We’re excited to celebrate a recent win for Towne Properties, a Yardi and REACH by RentCafe client. In June, it was announced that two of Towne’s redesigned property websites received Hermes Creative Gold Awards in the Electronic Media / Social Media / Interactive Media category. Both websites were built on our RentCafe platform and supported by our REACH by RentCafe digital marketing agency. “Winning the Hermes Awards for our website redesigns honors the incredible work of our marketing team,” said Karen Zapkowski, marketing specialist at Towne Properties. “Having the right website technology from the start was critical. We’ve been able to build on that to create sites that reflect our brands and engage potential renters.” What is the Hermes Creative Awards? The Hermes Creative Awards is one of the oldest and largest creative competitions in the world. It’s sponsored by the Association of Marketing & Communication Professionals. Each year, competition judges evaluate the creative industry’s bestpublications, branding collateral, websites and videos as well as advertising, marketing, and communication programs. Work is judged on creativity within whatever constraints apply to the brand and/or media. The competition is open to creatives of all sizes. Winners range in size from individuals to media conglomerates and fortune 500 companies. This year, there were more than 230,000 entries from over 125 countries. Which of Towne’s websites won Hermes awards? Both of Towne Properties’ award-winning websites won gold Hermes Awards for website redesign. The team at Towne started with RentCafe website themes, then added vibrant branding, copy and imagery to bring each property to life. Galbraith Point: No place like homegalbraithpointeapts.com The Galbraith Point website appeals to modern renters with vivid colors, interactive calls-to-action and integrated resident testimonials. A front desk widget in the lower right corner makes it easy to email, call or schedule a tour from every page. Hilltop Apartments: A fresh new lookhilltopapthomes.com This website for apartments in Cincinnati has large, gorgeous photos (there’s one for every amenity), hyperlocal copy, resident testimonials and engaging features, like a floor plan assistant and self-scheduled tours. Who can use RentCafe to build property websites? Property management companies of all sizes can use RentCafe to build corporate and property marketing websites. RentCafe websites are built for speed, performance and accessibility, making them popular with brands and customers. There are thousands of RentCafe websites online today. View the RentCafe websites brochure for Voyager clients.View the RentCafe websites brochure for Breeze clients. Need website help? Our REACH by RentCafe digital marketing agency can help you create the website of your dreams — and other neat stuff, too, like logos, floor plans, email templates and more. Check out some of the agency’s...
Increase Conversions
Master the Landing Page
If your pay-per-click (PPC) campaign leads prospects to your home page, you’re missing out on conversions. Creating a landing page for your paid ads is a proven way to increase your conversion rate. What is a landing page? A landing page is not built into your website through the navigation menu. It is a stand-alone page that prospects land on after clicking your paid ad. The sole purpose of a landing page is to get your prospects to take action. The landing page should provide a quick summary of what you have to offer. It should then direct the prospect on how to take advantage of the offer (the conversion). That’s it. Why are landing pages so powerful? Organizations that use landing pages experience more conversions. Research reveals that more landing pages lead to more conversions. Paid ads placed in internet searches, emails, or social media campaigns should guide prospects to a landing page. In fact, landing pages help ads achieve a greater return on investment. They also improve your site’s quality score. Without a landing page, your cost per lead rises and your conversion rate lowers. You’ll pay more for less business! What should my landing page include? Keep your landing page informative yet simple. Landing page essentials include: Your logo Quickly reestablish your brand with by placing your logo near the top of the landing page. A captivating headline A solid headline does two things. First, it confirms that prospects have arrived to the correct page after clicking your ad. You can achieve this by using the same language in the headline as you did in the ad. Secondly, the headline entices the prospects to read more and take action. Copy and media that mimics the language of the ad Your copy...
User Behavior
Making Better Property Websites
If you’re at all involved with property marketing, you’ve probably been part of more than a few discussions about property marketing websites and their ability to convert prospects to leads and leads to leases. Great web conversions depend on your ability to truly understand your website visitors. How do they behave on your sites? What do they care about? How easy is it for them to get the information they need and take the next step? During this week’s Yardi Marketing Forum in Seattle, our very own Tudor Manole, development project manager for RentCafe, will lead a session that takes a deep dive into user behavior on property websites through analytics, user testing, and real-time recording. For those of us unable to be at the forum in person, here is a quick synopsis of his presentation, “Gold Star for Good Behavior,” as well as a few insights that you may be able put to work on your own sites to increase web conversions. At a glance, can you tell whether a website – in any industry – will convert or not? Yes and no. Great web conversions depend on the ability to craft a simple user experience that is intuitive, uncluttered, and can be navigated without instructions. So visibly, a straightforward site with a clear user journey is a great start. But there is other data we have to take into account to create a successful website too. What is user experience and why is it important? For a website to convert leads, it has to have a user experience that helps prospects complete the conversion process instead of abandoning the site. User experience (UX) design means observing user behavior in many different ways, and natural use of product is one that should not be...
