Many of our pre-planned marketing tactics have come to a halt due to the impacts felt from the coronavirus. But, there are still some things you can do to keep your marketing afloat during these times. Here are five marketing tactics that you can employ now to better position yourself in the market.
1. Update resident portals
First things first, you’ll want to ensure your current renters remain in-the-know with COVID-related updates for the property. Apart from sending email notifications, you can post this information in the next best place–the resident portal. If these updates are housed in one central place consistently, your residents will know to check here first before flooding your inbox and phone lines. If you’re noticing that you’re receiving some trending concerns, you can even post a link to a FAQ document that you develop to address common questions.
2. Resident testimonials/reviews
With stay-at-home orders in place across a majority of states today, more and more single family residents are confined to their homes. You can use these times to secure online testimonials/reviews from your residents. Testimonials are powerful tools that have a great impact on those deciding to make the move to your property. In addition to the level of trust and security they bring, they can also boost your ranking in the SERPS. In fact, approximately 15% of how Google ranks a local business is based on reviews.
3. Virtual tours
Operating in a contactless environment likely means no in person tours as well. But, this does not mean all hope is lost on the leasing front. Now is the time to enhance your virtual tour capabilities and take advantage of things like live video, guided tours, 360-degrees photos and more. While there may be some initial challenges with scheduling, coordination and logistics early on, once your team gets the hang of it, you’ll be sure to reap the results. Before launching your virtual tour options, you’ll first want to ensure your website is updated with the specific options available for touring. Then, you can promote these options across your social media channels as well.
4. Virtual events
With limited access to your common areas and shared amenities, it’s always a good idea to continue to check in on your residents and even promote some level of engagement. What better way to do this than by hosting a virtual event! Several businesses are finding success with virtual happy hours, online watch parties, decorating contests and more. These types of events are great in that they are low to no cost and super convenient. Get creative and fun with the planning and track participation as you launch.
5. Beef up your content
With residents spending more time on social media than ever before, now is the time to reevaluate your social media strategy and content calendar. Use this time to focus on promoting helpful tips, words of encouragement, and resources across each of your channels. Be strategic with the timing of your content and make note of the level of engagement for each post to gain a better understanding of what type of content interests your audiences.
Rentbot can help.
Before you embark on your outreach initiatives, you’ll need to first ensure your virtual front door is up to par. If your current website hasn’t been providing you with high quality leads, improved conversions or reduced vacancies, then it may be time to make a change. Rentbot offers full turnkey, modern websites with mobile-friendly designs and an SEO package, conversion optimized layout and tons of online functionalities like rent payments, applications, maintenance and chat.
We are committed to building and supporting property management websites specifically for small and mid-sized properties. So, if you’re ready to make your website your most powerful marketing tool, sign up for a free 30-day trial today!
About the Author
Jonsette Calloway joined the Rentbot team in 2015. With a background in public relations, advertising and copywriting, she has helped a multitude of clients achieve their marketing and communications goals within various fields, but she particularly enjoys working with the apartment industry.