Creative Apartment Marketing
Anyone that practices the art of apartment marketing and that leases apartments knows the winter months can be a little slow, and anything we can do to spur up some leasing traffic helps. We are big proponents on giving stuff away at the Urbane Lab, and encourage our clients to think about how can they best leverage this tactic. Many of our competitors in the industry overuse this angle wrongly by offering up Free Rent. We are adamantly opposed to Free Rent. While it is the easiest and laziest angle, with a little creativity you can garnish a much superior result that may keep on giving.
Make It Sharable
As we traverse the new era of Digital Marketing, we need to craft our offerings to be sharable. Said differently, something worth talking about. We are huge proponents of offering up Co Work Space in your under utilized Clubhouse. Wane from thinking that your apartment community is only for “residents”. You will be surprised at how many folks will talk about your business if they can work from your location in a cool environment. Too, a crowed clubhouse looks much more appealing to a prospect when touring than an empty one. All those empty racquetball courts that many clubhouses have could also be filled up too with a little creativity aimed at the office building down the road. The point here being, think about adding some buzz and excitement to your property by “Giving Something Away”, like the use of something you already have, but aren’t really using.
An Art Show
We are hosting a local, underground Art Show this week at Urbane Apartments. The show is featuring an array of local artists and their work. It is being held on a weekday and that evening. We are expecting a few hundred people though our space, on perhaps one of the slowest weeks of the year. Seems like a win win. Of those few hundred people, most have smart phones with the ability to share. Maybe the cost of admission is that you check in on our Facebook Page, or post your favorite piece from the show on our Facebook wall. Again, the point being to subtly steer a desired action that enhances and leverages the event.
Will any of these few hundred folks be renters, or at least know someone who may be renting, likely so. We will take that bet over Free Rent any day of the week.
Eric Brown
Eric’s background is rooted in the rental and real estate industries. He founded metro Detroit’s Urbane Apartments in 2003, after serving as senior vice president for a major Midwest apartment developer. He established a proven track record of effectively repositioning existing rental properties in a way that added value for investors while enhancing the resident experience. He also established Urbane Media, a social media marketing and PR laboratory, where innovative marketing ideas are tested. Eric has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine and Business Week Magazine. You can connect with Urbane_Media on Twitter. Eric also writes regular articles for the following publications; Multi Housing News Social Media Examiner Search Engine Guide
Follow Me:
