When you manage or own apartments, making sure those units are always filled and making valuable monthly cash flow can be stressful. Having any apartment vacant for months can be a drain. That’s why advertising is so important. Keeping fresh with all the newest apartment advertising ideas and techniques is key to keeping your business active and money-generating.
We’re the first to admit that it isn’t always easy. In this day and age, getting noticed and having your apartments visible to prospective tenants can be a chore. We decided to put together a number of our best apartment advertising ideas that we implement to get our units seen. In addition, it’s not just about getting viewed, but it’s also converting that visibility into rented apartments. That means making your apartments as attractive as possible when people are viewing them. Let’s dive into some of our best tips.
- 1 – Become Social Media Savvy
- 2 – Learn How to Run Ads
- 3 – Post and Improve Rental Listings
- 4 – Learn SEO
- 5 – Utilize Video and Youtube
- 6 – Setup Google My Business
- Or Just Hire a Property Management Company!
1 – Become Social Media Savvy
Social media has become huge, and it continues to grow. It has turned into one of the key sources renters turn to for listings, reviews, and the ability to interact with a community to get a sense of the area they are moving into. Use your social media presence – be it large or small – to keep your current residents engaged while at the same time giving prospective tenants an idea of what to expect in your apartments. Getting a good “vibe” on social media can be a deciding factor.
Getting that good vibe out on social media could be sharing upcoming events or highlighting (positive) resident feedback. You could also run Facebook or Instagram contests or giveaways to expand your reach and get in front of new audiences.
2 – Learn to Run Paid Apartment Advertisements
Once you’ve got a system in place for social media, you can – and probably should – add on some paid social media ads. Nearly 70% of renters feel social media ads are effective in creating interest in a community, which can mean your apartment community.
When it comes to apartment advertising ideas and paid ads specifically, it’s important to note that great ads have a target tenant in mind. Just like any quality marketing, you must ask yourself who you are marketing to. Figure out the pain points the potential tenant would like to avoid in an apartment. What do they want in a good apartment? Figure out what your property has that can encourage your ideal tenant to reach out… highlight those!
3 – Post and Improve Rental Listings
The rental listing is one of the most important weapons in your arsenal. A good rental listing will get you nowhere if no one can find it. The next step is getting your listing in front of as many prospective tenants as possible.
Tenants search for rental units on the most popular rental listing sites like Zillow and Apartments.com, so it’s crucial that your rental listing is visible and attractive on those. You can choose what sites you want to post your rental listing to, or you can use a platform like Avail that posts your listing on many sites.
Make that listing as enticing as possible. That means spending some time creating quality content that highlights the apartment in the best light. This means the following:
- Photos – Get fresh photos in nice lighting. Consider staging, a fresh coat of paint, or other techniques.
- Video – Having a good quality video of a walk through the apartment could make a difference in all kinds of ways.
- Unique Features – Highlight unique features that will make the apartment stand out. That could mean photos of the scenery or amenities nearby.
4 – Learn SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) can be a game-changer for many businesses. It is all about whether and how people find you when they search for apartments. Regularly creating fresh, interesting content for your website can help, while learning a bit about how keywords are used to help people find that content can help even more.
Regular updates are a good signal to Google that your company is active. At the same time, new content gives you a chance to use new keywords, cover new topics, and make your website more engaging for anyone who comes to it. You want your apartments to show up on top search engines like Google when people are searching for rentals. To do that, you need an SEO strategy, specifically a local SEO strategy. Learn more about real estate SEO and strategies to see how that all works.
5 – Utilize Video and Youtube
Using video as part of your advertising is a part of a larger movement to begin to engage with your audience – and future tenants – in a different way. So many people expect to engage in video when they come across new content. And as a business, you can now connect with them more visually that way.
You can showcase your property and all of the great amenities. You can show your units in a three-dimensional space with people engaging with it. It is a big change in how things are marketed. Video marketing is a big deal.
6 – Setup Google My Business
The great thing about a Google My Business listing is that it can help with the SEO of your apartments because it changes how people see your listings when they search for them. It gives you additional exposure by appearing as a large listing on the right side of search results. To achieve this you need to have a well-optimized listing. Here are a few things to check:
- Make sure you fill out as much data as you can
- Check that your phone number is there and correct
- Check your opening times and make sure they are accurate
- And review your photos. Can you improve them?
Hire Property Managers to Support these Apartment Advertising Ideas
If these apartment advertising ideas just aren’t enough and you don’t think you can handle marketing your rental property, you’re not alone. Managing all the aspects of a rental business, including marketing and finding tenants, can be highly time-consuming.
Luckily, Bay Property Management Group can help you out. We’re here for you. We offer comprehensive rental management services, including tenant screening, maintenance, marketing, and so much more. Contact BMG today if you need property management services in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Northern Virginia, Boston, Atlanta, and elsewhere.
