Your crystal ball just called! These 2023 Apartment Branding Trends are must-haves for your multifamily community’s future branding and design choices. Take the zipcode creative trend challenge, and pick 3 to work on this year!
#1: Storytelling
Get ‘em right in the feels. A well-written story connects to your audience on an emotional level—and they can start imagining themselves in place of “Kara, 29, with a dog and a marketing job who found the perfect apartment to make friends and build community.” Try sharing your brand’s history, values, and mission through every channel you can: social media, email campaigns, even print brochures. Residents can smell a sales pitch a mile away, so resist that urge, and beckon them in with a hint of “Once upon a time…” When apartment brands tell a story, they can count on getting a rapt audience. Not a storyteller? Get a copywriter. (Pro-tip: We have those at zipcode creative.)
#2: Authenticity
But don’t get too “fairytale” on us. Those same residents that can smell a sales pitch can also suss out if your brand is being authentic. Latch onto content that doesn’t originate in your own office—get reviews, get testimonials, get real people who live in your apartment community, and ask to share. Another way to pull back the curtain is to integrate your resident events and your prospect events, and help residents experience the community with every one of their five senses. Doesn’t hurt to plant a few extra-happy residents in the mix, too. Also: Social proof is totally a thing. Rentgrata offers a way for current residents to connect with prospects, helping you get an inside scoop on what they’re looking for, and helping seal the deal with a real person—not just a chatbot.
#3: Experience Branding
Feels like everything’s becoming robotic these days. In-person events and customer service that knows your name can feel suddenly one step closer—like a friend. Try out experience branding with your leasing apartments through personalized emails, online content that’s tailored to them (different UX pathways!) or a resident event that brings your brand to life. Make sure your staff is an extension of your brand, too—a handwritten note from maintenance (on a branded card) can let them know who was there and what they fixed up. Associate your brand with a positive experience, and your residents will keep coming back for more—that’s one of the best 2023 apartment branding trends worth exploring.
#4: Purpose-Driven Branding
Take this trend to heart. According to Forbes, 45% of Gen-Zers want to work for a company that’s making a (positive) difference. So, it’d make sense that they’re more willing to spend money when they know their apartment community holds similar values. Even if your target resident isn’t just Gen-Z, bring your mission, vision, and values to the surface in a real way through your 2023 apartment branding. Highlight how you give back to the community, show your green side (do an energy-efficient campaign) and be vocal about who or what you support and how. The next generation demands it—but be sure it falls within our 2023 apartment branding trends #2 above: Authenticity. Make it a habit, call it out, and they’ll notice.
#5: Micro-Moments
Get quick on your feet. Split-second decisions add up, and with smartphones, everyone is looking for the answer to their needs in real time. Make sure you’re there when the need arises, providing value and capturing your prospective residents’ attention (because you are the apartment community with the answers). Try this idea with your website by integrating an FAQ, having a well-informed blog with timely topics, or simple video that shows off your favorite areas of the community—forgo a professional filmmaker and get super authentic with a smartphone video that’s decently edited. According to Statista, video has an online usage reach of over 90%. No wonder it continues to trend for marketing.
#6: Audio Branding
“Alexa! Play Spanish guitar dinner music.” Today’s consumer asks a lot of brands—out loud. How can you capture this segment of your prospective residents in your branding efforts, though? Develop content on your site that is optimized for voice search—Hubspot recommends doing this by targeting longtail keywords. Get specific and focus on high conversion so that you have the definitive answer to your audience’s specific need. Having an attractive brand is great. But also make sure your residents can find you, whether they’re typing in their query or wondering aloud, “Hey Google, where can I find a two-bedroom apartment that’s dog-friendly in Atlanta?” Show up where they are and talk back.
#7: Interactive Content
It’s nice to have someone tell us all the answers for a change. Offer your prospective residents a bit of valuable help through a poll, a game, or a quiz, and with their engagement, you’ll be rewarded with valuable insights, brand loyalty, and an increase in signed leases. Understand what your prospective residents are looking for by creating a quiz (ooh, fun!): “Which floor plan is best for you?” or “When is it time to move?” Here at zipcode, we like to ask, “Is it time for a rebrand?” or “Do you need professional graphic design?” Having content with interaction built in is helpful—and gives your prospective residents a reason to believe you’ll continue to be helpful.
#8: User-Generated Content
Remember what we said about reviews? And authenticity? Build it up with user-generated content. It’s easier than ever by leveraging social media—encourage your residents to create and share content about their experiences (that just happen to feature your community) thereby building brand awareness and driving signed leases. This can happen via social media challenges, asking for shares or tags within competitions, and provides a good amount of content you can funnel through your own social media to create an inside look. Feeling stuck? Check out zipcode creative’s blog on social media ideas around pets here.
#9: Transparent Branding
This is similar to authenticity and purpose-driven branding. Today it’s more important than ever to be upfront about your practices—where you’re sourcing your supplies, how you treat your employees, what materials and processes you use to build and maintain (or renovate) the community. Because your residents will be spending much of their time in the apartments, they may want to know that the materials being used are safe for the environment, made sustainably, and that the people who work there are from a local company, and treated ethically. You can post on social media about it, provide information via email to your residents, and let them know that you’re available for additional questions about any new projects. Transparency = trust.
#10: Niche Branding
More and more brands are learning that you can’t be everything to all people. Pick something and represent it well. Stand out in your field and build up a loyal following. First, do careful research, and develop a brand voice and tone that will stand out and attract your dream residents. Next: Target that specific demographic, interest group, or geographical group; it may be more likely that you narrow down into a particular resident avatar and approach “solving problems” for that avatar specifically. While you’re narrowing the funnel, you’re also making the conversion rate a little higher—if you’re doing it right.
Thanks for the 2023 Apartment Branding Trends—Now What?
In this economy? We get it. You’re worried about balancing the apartment marketing trends of 2023 with the tried and true. It’s good to be on the cutting edge of things, but it takes time (that you might not have.) The zipcode creative crew consistently looks to many of these trends when we’re developing property management company and apartment community brands. Reach out, and we’ll help you sort through what will work best for you right now.