According to tradition, lore and law, October 1 is one of the two biggest moving days of the year (May 1 being the other). Let’s take a moment on this occasion to reflect on the data we’ve seen through our industry’s busiest time of year. 

Apartments.com saw record traffic and lead conversion through the summer months, and while I’d like give credit to our recent site redesign, suffice to say macroeconomic trends came into play.  Consider the following: Read More

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

October 1^st is one of the biggest moving days of the year and it’s right around the corner!  Having a solid resident retention plan is a great way to avoid the costs associated with big moving days.  Resident turnover can cost thousands of dollars once you factor in advertising, screening, leasing office time, maintenance, cleaning and everything else associated with finding the perfect new resident.  Here are a couple ideas for keeping your residents happy and living in your community. Read More

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

In a world where the phrase “I’ll Facebook you” has become an acceptable salutation, the line between personal and professional is starting to blur.  I have been noticing at our company, and others, that people are combining their business and personal networks on Facebook.  This practice is okay, as long as you take the time to understand online responsibility and your company’s social media policy.  Here are a couple tips for maintaining a versatile Facebook page: Read More

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

It’s that time again.  Back to school!  If you have an apartment community near a college campus, then you are gearing up for the busiest time of year.  As soon as you get all of your 2011-2012 residents moved in, you have to start thinking about getting leases signed for next year.  I had the opportunity to chat with Kim Cory, Sales and Marketing Director for University Village, about marketing to students.  She offered five tips for reaching your key audience and having a positive presence on campus. Read More

I know consumer reviews are scary.  Trust me.  Having worked in public relations my whole life, user-generated content that can disparage a brand I’ve been working years to uphold, has kept me tossing and turning more than one night.  Something you used to have control over is not totally in your hands anymore: your public image (e.g. branding, advertising, marketing collateral, and even to some degree, the press being generated about your company).  Sure, people could complain about your property, but that was typically somewhat contained.  Today, anyone can publicize their praise or contempt for your brand by going online.  What’s worse than consumers finding it?  Consumers looking for it, especially renters.  In fact, 58% of renters, who are also active on social media, told us at Apartments.com they search for additional apartment information and recommendations online when looking for a new place to live.

My name is Tammy Kotula, and I’m addicted to review websites Read More

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 Marketing Manager and Online Marketing Specialist discuss the importance of testing email subject lines and provide four tips to do so.  If you have any questions, make sure to comment below. Read More

This post was originally written by Ken Shafer, past SEO Manager for Apartments.com.

We’ve all been there. You have this great piece of new content; a fresh article or updated information about a property or model type and you don’t want to wait for the search engines to take their sweet time finding it and getting it indexed.  Lucky for us, Google has recently provided a couple of options for getting that content discovered a little quicker.  You need a couple of things set up in order to take advantage of them.

The Essentials Read More

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

A fairly popular playwright once asked What’s in a name?  Well, I’m going to argue a lot!  Our names are very important to us, so your potential renters’ and current residents’ names should be even more important to you.  Here are five unforgettable tips to help you remember the name of everyone who walks into your leasing office: Read More

Our Online Marketing Specialist, Omer Navaid, shares some exciting news in his guest blog post below.

You won’t see the words “record breaking” in too many sectors of the economy these days (well, at least not in a positive context), but Apartments.com and ApartmentHomeLiving.com have both broken single-day records!  On July 25, 2011, Apartments.com and ApartmentHomeLiving.com drove more emails and phone calls from interested renters to our customers than ever on a single day; up 67% over last year.  This is actually the second time this month the record has been broken.  The previous record was broken just two weeks prior on July 11 when we drove 58% more emails and phone calls than on the same day the previous year. Read More

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