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

It may have taken a while to get here, but winter is upon us.  If you are lucky enough to live in a warm climate city, you don’t have to worry about snow removal.  But for the rest of us, winter means investing in a durable pair of boots, warm gloves and a shovel. Read More

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

According to a recent study done by SatisFacts, move-out costs are estimated to average around $3,900.  When presented with figures like that, you have to think what can we do differently so our residents choose to renew their lease instead of leave.  You may be surprised to find that 54% of residents choose not to renew their lease based on controllable reasons such as poor customer service and lack of responsiveness.  You can find simple, inexpensive fixes to reconcile these issues and keep your residents coming back. Read More

Photos: To get the most out of your photos, help renters quickly form that all-important, emotional connection with your property.  Update the order of your photos each season to showcase the most inviting photo – start with a pool or garden photo in the warmer months and kitchen or cozy living room photo in the cooler months.  Remember to keep your photo library current after renovations and construction.  You want to build trust from the start with accurate photos of your property.

Make sure to check back for more quick tips!

Last week Google announced on their blog that they would be transforming their search experience into something rich with people and personal content.  Today, Google claims search is limited to public webpages that are created by people you’ve never met.  At the heart of this new ‘search,’ Google is looking to bring your social world closer to you than ever before:

“Search is pretty amazing at finding that one needle in a haystack of billions of webpages, images, videos, news and much more. But clearly, that isn’t enough. You should also be able to find your own stuff on the web, the people you know and things they’ve shared with you, as well as the people you don’t know but might want to… all from one search box.” – Amit Singhal, Google Fellow Read More

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

Is your apartment community active on Twitter?  With over 100 million users, odds are your residents are there and listening.  When you are tweeting, it’s important to keep a couple things in mind: share, ask, respond and reward. Read More

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

Some people think making a New Year’s resolution is silly, but I would guess it’s because they never really followed through with one.  I think making a promise to improve or make a change is a great way to set yourself up for an awesome year!  With the ball drop only a couple days away, here are some tips for making a great resolution. Read More

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

Back in January 2011, Facebook introduced their newest advertising product; Sponsored Stories.  These ads, which live on the right hand column of Facebook, use people’s friends to endorse a brand and encourage them to engage as well.  For example, let’s say I Like Apartments.com on Facebook and then I write a status update that says “Searching for my new apartment on Apartments.com!”  If Apartments.com has purchased Sponsored Story advertising, my status update, along with the brand, can be promoted to my friends. Essentially, Apartments.com would be using me as their brand advocate to my network on Facebook. Read More

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

They have been talking about it for a while, but Facebook Timeline is officially launching.  This new view for profiles takes your life and puts it into; you guessed it, a timeline layout.  There are a lot of people asking why all the changes and can’t Facebook leave good enough alone?  It’s about providing a more user-friendly experience, said Kate Aronowitz, director of user experience and design for Facebook, in an interview yesterday morning.  Using the right hand control, users can quickly scroll through events, friends, photos, wall posts and more from any year in their life.  Although Facebook wasn’t around in 1970 (come to think of it, Zuckerberg wasn’t even around then), users can upload photos from that year to truly create a timeline of their life. Read More

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

With the holiday spirit all around, this is a great time of year to get your residents together and show them your appreciation. Here are a couple fun ideas that you can do around your apartment community: Read More

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

My Dearest Management Company, Read More