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Kettler’s chatbot feature provides prospects with 24/7 information about their properties, including 800 Carlyle apartments in Alexandria, Virginia. You can adjust the accessibility with the blue icon at the bottom left. Image courtesy of Kettler

More than ever, prospective homes of all ages are spending hours looking at their screens. Multi-family marketers live up to this reality with creative messages and calls to action on desktops, laptops, tablets, phones and wearables.

Unlike static print ads and billboards, which the American Marketing Association (AMA) calls “one-way” communication, digital marketing is an interactive, dynamic, and ever-changing process.

According to the AMA, digital marketing is the use of any method done through electronic devices to promote a brand or reach consumers. Multi-family digital marketing strategies generally include websites, online advertising, search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), social media marketing, content creation (blogs and videos), and electronic media to reach customers. Contains various channel combinations such as email.

Read again: Update your value-adding marketing strategy

Not all digital marketing channels offer a return on investment (ROI). Experiments show what is appropriate for a particular property or region within the portfolio. While proven digital marketing techniques are consistent with results, testing new ideas can be beneficial, but always capturing costs and results, not all at once.

The Most Important Part of an Effective Housing Marketing Strategy We measure the success of our activities. You should also define important key figures for each marketing channel and record them regularly in your real estate marketing report. By tracking marketing spend from online activities and deals made, you can easily determine the quantitative impact of your overall marketing funnel and overall real estate marketing ROI.

Once you’ve implemented this framework, you can dig deeper into channel performance and specific marketing activities to answer this question. What is the highest ROI in real estate marketing?

Omni-channel playbook

One of the most important aspects, according to Darryl E. Smith, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Kettler, is the reputation management program.

“The fact that you have a strong partner who can manage your reputation means that if your people comment on one of your reputation channels, it’s Google my business or someone else (which means) you have a way to go react. ”said Schmied. “There’s also transparency to see what the organization is saying and understand what people are saying about the brand.”

According to Smith, digital marketing has evolved as both an art and a science. “Sisters like Hospitality and Retail really understand and have done a great job with it. For us, it’s how we continue to create meaningful experiences for consumers. about that.”

Kettler’s answer lies in omni-channel marketing. This is an approach that offers customers a completely seamless and integrated shopping experience from the first to the last touchpoint.

Read again: Instagram’s Guide to Multi-Family Marketing

Omni-channel marketing is based on text messages, e-blasts, and other digital formats used to interact and interact with tenants. “We have all of these digital entry points to connect with consumers,” said Smith. “Now we want to make them run smoothly and combine them all into one digital and seamless experience.”

For example, if a prospect is on Instagram or Facebook and sees a real estate ad, all they have to do is write down the URL, leave Facebook, and instead of visiting the Kettler website, click on that link or ad. You can get the information. You need. If you want to trade, you can fill out the application or make an appointment and then return to your current environment. Omni-channel marketing increases the chances of capture and transformation in real-time format 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The second part of this omni-channel engagement is to start a meaningful conversation using AI tools like the chatbot. “We’re excited about this because consumers want ease of use and efficiency, and that is what digital tools are really positioning themselves for,” said Smith. Says.

Kettler’s chatbots can speak to prospects 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and offer an experience very similar to a live leasing agent. It’s programmed with guidelines for all properties, including the rental they are offering, their time, and the area – all of the basic questions potential leasing agents ask live.

t adjustmentIt’s a digital marketing stack

Every housing company has its own needs based on market research. Harbor Group Management Co.’s Digital Marketing Playbook focuses on quality content, professional photography and online leasing.

Jennifer Williams, Vice President of Marketing at Harbor Group Management, said: EMH ..

In response to COVID-19, Harbor Group Management coordinated its digital marketing strategy with additional tools for prospective buyers to virtually view and rent apartments. Image provided by Harbor Group Management Co., Ltd.

“Until potential residents get in touch with our real estate team, we hope that they will be closer to the decision than they would otherwise be. Once you’ve made the decision, online leasing is convenient and convenient. We offer a leasing experience, ”added Williams. Pandemics have only increased consumer demand for tools to make the experience more efficient and worry-free.

Read again: The Impact of a Pandemic on Multi-Family Leases

In response to COVID-19, Harbor Group Management added a contactless digital communication tool to its digital marketing stack. This includes chatbots, online tour planning, and more. Virtual video tour. These tools give prospective tenants access to additional ways to get information the way they want to get the information they want.

“We listen to future residents and it is imperative that they provide the most enjoyable rental experience,” said Williams. “Finding a new home can be stressful. The more you use digital tools and content to help your prospects relieve stress, the more likely you are to have a long-term relationship that will benefit your residents and your business. . “

Beware of new shiny objects

Keep an eye on every digital marketing channel your playbook hits.

“Every time a resident leaves, you lose money. If your current resident is not satisfied, consider why. You always have to get a head start, but revolving doors. “They can go slower,” said Rachel Ingbar, CEO of Intentional Marketing. EMH ..

Ingber started out as a leasing agent in the industry, switched to real estate management and marketing and then started his own multi-family marketing consultancy.

“I work together with the team on site to understand what is happening on the property itself and what we can do for the resident,” says the customer, recording the resident and new prospects. Ingber says it supports digital marketing strategy sessions that help connect the dots between the points of attraction.

Ingber also emphasized the importance of customer relationship management (CRM) that actually tracks where the leads are coming from. The Internet Listing Service (ILS) seems to offer far more leads than other similar services, but a closer look reveals that lead conversions are very low. On the other hand, another ILS that didn’t bring in many leads is actually converting more leads into leases.

Read again: Attract and transform potential tenants on your website

It’s easy to follow digital marketing initiatives across your portfolio, but Ingber discovered that it doesn’t always do so.

“All properties are different. In one facility, Google Ads might work surprisingly well and ILS might not, but ILS might not work as well in another market. A total of. You have to understand the picture and connect everything, ”says Ingber.

And the best part: Don’t make your digital marketing strategy obsolete. Marketing teams need to test their ideas and tactics to see what works and, more importantly, what doesn’t affect them. Make adjustments as you go along, but watch out for new shiny objects.

“If you really have the feeling that something new and exciting is important, then I’d like to try it out,” says Ingber. While the direct or indirect impact on rental or resident retention efforts cannot be quantified, it is time to get back to the blueprints.