Author: Stacey Feeney

Handling negative comments Handling negative comments

Handling Negative Comments on Social Media

Written by Stacey Feeney on February 22, 2022. Posted in All Articles, Marketing.

Handling negative comments on social media is as important for managing your online reputation as social media is key in marketing your apartment community. Social media is great for leveraging leasing incentives, showcasing available units, or promoting upcoming events. But how and when to respond to mean, rude, or upset comments is an even more important factor. Respond too quickly to a disgruntled commenter and you risk not having enough information or too much emotion. Respond too slowly and your social media audience will critique you for being—you guessed it—unresponsive. Social media is a great tool, but sometimes good things can go bad. Keep things on the sunny side with a few extra tips.

Let’s go over the right steps to take when handling negative comments on social media:

Before Handling Negative Comments

It’s Not Fight or Flight

Take a deep breath and calm your nervous system.

Know Your Audience

Is this person a resident, applicant, or not attached to the community? Know where they are in the “funnel” so you can address the problems in the right way.

If it’s an internet troll (someone who is there to just disrupt your business and harass your company) take the appropriate steps. Report or flag the comment and block the account for bullying/harassment. Let the social media “police” take it from there.

Don’t Take it Personally

You represent a brand, not your person, on this social media account

Do Your Research

Ask your colleagues or manager if this problem has come up before. How has it been addressed? Quickly email your coworkers to find out if it’s been addressed or is in the process of being addressed so you can give those details (or some of those details) to the commenter.

While Handling Negative Comments

Apologize

That’s if you’re aware you did something wrong. Or if they’re upset. Sometimes a simple “I’m sorry this happened” can diffuse the situation and make the commenter feel heard.

Customer Service to the Rescue

Just responding through a comment shows off your best customer service through visibility and kindness. When you are responding, lay out the steps you’ll take to address it, even if it’s a simple: “I’m going to check in with our manager to make sure this never happens again.”

Get in Touch

Give the commenter a contact method off of social media: a phone number or email so they can take steps to contact you a different way. Be expecting that call or email so you can respond immediately and continue to fix the problem.

Ask Questions

Saying “when did this happen?” can be helpful in determining whether it needs to be fixed right away, is a recurring problem, or has just come to light recently. This will help you address the problem appropriately. It also gives the commenter the idea (which should be correct) that you’re actively working to find a solution.

Freebies

If the situation calls for it, give the dog a bone—offer a rent credit or a free gift by way of apology. For example, you can give the resident a gift card to a local coffee shop, and tell them that the coffee is on you! If an apology + $5 or $10 can keep a resident happy, do it.

After Handling Negative Comments

Follow Up if Necessary

Check back in with the commenter via DM, or if you have their contact info, take the opportunity to follow up within a week or two of the resolution

Investigate

Put your detective glasses on. Look into the root of the issue that was brought up so it won’t be a recurring problem.

Move On

Know that once you’ve done your best, there’s nothing more you can do. Hopefully all these steps helped resolve the issue, but sleep easy knowing that some people can’t be pleased!

Extra Tips on Social Media Reputation Management

If you’re struggling on social (even beyond negative comments), use zipcode to help you craft your feed to keep it light and breezy, with plenty of lead generation. Social graphics and social posts are our jam. If you’re not on social media, jump in! (It’s not as scary as we made it sound.) It’s actually a lot of cute animals and entertaining videos–speaking of which, check out our blog on creating videos that will be a hit on your social media.

Still need a few extra tips on social media reputation management? We got you.

Have responses in your notes section, with some customizable areas. Double check that everything is correct before you post it. This can help you have “go to” phrases that will make your response faster, while giving you a semi-scripted way to address the problem (removing emotion a bit, is always helpful–while still allowing some empathy to come through.)

Post regularly. Don’t be an absentee social media account. This will keep your audience coming back to see what else may be going on–whether it’s a resident event or a new lease incentive. If you’re having trouble figuring out what to post, create a social calendar, and schedule it out using graphics or photos straight from zipcode creative!

How to Use TikTok to Your Advantage in Apartment Marketing

Written by Stacey Feeney on February 18, 2022. Posted in All Articles, Marketing. 1 Comment on How to Use TikTok to Your Advantage in Apartment Marketing

Tap into existing real estate trends to promote your community on this booming social platform, TikTok.

While marketing on social media channels like Facebook and Instagram has become the norm for multifamily communities, it’s important to not just do what you know works—but to explore new platforms to expand your audiences.

TikTok is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms, with 1 billion active users as of January 2022. Over 150 million videos are streamed per minute, making it a practical way for you to expand your content creation and make a name for yourself on a new platform. It’s also a strategic area of expansion for multifamily communities. With 40% of renters under the age of 35, targeting a young Millenials and Gen Z demographic is vital to leasing up faster and generating buzz about your apartments. Nearly half of TikTok users are between the age of 20-39, giving you a practical place to better connect with your target market.

TikTok is already chock-full of real estate trends, so there’s an ongoing conversation that you can easily insert yourself into instead of starting from scratch. Try jumping into these existing categories to speak to a younger demographic and expand your audience on this new, popular platform.

Apartment Tours

Property tours have taken off in popularity on TikTok. Accounts like @aarongrushowhomes showcase luxury properties and give people an up-close-and-personal look at how the other half live. But it’s not a trend reserved exclusively for multi-million dollar properties. Use TikTok as an opportunity to show off your available apartments, creating a dynamic and exciting way to view a community that goes beyond looking at listing photos online. That way, you clean lease-up faster and reach an even larger audience for a win-win approach.

Show not only empty, available units, but consider giving a tour of your staged model units, too. That way, your audience will get the full experience of what it could be like to live in your community, understand all of the decor and layout possibilities, and better be able to envision themselves in the space.

Inside Your Amenities

When it comes to virtual tours on TikTok, don’t just stop at your apartment units. Instead, start giving the inside scoop on your amenity spaces, too. From your resort-style pool, sundeck, and grilling areas to the top-of-the-line gym, it’s your time to show off! Consider creating an entire amenity series, and show a different area of your property each week. Viewers will start to expect and look forward to your content, which can help generate buzz about your community.

Tips & Tricks

On TikTok, it’s common for people to follow experts in their field to learn more about a certain subject or for advice or insights in certain areas. TikTok-famous veterinarians, fashion designers, and other subject matter experts have amassed huge followings thanks to their helpful insights and accessible tips and tricks.

Use this trend to your advantage and start creating content that offers helpful hints for your residents and prospects. From what to look for when you’re apartment hunting to how to make a rental unit feel like your own, there are endless opportunities for you to educate renters and highlight your expertise in the multifamily space. You can even open up the comment section to your followers and have them share their tips, too, to create more of a two-way conversation that helps to develop your online community.

A Day in the Life

Using your social media platforms to share more about your daily life is an easy and engaging way to connect with prospects and existing residents. Use your TikTok to showcase a “day in the life” content from your staff, like your property manager or maintenance technician. You could also crowdsource content from residents to recreate a realistic look of what it’s like to live in your community. Consider making it a weekly or monthly series so your followers get not just a one-time look, but an ongoing opportunity to learn more about the real daily happenings in your community.

Apartment Social Media Series Apartment Social Media Series

Apartment Social Media Series: Content to Engage Prospects & Residents

Written by Stacey Feeney on February 14, 2022. Posted in All Articles, Marketing. 1 Comment on Apartment Social Media Series: Content to Engage Prospects & Residents

Show off all your community has to offer by creating easy-to-schedule weekly apartment social media content.

Do you dread doing social media for your community? Instead of feeling like it’s a tedious task, social media should be a fun and exciting way for you to show off all of the different aspects of your community. But after weeks or months of managing several different accounts, it can be hard to come up with new and fresh ideas that will keep your followers clamoring for more.

We’ll let you in on a little secret: there’s an easy way to set yourself up for success when it comes to social! Instead of starting from scratch every week or every month, create a consistent weekly calendar of different social media series. This creates an existing framework you can work off of to help streamline the entire process.

That way, your apartment social media content is calendarized and built out for you. All you need to do is find some photos, write a few lines, and hit “post.” It’s as easy as that! Use our favorite social series ideas as a starting point to give your community’s social media presence a little refresh.

Meet the Team Spotlights

Your social media doesn’t only have to focus on your residents. Give your community members a chance to get to know your building staff on a more personal level by featuring your property management staff, maintenance team, or leasing team in weekly spotlights.

For platforms like Instagram and Facebook, use a photo of the person and provide a little bio. You can even do a Q&A post or share some fun facts to spice it up from week to week. Consider asking about their favorite tv show or movie, where they grew up, or even their favorite flavor of ice cream. These little details will add some personality to your social media feeds and start to put a face to your community’s name.

For TikTok or Instagram Stories, you can create video content to accompany your other post. Try interviewing the person on-camera or showing snippets of their day-to-day job to give residents and prospects a “day in the life” look at your team members to help make it feel personal and unique to your community.

Four-Legged Friends of the Week

Everyone loves a cute dog or cat photo! Use this to your advantage to up your apartment social media game. Every week, pick a new pet in your community to be featured on your social media channels. Share the pet’s name, a little bit about their background and owner, and of course, a photo!

To generate this content each week, try making it a contest among your residents. Incentivize them to submit their pets to be featured by offering a small prize to create a little friendly competition. Once you’ve chosen your weekly winner, be sure to use the same hashtag every week to make the posts more searchable. This allows people to follow along and look forward to a cute and furry friend in their feeds on the same day each week.

New in the Neighborhood

Your community is about so much more than just your building. Generate interest in the local hot spots by spotlighting different local businesses. From your favorite coffee shop to the new boutique fitness studio, share new spots or old standbys with your residents and prospects across your social feeds. If you have local partnerships, it’s also a great opportunity to showcase your partners in a new and exciting way.

Along with creating dynamic new content for your apartment’s social media channels, showcasing neighborhood businesses will also help to establish you as an authority in your area. Existing residents will respect your expertise and turn to you for advice, while prospects will get a full-picture view of what it’s like to live in your community—not just in the building itself, but the entire neighborhood as a whole!

Upcoming Community Events

Every week, share more details about upcoming resident events across all of your channels. From happy hours to meet and greets with your team, you likely spend a lot of time on your resident programming—so make it easy for them to stay connected to what’s happening! Along with signage throughout the property or resident email reminders, social media is an amazing way to publicize what you’re up to and create some buzz.

After the event, you can also use social media to post recaps and share photos or videos. This not only gives you additional content to fuel your social media strategy but also helps show residents what they’re missing so they’ll be more likely to attend next time.

Are you ready to level up your social media presence? At zipcode creative, we’re experts at crafting compelling apartment social media graphics that will help you create the online presence your community deserves. Reach out today to get started!

QR Codes for Apartment Marketing Success

Written by Stacey Feeney on February 9, 2022. Posted in All Articles, Graphic Design, Marketing.

It’s easier than ever to use QR codes to your advantage when it comes to marketing your apartment community. Sure, QR codes used to get a bad rap. You’d need to have a separate app on your phone to read the QR code in the little black and white square. No longer. Now, all you do is open your phone’s camera app, hover over it, and click on the website that pops up. (Fun fact: QR stands for quick response—finally, the name matches the performance!)

QR codes are certainly helpful. But, how should one use them? You don’t want to overwhelm every piece of your marketing collateral with QR codes, but they can definitely help your audience (whether future residents or candidates for new employees) take one step closer to your business goals. Instead of relying on your audience to navigate the website, jump around to different pages, and leave before completing a tour request, rental application, or employment inquiry, they’ll get directed exactly where you want them to go, with a call to action placed in the text surrounding the QR code.

Top Ways to Use QR Codes in Apartment Marketing

Apply to Lease

Everyone’s favorite. You want residents in your community. They want to get it done as quickly as possible, so they can start the process. Direct them to the application page and get the party started!

Apply for Employment

You’ve been looking for the perfect fit for leasing agents–friendly, outgoing, smart, but no one seems to be finding your employment application. Problem solved. With a QR code that goes directly to the employment application, you can help cut out the extra steps between the home page and career page.

Event RSVP/Sign-Up

You’re designing a flyer for an upcoming resident event, and you want to know who’s coming. Add a QR code to your flyer, then attendees can quickly scan and submit their RSVP–no big deal.

Schedule a Tour

QR codes are like a tour schedule sign up sheet–just waiting to fill your calendar. Allow prospective residents to book a slot in one simple click, and move on with their day, happily looking forward to taking a tour of your multifamily community!

Direct to a Web Link

QR codes can direct your viewers straight to the details they want, including floor plans, photos and availability of your units, and the amenities included in your community.

QR Code Placement that Converts

Sure, those all sound like great ways to use the QR code, but where should one actually put those QR codes? Make sure they’re easily accessible, so that people can quickly hover over the QR code and get the info they need in a snap. Now that we have lightning-speed internet, we’re impatient to get the info we want right away (so don’t count on folks typing in your long website address–just use a QR code!)

Signage

Table Tents: Place a QR code on your table tents for visitors to scan while waiting for a tour to begin or waiting for their friend in the lobby.

Banner Stands: Tabletop + Floor – Are you preparing for an event to obtain more residents? If you’re talking to one potential resident while another walks by, they can scan the QR code and come back around if they’re interested—it’s like you have a wingman!

Bootleg Signs: QR codes can reach far and wide if you put them on your bootleg signs on the edges of your property. Passersby can easily scan the code to find out more about what your units look like inside, or click to sign up for a tour without even walking into the office.

Print Collateral

Flyers: Let your QR codes give out all the fantastic details of your apartment community, so you can make the rest of your flyer attention-grabbing and lead-converting with text or photos.

Postcards: Sending out a stack of postcards to your current residents about upcoming events? Place a QR code on the postcard so they can easily RSVP.

Mailers: Mail has a fantastic open rate. Capitalize on it and place a QR code that goes to your available units or to schedule a tour.

Office Hours Signs

Just because the office is closed doesn’t mean your business is! QR codes can give you a little business boost by capturing leads that come in your off-time, directing them to your unit photos and floor plans!

Final Tips for using QR codes in multifamily marketing:

Tell Me Why: Indicate what the QR code is for! If you don’t preface with: “Sign up for a tour today!” or something to that effect alongside your QR code, people are not going to scan it. If it’s unlabeled, it’s uninteresting.
Spice it Up: See if you can put a nice frame around the QR code. They’re not super attractive on their own, but you can place your logo near (or in the middle of) it with a nice coordinating frame. You can even change the color of the code to work with the rest of your design palette.
Don’t Overdo It: One QR code is enough for one marketing piece. More than that, and it starts to look like a robot parade. Choose the best single destination for your leads.
Call It Out: Draw attention to it. Say “scan me” or “view our units” with an arrow, or something similar, with a large enough code to be noticed.
Check and Double-Check: QR code doesn’t work? Bummer. But it can be fixed. Make sure your codes work (i.e the background isn’t shiny and presents enough contrast to be scanned) and go to the correct site before you put them anywhere on your materials

QR codes, if used properly, can be a huge benefit to marketing your apartment community, through driving leads exactly where you want them to go–even if you’re not around. For more help in where to place them, and how to use them best, just ask zipcode creative!

Evergreen Content Keeps Your Apartment Marketing Fresh

Written by Stacey Feeney on January 21, 2022. Posted in All Articles, Marketing.

Ever heard the phrase “work smarter, not harder”? Sometimes it’s true–sometimes it’s a matter of making sure you’re using everything you have but making it better. Enter: Evergreen content.

WHAT IS EVERGREEN CONTENT?

Called evergreen, because the content is always green and fresh, it’s your best bet for creating something that always applies, no matter the season or trends. It’s always helpful, and not time-sensitive. Another way of defining evergreen content is taking a look at what it is not. According to the Digital Marketing Institute, evergreen content is typically not a news article, statistics or data that will soon go out of date. It’s not an article focused on current events or pop culture, or something talking about hyper-trendy apartment decor. So: avoid these topics and subjects when creating your evergreen content.

HOW CAN EVERGREEN CONTENT HELP MY APARTMENT MARKETING?

Evergreen content can be helpful for your apartment marketing in a variety of ways, from helpful blog posts that can increase web traffic, to saving time (and money) with marketing materials that require fewer updates.

Let’s talk through what types of evergreen content and documents will be most helpful for your multifamily community marketing strategy.

Blogs

The more (helpful) content you’re able to provide through your website, the more traffic you’ll get to your website (and the more prospective clients you’ll have that go through the sales funnel). When you create content that’s helpful, those posts may be linked from other sites, as well, improving your SEO, and getting you higher up on the search engine results page–hello, more visitors! Consider creating topics that will work for your visitors for years to come, and require minimal updates and edits, such as:

- Packing checklist
- Decorating a rental space
- How to submit a rental application
- Why your apartment community makes a great home

For a corporate property management company, this is an excellent timesaver for the website that covers all of your communities, so you don’t have to worry about keeping up blog posts on every separate site.

Bottom line: keep it common sense (How to ______ ) or focus on your multifamily community’s mission and vision, and how that impacts your residents.

Evergreen and Editable Documents

You’re already working hard enough to market your multifamily community. Make it easier on yourself with documents that you can easily edit and update to keep them current. Here are some places where you can save time (and money) with a quick update:

Evergreen (Editable) Price Sheet

It’s the new year and a new leasing season, and your costs have gone up. It’s time for a rent increase to keep your profit margins manageable. Pull up your price sheet, open it up in the document editor, and change it. Send it to your printer, or print in-house. You just saved time and money by doing it yourself, and it wasn’t even that hard!

Pro Tip: Make sure your columns are still aligned and your font formatting stays the same.

Editable Letterhead

Print only what you need, and update your content to fit practically any scenario. You can send letters and notices to your residents about the dog park, the trash pick up, or any planned service outages, and you’ve saved time, paper and ink. (And if you make a typo, just start over. No sweat.) It’s ready to go, and easy to update should anything else change. Ah, evergreen documents make everything better!

Logo Redraw or Refresh:

If you like your logo and it still mostly works, there’s no need to start from scratch. Using your current logo, zipcode can either re-create your logo for higher resolution and put it into vector file types (with any needed color changes) or refresh and modernize your current logo design, with 4-6 concept options that will remain close to the original. A refresh could be just what you need to attract attention and brighten up your marketing collateral.

Special Incentive Flyers:

Everyone loves a good deal. Think ahead when you’re creating your flyers. Consider what time of year you’d like to offer specific deals and avoid assigning specific dates for the deal. Even wording it this way can save you a bundle when it comes to design and printing: “Special good through the end of the month.” If you want to avoid generic wording, just leave a corner blank for the expiration date to be handwritten. This trick works well for commonly used specials in your apartment marketing, such as “one month free rent” for new residents.

Reviews

Resident reviews are a gold mine. You can put them virtually anywhere in your marketing to help you seal the deal for prospective residents. These can easily become evergreen if you avoid any trendy words within the quote, references to services no longer offered, or the date of the review. Stay on track with reviews when the subject matter is about your customer service, the homey feeling your residents enjoy, or the camaraderie they feel within the community. Keeping it both heartwarming and unspecific will be key to those reviews staying relevant for the long haul.

WHEN IS EVERGREEN NOT HELPFUL?

When it comes to creating your brochures, complete with photos and lists of your amenities, this will require regular updates. Photos shouldn’t be outdated. Amenities should be added to the list as you gain new ones. Apartment layouts and photos should be clear, showing off new features from completed renovations. Additionally, social media posts are not typically evergreen, because they’re so quickly consumed and discarded. That’s just the nature of social media.

If it can stand the test of time and transcend fads and trends of most any kind–it’s evergreen content. And it can serve you well, if you know how to use it. Take the ideas above, use them how you need, and start saving energy, time, and money to keep improving your apartment community for your residents! Reach out anytime for our help to design quality and custom branded evergreen content that you can use again and again.

Mission, Vision, and Values That Make Apartment Community Culture a Top Amenity

Written by Stacey Feeney on January 20, 2022. Posted in All Articles, Writing.

When it comes to marketing your apartment community, sometimes it helps to get back to basics. You can certainly continue to offer cutting-edge technology and modern options for all your future community residents. However, creating mission, vision and values statements can keep your footing solid even while everything around you changes. These statements create a solid foundation for a better company culture–and when your company culture is positive, that positivity will spread throughout the community!

What are mission, vision and value statements?

First off, what are mission or vision or value statements? Let’s do a quick review.

Mission statement:
This tells the reader your company’s common goal or purpose. Make it definable. Make it something that can be grasped. At its most basic, just ask: Who does what–and why?

Vision statement:
This tells the reader what you hope will happen from your efforts. This is your vision for the future, and it’s where you get to think big!) When your mission is complete–the vision statement is the final result.

Values statement(s):
These are the most basic principles that your business is built on, guiding your employees and defining your brand more clearly for customers (or residents, in your case!)

Why work on your company’s mission statement?

As mentioned above, the statements are primarily for internal use and guidance. By creating a mission statement, a vision statement, and values statement, you give your company the opportunity for guided growth, while keeping a hold of your original purpose.

When your apartment community creates and displays their mission, their vision and their values, they put their heart on display for your potential residents, showing that you are rooted in something good, and you have goals for the future that guide your decision for today! The impact this can have on your company, through your employees and rental rates can’t be underestimated.

How to create your property management company’s mission statement:

However, you can’t just create these statements out of thin air. To do it the right way, there should be some collaboration and time involved. How does a company go about building their mission statement, crafting their vision statement, and aligning their purposes to create a clear idea?

- Step 1: Brainstorm with your stakeholders. (Do one statement at a time).
- Step 2: Narrow the ideas down.
- Step 3: Create a few sample statements.
- Step 4: Revise. Revise. Revise.
- Step 5: Finalize statement.
- Step 6: Put it out there!
- Step 7: Hold fast to your statements. Stay true to the commitments you’ve made through these statements.

If all of this feels overwhelming for you, count on zipcode creative to take over the process, from beginning brainstorming stages to creating the perfect statements for your apartment community’s brand and marketing.

If you’re still ready to do it yourself, keep these DOs and DON’Ts in mind:

- DO keep it short and simple. (Makes it memorable!)
- DON’T get long-winded or explain every piece of the statement at length.
- DO keep an open mind.
- DON’T limit yourself. The vision is forward-thinking, the mission is who you are. Be big. Think big.
- DO make it a team effort.
- DON’T create the statements in a vacuum–you’re only one person, part of a larger community, with a breadth of experiences and ideas!

Where To Display Your Mission, Vision, and Values

Now that you have your mission, vision and values statements ready to go, hooray! What’s next, though? This is where they (and you!) get to shine.

Keep your mission and vision within arm’s reach at all times. Place the mission and vision statement on the back of your brochures, near your contact info. This helps “sum up” your company for the reader.

Please note–this doesn’t mean plastering your exact mission or vision phrase all over every piece of marketing collateral or webpage you have. It does mean that it informs the voice of your content, and how you choose what to market. When you have your mission and vision and values statements in place, this allows your marketing to answer the “why” question through everything you create (and it helps you make better business decisions).

For example, if your mission is to “create luxurious homes within a welcoming community”, you’re able to highlight the welcome packages and community events as part of your multifamily community’s culture (it’s written right there in your mission!) You get to use that mission statement to inform what you highlight, what you market, and how you say it.

In addition to placing your statements (whether in full, or in part, or in generalized idea) on your brochures, make sure they appear on your website, on a special page, so that readers can understand the key ideas behind “who you are”. You can even have a header in your website that reads “Who We Are”, with your values written out, plainly for your residents and future residents to read.

Have you ever heard of “mission creep”? At its core, this is when companies begin to (unknowingly or unpurposefully) shift their “why” for doing things–the culture shifts and the mission is no longer applicable. To avoid this, and keep everyone on track with why your multifamily community does what it does, review the mission with your team regularly. Keep it in your email signature. Keep it up in a space where everyone can see it. This will help everyone internalize it, and keep it top of mind while making choices, decisions, or representing your multifamily community in any way!

Keep the Mission Alive Through Resident Testimonials

Want some proof that your mission is alive and well? Ask your residents for testimonials. Use your mission statement to ask. You can say, “How has WildTree Apartments created a luxurious home in a welcoming community for you?” With that prompt, you’ll find whether your mission is being carried out. The proof is always in the pudding.

When you have a handful of positive, specific testimonials that show your mission, place these in your email marketing and on your social media. Sometimes your residents (or future residents) want to hear from people like them–current community members!

The Bottom Line for Mission, Vision and Values:

Mission, vision, and values are mostly for internal purposes, but the end result will be outward-facing, and keep your company on track. A company that knows itself, and creates goals is the kind that residents will be interested in. Why? Because the decisions are informed by solid mission and vision statements (and positive values). You can count on it impacting your apartment marketing for years to come.