Radio was once a premier source of information and entertainment. Starting in 1920 with the world’s first commercial radio station in Pittsburgh, the medium grew to more than 44,000 stations worldwide 100 years later and reached 70% of the world’s population by 2016, according to the United Nations. “From its conception, radio has had a profound impact on society. It is the vehicle that brought, and still brings, music from one culture to another, creating a curiosity for diversity and opportunities for so many less privileged artists. The connectivity and community support radio offers is incredible and consistent, even though how we do radio is ever-changing,” says Jared Thompson, vice president of content for Blinder, an Auckland, New Zealand, communications and media tech firm. Radio can provide a rallying point during pandemics, moments of national turmoil and natural disasters and as a vital source of news as local newspapers decline. In fact, a radio station’s strongest asset is its connection to a community, says Donna Halper, an associate professor of communication and media studies at Lesley University: “Successful stations have relatable personalities who are plugged into the community. [They] are live and local as much as possible.” But radio is facing some stark challenges. Digital and on-demand formats, televisions, smartphones, tablets and computers have largely superseded it as a medium of choice. Platforms such as Spotify and Pandora give consumers access to the songs they want, with no commercials. Larry Miller, head of New York University’s Steinhart Music Business Program, reported in 2017 that AM/FM radio was less influential than YouTube, Spotify and Pandora as a source of music discovery among music fans 12 to 24 years old. Online listening continues to grow in almost every age demographic. Most new cars are connected to...

It’s hard to imagine entering August with the COVID-19 pandemic still causing mass disruption throughout the commercial real estate industry. While there are varying degrees of guidelines and protocols for reopening buildings, the general consensus is that a large percentage of tenants needed help to navigate these times. Whether it was in the form of rent concessions, deferrals or any other tactic to prevent going under, tenants are reaching out to property managers more than ever. As part of Yardi’s Innovator Sponsorship of the July CRETech virtual conference, Brian Sutherland, commercial industry principal, had a chance to host a discussion with Paul Gaines, managing director of asset management for Accesso Partners. Accesso, based out of Hallandale, Florida, manages a portfolio of over $3.3B in assets across 21 cities in 8 states. Managing Deferral Requests Gaines explained they initially had 150 tenants across the portfolio who requested rent relief. Accesso then requested three things: 1) Ask the tenant to look thoroughly at their insurance coverage for any pertinent information. 2) Ask the tenant to apply for government assistance. 3) Ask the tenant to send complete financial documentation to Accesso so they could work on a plan together. Gaines revealed that his company had been able to reach agreements with 35 tenants on lease amendments or deferrals, without granting any abatements. While it’s a difficult time for all, it is important to realize the difference between those who truly need assistance and those who simply aren’t able to use their office space but are continuing business operations successfully. Thanks to quick and concise decision making within the executive team at Accesso and consistent communication with tenants, Gaines said they have seen 96-97% timely collection across the portfolio since work from home orders were enacted. The senior...

For the loved ones of residents in senior living, concerns about the coronavirus have not yet abated, even as states reopen and life gradually returns to “normal.” Residents in communities are at a higher risk for COVID, and restrictions on visits remain in place to protect them. So it’s not hard to see why family members would want transparency from senior living providers. Has anyone there caught it? What protocols are in place to help? How is everyone holding up? Since the start of the outbreak, dozens of states have instituted reporting guidelines that require assisted living and skilled nursing facilities to report their COVID numbers to public health authorities. But some states have gone even further by asking providers to share those same numbers with the family members directly on a daily basis. Of course, many providers have already taken great steps to expand their communications. They’ve added FAQs to their website, posted notices to their online resident portal, and have sent plenty of emails to loved ones, residents, staff and vendors. At Yardi, we’ve had clients reach out for help setting up email campaigns like these, so we’ve put together a quick tutorial video that covers how you can create emails that can be sent in bulk to a customized list of contacts. Senior living email correspondence in Yardi Both Yardi Voyager Senior Housing and RENTCafé Senior CRM offer email correspondence. Whichever you choose to use, you can leverage templates to pull in information like the recipient’s first name, today’s date and facility name from your database. That way, you can easily customize your emails in bulk. The video will walk you through how you can choose your information categories, format your text and then filter your contact list. It also explains...

Want to get in touch with your residents? SatisFacts 2017 Online Renter study reveals that 88 percent of respondents prefer to be contacted via email; 73 percent ask to be contacted by cell phone, and 50 percent request text communication.   Each method of communication has its own best practices. Dive into these nine tips for effective responsiveness. EMAIL Email is old news but effective email techniques constantly change. You must find a way to make your emails stand out in inboxes that are flooded with spam and competitors. These tips may keep your emails from the trash folder: 1. HubSpot reports that 33 percent of email recipients decide whether or not to open an email based on the subject alone. Subject lines matter! Since 40 percent of emails are read via mobile device, keep your subject 30-50 characters max. Make the subject interactive by leading with a verb. “Party with us tomorrow night!” is more enticing than, “There is a party tomorrow night!” If you have an incentive, notify the reader in the subject line, such as “Get 10% off rent next month.” Add emojis at your own risk. Research tells us that readers dread all caps and excessive punctuation. More than 85 percent of respondents prefer an all-lowercase subject line to one in all caps. But emojis are a relatively new terrain. When used sparingly, they can make a good headline stand out. Downside: they might not translate well across devices and carriers. Also, certain demographics (and not others) appreciate emoji use. Lastly, integrate numbers when you can. Numbers stand out among text and they provide context. “2 weeks until your lease renewal” will have a higher click-through rate than “renew your lease soon.” 2. Timing matters. Consider the subject of your email...

Do you speak emoji? If you don’t, you might be finding yourself increasingly in the minority as emojis—defined by Google as “a small digital image or icon used to express an idea, emotion, etc., in electronic communication”—gain momentum as a form of universal, nonverbal communication. These sometimes-silly little pictures are being embrace by more than just Millennials as a way to express feelings, moods, actions, and more in a way that transcends language boundaries. A recent study by Emogi found that 92% of online consumers use emoji. The report found that people use emoji to help them be more accurately understood. It also looked at the connection between emoji and digital advertising. Of course, researchers aren’t the only ones who’ve noticed emoji use on the rise. Social media platforms and even retail brands have found exciting new ways to leverage the popularity of emojis in 2015. Brands That Embraced Emojis In 2015 Instagram allows emojis as hashtags. In April, Instagram released an app update that enabled users to include emoji in hashtags with the reasoning that “…just as we share photos and videos, we use emoji to communicate emotions and feelings in ways that anyone can understand, regardless of language or background.” Dominos lets hungry people order pizza by emoji. The future is now, people! This past May, Domino’s debuted a system that allows customers to order pizza simply by tweeting the pizza emoji to @Dominos, followed soon after by the ability to order by text too. Ready for a pizza party? Here’s your how-to guide. Chevy publishes a press release… written entirely in emoji! Chevy’s June press release about the 2016 Chrevrolet Cruze was issued in emoji form with the hashtag #ChevyGoesEmoji, sparking a wave of funny decoding attempts across the Internet. They...