unique property features that entice your ideal tenant. With virtual staging, there is no need to pay a professional stager, nor do you have to purchase or rent multiple sets of furniture for each floor plan in your building. Virtual staging, therefore, saves time and money. IMPACTFUL IMAGES Your common areas and amenities draw your potential tenants in, especially if you’re marketing a family-friendly or vibrant apartment community. Quality images of these spaces creates engagement and drives potential tenants to sign a lease. Images should be clear, in focus, and intentionally taken. They also should contain human faces. For example, show off your rooftop pool amenity by photographing it with people going for a swim or relaxing on a lounger. Why? A University of Minnesota Management Information Systems Research Center study showed that websites with images that include human facial features are more posi- tively received than those that don’t. For best results, professionally photograph people enjoying your community amenities and work with a website designer or web developer to ensure those images are added to your website. COLOR PALETTES AND LOGOS The colors you choose for your building’s exterior and common spaces reflect contemporary style and the overall spirit of your
community. Your exciting urban mul- tifamily building, for example, likely has a bright color palette. However, an upscale, boutique community may choose a more opulent, rich scheme. The color palette you choose for both your building and your website play a role in how tenants perceive your apartment community. To ensure brand continuity, use your building’s color palette in all marketing materials, including your website. Your logo, too, should reflect your property’s style. Work with a professional graphic designer to achieve high quality results and strategically use color in the designs. Aligning your branding with the look and feel of the property itself can make it more recognizable and improve recall among potential tenants who have seen your adver- tising and are considering moving in. This builds brand awareness, which can be a necessary step toward lead generation. FUNCTIONALITY AND USER EXPERIENCE Your website should be easy to use, help potential tenants connect with your property, and serve as a lead generation tool. Content should be optimized for search engines; it should contain often-searched key- words so your website shows up in search engine results pages. Work- ing with a digital marketing agency can ensure your search engine optimization strategy is effective. Calls to action, including contact information and buttons leading to scheduling tours or signing leases, should be spread throughout the
page, but especially “above the fold.” This means site visitors should not need to scroll down to take action.
VIRTUAL TOURS Help potential tenants decide whether each apartment or townhome floor plan is right for them by creating and posting virtual tours. Your tour should walk through the entire unit, showcasing its best features. According to a Zumper survey, 70% of renters would lease an apartment without even seeing it if they could view a 3D virtual tour. Virtual tours can be a clickable rendering walkthrough or a simple video filmed with a budget camera. Include a “Lease Now” call to action at the end of each walkthrough, linking to the relevant page on your website to begin the rental application. Making it easy to proceed to the next step is a surefire way to earn qualified leads who are ready to move in. If you aren’t sure how to begin updating your investment property’s website, your best bet is to engage with an experienced marketing agency that offers web development services. Not only can the agency help you implement website best practices, but a digital agency can help you maximize your marketing budget through online ads that get your property in front of your highly specific, local target audience. •
Jenifer Calandra’s decade of marketing experience in a range of industries gives her a unique perspective on strategy. A professional
writer by trade, Calandra crafts the story of your brand to engage with your target audience in her role at iFocus Marketing. Learn more at ifocusmarketing.com.
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