What is Copywriting and Why Does Multifamily Need It?

Copywriting, Defined

What is copywriting? Copywriting is promotion, through words. These words can be persuasive or interesting, and they prompt the reader to use a business, a service, or an organization. Copywriters have to create text that can be adapted for any number of channels: print, radio, website. Copywriters also need to be able to adapt the copy (also sometimes called content) to different audiences.

BRAND VOICE VS. BRAND TONE

Brand voice is your brand’s personality, through words. It can be mature or youthful, jovial or serious, succinct or verbose, mysterious or open-book. Every way you would describe a person, can usually be used to describe a brand as well. Your brand attributes help create your brand’s unique voice.

Your brand tone is how you approach different scenarios. Similar to what we said above, the copy should be able to be adapted to meet the requirements of that particular time and place. A press release versus a brochure will have a different tone. But your brand voice will still be tucked in there.

Brand voice is WHAT you say.

Brand tone is HOW you say it.

COPYWRITING VS. COPYRIGHTING?

We do get this question. No, we’re not in the business of copyright law—and we never will be! You’ll have to find a law firm for that.

Copywriting means using words to promote a business.

Copyrighting means to register and mark an original piece of work as your own, with the © symbol.

We don’t do that last bit at Zipcode Creative. But we do plenty of copywriting for multifamily.

Using Copywriting For Multifamily

How can multifamily benefit from copywriting? First let’s look at how it’s used.

COMMUNITY/APARTMENT/ASSET NAMING

Naming multifamily assets is fun, and has long-term impacts on your brand. Hire a place that can do the research and guide the decision. It sets the tone for the rest of your brand, since it’s how people will refer to you—and can steer the direction of your logo and style.

BRAND GUIDELINES IN MESSAGING

Brand guidelines will get you places you’ve never been before. It’s a little like a superhero power card as if your brand were a person (or a Pokemon?)—but everyone at the company can see it. Once your brand voice (alongside your brand statements) is established using research and discovery and determining your ideal resident profile (IRP), you can go on to create some pretty sweet things like:

Brand Tagline – Like a slogan for your community—garner interest with your words summed up in one short phrase. 

Brand Headlines – More catchy things to say about the community that keep your prospects reading or scrolling.

Brand Vocabulary – Naming your amenities creatively or strategically can help create a sense of interest, intrigue, and brand loyalty among your residents. 

Each of these are part of the brand guidelines that we’ll create to keep your brand on track. Our copywriters take care of the verbal parts. Our designers take care of the visual parts. We put it all together to create a singular, beautiful guide to everything Your Brand. 

Also: Your taglines and headlines simply HAVE to grab attention. Sometimes that’s all anyone will ever read, of alllll the things you’ve written. Sad, but true. Make sure you’ve got a few of these up your sleeve: Tricks for Better Taglines and Headlines.

MULTIFAMILY COPYWRITING FOR EXTRA CREDIT

Hoping for a few bonus pieces of copy? There’s plenty more.

Website & Brochure Copy: Headlines, subheads, paragraphs, calls-to-action, it’s all copywriting. Make sure it’s good.

Campaign Copy: Whether it’s a moving campaign or pet-friendly campaign, ensure the words you’re using really sell the deal.

Email Copy: First your readers have to open the email—get them with a good subject line from your favorite copywriter.

Social Media Copy: Writing captions that fit in your brand voice is harder than it sounds.

CORPORATE COPY 

Mission / Vision / Values: Writing these clearly and having them out in the open—it’s more for internal purposes, but will help guide your client-facing brand. (It’s not easy, but that’s why we’re the professionals.)

Team Bios: Your experience and personal approach to property management should shine in your bio—and help you connect with the reader.

Client/Owner/Investor Messaging: We’ll make certain your message is geared to your client. Seal the deal whether seeking investors or presenting your management acumen to owners.

Why is Copywriting Important for Communities?

Copywriting for community brands can = SUCCESS

Spell it with me: S-U-C-C-E-S-S. It has a nice little rhythm to it.

What do you most want from your efforts in your community? 

Success…which comes from signed leases. 

Which comes from prospects that turned into leads that turned into residents.
How do you get from prospects to residents? By connecting, showcasing, and converting.

Copywriting in multifamily communities is key to those three things.

CONNECT

Make an emotional connection by establishing your brand voice and telling a STORY.

SHOWCASE

Show what you have and how it’s the answer to their problems through clear and enticing communication.

CONVERT

Give them a reason to click the “Apply Now” button. You’ve gotten them this far, now convert leads with your brilliant copy (including amazing CTAs.)

When you have a resident—you want them to stay. A strong brand, which is BOLSTERED by excellent copywriting, will be able to maintain loyalty and retain residents—possibly even turning them into your own influencer-style, walking-word-of-mouth-ad brand advocates!

A Professional Copywriter vs. Your “Good Enough” Colleague

If we haven’t convinced you yet, now’s the moment. You’re considering having your colleague who’s “pretty good at writing” pen some copy. For your brochure, for your website, for your social. There are a few places where this could be…fine. Not great, but fine. Social media doesn’t require a huge amount of writing chops—but it could still impact your brand negatively if it’s not up to snuff.

If your colleague really is a good writer, great—use them. But also be aware that because “copywriter” isn’t likely their job position OR in their job description, they won’t be prioritizing the writing you’ve asked them to do (and all the research that has to go into it). Additionally, it’s not the best use of their (or of your) time and will take them longer than a pro.

A professional copywriter for multifamily, like the ones we have at Zipcode Creative offer three things that your “good enough” colleague may not:

EXPERIENCE

A professional copywriter is just that. They have processes that they’ve developed over years. They’re in the know with copywriting trends, as well as what is most likely needed for each job. 

Your “good enough” colleague will probably know your audience’s challenges and pain points, but those can easily be communicated to the copywriter as part of their research prior to writing.

EFFICACY

A pro copywriter for multifamily can create an emotional connection. They know what builds bridges, what entertains, and what kind of copywriting grabs attention. Keeping it short, tight, and compelling are all in a day’s work.

Your colleague of “decent writing chops” may end up writing too formally or casually, or worse: ignore your brand voice completely. All that work on the brand guidelines, for nothing!?

EFFICIENCY

A copywriter working professionally for apartment communities can easily follow your requirements. You’re the client, they’re the hired help. Pros also tend to know what needs to be done without being asked—even in a niche field like multifamily copywriting.

Your colleague—bless their heart—might not know the basic rules of copywriting, and therefore, waste time and money and energy on something that falls flat.

The best kind of copywriting for apartments tells a story, creates emotional connections, and helps build up the brand’s value. That sounds like a happily-ever-after to us.