CVAA Marketing Madness Recap

 

Entitled Marketing Madness:  Get ready for the big leasing season with the help and knowledge of our ILS panel of Marketing Experts, the May morning coffee had over 50 attendees. The event was held at the 2014 Rammy winner for best clubhouse, The Hamptons at Hunton Park and was sponsored by Apartments.com

 

Panelists included Liv Gabrielsen, Apartments.com; Tammy Longo, Apartment Finder; Lynn Black, For Rent Media Solutions and Sue Anderson, Apartment Guide. The discussion was moderated by Peter Lowe, Drucker & Falk.  

One panelist wrote: "Competitors. That's how everyone sees us. Everyone, except us."

 

The spirit of cooperation and sharing of knowledge was appreciated by all in attendance, with plenty of questions coming from the audience.  

 

Here are two questions and answers:

1.  Why use an ILS? 

To answer a question with a question...have you ever wondered by the big Internet Listing Services (ILS) appear at the top of search returns?  It's simple, they have more money at their disposal to use on Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing (SEO/SEM). An ILS doesn't have to worry about those pesky expenses like apartment turns, parking lot paving and other maintenance costs which can seriously cut into an apartment's marketing budget.

2.  How do you engage residents more on Facebook?

Try to make it more interactive. Ask random questions, post photos of events or new move ins, ask people to check in whenever possible!  Post weather warnings, property updates, and local events! 

General tips and tidbits from the session included:

- Be sure you have a mobile presence!

- Pet amenities/weight and restrictions are a big deal. We are seeing a trend in larger dogs being accepted.

- An unbelievable 80% of leads are still never responded to! Money left at the table!

- Customer service is back, in a big way! People now demand attention and expect the best from us, let's give it to them!

What did the panelists want you to know?

1. Not only can we help people get to your door through services we provide, we can help you in many other ways too.

2. The latest amenities, retention ideas, marketing efforts, specials and available positions are in front of us every day.

3. They can help with SEO, SEM, ad design, Facebook, Twitter, Craigslist or Google and more.

4. They can be your greatest asset, all you have to do is ask. They see it all, hear it all, and try to help you prepare for it all.

 

Such a successful session is sure to be repeated next year so keep checking vamaonline.org and the VAMA Snapshot for upcoming events.