Top 4 Multifamily Marketing Trends

By IvyLee Rosario

Pinnacle’s Senior Vice President Jennifer Staciokas, The Dolben Co.’s Director of Marketing Sara Scarborough Graham and Waterton’s Vice President of Leasing and Marketing Virginia Love.

From traditional advertising to the growth of social media, marketing is ever evolving. At NMHC’s OPTECH Conference & Exposition in Las Vegas, Pinnacle’s Senior Vice President Jennifer Staciokas, The Dolben Co.’s Director of Marketing Sara Scarborough Graham and Waterton’s Vice President of Leasing and Marketing Virginia Love, discussed the top marketing trends in multifamily and how methods once relied on to obtain and retain residents have drastically transformed. Here are the top four trends: 

Virtual Reality/Artificial Intelligence

Gone are the days of having to wait for a building to be completed constructed in order to lease an apartment there. Virtual reality technology now allows prospective residents the options of viewing what their potential unit will look like, even walking from room to room or touring the common areas. “Robots are not taking over our jobs, but will help us do our jobs better,” said Scarborough Graham. 

Not only can residents utilize these tools to envision their new apartments, but developers and property managers can work together to build out entire spaces in virtual reality, helping agents close leases at a faster pace than the traditional methods of a walk-through.

Live

The concept of a live video might be a bit alarming at first, with operators concerned about possible error and the need for total transparency. Although this might be something to get used to, consumers like the authenticity that comes with doing live content. Options for live video platforms include: 

• Instagram Live
• Facebook Live
• Snapchat
• Youtube’s live streaming
• Twitter’s periscope

“Those watching these live videos are three times as likely to watch for a longer period of time, as well as being more likely to engage and comment on the content,” said Love. 

Social Media

“Snackable content” is what Millennials and Generation Z consumers are looking for in today’s marketing tactics, according to Love. Snapchat is a perfect example of this, with 52 percent of users being under 34 years old. With shorter content being more effective, the question becomes how do property managers make these social media channels scaleable for business use? 

Scarborough Graham recommends social media takeovers. If a company is not familiar with a certain platform and wants to have some practice sessions before completely devoting to creating its own page, the company can “takeover” a partner page and share news, updates, tours and community content over a scheduled amount of time. 

Guest Blogging 

Blogging is a growing trend in the recent generations, being a convenient way to share instant experiences and opinions. By researching the demographics in a specific area, operators can easily find influential bloggers in the area to write about a community.

This is what Staciokas refers to as the “live in” experience. These blog posts will have the potential to not only be seen by the bloggers followers, but shared on their personal social media pages, bringing even more attention to the community in which they are staying. Writing about their daily or weekly experience will help potential residents get a better picture of what it might be like to live there themselves. “You have these guests come to your community, interact with residents, participate in community events, live in an available unit and leave them for a week.”