and showcasing the friendly faces that make up its resident community, 3700M humanizes the rental process and opens the line of communication for its resident community and future tenants.

4. AvalonBay Communities

AvalonBay Communities, an equity REIT, also showcases its staff and company culture on Instagram. From posts about National Hiring Day to interviewing staff for Hispanic Heritage Month, AvalonBay publishes a variety of content to inspire its followers while uniquely personifying the company.

5. AMLI Residential

AMLI Residential is a property management company that has mastered the art of creativity on Instagram. The company showcases everything from new property photos to cute canine residents, but most importantly, they’re not afraid to get crafty. In one of many contests, AMLI encouraged residents to share their creative DIY projects. Their Instagram is worth a visit, as AMLI does a great job sharing photos that spark opportunities for resident engagement.

6. Century Apartments

Century Apartments is another property management company that has multifamily properties nationwide. They often use Instagram to promote upcoming resident activities at each of their properties and provide coverage of events being held. Not only does this approach encourage participation from current residents, but it allows prospective residents to get a sense of the personality of Century Apartment communities. They also share photos from various philanthropic events, which show how their properties are giving back to the community.

7. Prairie Ridge

Prairie Ridge, a master-planned community in Grand Prairie, Texas, maintains a cohesive Instagram feed aesthetic with an even mix of promoting the community’s available homes and floorplan options and upcoming events in nearby Midlothian, Texas.

Prairie Ridge also changes its content with the seasons to show prospects exactly what life can be like in their homes. For example, Prairie Ridge shifts to images of homes with Christmas trees and cookie decorating in winter. In the summer months, the community’s feed transforms into children playing in the sprinklers in the front yard and eating ice cream in the driveway.

8. Anatole at City View

While Anatole at City View is located in the smaller town of Lubbock, Texas, the apartment community embraces its city and small-town charm on social media by focusing some of its Instagram posts to showcase nearby eateries. 

9. NE Property Management

With prime locations in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Wyoming, NE Property Management’s communities each showcase the incredible views that come with location, location, location. From relaxing pool views to breathtaking rooftop views, NE paints a picture of luxury at its properties. Each of its properties’ Instagram accounts is portrayed as if from the eye of a resident — one who loves their city and loves what their property location has to offer. 

10. Winsted at White Rock

Your residents are the ones who make your community great, so why not focus on them? Winsted at White Rock in Dallas, Texas, celebrates the faces and personalities of the people who live there. Not only is this a great way to engage with current residents, but it also gives prospective residents an idea of the people who currently live in your community.

11. The Morris Apartments

The Morris Apartments in Nashville, Tenn., taps into influencer marketing regularly by having social media influencers “take over” their Instagram page for a day. For example, beauty influencer Leigh Taylor took over the page to share beauty tips and advice on the property’s Instagram Stories.

9 Strategies for Building an Engaging Social Media Presence

Success with Instagram marketing varies for every industry. For multifamily properties and businesses, some are finding success by highlighting residents, showcasing events, and being a part of the community.

Here are some ways to find success with your commercial real estate Instagram marketing strategy to help build your social media presence.

1. Adopt Instagram as a leasing tool.

Commercial real estate Instagram marketing is about more than just scheduling out some posts and letting it be. To take full advantage of your social media, you need to use it as another leasing tool. Your Instagram should inform, engage, and delight your residents — enough so that your prospects want to follow you and schedule a tour to learn more about your property.

2. Feature your world-class staff.

Showcasing your team and company culture can work wonders for your property’s image. By highlighting your staff members, you create a personal and approachable touch that resonates with both current and prospective renters.

Start by introducing the friendly faces behind your property. Let your Instagram be the stage where your team shines, allowing your audience to know the individuals who make your community thrive. This simple yet powerful strategy humanizes the rental process and fosters a stronger sense of community among residents.

Don’t be afraid to get creative with your content. From celebrating National Hiring Day to honoring Hispanic Heritage Month, take inspiration from your property’s unique culture and values. Share engaging posts that inspire your followers and paint a vivid picture of your company’s personality.

3. Get crafty. Hold a contest.

Mastering the art of creativity on Instagram can take your property’s social media game to the next level. Spotlight a wide range of content, from new property photos to heartwarming moments with cute canine residents. But don’t stop there — embrace your crafty side and think outside the box!

Consider holding engaging online contests. Encourage your residents to share their creative DIY projects, inspiring a sense of community and camaraderie among them. A contest like this boosts resident engagement and provides valuable user-generated content that you can share with your audience.

Remember, creativity knows no bounds on Instagram. Let your imagination run wild, and share posts that will captivate and inspire your followers. The more unique and inventive your content, the more your property will stand out in the crowded world of social media.

4. Highlight resident events.

As a property management company with multifamily properties nationwide, you have a wonderful opportunity to use Instagram to build a sense of community and showcase the unique personality of your properties. One effective way to do this is by promoting upcoming resident activities and events at each of your locations.

When you share coverage of these events on Instagram, you encourage participation from current residents and offer a glimpse into the vibrant and engaging atmosphere that your properties cultivate. Prospective residents will get a taste of the lively community they can be a part of, making them more likely to envision themselves living in your properties.

And don’t forget to showcase your properties’ philanthropic efforts. Sharing photos from various philanthropic events and initiatives demonstrates your commitment to giving back to the community. Prospective residents will appreciate your dedication to making a positive impact, and current residents will feel proud to be part of a community that contributes to a greater cause.

By fostering a sense of community and highlighting your properties’ charitable endeavors, you’ll strengthen your brand and create a lasting impression on your Instagram audience. Embrace the power of social media to showcase the heart and soul of your multifamily properties!

5. Change with the seasons.

Being helpful on social media is crucial for building strong connections with your audience. To make a lasting impression on your followers, consider adopting a cohesive Instagram feed aesthetic while also embracing seasonal changes.

Incorporate the spirit of each season into your content to resonate with your audience. During December, for instance, you can feature images of festive holiday decorations and heartwarming activities like cookie decorating. This allows your audience to envision the cozy and joyful atmosphere they could experience in their future homes.

As the summer months arrive, shift your focus to more outdoor-oriented content. Capture the excitement of children playing in the sprinklers or enjoying refreshing ice cream in the driveway. By showcasing these seasonal moments, you give prospects a genuine glimpse into the vibrant lifestyle they could enjoy within your community.

Embracing seasonal changes on your Instagram feed keeps your content fresh and engaging and creates a relatable and aspirational experience for your audience.

6. Embrace your city.

Regardless of your property’s location, you can leverage Instagram to embrace and celebrate the unique culture of your city. Focus on showcasing nearby eateries and local hotspots to create an authentic connection with your audience.

Expand your commercial real estate Instagram marketing strategy by posting content that supports local businesses, highlights upcoming events, and showcases nearby retail shops. Feature the best coffee shops in the area, inviting your followers to try their signature drinks and experience the local charm.

Celebrate what makes your location special, and your Instagram will become a powerful tool for fostering a sense of community and belonging among your audience.

7. Showcase your location.

If your multifamily properties boast prime locations with stunning views, leverage Instagram to showcase these picturesque scenes. Whether it’s breathtaking rooftop vistas or serene poolside landscapes, use your Instagram to paint a picture of the luxury and beauty that comes with “location, location, location.”

Take a resident’s perspective when curating your Instagram content, giving your audience a glimpse of what it’s like to wake up to such captivating views every day. Let the imagery speak for itself, evoking a sense of awe and appreciation for your property’s surroundings.

By sharing the allure of your location through Instagram, you create an emotional connection with your audience, instilling a desire to be a part of the community that offers such natural beauty and convenience. Highlighting the incredible views on your Instagram can be a powerful way to attract potential residents and leave a lasting impression on your current ones.

8. Celebrate your residents.

Your residents are the heart and soul of your community, so why not put them in the spotlight on Instagram? By showcasing the faces and personalities of the individuals who call your property home, you can create a sense of community and build a stronger connection with both current and potential residents.

Make your residents the stars of the show. This approach fosters engagement with current residents and provides prospective residents with a glimpse of the vibrant and diverse community they could become a part of.

Sharing stories, experiences, and testimonials from your residents can be a powerful way to humanize your property and demonstrate residents’ genuine sense of belonging. Use Instagram as a platform to showcase your residents’ unique personalities and stories, and you’ll create a more authentic and appealing presence that resonates with your target audience.

9. Utilize influencer Instagram marketing.

Social media offers a unique outlet to turn fans into influencers, particularly with commercial real estate Instagram marketing. Influencers are recognized by their large following and insights covering all aspects of your respective market. Often, influencers are viewed as a more trustworthy resource than advertisers, thus better capturing your audience.

Connect with influencers who resonate with your property or multifamily business to make the most of this strategy. By partnering with them, you can effortlessly market your brand through their already established follower base. Consider inviting an influencer to a guest blog on your website or let them take over one of your Instagram channels for a day to encourage active engagement from your followers.

Whether it’s beauty influencers sharing makeup tips or lifestyle gurus showcasing their experiences at the property, this approach can spark genuine interest and build a sense of community among your audience. Embrace the power of influencers on Instagram, and you’ll find new and innovative ways to reach and engage your target audience.

Mastering the Art of Your Instagram Marketing Strategy

Take a page from these top Instagram accounts for multifamily apartments. When done properly, a successful Instagram marketing strategy can be a game-changer for properties and multifamily vendors. By adopting Instagram as a leasing tool and leveraging these insights to grow your account, you can enhance your online presence, drive meaningful engagement, and ultimately increase conversions. Set your multifamily business up for continued success in the digital age.

It’s crazy to think that an average of 95 million posts are uploaded onto Instagram daily. Even in our own networks, we are bombarded with numerous photos daily that we often succumb to an aimless scroll — seeing but not really retaining.

When it comes to social media for apartments, we pause to see something that really catches our eye. Whether it’s vibrant food or a scenic location, something about that image stops us in our tracks.

Here are some tips on how to enhance your multifamily marketing strategy:

1. Don’t be in the shadows.

Lighting might be one of the first aspects to stop someone in their tracks. Brighter images will draw attention more often than darker ones. Play with brightness settings to increase light in specific areas or in the entire image. Take advantage of natural lighting. Especially when highlighting details in food or texture, brighter or natural lighting allows for clarity and proper emphasis on specific aspects of the shot.

2. Make it pop.

Color is key. Bright, vivid images are a great way to catch one’s eye and draw attention to a post. No matter the subject in the frame, try to include colorful objects or even add some filters or effects to boost the color. With that said, make sure your use of color sticks to your theme or brand tone. If you’re running an account for a company or brand, ensure you don’t stray too far from their tone and color scheme. It’s very easy to get carried away with bright colors that you completely forget who you’re posting for.

Take @lvl29life on Instagram as one example. The luxury apartment community’s overall Instagram feed is aesthetically pleasing and in tune with the brand’s color scheme and multifamily branding. LVL 29 utilizes high-quality photography and design to create social media graphics that are cohesive, engaging, and unique to the brand.

3. Focus, focus, focus.

When highlighting a subject, play with foreground and background. Most commonly done with food, put your subject in focus and blur out the background. This technique blatantly directs the viewer to see the most compelling part of your image.

A purposeful focus adds texture and depth to your image in unexpected ways. A general approach to any of these images would position the subject on a table with nothing too exciting about it. By focusing the camera on the subject, the photographer captured the object’s detail while allowing for greater context on the outer part of the frame. Whether the background is bland or has more action going on, focusing helps to organize what’s important in the frame and when done well, can look quite striking.

For example, a multifamily property might want to highlight its resident dog park on social media. Rather than simply sharing an image of the park, ask one of your residents to pose their dog in the park while you take a picture of the dog in the foreground, with the park slightly blurred in the background. Playing around with the focus of the image and making sure your residents (and their pups) are the star of your photo is a creative way to showcase your property amenities without being overly salesy.

Interested in more multifamily marketing tips for your social media? Check out our other blog, 4 Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Socia Media Strategy.

4. Don’t be boring.

Depending on your posting, variety may be a good attention-grabbing tool. Adding an assortment of objects and textures to an image can tell a greater story than expected. People are quick to look past singular images. By adding multiple objects into the frame, the viewer is invited to spend more time looking at the post and absorbing every part. With variety, your eyes are fed with new and different images around the frame, sparking curiosity about what all these objects have in common.

5. Position with a design eye.

Instagram allows anyone to become a photographer instantly. When taking and editing images, consider the positioning of your subject relative to the things around it and your perspective to capture the image. If you’re taking pictures of food, approach it from unconventional angles or perspectives that make even the blandest piece of toast look enticing.

If you’re taking pictures of nature, walk around and take a number of different pictures at different angles and distances to compose completely different images. Experiment with angles and positions to bring a creative edge to your image. Two images of the same object can look completely different with different angles and positions.

6. Experiment with videos and Reels.

Did you know that 9 out of 10 Instagram users watch videos daily? Never underestimate the power of video on social media. Video allows you to go beyond static images to capture viewers’ interest. Instagram offers several ways to share videos, including on your Stories, feed, IGTV, and Instagram Reels. Instagram’s latest algorithms put a significant focus on video, primarily Reels. It’s time to find a trending Reels sound and get creative with your content!

7. Use design apps like Canva.

Even if you don’t have a graphic design team in-house, that doesn’t mean your Instagram posts always need to be static content and Stock images. Design apps like Canva offer anyone the ability to create unique and branded posts with a few taps on their keyboard. Be sure to upload your fonts and hex codes for your brand colors to ensure your content is consistent and cohesive with your multifamily branding.

Want to see this in action? While our graphic design team helps us create most of our posts, our content team also utilizes design apps to enhance our feed. Follow us on Instagram to see for yourself!

8. Have fun.

No one said Instagram had to be serious. Have fun with what you share. Use every post as an opportunity to experiment with any of the above tips and bring new life to your account. Don’t be afraid to get weird or quirky. It’s the odd things that make people stop and stare.

For more multifamily marketing tips and tricks, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram!

Despite the economic tribulations brought on the U.S. in the last few years, the real estate industry is hot. Aside from the increasing demand for more homes and commercial spaces, the multifamily industry is expected to grow remarkably up until 2030. So, how can you harness some of this data in your multifamily content marketing?

Let’s discuss …

A report from the National Multifamily Housing Council (NHMC) and the National Apartment Association (NAA) states that demand for multifamily real estate will be so strong that at least 4.6 million units will be built over the next decade.

However, to make the most of these promising forecasts, multifamily real estate companies must learn to optimize data in their content marketing.

Why Data Is Crucial in the Multifamily Industry

Data is crucial in every industry as it can improve conversion rates, increase traffic, and prevent knowledge gaps. To illustrate, a Bain & Company study states that businesses in the U.S. could increase profits by over $2 billion annually by utilizing data. Thus, data literacy is integral for professionals — including those who don’t work in data analytics.

In fact, today’s business degrees are becoming more interdisciplinary, covering topics like contemporary technologies and data methods. Modern online bachelor’s programs in business administration even offer concentrations in data analytics and management information systems, which are taught alongside traditional business concepts, such as accounting, management, and business law. This shift only shows the growing expectations placed on businesspeople to be more data-literate. 

And this translates to the multifamily industry: harnessing data effectively can lead to deeper insights into trends, more accurate forecasts of future movements, and more effective multifamily content marketing.

How to Integrate Data Into Your Multifamily Content Marketing Strategy

1. Use data to drive contextual storytelling.

Good communication should paint a vivid picture, even if the topic is technical. After all, consumers need to understand the material for it to be impactful. However, multifamily marketing campaigns must also present information that audiences can relate to or find useful to have a lingering effect. This is where gathered data comes in. Using soft and hard data, you can create a well-rounded customer story that provides context, evidence, and insights. Thus, when crafting multifamily content marketing for your customer story, use data collaborations to maximize relevancy.

2. Leverage data visualizations.

Nothing hypes an exciting data set more than visuals. Though some data diehards may disagree, the truth is that visualizations make data more appealing and easier to digest. In fact, a study by iScribblers found that humans process visuals 60,000 times faster than plain text. Thus, should you have any pertinent data to share, consider sharing it via infographics, interactive tables, or videos. 

Aside from being more immersive and interactive, data visualizations can increase recall by up to 65%, making them a critical medium for data dissemination, both externally and internally.

3. Only pick the most salient data points.

Although publishing every bit of data you gather may be tempting, the best way to share it is to circulate the most notable highlights in your multifamily content marketing. This benefits you two-fold. First, more succinct datasets help you retain an audience’s attention (only eight seconds). And second, shorter data—and content in general—is more digitally compatible. 

Considering that mobile compatibility and software development are credited by 59% of those in the multifamily industry for improving customer service, it’s also no surprise that there is now a demand for software programmers with a degree in computer science. However, on any platform, your audience won’t be engaged if you present them with a hodgepodge of figures and statistics. 

In line with this, data expert Dr. Stephanie Evergreen told Forbes that “cutting to the chase” with your findings is a better way to engage the 50% of audiences who view such content on their mobile devices.

Although experts agree that the real estate market’s long-term future remains unclear, the influence of multifamily content marketing and the power of data is undeniable. As multifamily businesses adjust to the New Normal, data-enriched content can serve as both an anchor and a propeller for industry stability and profitability.

Selena Perkins is a freelance digital marketer with a keen interest in data analytics. She believes that knowing how to use data to make decisions is a must-have skill for everyone. When she’s not busy with work, Selena unwinds by watching shows on Netflix.

5 Steps to Improve Your Multifamily Marketing Analytics Strategy

The world of digital marketing analytics is always changing, making it difficult to understand the correlation between ad spend and revenue. As a multifamily agency, we know there is no one-to-one correlation between the two, and it is nearly impossible to prove to upper management that our efforts are worth the investment.

The tracking and analysis of your content mix to measure return on investment (ROI) is what digital marketing analytics is all about. And thankfully, there is no shortage of multifamily marketing resources to help collect and manage these data points.

Gearing Up With the Right Digital Marketing Analytics Tools

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a free tool marketers use to track their multifamily website or app. While the interface may seem daunting at first, this tool allows you to seamlessly monitor everything from site visitors’ demographics and behavior to bounce rate and what they click on most.

Social media insights

Most social media platforms offer their own analytics if you have a business account. Social media insights let you measure post reach, follower demographics, engagement and interactions, and even the time of day when your followers are most active. Additionally, you can track ad spend, cost per click, and more through Facebook’s Business Settings.

Hootsuite and Buffer

While Hootsuite and Buffer offer free platforms for social media management, the paid memberships allow you the ability to track all of your social media analytics on a single dashboard. Rather than logging into each of your social accounts to schedule posts individually, these platforms also give you the ability to schedule posts across multiple platforms from a single app.

Multifamily marketing automation software

While there are several tools for tracking digital marketing analytics, HubSpot, SharpSpring, and other marketing automation platforms let you consolidate them into one. With these platforms, you can schedule email campaigns, social media posts, blogs, and more, as well as track the digital marketing analytics for all of them.

Practicing Patience With Digital Marketing Analytics

Just as “a watched pot never boils,” you cannot expect to see immediate results from your multifamily marketing efforts. Patience is key as you track the success of your labor.

More likely than not, you will not see significant progress within the first week, month, or even quarter. Successful multifamily marketing takes time. While you should track items daily such as Facebook ad conversions or clicks on a CTA for your weekly e-newsletter, it is more important to monitor these metrics over a more extended time to see real improvement.

For example, your Facebook Business Page may receive 60 new followers in one week but only a handful the next. The change in followers is not necessarily a cause for concern, but it is a trend you should track closely to understand why your followers did not increase as much as in previous weeks.

After all, when you spend countless hours each month planning, scheduling, managing, and tracking your content marketing analytics, there’s no better way to enjoy the fruits of your labor (like increased ROI) than to track and improve your strategy continually. The key is not to get frustrated with your digital marketing analytics results. Stay patient and keep tracking.

How to Improve Your Digital Marketing Analytics Strategy

Reaching your buyer persona in the right place at the right time is paramount to multifamily marketing success, and digital marketing analytics are essential to evaluating any apartment marketing strategy. However, if not collected diligently, they are of no use.

If you are not achieving your multifamily marketing goals or seeing the results you want, it’s time to adjust your strategy. The following are a few good practices to make habits that will increase your data’s relevance:

1. Identify your problem areas

First, decide where you could use some improvement. Focus your efforts on a few specific areas, such as social media engagement or website traffic, to track relevant data for your business.

2. Create SMART goals

To prove your analytics efforts are worth your time, you have to set SMART goals — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely. This way, you can continue to track your progress against your end goals. Without this step, there is no way to assess the performance of the strategy you have put in place.

3. Stay committed

Now that you have the groundwork set, here comes the hard part — staying fully committed and on track with the goals you set. Tracking and reporting your analytics data weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly is crucial for identifying trends, so stay committed. Pausing your efforts or adding multiple layers to your pre-constructed plan will only lessen your impact.

4. Track your digital marketing analytics

Follow trends in your digital marketing analytics data and adjust accordingly. Then, track and report the results to find new insights. Luckily, there are a variety of digital marketing analytics tools to help you with this crucial step.

5. Report and repeat

Successful multifamily marketing is a long, winding road of strategy, testing, retesting, and careful planning. When you have met your goals, report your data to your team and set new ones.

Trust the Experts to Become the Experts

Use digital marketing analytics to make informed decisions about the time, place, and manner in which you advertise. This way, you can focus your ad spending in specific areas to better reach your target audience and improve the value of your multifamily marketing.

Remember, if implementing and executing a successful multifamily marketing campaign is not your business’s specialty, you do not have to go at it alone. You can leave the heavy lifting to a multifamily marketing agency like Criterion.B. You spent time and energy creating multifamily branding that offers a unique value proposition, so now it is time to trust the experts to develop a multifamily marketing mix that sends the right message to the right people.

Not sure if your apartment marketing strategy needs the boost of working with a multifamily marketing agency? Check out our worksheet that helps you identify where your business’s apartment marketing strategy stands!

The internet has officially changed how potential residents begin searching for a new place to call home. As consumers, we all buy products and make big decisions in a way some never thought was possible. Online has become the front door of all purchase decisions. Blogging, social media, and multifamily marketing are now a must, not an if.

Criterion.B multifamily marketing agency has always been about “bringing the human element” back to the apartment marketing space. Now it’s time for property managers and marketers, to build a foundation that embodies this approach — one that humanizes properties in the eyes of its residents, both present and future.

How Your Property Can Stand Out in a Cluttered Market

What are the most general and universal pain points of multifamily marketing?  

Differentiating your property from the rest can be challenging, especially in a rather cluttered market. In a new digital environment, the implications for multifamily marketing are huge.

How your property is perceived is determined by several touchpoints: ease of multifamily website navigation, online reviews, responsiveness, tone, and personality conveyed through social media.

What’s the number one way to differentiate yourself online? Customer service. No, we’re not talking about mediating a resident’s maintenance complaint (although that certainly falls under this much larger umbrella). We’re talking about “customer service” as a proactive approach to leasing and community engagement.

Here are six things to consider as you change the way you promote your properties to differentiate yourself in the market:

1. Inbound multifamily marketing is here and quite frankly, it’s the future.

The digital advertising world has changed, and inbound multifamily marketing is a shift in the way business is being done. 

2. Residents are more connected and opinionated than ever before.

Potential residents are coming to us more informed, more connected, and more opinionated than ever before. That means our multifamily marketing tactics and methodology needs to change too.

3. Multifamily marketing should never be an interruption.

We are done with interrupting the lives of potential residents and shouting the loudest in an effort to have advertising messages heard … it’s rude! We get it. We are all human beings who want relevant content delivered when we want it, on our terms. Meet your prospective residents where they already are and serve them informative, relevant content on their terms.

4. People matter. They’re not just another statistic in a database.

Potential residents should never be considered an entry in a database or a contact in a CRM (Customer Relationship Manager). 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 a reality to them, so 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.

5. Service and resident experience outweigh material amenities.

Amenities are not the point of differentiation in today’s saturated market; amenities have become a necessity. Properties must take a customer service approach permeating every aspect of their operation: prospecting renters, leasing, community engagement, and planning resident events.

6. Trust is key in building the tools for a sustainable future.

Earning trust is important, every step of the way. Trust is essential for building relationships, which are the essence of inbound multifamily marketing. By building relationships with your residents, you’re building a sustainable future.

Instead of spending budgets heavily on the traditional multifamily marketing tactics of trade shows, print campaigns, direct mail, and cold calling, we need to shift rapidly towards a medium that allows for an inbound approach to targeting, interacting, and influencing consumers‘ decisions. After all, content is king.

The multifamily marketing world has changed. It is time to embrace the future.

A Digital Multifamily Marketing Foundation

Here’s the key takeaway: When you know what’s important to your residents, you can serve them better than anyone else. Whether we’re talking about web design, social media, online advertising, or meeting millennial expectations, this internalized customer-centric approach will be the common thread. 

The shift towards becoming a truly customer-centric organization is both complex and long. However, even the smallest changes can have a significant benefit on your property management team, as well as your residents.

Being a customer-centric property is the Holy Grail towards unlocking the true potential of resident value. Always put yourself in the shoes of potential and current residents, and soon, your property will stand out from the rest.

Criterion.B, an award-winning marketing and branding agency, is excited to announce the launch of Swifty, a full-service marketing platform for multifamily properties.

Swifty allows multifamily property management companies to use premium pre-designed website themes to launch high-end sites for each community in their portfolio quickly and seamlessly at a fraction of the cost of custom-designed websites.

After thorough research and based on more than 10 years of experience in multifamily marketing, Criterion B identified a significant need in the Swifty market.

“Swifty is built for property managers; we listen to our clients, and we apply what we learn. We want to make their lives easier by making their sites painless to manage,” said Jon Simpson, Chief Executive and Founder at Criterion.B. “This full suite of marketing services offers management companies the ability to launch high-end websites for their properties in a matter of hours so they can continue to lease up without missing a beat.”

Unlike competitor platforms, Swifty’s premium themes focus on search engine optimization (SEO) from the ground up, with best practices in place to improve local search rankings.

Property management companies can also use the same apartment website theme for consistency across all properties while interchanging the branding, colors, photography, and fonts to make each site feel unique. Swifty also offers 13 custom-designed pages that multifamily professionals can easily turn on or off based on their property’s needs.

To view Swifty’s premium apartment website themes, visit beswifty.com.

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.

Criterion.B Office Hours: Monday — Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST

About Swifty:

Powered by the team behind Criterion.B, Swifty provides powerful apartment community websites. Our mission is to quickly launch or update websites for your properties that are beautifully designed, built for performance, and incredibly easy to manage. Swifty removes the hassle and guesswork of building and maintaining websites by offering pre-designed premium themes with 13 custom-designed pages you can easily turn on or off. For more information, visit beswifty.com or call (866) 492-2873.

Swifty Office Hours: Monday — Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST

How to Utilize Multifamily Content Marketing to Generate Traffic

The term multifamily inbound marketing is not a new method, but it is a method that still confuses many businesses.

Multifamily inbound marketing methods focus on content creation (e.g., blogging) as a way to attract your target audience and establish your business as a resource within your industry. In turn, regular blogging serves to boost search engine rankings, drive media interest, and provides points of engagement on social media.

Inbound multifamily marketing is a pull method, rather than the push method of traditional advertising, and it all comes down to one very important strategy: ongoing content creation.

When we talk about content, we are simply talking about information. In this case, content is any form of online information that you provide: blog posts, infographics, photo galleries, interactive maps, social media messages, aggregated articles, etc. The most important thing about content is that when it is done right, it does not focus on you; it focuses on your customers.

1. Start a Consistent Blogging Strategy

Great content delivers to your resident buyer persona the exact information they need, when and where they need it. One of the best ways to accomplish this is with a blog. Let’s take a look at a few important statistics:

• Websites with a blog often have 434% more indexed pages.
• B2B marketers with blogs receive 67% more leads than those who do not.
• Marketers who blog regularly are 13 times more likely to achieve a positive ROI.
• Blogs are rated the fifth most trusted source for accurate online information.

While 53% of marketers claim blogging is their top priority when it comes to content marketing, that also means 47% likely do not consistently blog. Considering the bullet points listed above, this 47% is missing out on a significant opportunity.

2. Tell Your Multifamily Brand Story

Blogging is no longer a novelty marketing tactic. Rather, blogging has become essential to businesses in the digital age. As the journalistic landscape continues to evolve, more and more traditional writers and editors are filling demand on the creative side.

Businesses need more than just “a writer;” they need an editorial vision. They need someone who knows how to tell a multifamily brand story and then translate that story to several platforms. Journalism provides an excellent skill set for storytelling, which is why content creation within agencies and businesses is now more of a journalistic process.

3. Create Content That Converts

To truly engage your audience, you need to know how to write a blog that speaks to them. Thinking in terms of inbound campaigns is a great way to optimize your multifamily digital marketing content to maximize conversion.

When forming a campaign, you should focus either on a single resident buyer persona and pain point, or two personas who may share a pain point. Understanding the persona you are targeting, the issue you are seeking to solve, and the goals of the campaign are all important to lead generation.

Another factor in campaigns is considering the buyer’s journey. Always write content for each stage of the journey, rather than just focusing on sales. Focus on these three stages: Awareness (recognizing a problem or need), Consideration (discovering solutions to the problem or need), and Decision (choosing the solution for the problem or need) is key to building a cache of content that can speak to your persona across different levels and convert appropriately.

4. Adopt a Persona-Driven Strategy

While it can be tempting for any business to want to present the maximum information that speaks to their services and reflects the positive aspects of their business, the best methodology is to hold off. Content is the core of how we are perceived online.

Creating content that converts is the key to apartment lead generation. By following a persona-driven content strategy, those leads can become a reality.

Houston, Texas-based Bailey Routzong Capital Advisors (BRCA) is a mergers and acquisition firm that works exclusively in the private school industry. The company’s mission is to provide superior service in helping private school owners and operators receive maximum financial benefit for their business and real estate assets.

The Bailey Routzong team selected Criterion.B multifamily branding agency to work with them to help increase brand awareness, manage social media efforts, and implement a strategic content marketing plan to help drive business.

“Criterion.B is excited to work with such a unique and niche company,” said Jon Simpson, Chief Executive and Founder at Criterion.B. “We are eager to expand Bailey Routzong Capital Advisors’ online presence and brand awareness through content marketing and SEO efforts. We are thrilled to work alongside the skilled and experienced group at Bailey Routzong and look forward to learning more about the business and industry it serves.”

About Criterion.B Multifamily Branding Agency:

Criterion.B is a multifamily branding agency focused on the multifamily and commercial real estate industry. We provide ROI, drive business growth, and build brand identities for our clients. Our multifamily branding agency aims to maximize the multifamily marketing potential of your property portfolio — whether as a developer, investor, or vendor — by driving the right apartment leads to your property or organization.

For more information, visit www.criterionb.com. Our multifamily branding agency office hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST.

The Northeast Louisiana affiliate chapter of the American Advertising Federation (AAF) recently selected Jon Simpson, founder and chief executive of marketing and multifamily branding agency Criterion.B, as a guest judge for the 2019 Awards.

The American Advertising Awards (formerly the ADDY’s) recognizes and celebrates advertising agencies across multiple mediums and on three levels of judging: local, regional, and national. This competition recognizes creative excellence and rewards the art of advertising.

This year marks the fourth time Criterion.B has been selected to judge the awards. Simpson’s experience and drive to lead his multifamily branding agency and represent the AAF make him an excellent choice for judging on this prestigious level.

“For the fourth year, Criterion.B has the opportunity to judge the awards, and each year we are continually amazed by the American Advertising Federation’s great talent and incredibly hospitable group,” Simpson said. “We are thrilled and honored to have been selected to contribute to the efforts of the AAF again.”

About Criterion.B Multifamily Branding Agency:

Criterion.B is a multifamily branding agency focused on the multifamily and commercial real estate industry. We provide ROI, drive business growth, and build brand identities for our clients. Our multifamily branding agency aims to maximize the multifamily marketing potential of your property portfolio — whether as a developer, investor, or vendor — by driving the right apartment leads to your property or organization.

For more information, visit www.criterionb.com. Our multifamily branding agency office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST.