Apartment Marketing Ideas Checklist

Effective apartment marketing ideas unfold in the digital space as well as offline. Image by Darlene Alderson via Pexels.com

Marketing is so much more than advertising and promotion, it’s a comprehensive approach that involves understanding customer needs, delivering value and building lasting relationships to ensure the overall success of a business or organization. While it feeds on data, it is powered by creativity, so here are tested apartment marketing ideas that will help attract renters and make your community stand out in the competitive rental market.

Create (and maintain) an online presence

Start with a strong website. Think of the website as the foundation of your house—it’s essential and has to be sturdy enough to sustain everything else. Hire someone experienced to create a website that is accessible from a technical perspective and also from a customer perspective. Optimize your website for search engines to increase its visibility when potential renters are looking for apartments in your area. It has to be mobile-friendly, too.

Once the website is up and running, add information that is correct, concise and clear, and update it as frequently as needed. Include photos and videos of your properties, virtual tours and video walkthroughs. Highlight every environmentally friendly feature in your community because eco-conscious living is slowly becoming the norm.

Include a section that offers information about the neighborhood. List and link to local restaurants and businesses, grocery stores, parks, schools, hospitals, medical centers and veterinary clinics, as well as public transportation.

Congratulations, now your “house” now has walls, windows and a roof, and you’ve added the furniture and appliances. It’s time to invite guests over!

Create (and maintain) a presence in real life

While the digital era takes a big chunk of our everyday lives, real-life socialization and networking are important. Things get done with people, for people.

Host events at your community: seasonal events, workshops, movie nights, cooking contests, reading club—there are so many ways to get your residents together! You can also have your residents RSVP with a +1 for some of these events. This way you can showcase the lifestyle in your community.

Collaborate with local businesses. Go around the neighborhood and partner with local businesses to offer exclusive discounts and promotions to your residents.

Get involved in community affairs, participate in local events, or sponsor community activities to increase your brand visibility.

Offer loyalty programs to long-term residents. These can be special perks or discounts on rent renewals. Offer special promotions such as limited-time discounts on the first month’s rent or waive the application fees to attract attention.

Stay true to your word and deliver on your promises. The pictures of the units and the prices that you post on your website should always match reality. Keep your promises that work orders will be handled promptly. Have the digital presentation of your community match the reality exactly.

Make good use of digitalization

Encourage satisfied residents to leave positive reviews on your website and platforms such as Google, Yelp, or apartment listing websites. More so, build an email list and send regular newsletters with updates, promotions and community and local news to keep existing and potential renters engaged.

Use analytics. Data shows that nowadays U.S. people spend more than two hours every day on social media. Become a fraction of that time and brush up your social media presence, infiltrate people’s feeds.

Start by reviewing your Google My Business page. If set up right, it will appear on top of the page when you run a Google search by your company/community’s name. It should link to your website, show your location’s address alongside directions via Google Maps, and display your business hours of operation and phone number.

Create and maintain social media pages on the platforms that you think are used by your targeted demographic. Place ads in the local media outlets and run targeted ads on platforms such as Google Ads or social media to reach a wider audience. In addition, you can also contact local media to announce renovations and upgrades at your property.

Create a community for your apartment community, in other words, stay active on social media. Post often, engage residents; make posts public to engage nonresidents. Have fun on your social media pages, launch online contests, offer prizes—here is where your partnership with other businesses comes in handy—share local news that might interest your residents, stay on top of things.

In tune with current trends, partner with local influencers or bloggers to review and promote your community to their followers. It’s the type of word-of-mouth marketing that can go a long way.