With so much competition, it’s hard to come up with unique apartment marketing ideas.
You make a website.
You create social profiles.
You drive traffic.
You upgrade your ILS accounts.
You take beautiful photos; maybe even a 3D apartment tour.
But guess what? Everyone’s doing that.
Read on to get some marketing ideas for your apartment complex.
Your logo should be unique, recognizable and serve as a symbol of your property. Make it simple and include it in everything you create: signage, listing site profiles, and any other marketing materials. This helps you build a distinct reputation for your property and allows you to influence how others perceive your community.
Has anyone told you first impressions don’t matter? Not in this case. High quality photos are imperative if you want to attract leads and compel people to come and see your units in person. Don’t use your cell phone camera for these shots – spend the money to hire a professional to shoot your property, it will pay off in the long run.
Giving tenants multiple ways to experience your community will entice them more and save your leasing agents time on tours with prospects that won’t turn into residents. Make sure your site includes 3D floor plans, photography, video, 3D tours, etc., so you’re always putting your best foot forward.
Create informative, detailed posts to attract residents. If you haven’t started posting on Craigslist yet, or are looking for some new strategies, you can find our extensive guide to getting more leads on Craigslist here.
To ensure that you’re easily noticed and remembered, your logos, fonts, and photos must be consistent across every platform. It is a huge competitive advantage if your community can be recognized at a glance, and consistency is key in making that happen.
We all know social media can be a gold mine for residents. Once you’ve built a community, you are able to reach hundreds of people with just one post. The more likes and shares you get, the more popular you will become, and the more likely you’ll be top of mind when it’s time for one of your followers (or their friends and family members) to find a new place to live.
Thank your current residents for living in your community, and make them feel appreciated. For example, if they renew their lease, ask for a review that you can post on social media or your website. Having positive reviews can have a great impact on your reputation, as 80% of leads won’t contact a business with less than 3 stars.
Use good reviews as a testimonial for your listing sites. Take a screenshot of your best review and post it to every listing you’re in; this can boost your reputation tremendously.
Have an eye-catching website design to keep residents engaged. Always have the “tap to call” or “click to call” button ready on every page in your header.
Location Location Location. The first thing people think of when looking for an apartment is, “What is it near?” Don’t leave your site visitors guessing – add a map with key nearby places clearly marked. Make sure you include supermarkets, any schools in the area, parks, and shopping centers.
Google My Business can be a huge source of leads for any apartment complex. If you don’t know where to start, simply complete your listing and watch the leads come in.
Facebook Marketplace is very easy to use. Just add your best photo, the price of the unit, and the terms of leasing. The advantage of using Facebook Marketplace is that it provides hyper-local results for users, which means you’re much more likely to get your post in front of someone in your area looking for an apartment. Facebook Marketplace also lets you directly respond to inquiries through the platform, making this a commonly untapped source of additional leads.
Facebook ads can be a huge source for new leads. They tend to be cheaper than Google Ads and offer more advanced targeting. That said, we recommend hiring a professional to set this up for you, as setting it up incorrectly can be a costly mistake.
People visit Pinterest to get inspiration for anything, including apartments. With 291 million active users, Pinterest can be a great way to get discovered.
Not sure where to start? Check out some of your competitors. Tools like semrush.com or spyfu.com are a good place to start, just insert competitors’ URL into one of these tools.
Always send a thank you letter after a prospect tour. In this digital age, that kind of personal touch is appreciated and makes you stand out.
In addition to the thank you letter, you should always follow up with a prospect after a successful tour. It is important to stay in front of them. Make them feel valued in every situation.
Consider extending your leasing hours to be more available to new prospects. Many people aren’t able to leave work during business hours to take an apartment tour, so staying open later can allow you to attract a larger pool of leads. Many calls occur between 11:00am and 1:00pm during people’s lunch breaks.
Video can be a great tool to add to your arsenal of marketing strategies. When creating professional video, make sure you keep your audience in mind.
Word of mouth still works. To create a tenant referral program, first calculate your cost-per-lease. You can do this by dividing your monthly marketing expenses by the number of leases you generate on average each month. Say this number is $500. You can then offer a $500 rent credit to any residents that refer you a tenant, saving you the hard work of tracking down a lead on your own!
Simply put, promos and specials get more eyes on your advertisements. Consider offering a promo that would benefit both you and your prospect, for example, offering a $199 security deposit on all new rentals with approved credit.
Good or bad, it’s important to respond to every review posted about you online. This shows that you care about providing the highest standard of service, and, more importantly, proves that you care about the experiences of your tenants.
Managing a negative reputation is one thing, but imagine having the opportunity to engage unhappy tenants before their dissatisfaction gets posted online? Sending out a quarterly satisfaction survey can be powerful for managing your reputation. Have your community manager call each tenant who responds to the survey either thanking them for their participation (and possibly asking for a testimonial) or asking how they can improve the tenant’s experience.
Show prospective residents proof of satisfaction. Posting pictures of new renters makes for great social media content and shows prospects the life they could have if they moved into your community.
Offering live chat can increase the amount of leads you capture, as prospective residents often want to speak with a person right away. Having a chat function available on your site helps you engage these hot prospects further and answer their burning questions immediately.
Testimonials are one of the best ways to intrigue new renters. If prompted correctly, your satisfied residents can be your best salespeople — even better than your leasing staff!
It is important to create informative blog posts for your website. This helps you drive traffic to your site and increases your ranking among local rental communities, making you an authority in the eyes of Google and your prospective renter. Create relevant, interesting and entertaining posts that will make readers stop and read. Establish in their minds that you’re a reliable resource so they keep coming back for more.
Giving tenants the chance to mingle builds loyalty and trust from both current tenants and prospective ones. Organize an event and allow current tenants to invite a plus one. Having a fun atmosphere and casually interacting with current and prospective renters is a great way to show that you’re a community that cares.
It is essential that your marketing targets the audience you want to attract. One of the best ways to do this is to go where your renters are. For example, if your community is pet-friendly, reach out to the local pet shelter to discuss how you can work together. If you’re targeting college students, consider doing something in collaboration with a local college. Prospects who engage with these resources will be impressed with your commitment and more willing to consider your community when looking for a new home.
Getting to know other local businesses is a great way to get your brand out there and make people aware of your property. Also, having a relationship with the owner or manager of other businesses will keep you top of mind if they get a lead from someone new to the neighborhood.
Influencers are an excellent way to market through a trusted authority. A micro-influencer can help you promote and popularize your community. With their assorted followers, there is a good chance at least some of the followers will be good prospects for your community.
What’s a call to action? It’s a directive for your prospect, telling them what to do. Calls for action include “Apply now,” “Call now,” and “Schedule a tour.” You should have a call to action with your absent for your prospect to have choices to interact with your website rather than just being a static website.
Google Ads is great because you only have to pay when someone clicks on your ad. Essentially, you’re only paying for the traffic being directed to your site. If you find that you aren’t ranking organically for your local market, this is a good way to help secure that top spot.
After someone visits your website, you can use Google Ads to follow that user onto other platforms and show them ads for your site. This is a great advantage because you’re reaching out to people who have already had a glance of what you offer. Following up with more information and more persuasive contents may help turn a lukewarm lead into a hot one.
Create an annual plan to understand what makes your residents tick and what they value in their living space. Surveys are a great way to get information from your residents, and you can turn around and use the data you’ve acquired to serve them better.
It’s nice to share video content of your community online – especially videos that are entertaining. Consider using the world’s most common video-sharing site, YouTube, to post videos that display the amenities you offer and give insight to viewers about your community.
Your brochure should represent what makes your community stand out and be visually compelling enough to stop people from throwing it in the trash when they get home.
Create a brochure that catches readers’ eyes. Use tools like Canva and other design programs to create a brochure that will get you leads.
Hashtags are a fun and unique way of sharing the thoughts of your residents. For example, encourage residents to use #MyApartmentExperience or #BestApartmentEver and share their experience. This will serve as a wall where your residents can go to post their thoughts about your community.
