Marketing for apartments with 200+ units comes with challenges that signify the importance of having a solid strategy for both attracting and retaining residents.
Suppose a typical apartment community averages 50% turnover annually. For smaller properties, that influx of residents moving in and out is more manageable. But a higher turnover rate can be detrimental to a community with more units, and marketers must understand their influence in keeping occupancy rates above target.
Three areas marketers at large apartment communities need to emphasize include:
- Identifying effective online marketing channels.
- Differentiating their community’s digital brand from competitors.
- Utilizing traditional marketing and outreach strategies.
Let’s go into more detail about those areas to help apartment marketers at large communities establish a successful marketing strategy for attracting and retaining tenants.
1: Identify marketing channels that produce the best leads for your apartments.
The most significant need from the marketing staff at a large apartment community is a reliable pipeline of leads. And not just leads, but great leads—individuals who are more ready to rent than average.
Several marketing sources are available to boost lead flows and get people ‘to the door.’ It makes sense for marketers at larger communities to utilize multiple levers for increasing traffic and awareness to a broader group of prospective residents.
However, every source should efficiently generate leads who ultimately sign leases. Larger apartment communities can afford higher marketing budgets. Still, it’s easy to overspend when too many levers are in use and they’re not producing the type of traffic or awareness required.
So, which sources are best for getting more qualified leads?
The team at RentVision recently studied more than 70,000 leases to attribute the marketing source each renter converted to a lead, and a clear leasing funnel emerged. The combination of a community website, Google Business Profile, and defensive Google Ad campaigns accounted for 83% of all lease conversions.
Regardless of community size, every apartment marketer should prioritize those sources because that’s where the most interested renters typically originate.
But for larger communities, it may be helpful to add additional top-of-funnel and middle-of-funnel sources, too, as they can be great for attracting a broader group of prospective residents.
Internet Listing Services were more effective at the top of the funnel, while corporate websites were best in the middle. The study also pinpoints the impact that a well-designed PPC ads strategy can have at every stage of the leasing funnel.
2: Differentiate your community’s digital brand from competitors.
Brand, in this instance, is defined by the visibility, reputation, and experience a user has with your apartment community online.
Marketers at larger communities need to invest in a great website that works on every device, features helpful content, eye-popping media like video tours, SEO optimization for higher search presence, up-to-date rent prices, real-time availability, and is accessible to all users. Adding floorplan-specific pages is an excellent option, too.
When all those elements are in play, a community’s website can convert leads to leases by providing a great experience. And that is something that only some other apartment communities can claim with their website.
Combine that with an effective PPC ads strategy, and it will be easier for prospective residents to both find and engage with the website.
And as for reputation, think beyond just reviews. Those are important, but reputation, in this case, is building a sense of positivity by just meeting the online expectations of apartment shoppers and marketing apartments in a way that makes their search experience seamless.
3: Utilize traditional marketing and outreach strategies.
According to ALN Apartment data, there are just over 14,000 active multifamily properties with 200+ units in the United States. Large communities are in the minority, so a safe assumption is that many are relatively noticeable and notable within their geographic location.
And considering their size, there is an incentive for larger communities’ marketers to utilize traditional strategies to benefit from their location.
That could include campaigns highlighting the community’s name and logo on billboards, buses, or other places within a defined metro. It could also include direct mail to local businesses to help them point new or potential employees to that community. Sponsoring local events could also build positive sentiment locally.
While most conversions will take place digitally, larger communities could use all the awareness they can get, and tapping into their local area can help maintain above-average occupancy.
Conclusion
Marketing for larger apartment communities can be more challenging, but prioritizing sources that produce great leads and lease conversions, investing in a better digital presence than nearby competitors, and incentivizing on location are all areas that can make the difference.
