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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

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You’ve Been B-BACK’ed! 5 Ways to Turn Your B-Backs Into Leases!

Sep 8th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
3 comments

You’ve been there – your prospect apartment tour is going well, you are excited, your prospects are talking about where they are going to place their furniture, and then they utter the dread words:

We’re going to take a look at a few more places and we’ll BE BACK.

You just got B-BACK’ed! How do you turn those B-Backs into leases?

Here are 5 ways to get them BACK, and turn those B-BACKS into leases!

  1. FOLLOW-UP! While you are in the apartment tour, take your camera, and anything that your prospects say they like, take a picture of that. (i.e. “oh honey, look at the size of the closet!” -SNAP picture here. “oh honey, look at the pool!” SNAP picture here. Let them know you’ll email them the pics of all their favorite parts of the apartment tour.) I’m going to assume you’ve done some due diligence and have taken down their email address and phone number for follow-ups. After they leave, load the pictures onto a Flickr.com account, and email them the SHARE link. (Some email servers may have limits for attachments, and you want to make ensure that you don’t attach a bunch of pics that gets your email automatically moved into the spam folder.) Make sure in your follow-up email, you put something personal and friendly. (i.e. “Here’s a link to the pictures I took for you. You mentioned the size of the closet – I measured it and it’s 8×7. We’d love to have you live here!”
  2. FOLLOW-UP! Ask them when is the best time to contact them – WRITE THAT DOWN, and contact them during their most convenient times. Many times, we are following up with our prospects when its convenient for us. We should call them when its convenient for them – and increase our chances of having a “live” conversation as well as another opportunity for positive interaction with your apartment community.
  3. FOLLOW-UP! There is no 3 day rule to making a follow-up call when you’re trying to win business. If you want them to sign a lease, you’ll have to earn it. My rule of thumb: call immediately, call often. If you took my recommendation and took pictures (#1 above), call them after you send the pictures just to let them know to look for it in their email. No pressure, no salesy talk. Just a friendly call. THEN, call them the VERY next day and ask them how the rest of their apartment tours went, and offer to answer any questions they may still have. Call them a couple of days later to see if they have a decision and offer to show them another apartment that just “happened” to open up, etc.

    4. You get the idea: find ways to have positive points of contact with your prospects – don’t just call them to CALL THEM.

  4. FOLLOW-UP! When calling your prospects, always let them know how glad you are that they came in, or how happy you are that they came by. At the end of each call, either ask for their business or ask them to come back in.
  5. FOLLOW-UP! If you have an upcoming community event, call your prospects to invite them to attend. Having a breakfast for residents this weekend? Ask your prospects to attend. Have a football game showing in the community room? Invite them to join!

All 5 of my tips have to do with follow-up calls. It seems like a no-brainer, but I’m constantly amazed at how little follow-up there actually is out there. In recent “shops” that we performed, we only got a 20% rate of follow-up. We’ve been on the hunt for some office space – granted office space is a little different market than apartments, but we were FLOORED to find that the follow-up rate was even lower! (Maybe 10%!) We ended up leasing space from the person who cared the most by addressing all of our concerns, followed up with us the most, and fought to get our business. Your prospects aren’t any different. Studies show that the more positive interactions we have, the more we are likely to buy a product. Start making more positive interactions and increase your chances of closing on that lease!

Do you have any additional tips to add? Please leave a comment and add to the list!

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

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“I’m So Glad You Called Today” – 4 Phone Tips to Turn a Call into an Apartment Tour

Aug 26th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
2 comments

Phones have been around for over 140 years, so answering the phone is nothing new – or is it?

Having a great telephone conversation is one of the best and most powerful apartment marketing/leasing techniques in our industry.

It sets the stage for the rest of the leasing experience for your apartment prospect. Are you putting your best foot forward?

In the apartment business, a successful prospect call is one where we turn the telephone apartment inquiry into an appointment. What are the best ways to turn a phone call into a apartment tour appointment?

These are  my

top favorite tried and true phone leasing techniques

to turn that apartment telephone inquiry into an apartment tour appointment:

  1. Once you have identified yourself, find a way to let your phone prospect know how happy you are that they called TODAY. – If your caller says they are looking for an apartment, you should respond with, “I’m so glad you called today!...” and follow-up the comment with your specials or other related comment. “I’m so happy you called today,” is a great way to pause the conversation and inject some personal positive attention to your caller.
  2. What’s in a name? EVERYTHING. If the caller gives you their name – use it. If they don’t, ask them for their name – and use it. People love to hear their names – it acknowledges the fact that they are an individual and not just another caller. It will help you bond with the person over the phone. Using someone’s name is very intimate. Get the name and USE it.
  3. If you are comfortable, assume that the caller wants to set an appointment, and give them a couple of choices of times you have available for an appointment. With all the information available on the internet, most of your callers already know enough about your apartment community/complex to be ready to set an appointment for the leasing tour. – Assume they want the tour and work on scheduling it. If you are not comfortable with assuming your caller wants an apartment tour, then ask them if they would like to schedule a tour.
  4. At the end of each call, always thank your apartment prospect by name for calling you!

Your call should go something like this:

RING RING!

You: Thank you for calling ABC Apartments, how may I help you? (smile!)

Caller: I’m interested in finding a 1 bedroom apartment.

You: My name is Daisy – Can I get your name?

Caller: My name is Jane.

You: Jane, I’m so happy you called today! We have some great looking 1 bedroom apartments that just became available. Do you have any particular preferences you want to share?

Caller: I want to be on the top floor.

You: Great! I have 2 apartments on the top floor overlooking the park, and …

…(more conversations, get prospect info, bond, etc.)

You: I have appointments available this Thursday at 10:15AM, 4:30PM or Friday afternoon or Saturday morning to tour our apartment community and see the apartments we have available. What time would work best for you?

Caller: Saturday morning at 10:00AM.

You: Jane, thanks so much for calling today, and I can’t wait to show you our community on Saturday at 10:00AM!

There are lots of telephone leasing techniques out there. The objective is to schedule that apartment tour. These are my favorite phone tips, what are yours?

By the way, I’m so glad you read my blog post today! THANK YOU!

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

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MOBILIZE Your Apartment Website For Smartphones, iPhones, Blackberries!

Jul 22nd, 2010
by daisynguyen.
5 comments

Smart phones, iPhones, Blackberries are everywhere. They keep us connected to our world – through the phone, internet, text messaging, etc.

I am addicted to mine. Not JUST addicted to it, but I LOVE it.

And I LOVE it even more, when my favorite sites have applications for my mobile device OR they have “mobilized” their websites for mobile devices. Not only do I LOVE those people who have mobile apps or mobilized websites, I am ANNOYED when someone doesn’t have a mobile app or mobilized website!

It used to be that you had to have a website. THAT is SO 1999. TODAY, you have to have a mobilized website!

Surprising, in the apartment industry, so few of our websites are mobilized. And when it comes right down to it, it’s due to pricing, leaving only the big guys able to afford to mobilize their websites. SAD!

RENT SODA’s blog is now “mobilized” thanks to a FREE application that took only 3 minutes of set-up time. In my attempt to mobilize my blog, I found it amazingly simple and FREE to mobilize it! Here’s the service I currently use:

http://mippin.com

Instructions are simple:

1.) Sign-up for an account

2.) Use the “MIPPIN MOBILIZER” – enter in your website URL or feed URL.

3.) Choose your lay-out

I was up and running in 3 minutes, with a few minor glitches:

  • I found that my blog title and my blog article titles were running OVER each other. – I emailed customer service, and they fixed it within 24 hours. (WOW – and this is free!)

Other things you should know about mippin:

  1. This service hosts the mobilized version of your website on their servers – which means mobile traffic is redirected to a URL that they host. (i.e. your traffic is leaving your site)
  2. They do support advertising on the mobilized version of your site through ADMOB – you keep 100% of the revenues. I have not tried this as I do not want ads on my blog, mobilized or non-mobilized. :-)
  3. Even if a website is not on the mippin server, if you goto mippin.com, and use them as a browser for any website that has an rss feed option, it will try to mobilize that website for your viewing pleasure.

I mobilized my blog (http://blog.rentsoda.com ) – I’m curious to see someone mobilize their apartment’s website and give us feedback on that process, and how it looks, so please leave a comment if you have used this to mobilize your apartment website.

Do you know of other services that are able to mobilize websites FREE or at a low cost? Please leave a comment and share with everyone!

Don’t GET IT? MOBILIZE 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!

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Leasing Agent Compensation?…First a word about VACANCY!

Jul 14th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
2 comments

As a consultant to the apartment industry, I am asked a LOT, “What’s fair leasing agent compensation? Is their a leasing commission structure you would recommend?”

There is no easy or short answer to this question, so let’s take a round about way of discuss it, and then my next article will zoom RIGHT into what I recommend.

I find it a little backwards when people want to know what OTHER properties or OTHER management companies are doing when it comes to leasing agent compensation. I never say it out loud, but I’m always thinking, “What’s it worth to YOU?” (as owner/manager) AND, “What’s it worth to THEM?” (your leasing agent/leasing specialist)  What do I mean by that?

FIRST, let’s first talk about the REAL problem – VACANCY.

I don’t have a vacancy problem!

Well, then, you shouldn’t worry about leasing agent compensation then!

OK, OK. Let’s talk about vacancy…

TO make it easy, let’s say we’re talking about ABC Apartments. They have 100 units. Their average rents are $1000.00/unit.

Prior to the rental market taking a downward turn, ABC Apartments has been running along great, apartments never took very long to lease, and they had been at 97% occupancy for many years.

Fast forward to today, they are at 88% physical occupancy, which means they are at 12% vacancy. All of the sudden, they are struggling with just staying ahead of the renewals and turnover. Increasing the occupancy in the midst of the resident turnover looks very daunting.

Let’s do the math.

At 97% occupancy, the vacancy loss is:

(Average Rents) x (# of Vacant Units)

$1000.00 x 3 vacant units = $3000.00 of vacancy loss monthly. This is what they are used to operating at. Annually (x12), this amounts to $36,000.00 of annual vacancy loss.

TODAY, at 88% occupancy, the vacancy loss is:

$1000.00 x 12 vacant units = $12,000.00 of vacancy loss monthly. Annually (x12), this amounts to $144,000.00.

The different in vacancy loss monthly is $9000.00! ($12,000 – $3000) And annually, the difference is $108,000.00! ($144,000 – $36,000)

How much does the $108,000.00 mean to the site? The Owner/Investors? The manager? Now that we have things in perspective, it brings up a WHOLE bunch of other questions, like:

  1. Do you have the right staff in place? If your maintenance guy is doing showings – you may have a problem.
  2. Do you have a plan in place for resident retention? If you have vacancy problems, you HAVE to have a plan in place to close the back door to your vacancy problem.
  3. Is your staff properly trained? Not just in customer service, but in closing on leases?
  4. Is your staff properly motivated and positioned to succeed? (This question leads into the real TOPIC: What’s a fair Leasing Agent compensation package?

Do you have other questions? Other considerations? Leave me a comment in the COMMENTS section!

My next blog article, will discuss different leasing compensation programs, and how to pick what works best for you, your site, and your staff.

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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New to the Apartment Industry/Job/Career? 4 Stages to an Epiphany!

Jul 13th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
1 comment

Are you new to the apartment industry? New to your employer? New career? New promotion? On a new project? There are 4 stages that every NEWBIE goes through before becoming comfortable in the new position.

When I first started at Dominium Management Services several years ago, I was lucky enough to take a class called “Managing for New Managers,” taught by a wonderful human resources mentor named Claudia. I took away a few lessons from that class, that not only helped me in my new job - I still remember those tips to this day and pass along this info to all newbies I meet!

Before we get started, I first want to mention for anyone who is new to the apartment industry: CONGRATS! You have just joined the most exciting, most demanding, most fun, most fullfilling, most intelligent, most rewarding industry – EVER! If your manager hasn’t prepared you, I’m preparing you now:

4 Stages to an Epiphany in the Apartment Industry

  1. STAGE 1: UNCONSCIOUSLY INCOMPETENT: You read it right. INCOMPETENT. In this stage, you’re feeling good. You just landed a job – especially in this economy, this is quite a feat! You beat out the hundreds of other applicants and you were chosen as the best fit for the job. CONGRATS! You’re being introduced to everyone, your resume is being passed around, people are oohing and ahhing. Everyone LOVES  you and can’t wait for you to get started. YOU can’t wait to get started! You feel important, after all, you’re working for ABC Apartments/ABC Management Company and they own millions worth in real estate. The honeymoon’s just begun. This feeling can last anywhere from a week to a month before you head into…
  2. STAGE 2: CONSCIOUSLY INCOMPETANT: This is when you start to feel a little insecure. There’s SOOOO much to learn! You’ve just started to realize you are in charge of this multi-million dollar asset, and no one’s ever trusted you with even $100 before, let alone an asset worth millions! Then there’s Fair Housing – oh my! They expect you to market, lease, understand financials, manage people, respond to residents, live on site, deal with maintenance issues, vacuum on occasion, AND all with a smile, please and a thank you. Budgets? Maintenance? HAP? HUD?  OOOOOHHHHH MY. You’re ready to pull your hair out and rethink this whole new industry, whole new career, whole new job thing. BUT STOP! This stage is perfectly NORMAL. I tell ALL new job applicants, and all new hires, give it 90 days, and if you don’t feel better by the end of 90 days, let’s have a serious talk. The good news is, EVERYONE goes through this, it’s perfectly normal, and it WILL get better. I’ve done takeovers where I’ve had people cry in my office because of how overwhelming it is – and they’re not use to the chaos of change. Give it 90 days, and those same people are skipping, having a good old time, and thanking me for letting them know – IT’s OK. This stage usually lasts anywhere from 90-120 days, with some relief right around 90 days.
  3. STAGE 3: CONSCIOUSLY COMPETENT: At this stage, you’re starting to GET IT now. It’s not easy, but you know where to find the answers, and you’re starting to kind of like the job/industry/career! You understand what your job entails, and you’re starting to understand not only where you fit into the equation, but the whole bigger equation of the APARTMENT industry. Things that seemed like a foreign language to you, terms like, gross potential rent, RUBS, HAP, HUD, NOI, cost per lease, marketing cost per unit, traffic, replacement reserves, Yardi, MRI, multi-family residential – terms once alien, are starting to roll off your tongue. Things that used to bother you (residents coming into your office and interrupting your line of thought, vendors vying for your time, overly dramatic leasing agents, non-communicative maintenance technicians, etc.)  – are now an everyday part of your life. You’re drinking the koolaid, and it’s starting to taste good. You see light at the end of the tunnel, and you contemplate taking a day off – soon.
  4. STAGE 4: CONSCIOUSLY COMPETENT: EPIPHANY! Then one day, all the sudden, you’re walking along, multi-tasking with your blackberry in one hand, maintenance work orders in the other hand, picking up trash/stuffing it your pockets, and just as you round the corner, your leasing agent and maintenance guy are waiting with an angry resident in tow. You have 10 minutes to compose yourself and your office before your apartment owners/asset manager/big-wigs come for their annual visit. You smile, look at your crew, and say, “What a beautiful day outside. Let’s talk about what’s bothering you so you can enjoy the rest of the morning!” An epiphany hits and you realize, I LOVE this crazy industry/job/career, and if not for the variety, people, experiences, life could be SOOOO boring! I’m GETTING IT! WHOOHOO!

Loss of new hires usually occurs at STAGE 2. Before you give up or before you allow YOUR new hire to give up! Realize, IT’s OK. Give it time, and you’ll GET IT.

Since I’ve started to tell every new employee I hire about these stages and open the door for honest discussion, give them permission and encourage them to vent to me during STAGE 2, my employee turnover has dropped significantly. In addition – those people will come vent, talk and sometimes cry in my office – but 90 days later, they are laughing with me, hugging me, and asking for new projects and challenges. I LOVE this crazy apartment industry!

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!

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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!

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RENT SODA Welcomes Jim Baumgartner!

Jul 6th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
2 comments

It’s July, and RENT SODA is shaking it up once again – with groundbreaking news: (drum roll please!)

WELCOME JIM BAUMGARTNER to team RENT SODA!

With the addition of Jim, we are adding more texture to the RENT SODA landscape through rich experience & ideas. Our end result will remain the same: striving to help RENT SODA clients achieve excellence and success in the evolving marketplace.

And now, a note from JIM:

The Year of the Tiger!

Last February several friends commented that this year—the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese calendar—was my year.  They predicted a year of change!  I had my doubts but they were right.

My last day as Vice President of Operations for Bigos Management was June 25th.  After over four amazing years it was time to move on to new challenges—the urge to shake it up struck!  I am thankful for the amazing people and experiences I have enjoyed.  During my time at Bigos we built several new projects—including the amazing Lowertown Lofts in Downtown St. Paul, The Gables at Park Pointe in St. Louis Park and a new office building in Golden Valley.  We also started a new quarterly training/personnel development program, maintenance zone restructure, implemented energy-saving measures and came through the recession several percentage points better than industry average.  It has been good!

Now for the change—I have joined Daisy Nguyen at Rent Soda where I will be developing training programs, assessing the feasibility of new developments, creating marketing programs and assisting clients in achieving excellence amongst many other exciting things. 

Please take a moment to update my contact information:

Cell:  612-710-0546

Email: Jim {at} RentSoda(.)com

Web:  Http://rentsoda.com

Look for me on Facebook/LinkedIn/Twitter: JimWBaumgartner

Watch for exciting new updates and announcements over the next couple of weeks.  If you have any questions or would like to learn more about Rent Soda please feel free to contact Daisy or me.

Don’t GET IT? RENT SODA! GET IT!

-Cheers!

Jim Baumgartner in Minneapolis, MN

Senior Vice President, RENT SODA

 RENTSODA-small

Business, Operations & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

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

DON’T GET IT? RENT SODA!GET IT!

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Apartment Leasing Tips Learned From George W. Bush at #NAA10 – Education Conference

Jul 1st, 2010
by daisynguyen.
3 comments

At the NAA 2010 Education Conference last week in New Orleans, the keynote speaker was George W. Bush.

I didn’t know what to expect and was a little leery how this would fit into the rest of the week. When I walked out from the session, not only did I have a little crush on George W., I had a new-found appreciation for him. As I reflected on his session, I realized, there were many things we can apply from George W.’s speaking techniques that could help us lease apartments! How did he turn me from “a little leery” to a “fan with newfound appreciation?” Here are some of my observations:

1. George talked about his family. He openly appreciated his wife, talked about his struggles with his children regarding his work, and how much he loved his parents. In the first few minutes of his speech, he became immediately human to me - I quickly identified with him. Looking around the audience, I saw that almost everyone could identify with appreciating a spouse, struggles with family-work balance, and love of parents. As apartment leasing agents, sales professionals, or in any business interactions, identifying with your prospect/client/ business associate sets the stage for transition to the next stage of the sale – your pitch.

2. Next, George W. spoke about his beliefs and his values. In this portion, he was passionate and moving. Whatever my position was, I found myself understanding his point of view. In the leasing of apartments, this would be your value proposition. Whatever objections your prospects might have, you’ll need to find a way to overcome them or at the very least, have them believe in your value proposition. Being passionate and believable makes this process an easier transition to the next step – the closing.

3. Lastly, George W spoke about his toughest decisions, and why he made the decisions he made. He was convincing – and if he were selling something, I would have happily signed on the dotted line right then and there.

George W. made we laugh with his humor, nod in agreement with his personality and cheer out loud for his passions. When he was done I GOT IT.

What were your observations of George W. Bush at the NAA (National Apartment Association) Education Conference?

Don’t GET IT? RENT SODA! GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO

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!

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GET OUT of HERE! How To GET IT When You’re In A Rut

Jun 28th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
4 comments

It can be hard to always be ON. It can be hard to GET IT all the time. Whether that means being CREATIVE, ENERGETIC, FRESH, SUNNY, SOCIAL, PATIENT, or POSITIVE. When you go to the same office (apartment complex/corporate office/etc.) everyday, talk to the same people every day, or drink the same kool-aid every day, you can get into a rut. All of the sudden, you don’t get it anymore! You are in a perpetual Ground Hog Day movie. From there it’s downhill – you become bored, you question your career choice, you drag you feet, you complain, and you become reactive rather than proactive. Next thing you know, you’re blaming others for you lack of motivation and not taking responsibility for your predicament. What stage of this slippery slope are you in? Does this sound familiar? Just coming back from the National Apartment Association (NAA) Education Conference, my brain if overflowing with ideas, there is an extra hoppity skip in my step, my fingers are flying over the keyboard at lightening speed, and images of sugar plums are dancing through my head. Seriously, I am just electric right now! I am once again reminded that a change of scenery, meeting new people, listening to new ideas, being reminded of great old ideas, making new friends, and having FUN – can do WONDERS for your creativity, productivity and energy level. If you have the opportunity, I HIGHLY recommend attending conferences in your area of expertise/interest and surrounding yourself by this type of energy. It can be a national conference, or a local conference. Don’t just ATTEND – fully IMMERSE yourself into the middle of all that positive activity, fully ENGAGE and SOAK up as much as your head and your heart can handle. It does wonders for productivity!

And if you can’t attend a conference or two here and there – create your own opportunities to feel excitement. Leave your office for 30 minutes (when you can of course) and immerse yourself into something TOTALLY different, have lunch with a colleague, look at art, eat something mouth watering, go to the gym, or do whatever it takes to get your heart pumping and energy level up. Feel ALIVE, and watch how “work, work, work…” becomes “fun, fun, fun!”

If you’re a cynic and this sounds like too much work for you, too far out, or <insert your excuse here> , here are my favorite quick fixes to get out of a rut:

Want to get motivated? Check out Gary Vaynerchuk CRUSHES it! …here’s a short excerp, “…There’s no reason to do SH*T you hate…you can loose just as much money being happy as hell!” httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhqZ0RU95d4

Check out this little girl in How To Stay Positive…here’s a short excerp, “…I like my WHOLE house…I can do anything good…better than anyone.” Not only does this one make me feel good, but if a 4 year old can do it, so can I! httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR3rK0kZFkg

I Want To Be a Billionaire – Travie McCoyMusic Video - forget about the profanity, but this song just makes me snap my fingers and skip along no matter what’s going on! httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aRor905cCw

I have several exciting blog posts coming out of this my trip to NAA in NOLA – watch for them to follow shortly. I’m TOTALLY pumped. Are you?

Don’t GET IT? RENT SODA! GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO

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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