Property marketing — once constrained to classified ads, flyers and yard signs — has largely gone digital over the last two decades. And while most multifamily property management companies market their properties and vacancies online in one way or another, many aren’t using digital marketing to its fullest potential yet. Done well, digital marketing is part of a comprehensive strategy that attracts renters no matter where they search. It creates a cohesive customer experience that helps turn more leads into leases. And it gives you the data you need to keep building on your success. Let’s take a closer look at digital marketing for property management, what it entails and how you can benefit, as well as how you can get help when you need it. What is digital marketing? Per the American Marketing Association: Digital marketing refers to any marketing methods conducted through electronic devices. The includes online marketing efforts conducted on the internet. In the process of conducting digital marketing, a business might leverage websites, search engines, social media, video, email and similar channels to reach customers. Digital marketing can also be referred to as online marketing and search marketing. What does digital marketing include? A holistic digital marketing strategy includes multiple channels that complement each other, creating a consistent brand and customer experience everywhere prospects encounter your business. Digital marketing practices evolve as the way we use the internet changes, but these are some of the most common methods: Search engine optimization (SEO): SEO is the process of improving ranking with major search engines to increase unpaid online traffic to owned websites. Search engine marketing (SEM): SEM is the use of paid online advertising to increase website visibility within search engines. It’s often used together with SEO to create a stronger...

OFFICIAL RULES 2019 Yardi at AIM Sweepstakes NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. PURCHASE WILL NOT ENHANCE CHANCES OF WINNING. Sweepstakes is open only to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Puerto, who are 18 years of age or older (except residents of Alabama and Nebraska who must be 19 years of age or older) at the time of entry.  Employees, officers and directors of Yardi Systems, Inc. (“Sponsor”), and its respective subsidiaries and affiliated companies, advertising, promotion, or production agencies (and each of their respective IRS dependents, immediate family members [children, spouse, parents, siblings, and their respective spouses, regardless of where they reside] and individuals residing in the same household of each, whether or not related) are not eligible to participate.  Void where prohibited by law.  By participating, entrants agree to these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, which are final and binding in all matters relating to this Sweepstakes. ENTRY PERIODS: First Sweepstakes Promotional Period begins on May 6, 2019 at 8:00am PDT.  Entries must be received by 2:00pm PDT on May 6, 2019.  There will be two drawings after 2:00pm PDT on May 6, 2019. Second Sweepstakes Promotional Period begins on May 6, 2019 at 8:00am PDT.  Entries must be received by 2:00pm PDT on May 7, 2019.  There will be two drawings after 2:00pm PDT on May 7, 2019. Third Sweepstakes Promotional Period begins on May 6, 2019 at 8:00am PDT.  Entries must be received by 10:00am PDT on May 8, 2019.  There will be two drawings after 10:00am PDT on May 8, 2019. HOW TO ENTER. During the Promotional Period (i) visit the outside Yardi Café at the Apartment Innovation and Marketing (AIM) Conference in Huntington Beach, California (no purchase necessary); (ii) post a...

The multifamily industry converged in San Diego last week for Apartmentalize Powered by National Apartment Association. Formerly known as the NAA Education Conference and Exposition, the annual event is the largest educational conference for apartment industry professionals. We highlight five of our favorite lessons from this year’s event. 5 Lessons from Apartmentalize 2018: Own the Age of AI On Thursday, industry experts discussed the impact of artificial intelligence in multifamily. Panelists included Dawn Wise from Berkshire Communities, Michael Barry from Bozzuto, Tim Reardon from Bridge Property Management, and Yardi’s Dhar Sawh. Artificial intelligence has just recently emerged in the rental housing industry. “This is so new for our industry, so the sky’s the limit,” explained Reardon. The session explored the benefits of artificial intelligence, big data, and business intelligence tools. How can you get energized for the Age of AI? Top tips from panelists: learn more about AI, and make a data strategy plan. Today’s Renters Have a Multi-Touch Journey Over the last two decades, we’ve gone from tracking walk-ins and phone calls to embracing comprehensive CRM systems. On a panel moderated by Yardi’s Esther Bonardi, Holli Beckman from WC Smith, Israel Carunungan from Greystar, and Mia Wentworth from CWS Apartment Homes discussed multi-touch lead attribution, a model for tracking and weighing touchpoints in the lead-to-lease cycle. How can smart marketers improve lead tracking? “Dig into it, study it, and it can open a whole new world,” advised Bonardi. Learn more about multi-touch lead attribution and download our free eBook. Sustainability Wins At Friday’s Apartmentalize session, panelists including Yardi’s Martin Levkus explored resident engagement through energy efficiency. In a recent National Apartment Association survey, windows were the top sustainability item residents cared about. For one panelist, energy efficient windows resulted in a $75 per month...

Multifamily marketers gathered in Huntington Beach, California, for the 2018 Apartment Internet Marketing (AIM) Conference on May 6-9. This year’s event focused on the latest digital marketing trends and technologies. “Marketing executives are increasingly called on to shape the resident experience and manage the pace of innovation,” shared Steve Lefkovits, executive producer of AIM. “We’re delighted to have Yardi and RentCafe as partners in educating the industry about the future.” Some conference highlights for multifamily marketers: Customer Experience Matters Customer experience is the new marketing. At the AIM keynote, Charlene Li, principal analyst at Altimeter and co-author of Groundswell, challenged marketers to examine relationships and experiences. “If you’re not focusing on the customer experience, you’re working on the wrong things,” emphasized Li. Why does customer experience matter? Because the data says so! According to resident satisfaction data from J Turner Research, Q1 2018 apartment reviews grew by 78% as compared to Q1 2017. The average number of reviews per property has grown 20% since Q1 2017, averaging more than 86 reviews per property. The study found a strong correlation between online reputation and resident satisfaction. Resident experience matters, and it influences renter and prospect purchasing behavior. In a session on customer engagement and loyalty, Joseph Batdorf, president of J Turner Research, stressed, “Resident satisfaction matters. Making sure they’re happy affects their willingness to renew a lease.” Customer Engagement Also Matters To create a better customer experience, you need to engage your customer from the get-go and keep them engaged throughout their time with you. Where can you innovate your customer engagement strategy? Create a well-rounded engagement strategy. Implementing a multi-source lead attribution model can help marketers more accurately assign value to each touchpoint in the buyer journey. Market to common values to bolster your engagement. Sticking to common...

Yardi has entered an exclusive three-year agreement securing RentCafe as the title sponsor of the Apartment Internet Marketing Conference (AIM). “We are excited to announce our partnership with AIM. We believe this is a great opportunity for us, for AIM and for the attendees because ultimately, we are all laser-focused on innovative digital marketing,” said Esther Bonardi, vice president of marketing at Yardi. A Powerful Partnership AIM is the only industry event focused exclusively on educating multifamily executives on advances in internet marketing, advertising and branding. Executives gain insights into web technology and applications, mobile platforms, lead tracking and in-home technology as well as resident retention and communication techniques. RentCafe, a leading multifamily marketing solution, unites marketing and leasing functionalities in a single, easy-to-use platform. Prospects, residents and staff benefit from its intuitive interface and groundbreaking features. “Marketing executives are increasingly called on to shape the resident experience and manage the pace of innovation. That starts with initial impressions of a community, and flows through to communications, social media, service and amenities,” shared Steve Lefkovits, executive producer of AIM. “We’re delighted to have Yardi and RentCafe as partners in educating the industry about the future.” “RentCafe has seen tremendous growth by adding innovative marketing features for the multifamily industry. Through this partnership, we can support the key foundations of the conference, providing exactly the kind of cutting-edge solutions that attendees have come to expect from AIM,” said Bonardi. What to Expect at AIM This year, keynote speaker Malcolm Frank will explore the topic of marketing automation with “What to Do When Machines Do Everything.” Automation is a key area of opportunity for organizations seeking to achieve greater efficiency and customer engagement. Frank will offer strategic guidance and actionable steps to help AIM attendees and their organizations excel in the...

Little makes us happier than hearing about a client’s success with one of our products. Unless that same client is experiencing success with three of our products! We recently had exactly that happen when we sat down to chat with Belinda Torres and Heather Palmer of Continental Realty Corporation (CRC) about their experience with RentCafe. It turned out that CRC wasn’t just getting positive results and feedback from using RentCafe, the company was also seeing measurable returns by extending its marketing platform with both RentCafe CRM and RentCafe Reach. Keep reading to see how CRC improved their online presence, lead tracking and organic traffic with a suite of integrated marketing solutions. Meet CRC CRC was founded in 1960. Headquartered in Baltimore, it’s a full-service multifamily and commercial real estate investment and management company. It uses Yardi software to manage a diversified portfolio featuring nearly 10,000 apartment homes and retail centers consisting of more than 3.5 million square feet of space. Better Websites Before adopting RentCafe, CRC had a corporate website that hadn’t been redesigned in a decade and didn’t have individual property websites. “There wasn’t any SEO value,” said Torres, corporate marketing director at CRC. “Keywords and alt tags weren’t being utilized. There was nothing to help a prospective resident find us.” CRC used RentCafe to create marketing websites for every multifamily property in its portfolio. CRC also uses COMMERCIALCafé to create websites for its commercial properties. “The websites that we have now are attractive. Photos and tours are what people want to see, and we’ve been able to give that to them with RentCafe,” said Torres. The sites are mobile-friendly and allow the marketing team to upload videos and custom content for each community. Applicants can apply online and receive and submit all...