Congratulations to Steve Lefkovits and the folks at Apartment Internet Marketing (AIM) for putting on another great conference. As usual, it seems to bring out the best people and companies in the industry. In no particular order, here are my thoughts on my three days spent last week in Southern California …
A social event: Social media once again dominated the conversation. And like much of the buzz on the Twittersphere, there seems to be general agreement that the industry is beyond both “if” and “when” and finally moving into “how.” And that’s when the conversations really start to get interesting, when the “how” isn’t just about how to generate leads but how to manage reputation, build community and brand, etc. Read More
This post was originally written by Kerry Sugrue, former Social Media Specialist at Apartments.com.
We are so excited to announce the newest addition to our Apartments.com Training Series! These sessions are offered free of charge to all of our advertisers, and discuss how to maximize advertising, capitalize on online media and acquire valuable information on industry research. Our newest session, Interactive Multifamily Marketing, takes a detailed look at how the power of online advertising can drive infinite exposure to your apartment community. Read More
This post was originally written by Kerry Sugrue, former Social Media Specialist at Apartments.com.
Our third annual Roommate of the Year Contest is coming soon, so we invited our 2010 Grand Prize Winner, Andrew Prestler, to come to Chicago and help us film our intro video. Luckily, I had my Flipcam to capture all the behind the scenes fun! Read More
This post was originally written by Kerry Sugrue, former Social Media Specialist at Apartments.com.
The busiest rental season is quickly approaching, which means spring cleaning, softball leagues, daydreaming about college trips to Panama City Beach and touching base with your potential and current residents! With MyMedia you can keep in touch year round. Our ongoing updates and slick designs provide you with countless creative options to choose from so you can effortlessly send relevant communications customized to prospects or residents. While, I could just list all our features, I’d rather give you an idea of how MyMedia plays an important role through the lifecycle of a resident. So, without further ado, I’d like to introduce John Doe Properties… Read More
This post was originally written by Ken Shafer, past SEO Manager for Apartments.com.
Still doubting the importance of social media signals in search results? After Google’s latest announcement you should probably reconsider. Their statement saying “But relevance isn’t just about pages—it’s also about relationships” is a wake-up call to all site owners that it’s time to pull our collective heads out of the sand and get to work cultivating a social network and encouraging interactions with your content.
The nuts and bolts Read More
There’s been a lot of debate about the roll – and the perils – of online reviews in the multifamily space. Mostly, the concern, when boiled down, is about ceding control of the message from the marketing department to the consumer/renter. And that’s a daunting prospect, no doubt.
Those who know me know I’ve got my own reservations about user reviews, not so much because, if abused, they can be unfairly damaging to a business (that risk is overblown), but because I often find them more confusing than helpful, and don’t like the anonymity factor. (I have other issues, too. For example, have you noticed recently how pretty much every restaurant on Yelp! is now rated 3-4 stars? It’s uncanny how consistent our restaurants are today!) Read More
This post was originally written by Ken Shafer, past SEO Manager for Apartments.com.
DigitalSurgeons.com, an online marketing agency, put together a very interesting graphical representation of Twitter and Facebook users. Take a look at the image below, or by checking out this link: http://www.digitalsurgeons.com/facebook-vs-twitter-infographic/
I think it is interesting to consider that more people follow brands on Facebook than on Twitter. We should potentially keep this in mind when considering managing our expectations for interactions. If you’re short on resources, perhaps focus your intra-community communications on Facebook, rather than Twitter. What jumps out at you from this graphic? Read More
If you haven’t heard already, a lot of buzz has been generated around our What Renters Want survey results revealing how renters are using social media during their apartment search. Check out some of the conversations happening online and let us know your thoughts on the survey results.
Is your community using social media to attract prospects and retain residents? If so, tell us what’s working and what you’ve learned. Read More
The November issue of the Apartments.com Multifamily Minutes newsletter in now available. Check out this issue for stories on chat etiquette, tips for making ads pop using short and descriptive text, survey results on how renters are using social media during their apartment search, customer testimonials on the MyMedia Craigslist Ad Builder and much more!
As if browsing the web wasn’t distracting enough, along comes RockMelt, a new browser causing buzz and envy over invites into the not-so-private beta (any club that accepts me as a member can’t be too exclusive, to paraphrase Groucho Marx).
Because of its integrated diversions, RockMelt truly is a fun and unique experience, and easily the most innovative new browser release in years. I’m going to tick off a lot of zealots, but the average user wouldn’t know the difference between Firefox, Chrome or Internet Explorer. They each have tabs and toolbar search and private browsing. If you’re someone who has a preference for how one browser renders JavaScript over the other, well, then, you’re not an average user. Read More
