Author: Stacey Feeney

Reputation Management Marketing Strategy

Written by Stacey Feeney on October 5, 2021. Posted in All Articles, Marketing.

What Is Online Reputation Management?

Reputation management is a multi-faceted concept for companies. There are different kinds of verbiage and definition for reputation management as it is a growing marketing strategy for companies. Let’s focus mainly on online reputation management.

Online reputation management is a strategy of monitoring, improving, and managing your brand’s online reputation. A company should be aware of what people are saying about your brand online and how people will think about your brand when scouring the internet. A business has a digital footprint where customers can find your online business listing (Google, Yelp, Apartment Guide, Apartments.com, etc) or social media profiles (Facebook).

Online Reviews

A key component of your online business listing and/or social media profile is receiving online reviews through it. Most all business listings have an area where customers can write a review. The reviewer will decide a star rating from the lowest negative star rating of 1 to the highest positive star rating of 5. The third-party listing will aggregate the star rating of all reviews to create an overall rating.

The overall rating showcases what customers think about the business and its performance. You will always want to strive to obtain an overall rating above four. Potential customers will look at the overall rating and review comments. The comments are helpful insights into what it will be like to be a customer of your company.

Multifamily Online Reputation Management

For Multifamily, every apartment community and corporate brand should have a Google listing where people can publish reviews. There are other top content providers that have reviews like Yelp, Facebook, and Bing. Multifamily specific third party sites include the RentPath network (Apartment Guide, Rent), CoStar Network (Apartments.com), Apartment Ratings, and so forth. Your company should own all third party listings and respond to every review.

Like stated above, reviews are an important part of your business marketing strategy to control and be aware of what people are saying about your business and its performance. The comments published by prospects, current residents, and other customers are crucial feedback to your company’s performance and business operations.

Best Practices for Online Reputation Management

There are some best practices each business should start with. Claiming all third-party listings like Google, Yelp, Facebook, and so forth is the first step. Third-party access is needed to respond to reviews. Another best practice is having review email alerts that notify of any new reviews published. If you have a decent amount of business listings, as Multifamily will have individual apartment communities listings, a reputation management program will be helpful with email alerts. The most common best practice is that every review should be responded to whether it is negative, neutral, or positive. Again, a reputation management program will be an added help to have one place to respond to all reviews. Negative reviews are a hot topic right now. The best practice for removing reviews is learning about the third-party review policy. Each review site has an option to report reviews to be removed. A business should report a review if it violates the review policy.

Review Marketing Campaign

Potential residents see recent reviews as trustworthy and important for a business. A review marketing campaign is the next step once you have the above best practice accomplished. Most of the time, people will take the time to leave a negative review. By asking current residents and prospects to review, the chance of receiving a positive review will increase. There are some actions a business cannot do when asking for online reviews like incentivizing and review gating. Some sites, like Yelp, want reviews to be organic and do not allow asking for reviews. Be sure to review the third-party review policy before generating a review marketing campaign!

How We Can Help

Online Reputation Management has many layers where additional help will alleviate some stress off of your marketing and leasing team. Review generation is important to boost your local SEO, increase rating, and improve online perspectives of your brand and services. zipcode creative can relieve some of your duties by helping create all of the visual marketing components to running a review campaign:

A Leave a Review card
An Email Campaign asking for reviews
Flyers asking for reviews
A Tabletop Signage asking for reviews
Run a review campaign
And much more!

Image is ©Fairfield Residential | Work executed by Stacey Feeney, owner of zipcode creative, while under creative direction and employment at Fairfield Residential.

Effective Print and Digital Advertising for Multifamily Communities

Written by Stacey Feeney on September 7, 2021. Posted in All Articles, Marketing. 1 Comment on Effective Print and Digital Advertising for Multifamily Communities

When it comes to getting word out about your apartment community, marketing through print and digital advertising is the name of the game. By developing a thoughtful marketing strategy, you’ll be able to build brand awareness, generate interest, and convert prospects into residents. Any good marketing strategy is not complete without ads. From classic ad types like newspaper ads to more modern alternatives such as pay per click ads, the ways you can advertise your community are nearly endless. Learn more about the different ad types and how to craft compelling ads to maximize your apartment marketing efforts.

Print Ads

Local Newspaper

When it comes to print advertising, there’s nothing more well-known than newspaper ads. There’s a reason this classic ad option is still used—because it works. When you place an ad in a newspaper, you’ll reach a large audience all at once to cast a wide net. Plus, newspaper readers trust the publication, so there’s a built-in level of trust for your brand, too. This helps build brand awareness and drive interest to help you lease-up faster.

Magazine Ads

Advertising in your neighborhood magazine is a traditional and effective print advertising option. Placing ads in these types of periodicals is an easy way to get a lot of eyes on your advertisement, and using high-quality images and attention-grabbing headlines can help to drive a lot of interest in your community. This approach typically works best for the senior living demographic.

In addition to local publications, consider advertising in trade publications, too. Look into what publications are circulated in your area to identify some out-of-the-box advertising opportunities that will drive brand awareness and generate additional interest in your community.

Direct Mail

Instead of placing an ad in a third-party publication, you can also create your own. Opt for direct mail pieces, like postcards or flyers, that help you to build awareness, generate interest, and promote upcoming events.

Brochures

You can also hand out brochures to prospective residents that showcase everything your community has to offer. From full booklet brochures to smaller gatefold alternatives, there are nearly endless options for your brochure design. That way, you can create a design that caters to your specific audience. Consider this your long form of print advertising.

Designing an Effective Print Ad

Print ads give you the opportunity to showcase your community in a creative way. From clever copy to breathtaking photography, you can create an eye-catching ad that will attract attention. When designing your ad, be sure to include:

Property photos, especially of kitchens or pools
A short “about” paragraph
Condensed amenities list – the top most desired
Contact information
Ongoing promotions
A call to action, such as “schedule a tour”

Be sure to also include information about the units you have available, whether that’s one-, two-, or three-bedroom apartments. If you have space, print ads are also an amazing opportunity to use lifestyle photography, giving prospects a better sense of what it might be like as a resident.

Remember to design your ad with your apartment’s branding in mind so that your ad is cohesive with all of your other marketing materials.

Digital Ads

Display Ads

Display ads incorporate images, text, and video to create a multimedia digital advertising experience. Display ads can take many forms, from banner ads at the top of a website to video ads on YouTube. These digital ads can display on a wide range of websites, helping to increase your reach and drive interest from a wider range of potential residents.

Social Media Ads

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest are known for their engaging content, but they also offer advertising opportunities for businesses. You can set your ads to run specifically for your defined target audience to drive even higher engagement and reach those who are more likely to convert. No matter if you’re trying to increase brand awareness or drive people to sign up for an on-site tour, social media advertising helps you connect with prospects at every stage of the sales funnel for a versatile and flexible option.

Email Marketing

Instead of buying ad space through online publications or social media platforms, create your own email marketing campaign to market to the leads you already have. This allows you to totally customize the look, feel, and message of your emails for an eye-catching final result that helps drive leases.

Designing an Effective Digital Ad

Digital ads are often very small, so it’s important to develop thoughtful designs. This ensures that people can easily read and digest all of the information in the ad with just a glance. When designing digital ads, there are a few key elements you should always include:

One property photo
Your logo
Short line of text or your tagline
A call to action

When writing your copy and call to action, be sure to define what your community is—especially if the word “apartment” isn’t in your logo or featured in your photograph. This will help prospects instantly understand what you have to offer.

You should also spend time on your call to action. Make it concise, clear, and to the point. Choose something like “Tour today” or “Learn more” and link prospects to your website. That way, they always know exactly what you want them to do next.

If you’re struggling with your print and digital advertising designs, expert designers like zipcode creative can step in to develop an effective ad campaign that will help you drive ROI and make your ad placements more effective. Contact us today to learn more!

ENSO Bragging Rights & NEO Apartment Designs are ©Fairfield Residential | Work executed by Stacey Feeney, owner of zipcode creative, while under creative direction and employment at Fairfield Residential.

What Makes the Perfect Apartment Website Design?

Written by Stacey Feeney on September 1, 2021. Posted in All Articles, Graphic Design.

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In the digital age, having a website is integral to succeeding in any business—and multifamily housing is no different. Creating a unique digital footprint online for your community is the perfect way to increase your reach and pique prospective residents’ interest. Whether you’re looking to revamp your existing website or are starting from scratch, there are a few must-have elements you should consider for your apartment website design to create the best possible user experience. From site navigation to design elements like photos and videos, be sure to take these six things into consideration before you get started.

1. Website Structure

Having a clear website structure ensures that your site is intuitive and easy to navigate. When prospects arrive on the site, they should be able to instantly find whatever information they are looking for without digging through pages and clicking on multiple links.

At the top of the apartment website design, create a clear main navigation bar with large, easy-to-read buttons that link to other pages within the site. There are a few important pages that every community’s site should include:

Homepage
About
Gallery
Amenities
Floor plans
Neighborhood
Contact

In addition to these pages, many sites also have an online application and a resident portal available, making it a one-stop shop for both prospective and existing residents to find everything they may need.

2. Photography

There’s a reason they say that a picture is worth a thousand words. When prospective residents are evaluating your community, using professional photography is the best way to show off every detail. From the interior of your units to your industry-leading amenity spaces, high-quality photos allow potential residents to get a real sense of what it might be like to call your community home. Be sure to incorporate photos throughout the individual pages of the website in addition to a comprehensive gallery that has imagery of everything from the lobby to the model unit.

3. Video & Virtual Tours

While photography can help show off your space, video is what brings it to life. From sizzle reels that you can use to show off community highlights to full-blown virtual video tours, there are endless ways you can use video to showcase what your community has to offer. Consider adding a video to the top of your homepage to make it as eye-catching as possible when a new visitor lands on the site. You can also add video tours to your gallery page, making it easier for prospects to explore your community without having to come on-site.

4. Copywriting

While photography and videos show your community in the best light, expert copywriting will help seal the deal. Having a professional write all of the content on your site will ensure that it’s compelling and catchy to attract attention, even in a crowded market.

A copywriter knows exactly how to convey certain emotions, highlight specific benefits, and convince prospects to convert. From headlines to calls-to-action, make sure that you carefully consider every piece of copy on your website to put your best foot forward and create a cohesive and on-brand experience for web visitors.

5. Floor Plans

Floor plans are one of the most important things to feature on your apartment website design. Add floor plans for all available units so prospects can get a sense of the size, layout, and flow of any apartment they may be interested in. This will allow them to compare and contrast between different units and understand what they can get for their budget.

Consider having 3D floor plan renderings created of your available units to bring them to life, making it even easier for prospects to imagine themselves living in the space.

6. Neighborhood Info

When residents are evaluating your community, they aren’t just looking at the apartment. They’re also looking for a neighborhood feel and easy access to nearby attractions. To showcase your surrounding area, add an interactive Map to your website with all of the local attractions plotted. Add favorite restaurants, parks, and other outdoor activities, nearby shopping, schools, and anything else that may be important to your prospects. Then, they can see everything—all in one place—an added selling point to what makes your community so great!

Professional Website Design

Let the experts in multifamily apartment marketing help create the perfect apartment website design for your community instead of trying to DIY your way through. At zipcode creative, we’re experts in everything from branding and logo design to website copywriting to create an industry-leading online presence for our clients. We handle everything from the site structure through to the 2D and 3D floor plans, ensuring that your site has a polished and professional look. We’ll even tackle the photography and renderings, making zipcode creative a one-stop shop for all of your web needs.

Our partners, Results Repeat and Resident360, handle website development, management, SEO, and will oversee digital ads, ensuring that each community has access to all of the experts they need to drive leads and increase their presence on the web.

Get in touch today to learn more about our services.

The James website is ©Fairfield Residential | Work executed by Stacey Feeney, owner of zipcode creative, while under creative direction and employment at Fairfield Residential.

Floor Plans for Apartments in 2D and 3D

Written by Stacey Feeney on August 23, 2021. Posted in All Articles, Graphic Design. 2 Comments on Floor Plans for Apartments in 2D and 3D

Floor plans are the key ingredients to every apartment marketing toolkit. Leasing specialists need to demonstrate the unique selling features and accurately convey unit layouts when directing prospects to the right home. Having high quality and visually appealing floor plan images is paramount to the apartment leasing process – they will be used on the community’s website, brochure, and individual floor plan marketing sheets. Floor plan renderings are surprisingly affordable and worth every penny – scroll on to see your options!

2D – Line Drawings

The original, classic design without any extra fuss! Architects and developers love this style. If you have simple floor plans that don’t need a lot of explaining, the 2D style will work just fine. Add in dimensions so renters can decide if their favorite couch or bed fits. These are a sleek, modern option you can dress up on your floor plan sales sheets. Simple, yet to the point and effective for demonstrating your apartment unit layouts.

2D – Finishes & Furniture

If your property has distinctive finishes, add them to your 2D floor plans. Showcase which rooms have carpeted and hardwood floor styles. Personalize the kitchens to feature colored cabinetry, countertops and your appliance package. Once you’ve laid down all the property details, layer in some furniture to show how to maximize the space. With WFH spaces being so popular these days, try showing a desk as part of the furniture styling package.

3D Floor Plans

The 3D customization options are endless – these are great for new developments where people may not get to tour a real model until construction is complete. They also work for older properties where you may not have the budget to decorate a model unit. 3D floor plans allow any type of property to finesse their floor plan style with different finishes, furniture and color schemes. Modern, contemporary or customized furniture collections allow you to match these to your brand aesthetic. Virtual leasing has become the top way to lease this year, a premium floor plan will help you close that sale on the spot!

Marketing Sales Sheets

No matter which style floor plan you create, marketing sales sheets can bring them to life. Brand them with your property’s logo, colors and unique design elements. Label them with the square footage, bedroom and bathroom count. List your apartment’s features and amenities so prospects will be reminded of all the selling points of your property. Maybe add a price quote area so leasing consultants have room to personalize and create a sense of urgency. Make sure to include the community’s contact information, have them printed and send this handout home with those still browsing.

How to Order Floor Plans

Just reach out – send us an email or fill out our website contact form and you’ll be on your way to beautiful new floor plan images. If you have architectural floor plan blueprints, send them over with a mood board of your interior finishes to let us know what color of carpet or wood-look flooring is in the unit; also cabinet colors, appliances, countertops, etc. If your community was a takeover you may not have access to the original architectural files and that is okay! Simply provide any existing floor plans the community has been using or have your onsite team snap a few pics and measure the space for us! Either way, we’ll get it done.

Maximize your new floor plans by putting them everywhere – your website, social media photo albums, ILS ads, email templates and, of course, your brochure. zipcode creative can help with all of the above to make your apartment branding look amazing.

Apartment Copywriting That Will Convert Prospects

Written by Stacey Feeney on August 8, 2021. Posted in All Articles, Writing. 1 Comment on Apartment Copywriting That Will Convert Prospects

Apartment copywriting is more than just what you see in Mad Men. While copywriting from bygone eras was all about catchy ad campaigns, the copywriting discipline has expanded over time—and especially as digital and social media have exploded—to encompass anything and everything related to marketing your apartment community.

From taglines to full website copy to social media captions, copywriters are experts at conveying emotion, showcasing a brand’s unique selling points, and getting prospects to convert. If you’re looking for help creating a distinct identity for your property management company and to elevate the marketing experience across your assets, it may be time to enlist an expert.

Establishing a Brand Voice

Just like your visual branding, creating a distinctive voice for your brand will help set you apart. An experienced copywriter will help you develop everything from your voice characteristics to your brand guidelines to ensure you have a strong personality and clear presence across all of your marketing materials. That way, everything from your website to your direct mailers to your onboarding materials all sound cohesive and consistent across your apartment copywriting.

Developing a Tagline

Taglines are short catch phrases or slogans that help to supercharge your marketing. They often accompany your logo or community name to help reinforce your brand and make it more unique. Like Nike’s “Just do it,” or Apple’s “Think different,” taglines should embody your brand, your mission, and your personality—all while also being memorable.

While a tagline may seem simple, it is actually one of the most challenging marketing elements to develop. An experienced copywriter will be able to distill your brand into a few words—typically between three and six—that evokes emotions, is aspirational, and tells a story.

Writing a Headline Library

Headlines are the first thing that residents or prospects see when they review your marketing materials, so you need to make them count! Instead of using the same phrases over and over or opting for commonly used terms and turns of phrase, creative headlines can really draw people in and help them engage with your community.

Work with a professional who knows the industry to develop your apartment copywriting and create a comprehensive headline library for all of your marketing materials. From one-pagers to resident events, they can craft a wide range of different phrases that you can plug-and-play into the website or new marketing materials. You’ll have everything you need at your disposal, all while developing interesting and engaging content for your community.

Phrasing for Your Amenity List

The features and amenities at your apartment community are what set you apart from the competition, so it’s important to have a quick-reference amenity list that draws prospects’ attention. Professional apartment copywriting will transform everything that you have to offer into a concise, easy-to-digest list that speaks to the exact amenities prospects are looking for today. Order of popularity, current trends, and industry phrasing will all be taken into consideration when entrusting the amenity list to a copywriter.

Brochure and Website Full Length Copy

When it comes to marketing, your brochure and your website are some of the most visible materials, so it’s best to have a pro create the content. From your homepage to your contact us form, having a copywriter handle the content creation will help to create more compelling content that keeps people engaged and converts prospects into residents.

Every website and brochure should have similar content, including:

About Us
Community & In-Unit Amenities List
Floor Plans
Photos
Neighborhood Information
Contact Us

By working with an experienced multifamily copywriter, you can showcase your community in the best possible light and demonstrate how you differ from competitors. Attract more prospects, lease up faster, and minimize turnover with professional apartment copywriting as part of your marketing plan.

Ready to revamp your marketing materials with a copywriting pro? Reach out to zipcode creative today to get started!

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Marketing Collateral Must-Haves for Multifamily Branding

Written by Stacey Feeney on August 3, 2021. Posted in All Articles, Branding. 1 Comment on Marketing Collateral Must-Haves for Multifamily Branding

Create a cohesive, branded experience for residents and prospects alike with strategic marketing collateral. For apartment communities, the prospect and resident experience is about more than just the apartment itself. That’s why it’s vital to build a cohesive experience from their first interaction with your community, through when they move in, and even until they move out.

By creating an improved experience at every stage, you’ll keep residents happy and pique prospects’ interest, all at the same time. Here are some of the must-have marketing collateral you’ll need to deliver an elevated approach to multifamily living.

Postcards & Mailers

Even before you get prospects in the door, postcards and mailers can help you drum up interest and create new leads. Send out postcards with your eye-catching branding to nearby neighborhoods to generate interest in on-site tours. Give prospects a sense of what your community offers and what sets you apart through your marketing collateral before they even set foot through the door.

Stationary

From letterhead paper to envelopes to business cards, customized stationery is the perfect way to incorporate your branding across your marketing collateral. Whether you add a subtle embossed logo or opt a full-color approach, there are nearly endless ways you can customize your stationery to suit your needs. Use it for thank you notes after on-site tours, to give to prospects after they visit, or to send notes to vendors and partners for a more polished and professional touch.

Brochure

A brochure is one of the most important pieces of marketing collateral you can create for prospective residents. From showing off floor plans to emphasizing your wide array of amenities, a brochure often includes the most important information about your community. That way, they can reference it after their tour as a refresher of their favorite aspects. Consider using your brand colors and design elements in unique ways while keeping the brochure effortlessly blending in with all of your other marketing collateral.

Floor Plan Sheets

Having a one-pager handout available with the floor plan a prospect is interested in is an easy way to send them home with a reminder showcasing exactly what they were looking for in a home. Prospects will be able to get a better sense for the different units, and can easily understand the different layouts. Try making your floor plan sheets the same size as your brochure. Then you can simply tuck in the extra floor plan sheet of their interest in the front cover of the brochure for an all-in-one info packet about your community!

Sitemap

Property sitemaps are based on your community’s architectural plans and feature a bird’s eye view of the property itself, while displaying the location of community amenities, units, parking, offices, and more. As a result, they’re the ideal way to give prospects a good sense of the community at a glance. Just like with your floor plan sheets, keep your sitemap the same size as your brochure so it’s easier to create an all-in-one package with everything that prospects need to know.

Flyers

Creating a cohesive experience doesn’t stop after your residents move in. For resident events, renewal specials, or for referral incentives, create flyers that mimic your community’s brand. By using the colors from your branding and incorporating your community’s logo, it’s an easy way to create a put-together and unified look throughout your marketing collateral.

Greeting Cards

Small touches are what distinguish the great communities from the good ones. Don’t forget to prioritize your residents’ birthdays and holidays with thoughtful notes or greeting cards. Infuse each card with your community’s colors and your logo for a thoughtful way to stay in touch with your residents for their entire lease. You can even add one in their welcome packet for a more personalized touch.

Maintenance Card

Create a more elevated resident experience with the addition of maintenance cards. Design a business card or 4×6 card that your maintenance staff can leave on the kitchen counter or in the entryway to alert residents that they’ve been inside their home working on repairs. That way, your residents will be notified when someone has entered their private space and will also know that their issue has been resolved for a win-win solution.

“Leave a Review” Card

Generating positive reviews about your community is one of the easiest ways to attract prospects and generate leads. Encourage your current residents or those or are moving out to leave a review of your community. Add a postcard to your marketing collateral and hand them out a few times a year to generate continuous new online reviews to increase your ratings.

Need help crafting the right marketing collateral for your community? At zipcode creative, we’re experts in developing multifamily branding and translating that across materials for a cohesive and impactful experience. Get in touch today to learn more!

Design examples in this post of Capriana, Exchange, ENSO, LORE, and Talia are ©Fairfield Residential | Work executed by Stacey Feeney, owner of zipcode creative, while under creative direction and employment at Fairfield Residential.