This post was originally written by Kerry Sugrue, former Social Media Specialist at Apartments.com. 

Thanks for tuning into the Apartments.com Got a Minute? video series, where experts from Apartments.com answer questions and tackle topics in about a minute.   This month our Internet Support Specialists review the top three questions that we hear from our advertisers and provide the answers.  If you have any questions, please leave a comment below or email support@apartments.com. Read More

Bed bugs were a popular topic at NAA this year and the conversations were lead by Greg Baumann, Director of Technical Services for Orkin Pest Control. With over 30 years of pest control experience, Greg was the perfect person to ask to contribute to our Ask the Expert blog series. Below is his post on avoiding, controlling and eliminating bed bugs in multifamily housing.  He can be contacted at gbaumann@rollins.com. For more information, go to http://www.orkincommercial.com/ and make sure to comment below with questions.

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This post was originally written by Kerry Sugrue, former Social Media Specialist at Apartments.com. 

Every day there are new social networking sites or tools being released that we don’t hear about.  But when a giant like Google announces a social network, everyone pays attention. I was lucky enough to get an invite to join the Google+ Project and have had some time to play around in it.  Here are some of the main features and how they can be used at your apartment community. Read More

This post was originally written by Kerry Sugrue, former Social Media Specialist at Apartments.com. 

Everyone loves dogs!  But you know what they don’t love?  Their aftermath!  Having to watch where you step around your apartment community is not the way to make a good impression.  But don’t worry, that’s why we’re here!  Use this free flyer from our MyMedia Library to remind residents and passersby that it’s up to them to keep the community clean and part of that is picking up after their dogs. Read More

This post was originally written by Kerry Sugrue, former Social Media Specialist at Apartments.com. 

Creating a Facebook page for your apartment community is a great way to interact with your residents.  It can give your management company a human element when discussing upcoming events or issues with the members of your community.  Facebook recently announced that there are over 750 million active users on the popular social networking site, making it the most visited website in the United States.  Odds are your residents are there, which means you should be too.  Here are a couple fun ways to interact with them on your Facebook page: Read More

This post was originally written by Brandon Hollembeak, Product Manager – Advertising Products & Services

In 2007, one third of mobile subscribers were texting, mobile browsing was practically non-existent, and the iPhone had just been released.  Apartments.com responded with the product Text4Info Messaging, including a customizable keyword that auto-responded with basic property information and a link to the listing on the Apartments.com mobile site. Read More

This post was originally written by Kerry Sugrue, former Social Media Specialist at Apartments.com. 

Earlier today Mark Zuckerberg was joined by Tony Bates, CEO of Skype, for their most recent product announcement.  As I’m sure you can guess from this partnership, Facebook is launching video calling today powered by Skype.  During the Q&A sessions following their live announcement, both Bates and Zuckerberg avoided questions about what’s in it for Skype?  But Bates assured listeners that the long-term partnership outweighs the possibility of losing Skype users to Facebook. Read More

At NAA this year there was a, let’s just say, interesting session on apartment ratings sites that was facilitated by a group of attorneys and featured a mock trial. What was interesting was that while the trial simulated a disgruntled former resident being sued by a wrongfully defamed property, the real indictment was against the rating sites themselves (in particular, ApartmentRatings.com, not-so-cleverly disguised as “ApartmentDestroyer.com” in the mock trial), and, in a larger – and more discouraging – sense, the entire concept of online reviews and ratings.

Last week Google released a free e-book called  Winning the Zero Moment of Truth. I haven’t read it yet (I’m a pretty fast reader, but not that fast), but will, and recommend that you do, too. Because the “ZMOT,” a concept that has actually been around for a few years now, and that Google has a commercial interest in educating you on, is one that very much applies to the multifamily housing industry. The basic premise goes something like this: There are three stages in a typical buying process, starting with the Stimulus (e.g. advertising), followed by the First Moment of Truth, and finally making the purchase. In our industry, the First Moment of Truth (or “FMOT,” a term coined by Proctor & Gamble referring to the first time you see the actual product, usually on a “shelf” next to other competing products) takes place when the prospective renter first visits your leasing office and tours your property. Read More