Reducing the time to rent, and vacancy rates is every property manager’s first priority. And, the success of this often rests on how well you advertise your property listings. Here are a few proven strategies for streamlining and maximizing your marketing efforts.
Word of mouth is still very powerful in 2022
Don’t forget that birds of a feather flock together… in other words, people like to be near their friends or family.
Offering a gift card or cash incentive to your existing tenants for any referral lead that ends up signing a one-year lease can really help promote your properties. You turn your current residents into property ambassadors for powerful word-of-mouth advertising for your rental properties. And, the best thing? You continue to build a strong sense of community as your tenants have a relationship to one another.
Increase Your Reach Using Social Media Channels
Word-of-mouth is not just in-person, in our digital world it involves mobilizing people on social media. People have social networks of friends and family magnified through popular social platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Social media channels, like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, offer property management companies a chance to gain brand awareness, showcase their properties and communities, and create moments to interact with their residents and potential renters. Take advantage of these platforms to post photos and videos of your buildings, as well as short-and-sweet messages about the benefits of living on your property. Mix in other compelling and authentic content, including showcasing local events and neighbourhood highlights.
Tagging is how people explore content, so be sure to include hashtags, like the name of the neighbourhood, nearby attractions, the number of bedrooms, etc. You might want to take advantage of social media advertising to target a specific audience and boost the number of views your post/unit receives.
Email Marketing
Property marketers have been using email marketing for two decades now, and due to its effectiveness, won’t be going anywhere soon! It’s a great way to nurture marketing-qualified leads and turn them into new tenants.
The trick to boosting your success rate (and open rates!) is proper segmentation, and ensuring the right message gets to the right audience. As a property manager, you have at minimum of four target audiences:
• Owners
• Owner Prospects
• Tenants
• Tenant Prospects
When marketing to prospective renters be sure to use attention-grabbing subject lines. Phrases like “sneak peek” and “exclusive first look” when marketing properties can improve open rates.
Don’t forget to personalize the email with the recipient’s first name, where possible. Have a clear call to action for people to learn more about an availability or make an appointment to see it.
Go Old School
Don’t forget about putting a “For Rent” sign on the property. It’s a technique that still works very well. Your exterior signage’s purpose is to help prospective tenants to get in touch with you to make that critical next step.
Ensure that your sign is attractive, placed in a prominent location and offers up easy-to-read contact details. You can also include a QR code on your sign that passersby can use to go to the exact listing. (And, if your market includes students be sure to put up flyers on campus and laundromats.)
PPC & Remarketing
Strategic PPC can put you at the top of page when prospects start looking for a new place to live. PPC ads have the ability to really drive site traffic and lead generation. And, once you’ve got the new prospect to your website, be sure to follow up with remarketing ads, so they see your logo and message on relevant websites. Your property offerings will remain top-of-mind!
Paid Listings Sites
Paid rental listing sites can really accelerate your unit’s exposure so that landlords can get their properties in front of, in some urban areas, thousands of eyeballs. While there are many paid listing sites, some of the most popular ones include:
Zillow: Zillow has a huge database and makes it easy for property managers to create listings.
Apartments.com: Apartments.com is a leading online apartment listing website, offering renters access to information on more than 1,000,000 available units for rent.
Zumper: Once a property manager exceeds the 10-unit limit for free listing on Zumper, they enter the realm of paid advertising. Listings are posted to Zumper, as well as PadMapper, WalkScore, and FaceBook MarketPlace.
Free Listings
You can leverage a wide arrange of popular free listing sites, including:
Facebook Marketplace: Tap into a HUGE user-base and get your listings on one of the largest social platforms in the world.
Kijiji: Kijiji is the most popular online classifieds service in Canada and draws more traffic compared to competitor Craigslist in that country
Craigslist: It’s free and gets millions of views per month.
Leverage Technology to do the Heavy Lifting
Web-enabled technology for property management firms can change the way that industry professionals work – streamlining showing the property, eliminating paperwork and ensuring all leads are captured and responded to.
It’s no secret that the faster and more efficiently you can get your listing out there, the faster you can rent available units. By using a centralized database and automating all of your listings, you can get the word out as soon as a unit comes available. Without any hassle and effort.
When you use property management software, you can automate your listings, and even update them with just a click of a button. It also allows you to create mobile-friendly websites easily to create lead funnels and attract new residents.
How Property Vista Helps
Our marketing features make it easy to connect you with great tenants—increasing your applications and decreasing your vacancies. Promote your properties and build your brand with Property Vista’s property marketing software tools, including website builders, SEO and integration with Internet Listing Services. See pricing and request a demo here.
