In today’s segmented media world, it is sometimes difficult to know where the role of public relations fits in for your community, especially as it becomes more difficult to secure interest from traditional news outlets. As competition for publicity increases, there are still ways to cut through the noise with a meaningful and newsworthy story to promote your property!

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This post was originally written by Omer Navaid, Online Marketing Specialist at Apartments.com

ExactTarget, an interactive marketing platform providing solutions for email marketing, social media, mobile and websites, held its annual user conference – Connections – this October in their home city of Indianapolis, IN. With 4,000 attendees this year, it was touted as one of the largest interactive marketing conferences in the world. The conference strives to deliver inspiration, education, and last but certainly not least entertainment. As an attendee of the conference, I can attest that ExactTarget succeeded on all three fronts. The conference featured keynotes from top CMOs, as well as Michael J. Fox, who all delivered on this year’s theme of Inspire the Future. It also included 40+ breakout sessions, with wide-ranging topics like cross-channel strategies, segmentation and content marketing. Throw in some entertainment from The Fray and David Blaine and you’ve got yourself a pretty engaging conference. Read More

We recently launched our YouTube channel, allowing our users to search for Apartments.com listings directly on YouTube. Apartment hunters can search by city, state, zip code, rent range, number of bedrooms or bathrooms, or even by entering a point of interest or famous landmark. To help understand more about the importance of online video, we spoke with Patrick Grandinetti, Head of Real Estate at Google. In this Q&A, Patrick provides important information related to why video is so important to online advertising, general trends and how property managers can use and promote videos.

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The team at Apartments.com had the opportunity to give a recent grad a leg up on relocating for a sought-after job opportunity on the Ellen DeGeneres show. Watch as Ellen surprises a Spokane-resident with her dream job as a production assistant on her favorite talk show. Job hunters should take notice of how the recent grad created a video resume rap showing just how much she wanted to work for The Ellen DeGeneres Show. With a little help from Apartments.com to make the move from WA to LA, Erica Norris’ dream is now a reality!

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Social activities are a great way to build rapport with your residents, encourage them to get to know their neighbors and become involved in your apartment community. If you’re looking for ways to make your property and residents more social, these are some ideas to get you started:

Summer Socials: Take advantage of nice weather and create outdoor activities for your residents. If your property has a pool, invite renters to attend a pool party and grill up hamburgers and hot dogs for the guests. Have an ice cream social one night, or hand out treats to residents as they pass by the leasing office as a nice surprise as they come home from a long day at the office. Read More

With winter and the holiday season quickly approaching, many of us could use some time to think about what we can do to make sure we stay healthy through this busy time of year. Changes in the weather increase our chances of catching a cold or flu, and decadent food – from Halloween candy to Thanksgiving pies and Christmas cookies – is available at every turn.

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Could renters be the ones to call this upcoming presidential election? If history repeats itself, they most certainly will. Four years ago, Apartments.com visitors were surveyed on the 2008 presidential election and more than half said they were voting for then-candidate Barack Obama. As the countdown to the 2012 presidential election winds down, we reveal the results of a similar survey where nearly 70% of respondents say they are backing a President Barack Obama re-election over Governor Mitt Romney.

When comparing the two surveys, we noticed some interesting trends in how the attitudes among renters about certain aspects of the election and how their political activity fared from 2008 to 2012.  For example, the number of survey respondents who said they are registered to vote fell 10% from 2008 to 2012, and more than 40% described themselves as very politically active back in 2008 in contrast to the 22% who consider themselves that way today. Read More

The attendees of Heartland Mobile Council’s MobiU2012 Summit, held in Chicago on September 24, expected to learn a thing or two about mobile. Despite the fact that I was one of the presenters, I can humbly say the event did not disappoint.

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An act passed earlier this year – the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act – will open the US airways to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) by September 2015. In fact, the FAA will be redefining laws related to UAVs (otherwise known as drones) allowing commercial drones certain privileges.

These new laws will offer several new opportunities for property managers – including high-resolution aerial photography without the expense of hiring manned vehicles. With new laws, however, also come concerns from residents and citizens. Read More

October 1^st is one of the biggest moving days of the year! Moving can often be a very stressful experience. To help your new residents settle in with ease, consider providing them with moving information when they sign a new lease. For inspiration, check out the Apartments.com Moving Checklist.

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