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9 Apartment Mobile Apps for the iPhone/iPad

Dec 13th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
1 comment

With studies showing that the mobile web will rule by 2015 (i.e. more users will access the internet through their mobile devices than their desktops), in the apartment industry, who has apartment-related mobile apps?

As apartment professionals, whether leasing agent, marketing director, apartment industry consultant, property manager, etc, it’s important to see and understand how our prospects are finding us – so that we are reaching out to them in the platforms that they use. We should know which one of our current advertising sources (your apartment internet listing service or apartment ILS) are already mobile ready and which ones aren’t – so that we can make better advertising decisions. If your apartment community’s demographics are likely to use their mobile devices as part of their apartment search – you should come up on that search!

This blog explores the options for the iPhone/iPad. We will explore options for other platforms in a separate blog.

9 Apartment-related Mobile Apps for the iPhone/iPad:

NOTE: These are not listed in any particular order. All apps allow for a traditional search – where you enter in a city/state/zip, as well as a GPS-enabled search to locate near-by apartment rentals. I’ve also noted their average current user rating in the app store/# of ratings as of the date of this blog – most users aren’t going to download all of the apps available. Many of these have similar functionality – just slightly different user interface, branding, and different “special” features. If there are special features to each application, I’ve note them, below.

  1. PadMapper Apartment Search – You can see all craigslist apartment listings on a map closest to your location or closest to the location you enter. This is an app you’ve probably never heard of, but one that it is getting high reviews from users (your apartment prospects) in the app store. They also have an online, desktop version. If you’re listed on craigslist, you’re already listed on this app! Allows you to see the original craigslist add, take/save notes, email, phone,add as favorite, map, and get directions. FREE. Ave 3 1/2 STARS/83 ratings
  2. Another one you may never heard of, “Find An Apartment” searches top apartment websites like Apartments.com, ApartmentGuide.com, Sublet.com, HotPads.com and Move.com and returns the results to the user. The only app we found that cost $0.99 – all the other apps were free. Although they claim to return results from some of these top apartment websites, I could not find those listings on this app in my area. It looked like most listings were coming from postlets, roommatefinder.com and other small organic listing services. To see pictures, you have to click on several screens before seeing the pics. I was surprised that this app had relatively high ratings, when I thought the user-interface wasn’t all that great. Ave 3 STARS/105 ratings
  3. Rentals – this one claims to aggregate listings from the major apartment listing services, but it does not specify which ones. The ones I was able to locate were all from craigslist. This is a much nicer user interface than #2. There is a little hype behind this app, since it was featured on The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Forbes and Bloomberg. Ave 3 STAR/194 ratings
  4. ApartmentGuide – search ApartmentGuide’s listings. Some options include CALL NOW, SEND EMAIL, and MAP LOCATION right from your screen. Also had photos, floorplans, add to favorites, as well as an option to view recent history. User interface was much nicer than the first 3 apps I listed. Ave 3 STARS/850 ratings
  5. Apartments.com – search Apartments.com listings. Options include CALL, EMAIL, photos and floorplans, as well as a FAVORITES option. They had the “favorites” and “history” convenience options for users. Nice, clean and easy user interface.  They had the GPS-capability to find nearby apartments, but didn’t show all the results on a map – list results only. You can refine your search as well as sort it once your search was returned. 2.5 STARS/398 ratings
  6. ForRent.com – search ForRent.com listings. Options include CALL Property, View Gallery, Check Availability, View Floorplans, Map Property, Tell Friends, and WATCH VIDEO! The only thing I could not find was an easy way to email the property. They have a sort feature that was easy to use and find. One feature I didn’t see anywhere else was the ability to search by a “keyword.” LOVE this feature. They also had the “favorite” option as well as the “recents” option. Nice graphics, user, interface. Ave 3 STARS/8 ratings
  7. Rent.com – you have to have register for an account in order to search.There are lots of comments in the reviews that this is a turn-off for people, which is reflected in their ratings. Options include send email, Call, Claim $100 Reward Card, view photos, save to favorites, refine. Something that most other sites did not offer was a place to add your own notes and photo’s. Nice user interface, clean, neat, graphically pleasing. 2 1/2 STARS/104 ratings
  8. MyNewPlace.com – you can map, send message, email to a friend or save to favorites. This one also had the ability to add notes, as well as a great advanced search. I did NOT see a way to call the site directly from the application. 2 1/2 STARS/64 ratings
  9. ApartmentFinder.com – you can call, email property, view floor plan images, map, GET DRIVING DIRECTIONS (only app to provide this), add to favorites, add notes, and email to a friend. It also had a history feature and advanced search. They have a sort and refine button once you received your results. Nice easy user interface, graphically pleasing. Not sure why it got such low reviews – 2 1/2 STARS/3425 ratings.

Is your listing showing up on mobile searches?

Although the ratings for these apps weren’t stellar, (the highest was 3 1/2 star/5 star possible), based on the number of reviews and comments, people want these apps, they are using these apps, they are thirsty for these apps. What did our prospects want out of an apartment application?

  1. Stability – apps that crash or didn’t work received lots of negative comments and reviews. This was the #1 reason for negative reviews
  2. Availability in major cities – some apps worked great for me – I’m in Minneapolis, but in other major cities, they just didn’t have many results, or didn’t work. Users complained about this. This was the #2 reason for negative reviews
  3. The ease of contacting the site – via email, phone, website, etc.
  4. The ability to refine, sort, do an advanced search.
  5. The ability to return results in a list OR a map.
  6. The ability to see accurate photo’s, floorplans, pricing, etc.
  7. The ability to add notes, comments, track their apartment searching history. etc.

Apps have come a LONG way, and still have some tweaks to go. I am impressed with the availability of these apps, the functionality, and the ease of use. I can’t wait to see what comes in 2011 to the apartment industry, to apps for searching for apartments and to our apartment internet listing services (apartment ILS)!

These apps make searching for an apartment so much easier, and the tools are readily available when the prospect needs the information. Is your property coming up on one of these apps?

Don’t GET IT? RENT SODA! GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO/President

RENTSODA-small

Offering Apartment Marketing, Apartment Business & Operations Consulting & Apartment Leasing Training

Web: RentSoda.com Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

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TOP 10 TIPS to Get the MOST Out of CRAIGSLIST Apartment Ads

Jul 12th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
8 comments

Craigslist, when smartly used as part of your marketing/advertising campaign, can become one of your apartment community’s top traffic generators. If it’s not, you’re not getting the most out of your Craigslist ads.

Here are the TOP 10 Things You Need to Know to Maximize Your Craigslist Ads for your Apartment Community:

  1. Generally, web traffic is highest during the week, especially during working hours of 8:00AM – 5:00PM. For the apartment industry on Craigslist, the highest traffic day is actually on SUNDAY. According to Yield Technologies, their RENTSENTINEL product, a web-based application that manages posting content for rental properties, they have noticed that Sunday’s see much less posting activity for apartments than any other day of the week. Couple that with higher traffic, and your posting efforts will get the biggest audience with less competition! (SUNDAYS have the HIGHEST average views/ad than any other day for our apartment industry!) This is true of every portfolio class, geographic location or market segment.
  2. Although Craigslist is “free,” there are TONS of different services available that can help you manage your content, produce “snazzier” looking ads, track traffic, provide analytics, and MORE – OH MY! Some more common ones include RENTSENTINEL and POSTLETS. Depending on your needs and preferences, these may work for you, are pretty affordable, and provide lots of extra’s to help you maximize your craigslist ads. There are TONS of other services available – if you know of some additional ones, leave a link in the COMMENTS section of this blog post and share with everyone! OR Leave a comment about your experience with the services listed here.
  3. PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES! – And not just any old snapshot – make sure to have good lighting, take pictures of clean, rent ready or model units – try to make an positive impression that gets your target market to pick up the phone and call you! Don’t turn them off with the wrong picture.
  4. Many people ask me, “what generates more traffic? The traditional organic craigslist ads or the jazzed up ones with hyperlinks, pictures, formatting, etc?” The answer is that they BOTH work. The key to a successful craigslist campaign is VARIETY. Switch it up between your traditional craigslist ads and fancier ones.
  5. Speaking of VARIETY, switch up your posts! Make sure you have an ad targeted specifically to attract your 1 bedroom renters, or your pet lovers, or one to attract roommates, or one to highlight the fact that you are near a bus route, etc! Be sure to keep within fair housing rules, but there is nothing that says you can’t switch up your ads and highlight specific features. Variety is the spice of life, and so it is with apartments on craigslist!
  6. Speaking of PETS, whether your building is pet-friendly or does NOT allow pets, there IS a specific market for THAT! Make sure to have a specific ad targeted towards your pet lovers (for those apartment communities that accept pets) or ones that specifically state that you do NOT allow pets. Believe it or not, there are those people who look specifically for pet-free buildings, due to allergies, conditions, fear, etc. If you are targeting pet-owners, be sure to use the Craigslist “Meow” and “Woof” options to state you are pet friendly, in addition to including this information in your title/content.
  7. And since we are drilling down on specific life style choices, a choice that is becoming increasingly popular in apartment searches is “smoke free apartment.” There are new organizations promoting living smoke-free popping up everyday. Here in Minnesota, one that is making quite a splash is LIVESMOKEFREE. Make sure to include those words for the craigslist search engines (as well as all other search engines) to pick up!
  8. While we are on the topic of search engines, make sure to include search engine friendly terms in your ad! If you are near a bus-line, post that. If you are near shopping/retail, make sure to mention the shopping or retail center name. If you are in a highly sought-after school district, name the school district or even better, name the schools. If you are nears parks, name the parks. People search for apartments based on their lifestyle choices, and if those choices are based upon transportation, schools, shopping, food, retail, etc – YOU will get picked up in their search, and your competition might get buried in the masses….
  9. Another question I get asked constantly – “how often should I post?” From my perspective, it’s not a matter of “how often,” but more importantly, CONSISTENCY. According to Eric Broughton of Yield Company’s RentSentinel product, ”the most important global trend is for communities to post their available units on a consistent basis, don’t take a day off from posting an available unit, your competitors aren’t.  Equally important is respecting the craigslist community and not posting multiple ads in a short period of time.  Never post more than 1 ad in the same hour, and never post for the same unit type more than once in 24 hours.  Our analytics show that following these simple rules will provide far greater results than someone that spams a region with multiple ads over and over again.”
  10. And lastly, and MOST importantly, be a good Craigslist Citizen. Common sense folks! Pay attention to things such as knowing the Craigslist Terms of Use, posting only available Units/Unit Types, not over-posting (never more than 1 ad per hour and 8 total ads in a day – this is for LARGE sites – many of you may not have larger enough sites, where posting every other day is more than enough), and posting to only one category and region at a time.  As an industry we can all be more effective and increase our traffic if we use the craigslist environment for which it was intended which is bringing renters and landlords together in an open marketplace. Let’s not ruin the “free” part of craigslist, by over-doing it. In some regions, and some industries, craigslist DOES impose fees. (See Craigslist FactSheet.)

Please leave comments on any tips I might have missed, leave comments about other craigslist applications or services, and your experiences with these services!

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am not affiliated with Yield Technologies or Postlets. Yield Technologies has provided me with information for this blog post. THANK YOU! (Roboblaster, another posting service also provided information for this blog, however, at the time of publication, they have folded.)

Don’t GET IT? RENT SODA! GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO/President

RENTSODA-small

Business, Operations & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

Follow RENTSODA on Twitter!

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Apartment Marketing: Get READY, Get SHARP – Call your ILS Account Rep!

Feb 2nd, 2010
by daisynguyen.
4 comments

1/12 of the year is over, and the clock is ticking. Have you made progress towards your occupancy goals, or have you started the year off already behind? Your PRIME leasing season is coming – are you ready? Whatever the case, the best way to maximize your upcoming leasing opener is to call your Internet Listing Service (ILS) account rep TODAY.

Why?

#1: ILS’s for the apartment industry are your BIGGEST source of traffic.

#2. Because you are UNDERUTILIZING all that they offer.

It’s time to Get READY, Get SHARP, CALL! Work smarter and pull ahead of your competition. Your ILS partner can help.

(Picture provided by ShellyS on Flickr through creative commons license.)

ILS technologies change all the time. In the apartment industry, we complain all the time, and the few people who actually listen to us and DO something about it is our ILS’s. The technology changes constantly, there are new marketing/advertising packages out there, new reporting capabilities. Want to know what is working and what isn’t working? The one person who would know, AND willing to share with you their vast sea of knowledge is your ILS representative. The advice, training, and information your Internet Listing Service representative can bring you could amount to HOURS of research, hundreds of calls, and a TON of reading. Your rep can shave HOURS out of that process and share with you the information YOU need. And the price can’t be beat – it’s usually part of doing business.

Here is a list of things to discuss with your ILS representative so that you can better utilize their technology:

  1. Where are you ranked in search engines in my target market/demographic? Your ILS should (at the very least) be on the first page of google.
  2. What target demographics/target markets work best with your service? Not every ILS is the best in every market or every demographic. Your rep should know what their sweet spot is, and most times, they are honest enough to tell you. Some ILS’s that work awesome in Minneapolis, may not work so well in Houston. KNOW which ones know YOUR market & demographics.
  3. How much traffic should I expect from a listing? Ask for averages in your market, or for your type of demographic. This should be a baseline you can use to analyze if your internet listing is working or needs tweaking.
  4. What search terms come up for my type of property/market? What search terms are over-used? Your representative should be able to tell you what search terms are working, not working.
  5. On average, what techniques will boost the traffic? What techniques will lend to keeping a prospect on my add longer? Your representative can normally tell you what drives traffic, what keeps prospects engaged. On some ILS’s, it could be the number of pictures. On other ILS’s, it could be the presence of a video. Whatever the case, make sure you are asking about it in terms of YOUR market/YOUR demographics.
  6. Do you have someone available to take pictures or video? What is that cost? So many times, apartment communities decide to try a new ILS, and the pictures they use are AWFUL. If you’re going to pay for a listing, spend some time to get the pics/video/details right! Some ILS’s may offer to take the pics for you, or can recommend someone in your area at a decent price. ASK you representative. They may have some creative ideas.
  7. What analytics/reporting do you have available? AND, how do I read/interpret the results? If you are NOT utilizing the analytics of your ILS, you aren’t using your ILS properly. There is A LOT to be learned from analytics. Depending on the ILS, and the detail of reporting provided, you can at least learn how people find you, when they find you, and how many are finding you. If there are advanced report/analytics available (not all ILS’s provide this, but many do), it can tell you the key words people are using, where they are coming from, how long they were on your listing, etc. With this information, you should tweak your ILS listing to boost traffic and keep people engaged on YOUR listing.
  8. Do you have any packages/bundles/specials available? Just like most services, they more you buy, many times, there is a discount. Sometimes the discount if for volume  – i.e. number of properties listed. Sometimes there is a bundle available, whereby you can get the regular ILS service, and for an additional $XX.00 you can also get some of their other premium services as well.
  9. Now that you have your ad written up, and your apartment community’s pictures posted, ask your rep to take a look at it and critique it. They see hundreds of listings all the time – and they can spot a winner from a loser a mile away. THEY are like your Simon Cowell. Listen closely, and you can glean MUCH from their expertise!
  10. Is there anything else I can do to boost my traffic/leads/closing?

With your ILS representative, ask, and you shall receive, you will become more successful, and you’ll maximize your advertising/marketing dollars. And people: Be nice. These are some of the smartest, most generous sales people in the industry. They want YOU to be successful – as in turn, THEY are successful! Work with them, and it will work out well for your apartment community’s marketing plan.

In this market even a small competitive edge over your competition could mean the difference between making your budget and NOT making it. Sharpen your tools now, BE ready, and make 2010 a GREAT year.

ILS: Are there other questions people should ask you? What is YOUR “sweet spot?” What is your advice on how to be SHARP amidst a sea of ads online? Leave a comment and share your experience. Feel Free to leave a link to your ILS service.

Get READY, Get SHARP. Call!

Don’t get it? RENT SODA. GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

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Dear Apartment ILS: KISS! (Keep It Simple Silly!)

Dec 1st, 2009
by daisynguyen.
3 comments

We all have a love/hate relationship with our apartment ILS’s. We love them for everything they do, and we hate them for everything they do. Yes, I’m talking about Rent.com, ForRent.com, Apartments.com, Move.com, ApartmentFinder.com – those are my big ones, but I’m sure I’m not mentioning dozens of other ones. I’m talking about ALL of them! Don’t get me wrong, I love all my providers! They bring me traffic. Traffic is king these days. The provider’s sales agents are great – friendly, helpful, a HUGE resource to apartment communities. But, the actual services all lack something EXTREMELY important - make it easy for the prospect! KISS! (Keep-It-Simple-Silly!*) (*I hate calling anyone stupid, so have replaced stupid with silly)

A recent blog post I did and two recent discussions on Multi-Family Insiders got me to thinking:

Give the prospect what they want. In the end, they are our customer.

To read the recent RENT SODA blogpost and discussions on MFI that got me to thinking, click below:

There’s a MARKET for THAT! (my RENT SODA marketing blogpost)

Advertising on Yours (and Others’) Good Names : an MFI discussion started by Mike Whaling

The ILS Conundrum – an MFI blogpost by Mark Juleen

Why can’t the ILS model be more simple, and cater to the prospect? Make it easier?

If they get THEY want, you get more traffic, and you drive more traffix to US, and we get WE want…everyone’s happy!

I’ve been a renter before, and as a renter, or anyone looking for a service for that matter, I love it when:

  1. …someone else has aggregated all the information for me into 1 BIG list. i love LISTS! I’m lazy, I have limited amount of time, and I need to find the RIGHT apartment without spending all my free time looking for an apartment. Come on, I have a life that I want to live. Being a professional apartment shopper is not my gig!
  2. …once I’m on your site, make it simple for me to find my dream home. (i.e. if I’m looking for Minneapolis, don’t give me all the listings out in the suburbs! REALLY? Do you think that providing me with listings all the way out to Timbuktu serves me in anyway?) The more time I spend frustrated on your site, the unhappier I become.
  3. Provide me with reviews. REALLY. Amazon does it, ebay does it, Best Buy does it – everyone and their dog allows for comments and reviews. I want to hear what other people like me who have done this before think.
  4. Link me to the property. Come on, I know you want me to stay on your website so you can provide a report to those that pay you on how long the average user stays on the website. But REALLY? Once I have narrowed down the list of who I want to visit, I want to VISIT them. Make it easy for me!

What do YOUR prospects and renters want from an ILS? As a renter, what do they want to make the experience easy and enjoyable? Please leave a comment with your thoughts. In the end, we should give the customer what they want, and they’ll continue to come back for me. Let’s see if we can get the attention of the ILS’s!

Dear Apartment ILS: KISS!

Don’t Get it? RENT SODA. GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

Follow RENTSODA on Twitter!

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