Property Management

Qikker56342 - Apartment Marketing Idea

That is my Qik user name. What is Qik? It allows you to stream real time video right from your cell phone. From download to shooting the first video it took all of :25 seconds. Then I get the, "We're sorry, but something went wrong." message.

I'll report more on this as I make it work.

In the mean time, can you imagine the possibilities? What if leasing consultants now made a Qik video for every prospect they toured. It would be 100% unique and since it's real time, there would be no need to fiddle with uploading video. That would be a big advantage over the FLIP. Then again the gives you the ability to edit.

Once, I get it to work I will embed a video here for you to check out.

Resident approved...

Sounds interesting. Does anyone know anything about this site? Who fuels the listings? Any feedback good or bad is welcome.

[Link]

Excerpt from the site:

Your property's listing displays
a "Thumbs Up" logo and 5 star report when all surveys completed during the previous 7 months average good or better for each category.

• Excellent lease closing tool - independent ratings source.

• No individual unit results or comments are displayed.

• Only positive! Properties with surveys indicating improvement is needed are not identified and a 5 star report does not show.

Technorati Tags: resident approved, apartment marketing

AvalonBay takes the Web 2.0 plunge

Hats off to AvalonBay...it's a step in the right direction. You are leaps and bounds ahead of the comps in your part of the country. I will be keep track of the success as there will be much. [read more here]

I read stories like this and it makes me recall a conversation I had with the internet strategy guy at a very large REIT last fall. He told me this stuff is just a passing fad. That, after I told him I built a Squidoo site for the Portland portfolio that outranked the companies very own web site in a Google search. I remember almost laughing out loud at the time but did exercise restraint. He told me he could just throw more money into keywords to fix that. What an answer! Let me see, I can do it for FREE and you can throw more money at it....oh, I get it! (Read: sacarasm).

I digress. I am so pround to see a mainstream company like AvalonBay take to the new medium. Technorati Tags: AvalonBay, apartment marketing, Web 2.0 for apartment marketing

New Publication Targeting Housing for the 55+ Community Launches in the Bay Area

After 55™ Housing and Resource Guide provides housing options and resources for adults 55 and older in the Bay area

 

NORFOLK, Va.—(July 10, 2008) -According to the National Apartment Index, San Francisco has claimed the number one spot for best apartment market in the nation, jumping seven places from 8^th position in 2007. As a result, For Rent Media Solutions™, a leading resource for searching apartments for rent and a division of Dominion Enterprises, has launched After 55 Housing and Resource Guide in this market. The housing publication for adults ages 55 and better hit stands Wednesday.

 

After 55 Housing and Resource Guide is a niche publication that reaches out to baby boomers planning their retirement, aging adults, and adult children who are researching housing options for their parents. The magazine powers SeniorOutlook.com and offers a variety of housing options ranging from apartments and independent living to assisted living and continuing care retirement communities.

 

“Research shows that there are 78 million baby boomers in the U.S. alone,” said Terry Slattery, vice president and general manager of For Rent Media Solutions. “That number is equivalent to one third of the nation’s population. Communities that provide a range of housing services will therefore be attractive to baby boomers looking to age in place. With an apartment market that is proven to be one of the leading markets in the nation, the Bay area’s 55+ community can anticipate a publication geared specifically to their housing needs.”

 

As a monthly publication, After 55 Housing and Resource Guide reaches 623 locations throughout the Greater San Francisco Bay market, including high traffic areas like Denny’s, Sam’s Club, Safeway and Longs Drugs, in addition to senior centers and hospitals. To learn more about After 55 Housing and Resource Guide and housing options for adults 55 and older, including apartments, independent and assisted living and continuing care retirement communities, logon to http://www.senioroutlook.com.

 

About After 55^™ Housing & Resource Guide

 

After 55 Housing & Resource Guide is owned and operated by For Rent Media Solutions, a division of Dominion Enterprises. As a one-stop source for the adult age 55 and beyond, After 55 Housing & Resource Guide serves all the housing needs of this vast demographic. The publication is geared towards baby boomers planning their retirement, aging adults, and adult children who are researching housing options for their parents. The publication complements SeniorOutlook.com, the online housing and resource guide, and can be found in major markets, including Atlanta, Columbus, Minneapolis, Orlando, Phoenix, San Diego, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and Tampa.

 

About For Rent Media Solutions^™

Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., For Rent Media Solutions is a division of Dominion Enterprises. As the multi-family housing solution for apartment seekers, property/apartment managers and owners, For Rent Media Solutions provides superior products, outstanding customer service, and tangible results.  For Rent Media Solutions is a leading resource for choosing your next apartment for rent, townhouse, condo, duplex, efficiency, studio or loft and provides a free customizable apartment search from more than 50,000 apartment listings nationwide.  For Rent Media Solutions operates For Rent Magazine^®, as well as ForRent.com^™-The Magazine, and publishes 94 magazines covering more than 190 markets nationwide, including After 55™ Housing & Resource Guide, Apartamentos Para Rentar^® and Florida Condominium and Townhome. For Rent Media Solutions operates five additional Web sites: ForRent.com^®, SeniorOutlook.com^™, CorporateHousing.com^®, ParaRentar.com^™ and FLCondoGuide.com.  For Rent Media Solutions is a company dedicated to the needs of the apartment industry, bringing prospective residents and apartment communities together.

 

About Dominion Enterprises

Dominion Enterprises, a division of Landmark Communications, is a leading marketing services company serving the automotive, real estate, apartment, recruitment and marine markets. The company operates a variety of businesses that offer Internet marketing, Web site design and hosting, lead generation, CRM, and data capture and distribution services. The company has more than 40 market-leading Web sites reaching more than 12.5 million unique monthly visitors, and more than 500 magazines with a weekly circulation of over 5 million. Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., the company has nearly 6,000 employees nationwide and annualized revenue of more than $946 million. For more information, visit http://www.DominionEnterprises.com.

Ning.com...a must set up today tool for property managers

This is a social media marketing tool must have for every property manager. This is a must set up today action item. To do it right, you need about :45 minutes to an hour.

I will be working on 4 or five over the weekend and will post links to each as examples for you. I would love to see what you come up with as well.

Get started right here. Technorati Tags: ning.com, ning, apartment marketing

Ning.com

IKEA's studio apartment

Lisa has a very cool post on her apartment marketing blog about co-branding with IKEA. And if your not reading her blog already, take the time to do so. Technorati Tags: ikea, apartment marketing

Facebook considers adding classifieds

Came across this during my morning reading.

Facebook is considering the launch of a local classifieds service, a source told Mashable. Under the proposed system, it would be free to list items in your own network, and cost a few dollars to post to each additional network.

This seems like a workable application and certainly a practical one for Facebook to create. It makes, having a Facebook page all the more important. If you have not set one up yet, do it here.

Have a compelling Monday. M
Technorati Tags: Social media for apartments, apartment marketing on social media, apartment marketing, mike brewer

Teach your residents to lease

This is an excerpt from a comment Eric Brown, from Urbane, just left on the blog post titled Renewal increases.

We have a Resident Referral program, and one specific resident has gotten three net rentals for us, which makes your point, what if we focused much more of our Marketing and Branding resources directed internally on our existing Resident Base, what would you have to do to become self sustainable, meaning your customer, in our case the residents did most of the rentals through referrals, it seems that the resources are really leveraged then, We have done more to enhance the existing customer/residents experience, thus they are happier and they are promoting the product, just how many of them would you need to not have to look outward fo r business...

I have posted a number of times about teaching residents how to use Craigslist and the various other social media tools to reach potential residents. I can hear it now, "what of fair housing," "what if they write a silly ad," "what if.... I would ask, "how many times have you screwed it up?" "How many times have your agents screwed it up?" Hundreds of times? Thousands of times? That is not suggest that I don't think it's important to monitor. It is to suggest that I am a fan of teaching your evangilists how to be evangelical. Don't just assume they will talk about you, give them the mega-phone (read; social media tools) to do it with.

Great comment Eric. Thanks, as always, for sharing.

M

Technorati Tags: social media for apartment residents, apartment marketing, apartments

ForRent.com the magazine goes mobile

I think I have said many times that I am a die-hard fan of ForRent.com the magazine. They never cease to amaze me with their willingness to stay cutting edge.

Below is a press release for their latest offering and I can I tell you, it is super cool.

Take a whirl for yourself and let me know what you think.

NORFOLK, Va.—(June 24, 2008)—Apartment hunters looking to quickly find apartments for rent on-the-go can rest easy. Today, For Rent Media Solutions, a leading apartment resource for searching apartments nationwide, and a division of Dominion Enterprises, announced that it is joining the likes of major Web sites such as Google Map, Business Week, TV Guide and ESPN with the launch of its first mobile Web site. Advertising for apartment listings on http://wap.forrent.com is currently available to clients who are using the text messaging product.

“With mobile devices growing more sophisticated, multifunctional, high-speed consumers are relying on their phones to accomplish every day tasks from shopping to finding directions,” said Brock MacLean, vice president of national sales and development, For Rent Media Solutions. “Consumers are looking for faster and more current methods of finding information needed to make an educated decision. According to research produced by Harris Interactive, consumers are viewing cell phones as “indispensable”, noting that 16 percent of U.S. homes are using wireless phones exclusively. Going mobile is the next logical step in the evolution of the technologically savvy products and services that are offered by For Rent Media Solutions.”

On http://wap.forrent.com, apartment seekers can find the same basic search methods that can be found at ForRent.com, including address, city, state and zip code. After the search information is entered, the apartment seeker will be directed to a search results page where they will find a property photo as well as contact information. Once the apartment seeker has selected the property of their choice by clicking on the property name, they will be directed to a more detailed page for the property, where they will find a property description, additional photos, contact information and driving directions.

According to the Mobile Advertising Report created by Limbo, Inc., the world’s largest mobile entertainment company, there are more than 25 million mobile phone users in the United States. A mobile Web site can expose a property manager to a wider audience, making their apartment listings available to consumers not only through print publications and the Internet, but through their cell phones as well.

The ForRent.com mobile Web site is accessible by all cell phones with Internet capability and is hosted on a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP); a technology platform used to create sites that are easily accessible from handsets, even those with small screens and limited processing power. To view a demo of the mobile site, visit http://wap.forrent.com.

Technorati Tags: Forrent.com the magazine, apartment marketing, apartment mobile marketing, property management