The Long and Short of Apartment Marketing
For multifamily communities facing rising vacancy rates, having both a long- and short-term digital marketing strategy is key.
While the multifamily market has been strong, over the past two years vacancies have been on the rise. According to a report from Cushman and Wakefield, the vacancy rate reached 8.7 percent as of the third quarter last year. At the same time, rental prices have also risen while rent growth has remained relatively flat. When units are getting pricier and available units remain vacant, property owners turn to their marketing teams to find qualified renters.
To achieve these goals, you need to think in terms of short-term strategies that can quickly spur engagement and conversion and can be implemented within three months. But you also need to think about long-term strategies that can help you maintain and grow your audience on an ongoing basis.
Problem: Finding quality traffic
Marketing teams are always being told to increase traffic. But while quantity may have its benefits, finding quality leads means getting the right people to respond and turning that traffic into leases.
“When I hear that we need to generate more leads, my response isn’t as simple as, ‘Let’s spend more money and run more ads.’ There’s a lot more to dive into,” said Karen Zapkowski, marketing specialist at Towne Properties. She explained that the last two years brought more competition than ever, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. For this reason, it’s even more important to reach potential renters with the right content, at the right time and through the right channels. Otherwise, it’s harder for your content to stand out and convert traffic into leases.
Short-term solutions
Optimize your digital advertising strategies like your PPC campaigns with ad extensions that highlight the content like 3-D tours, current availability, unit photos and current specials. Not only will this help target interested renters in your area but it also makes it more likely they will engage with the actionable features.
Include “starting at” pricing in your ads to help potential renters quickly determine if the rent fits their budget. This helps ensure you spend your ad dollars on high-intent prospects who are more likely to convert.
Long-term solutions
An engaging website that ranks well in Google can be a strong long-term converter that has a surprisingly high return on investment. Adding strategic website copy and FAQ pages to your site, along with interactive features, floorplan finders and videos can help you draw viewers and strengthen your engagement metrics.
Also, make sure your local listings are optimized with accurate information, reviews and Q&A pages, along with active social media pages to enhance visibility and credibility.
Problem: Low search volume
SEO continues to be the most cost-effective and highest-return marketing source. However, Kyle Jones, agency manager at REACH by RentCafe, noted that Google search volume for apartments has dropped by almost half since the pandemic. This may be due to a decline in the demand for rentals, the increase in influencer marketing and the higher number of results appearing on the page, keeping visitors from clicking through to your site.
Short-term solutions
Make sure your site is designed with user experience and engagement in mind. Even small tweaks can help improve your site’s ability to convert casual visitors into qualified leads.
“Besides maximizing conversions, focus on improving website engagement as much as possible,” said Jones, explaining that this helps send positive feedback to Google. Since marketers have fewer opportunities to break through the search wall, this feedback carries more weight for marketers who want their content to consistently rank at the top of Google search results.
Long-term solutions
Despite the drop in search volume, SEO is still the most cost-effective and highest-return marketing source. “We see this from a lead, leases, ROI, cost and ROAS perspective for most of our clients,” noted Jones.
He also noted that while the effects of SEO may be harder to quantify compared to ads, you risk losing your position if you suspend your strategy. Once that happens. it will take more time to get back to where you were before.
While it isn’t sexy, creating quality SEO optimized content is a continuous effort that requires strong content creators and consistent SEO best practices on the back end.
Problem: Having more marketing volume than your team can handle
Of course, successful marketing can also bring its own challenges. Namely, processing and converting all the generated leads. For Chris Johnson, director of marketing at Amalgamated Management Corporation, AI can be an excellent tool for improving speed to lead.
Short-term solutions
“In the short term, every lead matters, but our teams aren’t perfect—they can’t always respond to every prospect in a timely manner,” observed Johnson. “AI addresses this gap. It operates without the constraints of schedules or emotions, enabling us to engage with prospects on their terms, any time of day.”
Long-term solutions
Johnson said AI’s ability to learn and adapt could revolutionize the process of identifying and nurturing the best prospects. By analyzing data on how and where leads convert, AI-driven insights into the ROI of a company’s marketing efforts will allow property owners and managers to allocate marketing resources more effectively.
The long and short of it? These strategies can get results
In the end, the strategies that get results are the ones that keep units filled. According to Zapkowski, three properties his company recently acquired were struggling with an average occupancy of 89 percent. The previous strategy relied solely on Internet Listing Service platforms, limiting its reach. Shifting to a more comprehensive marketing approach brought significant improvements, and all three properties reached an average occupancy of 95 percent within a few months.
