How Post-COVID-19 Behavior Will Impact Property Digital Media
Marketing apartment complexes using digital media will be very important for property managers to reach future tenants searching for rentals after COVID-19. One thing’s for sure. During the coronavirus crisis, property managers cannot enjoy business as usual. Even in early April, online searches for apartments and rental rates have dropped significantly. Still, the crisis has impacted some sectors of the real estate market more than others, and industry experts expect a strong upswing once the worst has passed. After all, people still need places to stay and live. Find out how to use digital media after COVID-19 to effectively market your properties during and after the coronavirus crisis. Apartment marketing after the coronavirus To develop digital marketing plans, consider the state of the rental property market, how property managers should respond to consumer behavior during and after the pandemic, and finally, some reliable property management digital marketing strategies to consider. Coronavirus declines in property rentals Housing Wire saw a decline from 10 to 35 percent for online apartment searches during the first part of April. Short-term rentals suffered the most, as people have drastically reduced travel. In response, many short-term property owners have begun offering longer terms to make up for the drastic declines in business or vacation trips. Still, the report ended upon the optimistic note that property managers did not see declines like some other industries, including hospitality or travel. They also expected rental properties to enjoy a strong upswing once the worst of the crisis had passed and people began to resume their normal lives. Property management’s response to COVID-19 Besides analyzing the current rental market, it’s also important to consider current coronavirus best practices for apartment managers. For example: The National Multifamily Housing Council, or NMHC, has published guidelines that cover everything from proper disinfection techniques to package handling. They based these suggestions on CDC recommendations, and it’s great to not only follow appropriate tips but to communicate your actions to your current renters, prospects, and other stakeholders. Most progressive property management companies have moved a lot of their business online anyway. It saves time and money and best of all, typical renters prefer these convenient options. If you haven’t made much progress, it’s a good time to consider online contracts and payments and even virtual tours. If you need to show empty apartments, keep hand sanitizer by the door and follow a screening process before scheduling the appointment. Property management digital marketing strategies for after the coronavirus crisis Laurence Yun serves as the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. While he spoke more about the home sales than the rental market, his marketing advice for after coronavirus applies just as well to the rental market. He said that a couple of the biggest consumer behavior changes would stem from timidity about meeting strangers in person and economic uncertainty. Digital Apartment Marketing After Coronavirus To alleviate the first concern, David Kong, a NYC Keller WIlliams partner, said he has already ordered online 3D walkthroughs for apartments. Prospective renters can view these from any computer or mobile phone. You can still schedule appointments with your property managers, but instead of conducting initial visits in person, you can offer online walkthroughs. Of course, you can even advertise self-guided virtual visits that people can take 24-7. Redfin, an online broker, boasted that it was ahead of the game because it already prepared virtual home tours and plans digital marketing campaigns for each listing. They believed they had a unique selling tactic because they felt their online media mix optimization could close deals just as well as brokers who focused on offline meetings and showings. It’s only reasonable to expect that other real estate businesses will benefit by following this lead. Search and Social Marketing After COVID-19 Besides marketing specific rental units, you can use your social platforms and ads to demonstrate how well your company has responded to the crisis by following best practices from the CDC and the NMHC. Let prospective renters know that you care about the health of your tenants and your employees and exactly how you demonstrate that care. Also, if you see specific demand changes, you might consider responding to these with changes in your own rental policies. For instance, if you offered short-term leases geared to AirBnb-type clients in the past, you might consider extending leases for individuals and families who need a place to shelter for several months or even longer. Even if you need to lower your monthly rental rates somewhat, you can always benefit from the economy of not having to replace tenants as often. Your local market research may find a ready audience with displaced travellers, college students, or medical workers. When you come up with a local demand and some appropriate deals, be certain your target those people for your digital ads on search and social platforms. Bouncing back during and after the COVID-19 crisis Again, industry experts expect rental properties to bounce back fairly quickly. While the market may change, your flexible approach to this disruption can give you an edge. Follow safety guidelines, provide prospective renters the online tools they prefer, and of course, use your marketing to let your audience know what a good job you’re doing.
5 Multifamily Marketing Strategies to Employ on Instagram
You already recognize the power of Instagram to reach out to renters, but are you making the most of your Instagram multifamily marketing efforts? In today’s marketing environment, the incredible potential of Instagram cannot be denied. In fact, according to the independent social media analytics company Hootsuite, 7.7 billion people (a full eighth of the total global population) now have Instagram accounts. Even better, Intstagram is particularly effective at reaching key marketing demographics. Analytics data shows that 71% of Instagram users around the world are 34 years old or younger. Furthermore, Instagram use is at its highest (60%) among individuals who make more than $100,000 a year. So how can you use Instagram in the rental property sector to maximize your multifamily marketing outreach? Well, in today’s competitive market, it’s simply not enough to create and maintain a standard company Instagram page. If you want to tap into the full potential of Instagram, you need to educate yourself on what makes this popular social media site truly unique. Here are just a few multifamily marketing strategies that will optimize your Instagram presence. 1. Make Strategic Use of Hashtags Although hashtags have become prevalent across the broad spectrum of social media, Instagram has built hashtags directly into the basic search functions of the site. In other words, hashtags are just as important as keywords when it comes to driving consumer traffic for marketing purposes. By choosing your hashtags carefully, you can reach out to the Instagram users who are most likely to help you reach your lease-up goals. Precise location hashtags, for example #parkslopebrooklynapartments, can help neighborhood-conscious apartment hunters find your listings with ease. Instagram is also uniquely positioned to help you capitalize on non-industry hashtags that are already trending. By piggybacking on extremely popular hashtags such as #tbt and #nofilter you can extend your reach into a whole new market. 2. Regram Relevant Posts from Others Unlike its cousins Facebook and Twitter, Instagram doesn’t readily support reposting or sharing the content of other users. In fact, a preponderance of multifamily housing providers don’t even know that Instagram reposting is possible. But with the help of third-party digital applications such as Websta and Repost, you can gain a considerable advantage over your competitors by regramming the relevant content of other Instagram users. This strategy can help you capitalize on the perceived authenticity that goes hand in hand with user-generated content (UGC). In the realm of multifamily marketing, effective UGC might include a photograph of existing residents enjoying the apartment complex pool on a sunny day. Marketers can maximize the outreach of their UGC campaign by uniting it under a creative branded hashtag and encouraging residents to use this hashtag when posting content that relates to their living environment/lifestyle. 3. Use the Instagram Stories Feature Introduced in 2016 to compete with a similar feature on Snapchat, Instagram Stories is an exceptional way to present time-sensitive content. Briefly described, Instagram Stories allows marketers to gather a number of images and video clips into a single piece of multifaceted content that will delete automatically after 24 hours. Like the reposting of Instagram content, the use of the Instagram Stories feature is woefully underused by multifamily marketers, providing another great opportunity for you to get a significant jump on the competition. The Instagram Stories format offers an exceptional way to frame in-depth and timely information. Consider using it to tell the story of ongoing structural renovations or present the highlights of an open house or a special event for residents. To promote your organization itself and its exceptional team members, you can use Instagram Stories to post a “behind the scenes” peek at the daily activities of a top property manager, leasing agent, or administrative executive. 4. Change Your Bio Link to Direct Traffic While other leading social media sites allow users to post unlimited clickable links, Instagram restricts users to a single clickable link within the biography section of their profile. This may work great when it comes to keeping visitors on Instagram for longer periods of time, but it makes marketing on the site exceptionally difficult. Wise marketers, however, can get around this clickable link conundrum by frequently changing their Instagram bio link to lead visitors to the most important promotions of the day. This strategy can really set you apart from competitors who have adopted a “set it and forget it” bio link approach that simply sends visitors to a generic homepage, landing page, or “about us” page. Multifamily marketers can post pictures of vacant apartments on their main Instagram page after changing their bio link to an official website URL dedicated to that particular apartment. If you choose to pursue this strategy, just be sure to include a statement such as “click the link in our bio to learn more” next to the pictures that you post. 5. Pay Close Attention to the Brands Your Followers Follow To create marketing content that will truly resonate with your audience, you need to tailor it after the content that they already love. To discover the other brands and organizations that your Instagram followers follow, begin by selecting one of your followers and clicking on the “following” count of that follower. From there, you can sort through the different accounts that he or she follows concentrating solely on brands and organizations. Contact Bigeye to learn more Bigeye is taking digital marketing into the future with innovative social media strategies that have proven to drive conversions. If you’re ready to push your multifamily marketing efforts forward, contact us.
