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If you’ve been following our blog or apartment marketing news in general, you’ve no doubt seen plenty of articles about the power of content marketing. Creating videos, a company blog and being active on social media are content marketing techniques that drive visitors to your website and generate new renters over time.
Despite the growth of content marketing as a whole, there’s still some doubt in the multifamily industry. The idea of using content marketing for apartment management companies sounds great in theory, but does it really work?
We’ve put together a list of five real-life examples of apartment management companies that use content marketing as a part of their strategy to generate leads. We’re also going to show you how to implement the same tactics for your own business!
We’re big advocates of using social media for multifamily. Our list of apartment marketing ideas is filled with creative social media marketing tactics. Lincoln Property Company (LPC) is a great example of how to interact with current renters using social media, while also appealing to potential renters as well.
LPC partnered up with Make the Most of Your Space to get its renters to submit videos of their homes for a chance to get tons of online exposure. The campaign combined video, social media marketing, and user generated content all in one.
This tactic is easy to implement, particularly if you follow the same path of LPC. Instead of setting up a contest on their own, they partnered with an existing brand and contest which gave them more reach and exposure.
Another important takeaway from LPC’s campaign is not to limit contests to “Like our page to enter.” Instead, have your audience take a content-driven action such as posting pictures or a video to social media. It’ll generate social media activity around your brand and make your followers feel more engaged.
A while back, we wrote a handy guide filled with blog post ideas for apartment marketers. A large focus of that article was creating content tailored towards local searches by writing about nearby businesses and landmarks. The Essex Property Trust blog nailed this tactic.
You’ll notice their blog targets several local searches. These are the types of keywords prospective renters might search when they’re contemplating moving to a new area.
For instance, one of the latest posts targets the keyword “things to do in San Francisco,” which gets over 90,000 monthly searches.
You might look at that and think it’s an extremely difficult keyword to rank for, and it is. However, look past that main keyword and you’ll see a wealth of long tail and less competitive keywords EPT can potentially rank for with that post.
There are also several mentions of local businesses, which creates nice link building opportunities as well. All EPT has to do is reach out to the businesses they mentioned in the article, and they’re likely to either get a link back or at least a mention on social media.
One of the main benefits of this content marketing approach is it sends signals to Google that the site is a hub for local information. You can copy this strategy by creating content about your city and local neighborhoods. As you can tell from EPT, lists work very well.
Think Instagram is only for “cool” industries like fashion and celebrities? Think again! The Bozzuto Group proves apartment management companies can utilize the image driven social media app too.
You won’t find an endless stream of vacant unit pictures on the Buzzuto Group Instagram page. Instead, you’ll see pictures of community events, employees and other non-promotional posts.
In other words, they understand Instagram is a platform for brand building, not necessarily to sell.
If you’ve been neglecting Instagram because you think it can’t work for apartment marketers, use the Buzzuto Group as a reference for how to get creative with Instagram and build your following.
You can get started by taking pictures at the next company party, or local events being run by your properties. After a while, snapping a quick picture or video will become second nature.
Make sure you monitor your efforts and see which posts your audience resonates with the most. Iconosquare is a great tool to get in depth data for your Instagram account.
UDR is another apartment management company implementing a solid blogging strategy. In addition to blog posts optimized for local searches, UDR also has content targeting current renters as well.
You’ll find blog posts about pool etiquette, moving checklists and more. UDR’s blog is so strong in fact, that it made its way to the list of the top 15 blogs for renters, alongside huge names like Apartment Therapy and Modernize.
What did UDR do differently than other property management companies to set themselves apart?
For one, they branded the blog. Instead of just being the UDR Blog, it’s called “A Part of Life.” That erases the stigma associated with corporate blogs, and gives the blog a life of its own.
Second, the content is tailored towards UDR’s audience. Many of the posts are problem-solution oriented. They provide answers to common questions and struggles renters go through such as how to approach moving in with a significant other or what to ask during an apartment tour.
Don’t just make a blog because it’s the popular thing to do. Create content that’s valuable and targeted, and you’ll be able to see real results and generate leads through blogging.
Is Pinterest a part of your apartment marketing strategy? If not, it will be after you see what Alliance Residential Company (ARC) is doing!
We’re not blind to the popularity of Instagram and Snapchat. However, Pinterest is far from dead, and a quick look at ARC’s pins and boards will give you a blueprint for success.
The first thing ARC is doing correct is not limiting themselves to just a handful of boards. With Pinterest, you should create as many boards as possible, as long as they make sense.
Instead of just having an “Apartments” board, ARC created boards for different parts of an apartment:
Pinterest users get very specific with their searches, so having boards that are highly targeted helps your pins show up in search results.
Pinterest also actively helps users narrow their searches so it can display the most relevant content.
We did a search for “apartment design” and Pinterest suggested these additional filters to narrow the results.
Another thing ARC did well was use group boards. One of the major group boards ARC is a part of is Pin Texas. This board is filled with pins all about Texas, which is one of ARC’s main territories.
Group boards give your pins more exposure and can build your following up quicker than just posting to your own account.
As you can see, content marketing is very powerful for apartment management companies. Take these examples and put your own twist on them to develop your own content marketing strategy.
It’s not a coincidence that the top apartment management companies are using content marketing. If you want to get a piece of the pie, contact us to talk about how your company can use blogging, social media and other inbound tactics to generate leads and leases.
