In today’s web-based world, it is essential that communities establish an online presence and manage their reputation online. Though it is difficult to completely control what can be said about your property online, it is important that you are active in the online space. If a community fails to protect or establish an online reputation, they could be at much more of a competitive disadvantage than a neighboring property. It is important for a property to stay updated with community-related chatter on major social media sites.

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Do you use Pinterest at your property? If you’re like many others, you’ve probably heard about Pinterest and know that it has become one of the most popular social media tools. You may have even created an account and started pinning pictures of your property or other fun Pins that your residents may be interested in.

Prestige Marketing, Inc. put together a helpful how-to guide on how to use Pinterest for advertising. While not specific to the multifamily industry, this infographic has a lot of great information that can be used to market your property on Pinterest. Let us know how you are using Pinterest at your property in the comments below!

The Benefits of Affiliate Marketing [Infographic]

The more communication property managers and their residents have, the better, as it usually leads to better, stronger business and personal relationships between both parties. This will make everyone’s living and working experience better and make renters stay for extended periods of time and property managers attentive to their residents’ needs. As communication has gotten so much easier in recent years, using social media to connect the two parties is a logical idea. Below are some ways engaging with renters on social media can be used to create an open line of communication between property managers and their renters on a regular but casual basis.

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I had the opportunity to attend one of the best search engine conferences of the year: SES Chicago. The conference runs the first week of November and brings together the top minds in the Midwest and abroad. I should mention that SES is a well-known, traveling conference that builds incredible momentum as the year goes on – and Chicago happens to be one of the last stops. This means a wealth of knowledge is collected by way of speakers and social media coverage that comes to a boiling point in the Windy City.

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When social media and digital innovations first came on the scene, many presumed it would be the start of a slow decline in person-to-person interaction. However, as the years go by, it becomes more obvious that in many cases social media is doing just the opposite. Through social media, consumers and businesses are able to interact like never before. Companies can now address consumer issues, complaints or praise in real-time and in turn, consumers are inviting brands into their everyday life through Facebook and Twitter.

A recent article from Forbes, The Age of Mass Intimacy: CEOs Share Secrets of Connecting with Customers in a Digital World, dives deeper into how social media and digital marketing are affecting the relationship between consumers and companies. Dan Jauernig, CEO of Classified Ventures, the parent company of Apartments.com, participated in a round-table discussion with other leaders from industries such as healthcare, energy, telecommunications and technology to discuss how they use social media to connect in their business. Read More

We hear it all the time – I just don’t have the time or energy to stay current with Google or I don’t know the first thing about Facebook marketing, or worst yet, I have a website, that’s all I need to do.

While my post will touch on the latter two points, I am not here to endorse Facebook or scold you for abandoning your website like a bad habit. My goal is to provide you with easy-to-implement pointers on how to build a solid yet simple website that is both search-engine and user friendly without making your web developer burn the midnight oil. Let’s dive right in. Read More

Kids these days. What do we really know about them? Well, these coming-of-age youths of Gen Y are more technologically evolved than preceding generations, which is evidenced by their behavior: co-dependent relationships with their mobile phones, addiction to social media and video games likely accessed from their tablet. And, apparently, they prefer renting an apartment over owning a home. That’s one of the factors cited by Reis for the historically low vacancy and high rents being seen in the U.S. right now.

In a recent Chicago Tribune article, Ryan Severino, senior economist at Reis, says This generation doesn’t hold home ownership on a pedestal the way prior generations did. Read More

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

Father’s Day is around the corner and it’s a great opportunity to do something special for the Dads in your community.  Most people will want to spend the day with their children, so try one of these fun activities in the days leading up to Father’s Day. Read More

We are delighted to announce the launch of the first ever Apartments.com Training Series Live! webinar on reputation management was a success!  The 30 minute session was presented by Ben Watson, vice president of marketing (a.k.a. Social Media Ninja) from HootSuite, a popular social media management system.  The attendee registration was full and we had a lot of great feedback come through! 

If you missed it, you might have some unanswered questions running through your head, like: Read More

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

With social media constantly changing, it can seem like the options are endless, so where do you start?  Look no further!  Here are 25 things you should be doing with social media right now: Read More