Updated February 3, 2020

Being able to market and sell your product is every entrepreneur’s dream. So, when it comes to marketing ideas for apartment communities, the ultimate goal is to reach a large audience. The more people you can reach out to, the less vacancies you will have. Success depends on our marketing strategy and keeping it simple pays off.

Gimmicks tend to become costly failures. Marketing professionals and salesmen will find simple and obvious ideas work best. When it comes to selling an apartment community, going back to the basics works best. You need to use both old school and new media marketing techniques to reach a large audience. By doing this, you will cast a huge net and attract prospective tenants.

Simple Marketing Ideas For Apartment Communities

Surprisingly Simple Idea #1: Be Generous

Ever hear the old saying, “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar?” When you are marketing apartments, it is a saying that holds a lot of truth to it. One excellent marketing strategy for apartments is to offer people good reasons to move in.

• Consider Being Pet Friendly. If your community is hurting, you might want to open it up to being pet friendly. This can be huge incentive for people with pets. Many potential pet-owner tenants are willing to pay a higher deposit for their pets. This often includes a monthly ‘pet rent’ fee.
• Offer A Free Rent For Referrals Incentive. Get your community working for you by offering them a month’s worth of rent if they refer a friend to your property. An offer like this can keep your renters happy and will cut down on vacancies.
• Create Themed Promotions. Another great strategy is to offer promotions for renting with you based on the time of year. Having a “get the 13th month free with a 12-month lease,” promotion will attract tenants. Make the offer holiday themed and you will be good to go. This sort of promotion secures a long-term lease and is good for business.

Bonus Tip: Help Tenants Boost Their Credit

Another unique way to entice people to check out and then continue to stay in your units is to offer them something that few, if any, landlords in your area do. Show your tenants that you care about their future beyond the next rental payment by doing something above and beyond.

Nate Smoyer, Marketing Director of Avail, believes that “if the tenant experience is great, that’s going to help the relationship between landlord and tenant go that much better.” One way you can make the relationship stronger is to report their positive rental payments to the appropriate credit bureaus.

That’s right; you can help tenants improve their credit history through their rental payment history.

Avail offers a tool known as credit boost, which sets up a system for landlords to report on-time payments, and these payments will then reflect positively on the tenant’s credit history. By offering this service, you can show that you truly care about your tenant’s well-being. Your bond will grow stronger, and a strong bond is the key to retaining tenants for long periods.

Of course, not all tenants are going to feel that this is something that convinces them to continue to stay at your property, but it is always good to have extra tools at your disposal that you can use to help tenants see the value in renting from you.

Surprisingly Simple Idea #2: Have An Online Presence

In this digital age, being online is important. Having a well-designed and functional property website is essential. Websites are a strong marketing tool for your apartment complex. If executed well, you’ll be able to reach those who’re researching apartments online in your area. Experts who dominate the online real estate in your area are going to have the least amount of vacancies.  Three apartment marketing ideas to make a statement online are:

1. Search Engine Optimization or (SEO for short) is key to making a statement. When it comes to ranking in the search engines, your location is important. You will want to focus your efforts on using keywords that are specific to your neighborhood and city. Also, target the demographics you wish to attract to your apartment complex.
2. Pay Per Click or PPC campaigns for short are an excellent way to get new renters attention. This is because these campaigns focus on geographical location. This is especially useful because you target a niche market of those want to be in your area. It also helps those who are looking to move to your neighborhood.
3. Email Marketing is a great way to connect with prospective tenements. It keeps the community in the loop about why they should move into your complex. This is also a good way to reach current tenants to make them aware of any promotions.

Having that online presence can be expensive, but the payoff can be astronomical. This is especially true if you want to appeal to young people who’re used to finding things they want online.

Surprisingly Simple Idea #3: Back To Basics

Go back to basics and make old school mailers and flyers work for you. This strategy involves having a eye-catching flyers that appeals to your community. Mailers and fliers are one of the best ways you can market your complex. Include important details on your flyers like:

• Address & The Manager’s Phone Number
• Current Promotions
• Amenities you Have to Offer
• & Quick Highlighted Reasons to Sign a Lease

Make sure your fliers are visible in the community. You want to post them on public bulletin boards. You can find bulletin boards at recreation centers, schools, and coffee shops nearby. Do not limit yourself and post your flyer locally. You want to post it online as well. Sites like Craigslist can be a good way to share your flyers online and attract attention.

Another good way to get renters is to target local business employees. Draft a letter to surrounding businesses encouraging them to refer their employees to you. This can be useful to reach people who work nearby and might be looking to move closer to work. It is a great way to reach a market that is otherwise untouchable. Promoting your community to those employed nearby can be a gold mine. You know by that this is an ideal market, because these prospective tenants can afford rent.

Something To Ponder

Marketing professionals and salesmen will find simple and obvious ideas work best. When it comes to marketing an apartment community, going back to the basics works best. In today’s world, it takes a both old school and new media marketing techniques to reach out to renters.

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