Top 5 Apartment Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

Image by Domenico Loia via Unsplash

There is never a dull moment in the world of multifamily marketing. The industry is sensitive to the way people react to the stimuli around them and, these days, we’re surrounded by uncertainty. These circumstances have impacted the industry and, to stay on top of things, marketers need to make little tweaks to improve their strategies.

READ ALSO: Marketing Your Properties Online: Words (Not) To Say

To increase the visibility of your community and ultimately boost your leases, have a look at the top five marketing mistakes you might be making today and how to fix them.

1. You’re not using Google My Business

Google My Business is one of the most powerful marketing tools out there. The platform was designed by Google with features to help expose your community to a wide range of users. These include full contact details—such as address, phone number and website—room for high-quality photos, videos or 360 views, review section and Google Posts, which allows for timely updates. This allows all the information about your property to be found easily.

Google My Business also has a built-in admin dashboard that enables multifamily operators to check user interactions such as calls, messages, search results and website clicks. Not only is this platform well designed for marketing purposes, but it also comes free of charge.

2. You’re not using visuals to their full capacity

Images have always been vital to getting leads, and the pandemic has only amplified their role when it comes to leasing. With renters doing their apartment search online, they look for photos, videos and virtual tours first. Typically, after virtually touring a number of apartments, most renters will narrow their search down to two or three units before scheduling in-person tours. In other words, if you don’t have compelling images your community will be invisible.

But these visuals don’t need to be “Hollywood productions.” Even though professional photography is preferred, the type of image is strongly linked with the property type and the target audience. Specifically, Class A properties and Class C properties will require different levels of photoshoots. While the former will most likely have a larger budget, the latter can be presented through authentic self-made videos.

Tours are grossly underestimated but increasingly show their power. 3D tours, live virtual tours via FaceTime or other applications, pre-recorded videos of apartments and amenities are all extremely valuable tools.

3. You don’t have a presence on social media

Image by NordWood Themes via Unsplash

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube and, more recently, TikTok, have become even more popular over the past two years. Those who use them know what makes them so valuable. Those who don’t … well, they’re missing out on a lot of the benefits they bring to apartment marketing, because most prospects tend to spend large amounts of time on social media.

Through TikTok, for example, multifamily marketers and operators can easily reach out to younger demographics such as Gen Zers by posting short videos. TikTok offers various video functions such as Q&As, Duets, Remix or Green Screen. All of these allow property managers to repurpose already existing video content.

4. You’re ignoring the present lingo

Social media platforms come with their own “language.” While they are mainly powered by photos and videos of all sorts, it’s still words that power searches on these platforms. With that in mind, speaking (and writing) this language of captions and hashtags is definitely a must.

And since Search Engine Optimization (SEO) sits at the center of every successful search marketing program, apartment marketers and managers must learn this language as well. Search marketing is essential for multifamily owners and operators—especially organic SEO showing up in free search results, but also running paid ads on Google that show up on specific keyword searches. Moreover, a successful multifamily search strategy can’t only include traditional search engines like Google, Safari or Firefox, but must also make use of map engines like Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze. Here are 10 essential marketing terms and concepts used by multifamily marketers.

5. You’re immune to the QR codes frenzy

Good old QR codes, which provide a contact-free experience, have seen a dramatic revival since the start of the pandemic. And, unlike in the past, users don’t need to download a third-party QR reader app. All they have to do is activate camera mode on their phone and point it a QR code to trigger a digital action.

Typically, a QR code leads to a website. For the multifamily industry, this is a valuable marketing tool that can direct prospective renters to a virtual tour, a webpage showcasing a property’s amenities and availabilities, ebooks, brochures, and so on. By using a QR code generator, a marketer can create and customize one or multiple QR codes in a matter of minutes. What’s more, when joining a virtual tour of a property, prospects can see what’s available even if an agent is not there in person to immediately respond to questions.