Multifamily marketers are busy. Onsite teams are busy. Everyone in multifamily is busy. They are managing budgets, determining advertising directions, building reports, leading teams, managing residents, plus a million other things. Staying on top of apartment marketing trends can fall off the plate pretty easily. However, developing apartment marketing strategies that include the more effective trends can actually help streamline tasks and manage time and resources more effectively in the long run.
While 2019 may be well underway, it’s certainly not too late to check in and ensure your marketing strategies are resulting in the positive ROI you are looking for. To help, here are four trends that already have a foothold in many apartment marketing strategies and will continue to gain traction through the rest of the year:
1. Content Marketing
While content marketing isn’t a new or flashy addition to apartment marketing strategies, it has been a long-time mainstay on apartment marketing plans for a reason. It works! Content marketing was the highest ranked marketing strategy for commercial impact in 2018. There is little doubt that it will rank just as high this year.
The key to good content marketing is providing content that residents and prospective residents want to view and, equally important, to share. Take blogging for example. Having a regularly updated blog allows for new digital content to be constantly available and ranking for SEO. It’s a great way to provide relevant information to your target audience and give a voice to your community or company. But, don’t stick to just text. Make sure the content you are marketing includes visual content as these consistently perform the best. That can be through infographics, photography or video. Constantly creating new, effective content and pushing it out via the community’s website, social media channels or via email is critical. When it comes to apartment marketing ideas, content is, and will remain, king.
2. Video…Specifically Live Video
If content marketing is king, then video is the crown jewel. Video, without a doubt, is a key component of successful apartment marketing strategies this year. According to Cisco, online video will account for 82% of online video by 2020. When thinking through your apartment marketing strategy, we particularly recommend considering live video. While this goes far beyond multifamily marketing and has direct impact proven for onsite leasing teams, the move towards live content marketing has been booming.
Live video platforms allow communities the opportunity to show off in a unique way. They can showcase specific parts of the community or surrounding area and allow prospective residents to get to know the brand. It also builds a level of trust and authenticity still photos and heavily produced videos can’t. The goal of any marketing should be to generate interest and convert the interest of qualified leads. Live video is the perfect way to connect with your target audience of prospective residents who may be kicking the tires and show them more in a streamlined way. While video was at the top of many apartment marketing lists in 2018, expect live video to top 2019 and beyond.
3. Next Level Email Marketing
Key words in that header — “next level”. Email marketing in 2019 goes far beyond what you may be thinking or are used to. While email marketing has had a revered place in many marketing plans for apartment communities for a long time, today’s consumer wants more than some generic copy in their inbox. They want visual content, like embedded videos or gifs, and want a personalized approach. Inboxes today are crowded with companies and brands vying for their attention (and money), how do you stand out when you actually have something important that garners their attention…housing!
To go next level with your email marketing, there needs to be a degree of interactivity — think polls, surveys, personalized videos, or something to sign up for. If you have a cold lead that you want to add to an email list, start by sending a survey to understand what they’re looking for, what their timeline is, and more. It’s easy to simply send a template email with those questions listed out, but why not send a well designed survey. Then follow up with a personalize video thanking them for submitting their information and asking if they’d like to tour the community sometime to see just how large your closets are since that’s something they care a lot about. Interaction and personalization will win in 2019 when it comes to email marketing for your multifamily communities!
4. Mobile Friendly Marketing
Today’s current and prospective residents are not only mobile friendly, they are often mobile first. That being said, every apartment marketing strategy must fall in line with mobile. If your email isn’t mobile optimized, good luck getting responses or clicks. If your video isn’t cloud-based and won’t play without being downloaded, good luck getting views!
Keeping your community website and any digital content being produced mobile friendly is absolutely mission critical for any multifamily marketing strategy. The vast majority of web traffic comes from mobile devices, so if the website isn’t mobile compatible or, for example, a video on the website doesn’t play well on mobile, that user is going to bounce right off your site. In today’s world of marketing, testing mobile compatibility is as easy as installing a plugin or a simply with a few clicks on certain platforms. Or is automatically built in! However you handle maintaining your mobile compatibility, make sure that it is handled ongoing to ensure the success of your apartment marketing initiatives.
While implementing all of these strategies at once may seem overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be. They all build onto and incorporate with each other. Start small, continue to test and refine, and these 2019 trends will set the stage for marketing success for years to come!
Have questions about how to make video an integrated part of your multifamily marketing initiatives? Reach out to sales@realync.com to learn how simple and affordable DIY multifamily video can be!
Until next time…keep it real!
