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Renting Apartments: Am I Who I Say I Am—& Do I Know You?

Mar 25th, 2011
by jameswb.
No comments yet

I was doing cardio last week when I noticed a striking woman with long brown hair.  Now generally when people are doing cardio, hair (for both women and men) is strapped down with bandanas, caps or scrunchies.  This hair was flowing.  I figured she was in her early- to mid-thirties and ‘working’ that great hair.

Then she turned around. 

On the flip side of this flowing dark hair was a 75-year-old face. I was startled; then I started to chuckle.  I recalled an interview by Beverly Johnson, the first African-American model to appear on American Vogue (1974).  She relayed a story of how, a few years earlier, a young guy on a golf course approached her from behind, “Hey, babe!”  When she turned around he started to stammer, apologize and back up.  At that point she asked herself why she worked so hard to stay looking so young!

Am I Who I Say I Am?

If you find that you are getting a lot of hits, calls to the site and no-shows for appointments, ask yourself, does our advertising reflect who we really are?  Often our advertising paints a picture that overshoots who we actually are.

Our customers have figured this out.  They are pretty cynical about our integrity!  This is one of the reasons video is so popular—we haven’t figured out how to photoshop a video yet!  [Update: Photographer Jacque Rosenau just informed me that she is doing it with Adobe After Effects software. However, until this becomes widely known, there will still be a perception that video is reality.]  Coco Chanel said, “Hard times arouse an instinctive desire for authenticity.”  (It’s a fashion-theme day.)

Mixed messages are confusing.  Our customers do not like to be confused.  When they are confused they will just keep on moving.

Do I Know You?

We also need to make sure we know who our target market is.  In everything we do, we should visualize who our reader/viewer/listener is.  (If you are not sure, a great place to start is by looking at who is living in your building now.  What is the average age and income?  Where do they work?  Where did they move from?  What amenities attracted them to your community?)

I was recently having lunch with Kari Shideman of Move.com.  We were discussing all the exciting technology that supports our ability to rent apartments.  We landed on the subject of Facebook.  Over the course of a day one apartment community had posted several interesting messages on their Facebook page (*small print:  names have been changed to protect the innocent):

  1. Just a reminder, we will be performing snow removal clean-up at 3:00 today.  Any vehicles left in the parking lot will be towed at your expense.
  2. Have any friends or family looking for a great new place to live?  Refer them to us and get a $500 rent credit the month they move in!
  3. Will the person driving a black Camry parked in the Future Resident’s Parking space PLEASE move your car?!  If you don’t get it out in the next 30 minutes we are towing it!
  4. Friendly reminder!  Your rent is due by 5:00 today!  Any rent not received by then should include a $50 late fee.  Thank you!
  5. WE LOVE OUR RESIDENTS!  Stop by the clubhouse this Friday night for a “Resident Appreciation potluck”.

If you see this, ask yourself, ‘Do I know you?’ Or, more clearly stated, ‘Do I know WHO this Facebook page is for?  What is the purpose of our Facebook page?’  As with any other marketing source, we have to establish what function we want it to have.  It should take the following into consideration:

  1. Facebook is all about the positive.  On your personal page, you quickly delete anyone who is consistently negative.  The same is true for your community page.  Give every message a positive spin.  Using the snow removal as an example: “Can you believe we got MORE snow?!  Thanks for your patience as we have been trying to find places to push it!  Our snow removal company is coming out for a clean-up this afternoon at 3:00.  The city has given us permission to park on the street all day today.  If you have questions, please call Kitty in the office.  Thanks!”
  2. Facebook is a place for messages you want the entire world to read.  Don’t single people out on Facebook.  It is a social network.  The example about the person who parks in Future Resident Parking should be handled one-on-one.  This is not an event that you want your entire following to enjoy.  The same is true for late payers.  You know who they are.  THEY know who they are.  Having a talk with them one-on-one (and preferably early) is the most effective method of rent collection.  The rest of your residents really don’t want to be bothered with reminders to do things that they already do.
  3. Facebook is eternal…okay, maybe it isn’t forever, but your posts have a long life.  If you are having a bad day, are angry or suffering from a bad attitude do not post.  Wait a day.  If you aren’t sure, have someone else review what you have written before you put it up.
  4. Facebook works best when you pick a target audience that you want to consistently message.  Once you start messaging; run with it.  Kari Shideman adds:  “If the main “fans” or “friends” on FB are your current residents and their friends, focus your message on resident retention – pool parties, neighborhood and community events, fun trivia on the area, “meet the office team”, “meet the maintenance team”, referral offers, etc.  No negative comments, rules, regulations, etc – this is your opportunity to build positive rapport with your residents and to show other non-residents on your page how wonderfully you treat the people that live at your community.  If your target audience is future residents – then include the community and neighborhood events, along with the benefits of living at your community.”
  5. Skip the Features – Give me the benefits!  As in all sales, don’t give a laundry list.  People want to know the benefits.  For example, instead of “washer & dryer in each unit”, your post to prospects could read “Life is busy!  Our residents love that they can throw in a load of laundry on the way out the door, and put it in to dry when they get back!”  Or offer testimonials from current residents.  In the words of Kari: Make it targeted, relevant and personally engaging.

This is just the tip of the iceberg.  But if you cover these items, it will go a long way towards making Facebook a positive component of your overall marketing program.  Take the time to look at your other advertising sources as well.  Are you who you say you are? Is your marketing message pointed directly at your target market?  Eliminating confusion will strengthen your place in the market—and improve your closing ratio.    

Cheers!  Jim Baumgartner | Rent Soda

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Renting Apartments: Am I Who I Say I Am—& Do I Know You?

Mar 25th, 2011
by jameswb.
1 comment

I was doing cardio last week when I noticed a striking woman with long brown hair.  Now generally when people are doing cardio, hair (for both women and men) is strapped down with bandanas, caps or scrunchies.  This hair was flowing.  I figured she was in her early- to mid-thirties and ‘working’ that great hair.

Then she turned around. 

On the flip side of this flowing dark hair was a 75-year-old face. I was startled; then I started to chuckle.  I recalled an interview by Beverly Johnson, the first African-American model to appear on American Vogue (1974).  She relayed a story of how, a few years earlier, a young guy on a golf course approached her from behind, “Hey, babe!”  When she turned around he started to stammer, apologize and back up.  At that point she asked herself why she worked so hard to stay looking so young!

Am I Who I Say I Am?

If you find that you are getting a lot of hits, calls to the site and no-shows for appointments, ask yourself, does our advertising reflect who we really are?  Often our advertising paints a picture that overshoots who we actually are.

Our customers have figured this out.  They are pretty cynical about our integrity!  This is one of the reasons video is so popular—we haven’t figured out how to photoshop a video yet!  [Update: Photographer Jacque Rosenau just informed me that she is doing it with Adobe After Effects software. However, until this becomes widely known, there will still be a perception that video is reality.]  Coco Chanel said, “Hard times arouse an instinctive desire for authenticity.”  (It’s a fashion-theme day.)

Mixed messages are confusing.  Our customers do not like to be confused.  When they are confused they will just keep on moving.

Do I Know You?

We also need to make sure we know who our target market is.  In everything we do, we should visualize who our reader/viewer/listener is.  (If you are not sure, a great place to start is by looking at who is living in your building now.  What is the average age and income?  Where do they work?  Where did they move from?  What amenities attracted them to your community?)

I was recently having lunch with Kari Shideman of Move.com.  We were discussing all the exciting technology that supports our ability to rent apartments.  We landed on the subject of Facebook.  Over the course of a day one apartment community had posted several interesting messages on their Facebook page (*small print:  names have been changed to protect the innocent):

  1. Just a reminder, we will be performing snow removal clean-up at 3:00 today.  Any vehicles left in the parking lot will be towed at your expense.
  2. Have any friends or family looking for a great new place to live?  Refer them to us and get a $500 rent credit the month they move in!
  3. Will the person driving a black Camry parked in the Future Resident’s Parking space PLEASE move your car?!  If you don’t get it out in the next 30 minutes we are towing it!
  4. Friendly reminder!  Your rent is due by 5:00 today!  Any rent not received by then should include a $50 late fee.  Thank you!
  5. WE LOVE OUR RESIDENTS!  Stop by the clubhouse this Friday night for a “Resident Appreciation potluck”.

If you see this, ask yourself, ‘Do I know you?’ Or, more clearly stated, ‘Do I know WHO this Facebook page is for?  What is the purpose of our Facebook page?’  As with any other marketing source, we have to establish what function we want it to have.  It should take the following into consideration:

  1. Facebook is all about the positive.  On your personal page, you quickly delete anyone who is consistently negative.  The same is true for your community page.  Give every message a positive spin.  Using the snow removal as an example: “Can you believe we got MORE snow?!  Thanks for your patience as we have been trying to find places to push it!  Our snow removal company is coming out for a clean-up this afternoon at 3:00.  The city has given us permission to park on the street all day today.  If you have questions, please call Kitty in the office.  Thanks!”
  2. Facebook is a place for messages you want the entire world to read.  Don’t single people out on Facebook.  It is a social network.  The example about the person who parks in Future Resident Parking should be handled one-on-one.  This is not an event that you want your entire following to enjoy.  The same is true for late payers.  You know who they are.  THEY know who they are.  Having a talk with them one-on-one (and preferably early) is the most effective method of rent collection.  The rest of your residents really don’t want to be bothered with reminders to do things that they already do.
  3. Facebook is eternal…okay, maybe it isn’t forever, but your posts have a long life.  If you are having a bad day, are angry or suffering from a bad attitude do not post.  Wait a day.  If you aren’t sure, have someone else review what you have written before you put it up.
  4. Facebook works best when you pick a target audience that you want to consistently message.  Once you start messaging; run with it.  Kari Shideman adds:  “If the main “fans” or “friends” on FB are your current residents and their friends, focus your message on resident retention – pool parties, neighborhood and community events, fun trivia on the area, “meet the office team”, “meet the maintenance team”, referral offers, etc.  No negative comments, rules, regulations, etc – this is your opportunity to build positive rapport with your residents and to show other non-residents on your page how wonderfully you treat the people that live at your community.  If your target audience is future residents – then include the community and neighborhood events, along with the benefits of living at your community.”
  5. Skip the Features – Give me the benefits!  As in all sales, don’t give a laundry list.  People want to know the benefits.  For example, instead of “washer & dryer in each unit”, your post to prospects could read “Life is busy!  Our residents love that they can throw in a load of laundry on the way out the door, and put it in to dry when they get back!”  Or offer testimonials from current residents.  In the words of Kari: Make it targeted, relevant and personally engaging.

This is just the tip of the iceberg.  But if you cover these items, it will go a long way towards making Facebook a positive component of your overall marketing program.  Take the time to look at your other advertising sources as well.  Are you who you say you are? Is your marketing message pointed directly at your target market?  Eliminating confusion will strengthen your place in the market—and improve your closing ratio.    

Cheers!  Jim Baumgartner | Rent Soda

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Foursquare vs. Facebook Places – Which is Better for Marketing Your Apartment Community?

Nov 9th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
6 comments

OK, I’ll admit it. I’m a Foursquare GEEK, and now, with the launch of Facebook Places, I am TOTALLY CONFUSED. There’s so much news out about Facebook Places – what will be the best tool for helping your outreach or marketing efforts at your apartment communities? Which application will help you stay connected to more apartment residents, attract more apartment prospects, give you more positive exposure?

Some background:

I use facebook as a place to connect with friends and collegues, keep up with the latest news about places/businesses I “like,” and connect with other like-minded individuals.

I use foursquare to find out about places near me, get tips based on my location, and I hate to admit it, but I secretly covet being “mayor” and earning badges.

If I am a typical user, how does this information help YOU market your apartment communities or connect with prospects and residents?

Let’s put them in the boxing  ring and see who wins:

  1. ROUND ONE: First thing I do when I go somewhere is to look on Foursquare to see which businesses near me have tips, read them, and see if I want to try something new, or stick with my tried and true favorites. Currently very easy to do on Foursquare. AND Foursquare has had A LOT more activity – resulting in lots of tips & deals with local businesses. Facebook Places – I have not found a way to leave a tip or find tips others have left. The only way to see what others think about a place is IF that business has connected their facebook PLACE to their facebook PAGE, and you can see the information and wall of a business’ facebook place/page. This is a big IF. And even IF a business has connected their facebook place to their facebook page, you’ll only see their wall. There’s not really a place that encourages users to leave other information for other users. WINNER: Foursquare
  2. ROUND TWO: When I am marketing an apartment community (or even a retail business), I look for tools where I have control over the content, easy way to communicate my brand and my message. With Foursquare Places, it is easy to claim my “place,” connect it to my community’s facebook page, and manipulate the content users see when they find me. Additionally, if someone leaves an potentially negative remark or comment on my page, in Facebook, I can delete it. With Foursquare, I can claim my business on Foursquare -but there is no way to customize it beyond providing the basic info. Additionally, user can leave whatever comments and tips they want, I have no control over their comments. WINNER: From a business/marketing perspective, Facebook Places is the CLEAR winner.
  3. ROUND THREE: Deals. Everyone loves a deal. How easy is it to find places with “specials” or “deals?” On Facebook Places, when you bring up the app, all the businesses around you will be listed. If there is a “special” or “deal,” there is a little cut-out square icon that resembles a coupon. It was somewhat easy to spot. On Foursquare, when you open the app, it locates all the businesses close to you, and if there are any “specials” or “deals,”  the word “SPECIAL” shows up. Its much easier to spot, and there is no question as to the purpose. So, for all practical purposes, this is almost a tie. HOWEVER, as I searched through local businesses that I know are running deals, I found more deals on Foursquare than I did on Facebook Places. WINNER: FOURSQUARE through a technicality. - This may change if Facebook Places can attract more businesses and “specials” and “deals.”
  4. Round Four: Activity & Users – who has more? According to a recent Business Insider article from October 29th, 2010, although Facebook Places has 7X more users, those users are not as active as the 4 million foursquare users. WINNER: Foursquare
  5. Round Five: The FUN factor. In foursquare, as stupid as it may sound, I enjoy being a “mayor” and receiving”badges” for checking in. One of my friends, a VP of a large company in Minnesota, recently emailed me to say, “I just became the MAYOR at a local joint. I am secretly quite proud!” Facebook places currently does not have an incentive to check-in except for the possibility of a deal or “special.” WINNER: Foursquare.

Foursquare wins 4 out of 5 rounds because it meets the wants of its users. That’s a page from the facebook business book – build an application for the end-users, and the business will come. Score one for the small guy!

As it is with social media, today’s giants can be tomorrow’s cold empty grave. It’ll be interesting to see what Foursquare and Facebook Places have in the way of updates and changes over the next few months! But its clear that things are FAR from over for Foursquare.

I should mention that even though the end-user experience is much better on Foursquare, the Facebook Places application is more business-friendly. AND Facebook has HUGE potential to reach its over 500 million users.

I am still TOTALLY confused. Who will win? Can they continue to co-exist?

Depending on what YOUR marketing needs, goals, or objectives are, you may want to use one or both of these as part of your marketing approach/outreach efforts for your apartment community. If you are using Foursquare or Facebook Places to help market or as an outreach tool for your apartment community, please leave me a comment and share with everyone how you view one or both, or how you are using them!

Below is a comparison Matrix of Location Based Social Networks produced by Mark Fidelman on Flickr.com.



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 Industry Training

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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Using Foursquare for Marketing Apartment Communities

Sep 22nd, 2010
by daisynguyen.
2 comments

I LOVE Foursquare, and find it not only a cool app, but a great marketing tool. If you aren’t as geeky as I am, you’re probably wondering, WHAT is Foursquare? WHY would I want to use Foursquare as a marketing tool for my apartment community? HOW would I use foursquare?

WHAT is Foursquare?

For me as an individual, I LOVE Foursquare, as it allows me to not only let all my friends know where I am, its a great way to find out what’s AROUND ME, get tips from seasoned visitors, AND get SPECIALS at some of my local favorite places! In my travels, I’ve been in unfamiliar cities without a single clue as to where to eat/shop, what to order/do. VOILE! Foursquare to the rescue! Once the application is installed on my phone, I can just open the application, Foursquare locates me, and gives me a list of some of the nearby places. If I see anything appealing, there is a section for “TIPS” where other visitors have left little nuggets for other foursquare users. I’ve tried some DELICIOUS foods that I normally would have never ordered, found great little shops that I would otherwise have never ventured, and tried new locations I just would not have even noticed.

WHY would I want to use Foursquare as a marketing tool for my apartment community?

I’ve been pondering this question ever since I got hooked on Foursquare. As I used Foursquare more and more, I found a couple of GREAT reasons to use Foursquare for marketing your apartment community:

  1. As I mentioned, Foursquare let’s the user announce to the world (and more importantly) and to a user’s friends, WHERE they ARE. At the time a user “checks into” an establishment, they have the option of adding a comment.

    2. WHO would want to know where YOU ARE?

    The answer is: YOUR friends and followers! Now this is important folks! Foursquare has extended its reach from it’s 3+ million registered users to YOUR FRIENDS on Facebook and YOUR FOLLOWERS on Twitter. So instead of just accessing the 3+million registered users, you are now accessing the friends and followers of users on facebook & twitter. Again, a skeptic may still pose the question, WHO would want to know “where YOU are AT?” YOUR friends and followers on facebook & twitter have “opted in” with you. For whatever reason, they think you’re a cool cat, and they’ve friended you or they are following you on twitter. THOSE people DO want to know WHERE you are. WHY? If you’re the cool cat, they want to know where the cool cats hang, what the cool cat is doing, how do cool cats live, etc. Perhaps they will try those places too! YOUR network DOES want to know WHERE YOU AT? It’s the most asked question when someone calls you on a cell phone – WHERE YOU AT?

  2. So, now that we’ve established that YOU are a cool cat, and your friends and followers DO want to know WHERE YOU AT, doesn’t it make sense that if you are announcing to the world that you just checked into “ABC Apartments,” that your friends and followers (who we presume are similar to you in some way) see that you just checked in at “ABC Apartments,” and they may want to check it out too? In addition, everytime YOU check in at ABC Apartments, ABC Apartments just got their brand name out there to all YOUR friends who are presumable similar to you in one way or another. Hmmm… its starting to look like we’re marketing to our target market!
  3. Even if YOU aren’t a cool cat, the early adopters of Foursquare ARE. The users of foursquare have an audience of friends on facebook and followers on twitter that see WHERE THEY ARE every time they check into YOUR apartment community. Since they live at YOUR apartment community, it’s not a far stretch to assume that a few of their friends/followers are similar to them and maybe interested in living at your Apartment community too. This is a soft marketing approach – but one that helps to get your brand and your name out there. When someone is ready to look for apartments, they will remember that their friend, John Doe, lives at ABC apartments and has checked in a dozen or so times in the last couple of months.

    4. NAME RECOGNITION! Gotta love that.

  4. TIPS! On Foursquare, there is an option to leave TIPS for other visitors. In the apartment industry, we so often complain about apartmentratings.com . I feel it has a lot to do with the negative connotation of the word “ratings.” What if it was called Apartmenttips.com? Would it change the way people who leave those reviews feel about what they are expected to do? In any case, on Foursquare, its called “TIPS.” And when I think of “tips,” I get a happy/GOOD feeling rather as opposed to the word “review” where I am left thinking I need to be a critic and criticize. TIPS on foursquare are usually positive, often little tidbits of useful information. I seldom see negative comments, although they do exist. Why not encourage people to leave tips about the apartment community? Any positive buzz you can create is ANOTHER positive way to reach YOUR market.

How can I use FOURSQUARE as a marketing tool for my apartment community?

  1. Make sure your apartment community is on foursquare, and that the correct information is listed.
  2. Encourage people to check in on Foursquare!
  3. To encourage prospects to check-in on foursquare, perhaps your apartment community can offer some kind of a special – $$ of the application fee? A rent special? Whatever the case, it can be as big or as small as you deem fit. The specials I have seen are Foursquare are mostly for restaurants and social hangouts – most specials are for free drinks or appetizers of some sort – its never something earth shattering, but it makes you, as a user, pay attention to what your options are – and when you have options, you’re likely to try something new.
  4. To encourage your apartment residents to check-in, perhaps the Mayor of your Apartment Community (the person who checks into your community the most) gets something special. -How about the mayor gets a preferential parking spot? How cool would that be, to have a sign that reads “PARKING for the MAYOR of ABC Apartments…”
  5. Claim your business on Foursquare. That means, go to http://Foursquare.com , set-up an account, and claim your business. Once you have been verified, you can start to run official foursquare “specials.”*
  6. Even if you can’t run official foursquare specials, I’ve seen companies leave their “special” as a “tip” on foursquare.

*At the time of this blog post, Foursquare states that foursquare “specials” are geared for businesses where people “meet, socialize and linger.” I’m curious if this definition extends to apartment communities? If you are an apartment community that is running official foursquare specials, please leave us a comment and let us know!

Do you FOURSQUARE? Please leave us a comment about your experience!

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 Industry Training

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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Your Apartment Community’s Facebook Page Needs a Vanity URL

Jan 11th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
No comments yet

Your community’s facebook page should have a facebook username, also known as a vanity URL.

Why? Being able to choose the URL for your facebook page is like a vanity license plate – it not only makes it easy to remember (and hence share with others), but helps you claim a little piece of facebook space as your own. Why let someone else (facebook) randomly set your URL, when you can control how people find you, remember you AND how google ranks you?

(Photo provided by aprilzosia on flickr through creative commons license.)

What am I talking about?

Most facebook URL’s are something like http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=123456789  – that’s hard to remember!

Now take for example, RENT SODA’s facebook URL: http://facebook.com/rentsoda – WAY easier!

In terms of SEO, having a facebook vanity url will help your facebook page rank higher in google searches than pages without a vanity url.

Follow these steps to claim your facebook vanity URL for your apartment community:

1.) First, carefully think of a username you want to use. Once it’s been selected, you won’t be able to change or transfer it. Usernames need to be at least 5 characters made of only alphanumeric characters. A period (.) is also allowed.

2.) Go to http://facebook.com/username  . Follow the prompts for your profiles and each fan page administered by your profile. For fanpages, facebook requires that your page have a minimum of 25 fans.

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!

Follow RENTSODA on Twitter!

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TWEET TWEET: Twitter for Business Users and Apartment Marketers

Dec 23rd, 2009
by daisynguyen.
11 comments

I’ve been following the whole TWITTER phenomenon very closely. At first, I was VERY confused. Who would use twitter and why? More importantly, why would I use twitter, and what would I tweet? After months of following tweeters, tweeting, searching tweets, reading tweets, re-tweeting, something dawned on me: Not all twitter users are created equal! In order to best understand and utilize twitter, I had to decide what kind of twitter user I was or wanted to be.

Most twitter users fell in the following 4 categories:

Tweeters – These guys have something to say, and they are out there sharing IT with the world, or at least, the twitterverse. In the real world, these would be your authors, writers, politicians, radio personalities, teachers, educators, speakers, advocates, socialites, personalities, class clowns, etc. Instead of a book, magazine, stage, forum, class, radio, soapbox, etc. – they use twitter to get their message out.

Followers – are exactly that. They follow the tweeters. They are the audience. In the real world, these would be readers, subscribers, students, supporters, etc. In the twitterverse, there is more opportunity to INTERACT with their tweeters than in the real world. AND, almost more importantly, that INTERACTION is shared with all fellow followers AND the twitterverse.

These are the TOP 2 types of twitter users. In the business world, and in our multi-family apartment industry, the following 2 lesser known types are KEY to marketing and sales:

Listeners – these are not just followers – these twitter users are out there listening for very specific topics or trends. In the apartment industry, we must learn to listen on twitter. Find out what our customers, clients, competitors are saying – especially what they are saying about our apartment communities, our markets, and our competitors! That’s a LOT of listening! Listening is one of the KEY components to effective communication, and as an interactive communication tool, it PAYS to listen on twitter. Listening is akin to being in a busy restaurant and overhearing someone at the next table talking about your apartment community! Except on twitter, the next table is the entire twitterverse. Listeners who are active and respond to the needs of their customers can help in strengthening an apartment community’s brand, image or message and extending the customer service arm. You listen, you respond = YOU CARE. Now THAT’s something to tweet about!

Miners – these are the most diligent and proactive business users. These guys, not only listen for specific topics or trends, they are mining the twitterverse to FIND prospects and leads! In the real world, this would be similar to standing in a busy restaurant and hoping to hear someone mention they are looking for an apartment – being the diligent manager/leasing agent you are, you quip in and let them know that you work for an apartment community down the road and give them your card and contact info. On twitter, you don’t have to be anywhere and wait for the stars to aline to catch this conversation. You can use twitter search engines to mine for prospects and leads by searching for key words such as “apartment hunting new york,” – and then sending those prospects a direct message with a link to your property’s website.

I should mention: I don’t think mining for prospects should be an apartment community’s only marketing plan – however, there probably aren’t that many prospects out there who just happen to mention your key words “apartment hunting new youk,” but if your traffic is slow or nonexistent, being proactive and mining instead of waiting for propsects to walk in the door, might not be a bad option.

I’m still learning more and more about twitter every day, and have learned to LOVE it. Love how fast it moves, LOVE all the random and not so random things I have learned following others, listening for trends, and when it DOES happen, finding those leads.

The most active twitter users participate in all 4 categories. Everyone is focused on tweeting and following. For apartment marketers & leasors (or any business’ marketing/sales personnel for that matter!) the biggest opportunities are in listening & mining.

How have you used twitter for marketing your business, apartment community or services? What type of twitter user are you?

tweet tweet? 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

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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

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What should we be "facebooking?" in the Multi-Family industry?

Dec 1st, 2009
by daisynguyen.
1 comment

OK, so now that we’ve established that facebook does have a positive ROI, that we SHOULD be “doing it,” the question naturally becomes, how/what should we be “doing” on facebook?

This is PART III of a 3-part series. You can read the intro here:

Intro: 3 facebook questions everyone asks when starting out… 

OR Part I: The ROI of Facebook – the Value of Creating Community

OR Part II: Facebook-itis: Addressing the Fear of Facebook head-on!

This is a loaded question, as many times, in our industy, we are focused on leasing apartments. We naturally want to tout our advatanges and post our specials – the way our traditional marketing avenues with print advertising and ILS’s have allowed us to do. Please keep in mind that for our industry (as we have now discussed on the ROI of facebook – the Value of Creating Community), facebook CAN be a marketing tool, however, it is first and foremost a connecting and communications tool to creating and fostering community. Facebook is NOT traditional, so to be able to use it as a marketing tool, we will need to think about it non-traditionally. Throw away those ideas of just blasting what your community is about, “advertising” specials, or listing prices. To better help you determine what you should be “doing” on facebook, let’s address a couple of basic questions:

  1. Who do you think your community’s “friend” or “fan” is?
  2. Why do you think they are would accept a “friend” or “fan” request from you?
  3. What do you think your “friends” or “fans” are there to see/hear?

These are the questions you SHOULD be asking and answering to determine what SHOULD go on your facebook page. IF your facebook page consists of 100 eager prospects just waiting for a rent special so that they can finally sign a lease with you, than by all means, advertise your rent specials.

I don’t think this will be the case for 99% of sites out there!

I’d like to open this up for discussion. Please leave a comment that answers the 3 questions noted above. If you don’t feel comfortable leaving a public comment, email me! (Daisy {at} rentsoda(.)com) My next article will compile all your private and public comments to share with all. (If you email me privately, I will leave include your comment, but won’t quote you. If you leave a public comment, I may quote you & link to your company. – OR tell me how you want it handled!)

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

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Facebook-itis: Addressing the fear of facebook head on!

Nov 18th, 2009
by daisynguyen.
1 comment

Part II: Facebook-itis: Addressing the fear of facebook head on! AKA Should my site(s)/apartment community(s) ”do” facebook? - This is usually asked by someone who realizes that they NEED to be on Facebook – because everyone ELSE is thinking about it or already “DOING IT.” Heard the buzz, now wondering…

This is PART II of a 3-part series. You can read the intro here:

3 facebook questions everyone asks when starting out… 

OR Part I: The ROI of Facebook – the Value of Creating Community

This is a great question. And the answer is as simple as YES.

KNOW THIS: In the Multi-family residential industry, we know who our typical renter demographic is - the biggest group of renters is ages 18-30. (Demographic information from NMHC - to see more demographic information, click here.) Our second biggest group, ages 30 – 44, and then 3rd largest demographic age group is 45-64, and then 4th is 65+.

KNOW THIS: Facebook demographics, as reported by istrategylabs.com as of 07/04/09, reported that the largest demographic of facebook users, ages 18 – 34 years old, totalled over 36MILLION users. The 2nd biggest demographic age group reported was 35-54 years old - totalled over 20MILLION users. The 55+years old user group totaled over 6MILLION users. The 55+ group was growing at a rate of 513% from the first half of 2009. (For complete istrategylabs.com statistics on facebook-click here. To see facebook’s statistics click here.) If your renter or prospect isn’t already on facebook, they WILL be. Will you be there to welcome them?

Technology continues to change, and with change comes new technology. Stay current with the new technologies – that’s how today’s business is done. (And for the most part, they can make life easier!)

If you think facebook maybe a fad – so what? A fad that has the attention of over 62MILLION U.S. users. WOW. GET IT while the gettin’s good. And if something else comes along, you can get GET THAT too.

And what about fear? Let’s address those fears quickly: Fear that you maybe exposing yourselves to liability? Fear that you may project the wrong image? Or fear that you may say the wrong things? Or fear that this might be too much work?

Well, to quote one of John Mayer’s recent tweets, ” …life may continue to be hard for you.” (For John Mayer’s full tweet/quote in its original context, click here and look at November 7th, 2009′s tweet.)

-Hey, I’m just being real. Agree? Disagree? LOVE IT? HATE IT? Still undecided? Want to chat? Leave me a comment!

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!

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The ROI of facebook – the value of creating community

Nov 16th, 2009
by daisynguyen.
7 comments

OK, so the million dollar question is:

What is the ROI (Return on Investment) of facebook for my site? Usually followed up by – how many leases can I get from facebook? Serious questions, and just like an owner/investor/upper management to get to the point – eh?

Well, short answer is your ROI is either 0% (yes you read it right, ZERO) or 100% depending on how you look at it. Intrigued? Read on…

This is PART I of a 3-part series. You can read the intro here:

3 facebook questions everyone asks when starting out… 

Facebook is all about creating community.  It’s all about people connecting with other people because they have at least one thing in common. There is a group for just about anything and everything, from politics, to sports, to music. Some as broad as “I Love Music” fan page which has over 2.4million fans, to the more specific, like “Sting” fan page that has over 300,000 fans, to your local band, who may have 100 fans.

Your apartment/site IS a community – whether you are 30 units or 300 units or 968 units, your apartment IS a community. Your #1 person on site – their title is “COMMUNITY MANAGER.” hmmmm….

Before facebook, and it wasn’t so long ago, most sites had a bulletin board of some sort. The community manager &  staff would decorate this board, organize it, and make sure it fit within the guidelines of your community in appearance and postings. You allowed residents to post random things on there, like “looking for roommate,” or “need a pet sitter from Jan 1 – Jan 8th, willing to trade services,” to “Lost Camera – gray, please contact Jon,” to “Superbowl Party - come join us in Apt#101!” Does anyone know what the ROI of this bulletin board was?

Before facebook, the savvy community manager created that sense of community with their interactions, their presence, their personality. What is the ROI on creating a sense of community?

Today, FACEBOOK. And its not just a little bulletin board. It’s BIG, in a BIG BIG way. Instead of that physical board, or the need to be physically AT a site or physically interacting with a community manager to get that sense of community, facebook helps you streamline that process. With a few clicks, your site has a central communication tool for your residents. Who better to control that tool than YOU? As before, you control what it looks like, what is said, and what is allowed. YOU get to set that example of community, nourish it, encourage it. You create that sense of community, you ARE that personality. Unlike that bulletin board, this online community can reach more than just your current residents. It’s out there in cyberspace – and guess what? Your prospects are going to check out what kind of community you allow, encourage and nourish. Sure, your prospects will visit your website. AND, they’ll also visit apartmentratings.com. But more importantly, they WILL look for your facebook page. What will they see?

So now, all the sudden the online community that you’ve been nourishing, encouraging, allowing, is not just a communications tool for your current residents. It is a marketing tool that you can use to reinforce your community image. People want to see who you (ABC Apartments) are and how you interact. They’ve already seen your website, they’ve already read the reviews on apartmentratings.com (and still interested!) and now they are serious. They want to know you, your apartment community. They are ready, eager, and willing to learn. This is your prospect who is ready to make a decision. And this is the best time to capture them. Are you ready?

So then the questions become: Why facebook? If I’m not really getting hard leasing numbers from using facebook, why do it at all? Why can’t I just direct people to my website? Its better designed, it looks great, it has a lot of information, THAT’s the image we want to project!

Because your residents/prospects are ALREADY on facebook. YOU want to connect with THEM, in a way that they prefer, are already used to, and feel safest. If you’re not already doing it, who’s to say, they won’t go ahead and create their own group? What if someone created a group called “The residents of ABC Apartments,” and you weren’t a part of that? Worse than not a part being a part of that – you would have no control over the group if someone else sets it up.

GET THIS: Today, you may not be able to measure exactly how may leases you will get from facebook. How do you measure all the leases you are missing out on? How many times did you miss an opportunity when your prospect was, ready, eager & willing?

GET THIS: You should already be using facebook as a communications tool for your current residents. If it also serves a marketing purpose … well then the ROI just doubled. (This is truly killing 2 birds with 1 stone…)

The ROI of facebook is all about the value of creating community. Emphasize the “community” in “apartment community.” Emphasize the “community” in “community manager.” Create that community. That community suddenly doubles as a marketing tool.

So, what’s the ROI on facebook for your community?

Don’t Get it? RENT SODA. GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Web: RentSoda.com

Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Blog: RentSoda.Wordpress.com

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