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Localized Marketing Works – 4 Tips to Increase Buy-In From Local Property Teams

 

The world of property management is constantly changing. The population of Gen Z renters will grow from 8 million to 55 million over the next decade. 

 

Digital expectations are also increasing:

  • Sixty-five percent of tenants want to pay rent online.
  • Fifty-eight percent expect instant digital communication with landlords.
  • Twenty-three percent want smart home tech in properties.

 

If your property management company wants to keep up, localized marketing is a must. While most property management companies understand the importance of localized marketing, getting local teams on board is easier said than done. Throughout this blog, we’ll re-emphasize the importance of localized marketing for property management companies, explain how to get your local property teams on board, and share how your property management company can choose the right platform for your efforts.  

 

The Importance of Localized Marketing for Property Management 

 

The fundamental goals of multifamily marketing are to be discoverable, to answer the needs of potential residents seeking information about your offerings, and to present those offerings in a compelling manner that wins leases – these have not changed since pre-digital times. But the tactics and strategies for achieving these goals continue to evolve at a rapid pace. Localized marketing is a balance between local search and local social efforts. With localized marketing, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. You need both localized search and localized social marketing to achieve a healthy and fully optimized localized marketing presence.

  

When it comes to importance, the data speaks for itself. For instance, 80 percent of potential residents consider reviews necessary to their property search. Similarly, localized content performs 12x better than content that is not localized. If your portfolios aren’t focusing on a local search and social strategy, think of all you could be missing out on.

 

How to Get Buy-In From Local Property Teams 

 

While it’s clear that localized marketing can help your portfolios beat the competition and win more leases, how can you get them on board? Local teams are often inundated with providing leasing tours, managing issues that arise at the local properties, and focused on signing leases, which can lead to marketing efforts falling through the cracks. So what exactly does it take to get your local property managers on board with localized marketing? 

 

1. Prove ROI of Localized Marketing Programs

 

ROI is an excellent place to start. If you can prove to your local teams that an emphasis on localized marketing will drive more leads, increase resident retention, and ultimately result in more leases won, it will be easier to get local teams on board. For instance, if portfolios that have started leveraging local social have seen a relatively low cost-per-click for ads directed to your “book a tour” page, this can be used to incentivize other portfolios to invest in local social efforts.

 

Similarly, if a portfolio has implemented a chatbot solution on their local website and seen an increase in appointments booked for leasing tours, the ROI speaks for itself. For a deeper look into how you can track the ROI for specific marketing efforts, check out our ROI guide.  

 

 

2. Promote Consolidation and Streamlined Efforts 

 

Many property managers and local teams don’t have a lot of previous marketing experience. The fewer platforms your local teams have to learn, the better. Many local teams don’t have the time to log into various marketing platforms, learn how they work, and think about the strategy behind the marketing efforts. The less time and energy teams have to think about what is going into their localized marketing strategy, the better. That’s where a streamlined and consolidated platform comes in. 

 

A platform that allows you to manage all aspects of your localized marketing strategy within a single login is a great way to get buy-in from local teams. Instead of having to learn how to use various platforms, they will only have to remember one. Similarly, it’s crucial to find a platform that allows both the property management company and property teams to use it and manage different areas of localized marketing. For instance, while local teams might know what type of social content would better resonate with their target audience, corporate can ensure that all of their portfolios have updated and accurate business listings. If local teams feel like they have some support from the property management company when it comes to localized marketing, they’ll be more inclined to focus on specific efforts. 

 

3. Leverage Data to Prove Value

 

Like ROI, data is a great way to get buy-in from your local property teams when it comes to localized marketing. Our Top Property Management Companies in Localized Marketing report is a great place to start. This report looked at the top 25 property management companies as found by National Multifamily Housing Council, 50 Largest Apartment Managers, 2021, and looked at how they were performing in local social and local search. As a property management company, meeting or exceeding the benchmarks in this report is a great way to stay ahead of the competition. 

 

 

For instance, the report found that property management companies appear to be devoting more time and attention to local search today than localized social, meaning that social marketing represents an excellent opportunity for competitive differentiation. Localized social should be leveraged to drive discovery. While property management companies understand the importance of frequently posting on Google and Facebook, greater emphasis should be placed on creating content that connects with the target audience and creates high-value engagements such as comments and shares. Download the full report here for essential data that can be leveraged to get your local teams on board with a comprehensive localized marketing strategy. 

 

 

4. Streamline Localized Marketing Across Portfolios 

 

Before you’re able to get buy-in from your local property teams on a localized marketing solution, it’s best to find a platform that works for your property management company. That’s where SOCi comes in. SOCi’s the marketing platform for multifamily marketers and has everything you need to manage your localized marketing strategy under a single login. Don’t take our word for it; Cassidy Clark, Marketing Director at Trinity, agrees, “SOCi gives us the ability to manage hyper-localized marketing – even though we are a small team.”

 

 

The competition is already using SOCi, so it’s time for you to get your local teams on board. From reputation management to local listings to local social and beyond, SOCi has you covered. For more insight into how SOCi can help you dominate your localized marketing efforts and win more leases, request a demo today! 

 

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