Digital multifamily marketing and student housing marketing are dynamic industries, and we at Threshold pride ourselves on consistently working on the cutting edge. Today we’re talking about an update to Google Adwords that will affect many of our current and future clients.
Google is doubling its ad text limit, meaning the 25-character limit on headlines will be scrapped in favor of two 30-character headlines. More text will be allowed the description too, as Adwords switches from two 35-character lines to one 80-character description line.
According to Google, “Starting October 26th, 2016, AdWords will no longer support the creation or editing of standard text ads,” meaning all ads running after that date will be in the expanded text format. There’s no reason not to take Google up on their offer to include more text, since competitors surely will be saying more in their ads as well.
Google decided to make the change after considering what an Adwords ad would look like if it was invented today, in a mobile-first world. Screen space is the big factor here. The new expanded ads have a more succinct URL display, allowing more room for relevant text and a larger presence on the mobile screen.
URL’s will only show the initial domain name, so instead of showing:
..but still take users to the specific page on the site.
So what’s the takeaway? Extended text ads will only add to the importance of strong messages and concise copy. When every advertiser can say more, what each advertiser says becomes the differentiator. Consumers will get more information about the link that they’re being asked to click, and advertisers will be able to push more relevant information to the user to entice them to click on the ad.
A larger ad with more information should mean higher click-through-rates, but monitoring CTRs is still going to be key. All the Adwords tools associated with standard text ads will be compatible with expanded ads, so the Threshold digital team will continue monitoring the variables in different campaigns to see which words and phrases are proving most effective for our clients.
Innovative apartment marketing ideas are the most successful when they’re brought to life with the right tools. As Google makes changes to their product to fit a mobile-first world, they will also be eliminating the mobile pop-up ad. Websites that use pop-up ads will soon be devalued in search results. Since Google SEO has become the guideline when creating websites, you can say goodbye to pop-up ads as Google phases them out. Threshold’s team of digital marketers has already begun implementing extended text ads with success, and will continue to stay ahead of mobile pop-up changes to create effective, measurable campaigns for our clients.
We were recently lucky enough to have our 1st Annual Threshold Agency Strategy Day. It was a nice break from the fast pace of our growing company. Why, you ask? Not to get out of a work day, but to step out of the daily thought process and look at the bigger picture. How do we provide more, how do we share our culture, how do we remain innovative and push ourselves to be smarter? We know 2016 is going to be an amazing year and we are ready!
We are so passionate about the Multifamily Industry, from Conventional and Student to Senior Living. We are passionate about our clients. We are also equally passionate about our team of artists, collaborators, creators, and strategists and well, the word family even came up. We work as a cohesive team looking at all points of business to provide the most innovative and client-focused results we can. We push ourselves daily to exceed expectations and we’re always looking for Threshideas. (Yes we have created our own language!)
We strive to set ourselves apart by being strong operators in the Residential industry. We bring 20+ years of service to our agency on the management side of the business. Mix that knowledge base and expertise with an agency leader in the industry for over 10 years (Mr. John Kerrigan Wilkinson) and you arrive at the perfect mix of insight and artistry!
For all this, We Give Thanks! We thank an industry that has some of the brightest and most inspiring teams. We thank clients that provide us with challenges to keep us innovative. We thank our team members who show up daily ready to conquer the world of residential marketing and leasing, through great websites, digital strategy, print collateral and signage. We wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving from our Threshfamily to yours.
Halloween comes and goes each year during one of the most celebrated seasons of the year, Fall! The leaves, temperatures and décor all change, so why not change up a few things around your community? It’s not too early to search for amazing Halloween decorations and start thinking about what kind of experience you’d like your residents to have this ‘early renewal’ season. After all, we are the anti-vacancy agency and we know empty apartments are VERY scary!
There are many creative ways to get residents involved (and tweeting about it) and excited about Halloween and their community, so we will stick with five ideas to connect your community this year.
Dressing up on Halloween is so much fun, why not get the most out of your costume and dress up twice? Hosting a Halloween costume contest for residents is a great event for your community. Offer gift certificates and door prizes for your residents on Instagram and twitter for the most likes and shares (create a hashtag for the event!). Create cataGORIES (get it!?!) for scariest, goriest or funniest characters. Students love the art of the perfect selfie—use it to your advantage! Serve Halloween inspired snacks and drinks, there are a lot of amazing ideas on Pinterest that are affordable and fun! Include residents in a pre-party Pinterest challenge to get a menu vote going!
If you want to take Halloween to another level, host a haunted clubhouse to show off all your amenities. Who doesn’t love a Zombie Yoga class? Or Zombie crawl through the property. Decorate from floor to ceiling with haunted house inspired decorations or create a haunted maze for residents to go through with scary roadblocks to really get the blood flowing! You can even create a poll on Facebook to engage residents to help decorate or create themes for each space. Student also love contests—so make the prize a free pizza a month til the end of the year.
A less elaborate, but still extremely festive way to get your residents into the spirit is a door-decorating contest. Each resident can fill out their name and apartment number if they want to compete. Have a first, second and third place winner, depending on how many residents participate. This way the exterior of the building comes to life and it’s extremely affordable for the property management and the residents. Post all the pictures leading up to ‘Judgement Day’ to get people excited.
Halloween isn’t Halloween without a pumpkin carving/painting contest! Start off with decorating the community with your company logo and fun designs. Then invite residents to share in the fun! Prizes and snacks can be provided but the pumpkin is BYOP. Add a pet costume contest to the mix and you have a great evening! Barktober Fest never looked so good!
Last but definitely not least is a community trick or treating event. Encourage residents to dress up and meet each other. You can have it all around the community including the clubhouse. Not all residents will want to participate by dressing up but it’s always fun getting free candy!
Now that you have some Halloween tricks to treat your community in the spirit of the season, be proactive! If you are planning on hosting an event, call Threshold to spook up your event flyers or check out Shop Threshold for glow-in-the-dark promos. Start doing the easy things like setting out free candy at the office and putting up a few decorations around the clubhouse. Halloween is a spooktacular holiday and a great way to start capturing those early renewals. No cobwebs on this leasing crew! Let Threshold Agency help make your Halloween event supernatural!!!!
Renewal season starts the day students move in to their new apartments. Property owners must be prepared, because the minute new residents walk through the front door of your clubhouse they want to grab their keys and get settled into their new digs! So, how do you increase resident renewal rates to keep your property full?
There are several residential marketing tactics that will help property managers generate more renewals from current residents. Remember, it’s more cost efficient to have a current resident renew their lease, than to have a new resident move in because of turn expenses. So, planning for and executing a great renewal season can save you time and make your property more money in the long-run.
Use Custom Communication Templates
Your residents receive hundreds of messages each day (emails, texts, push notifications, social updates, etc.), so it is important to make your marketing message stand out. Instead of sending an email blast littered with images, broken HTML and potentially “spammy” words, hire a marketing agency that specializes in residential marketing to create a beautiful HTML email template that will engage your current residents.
It’s especially important to utilize mobile-friendly HTML emails (because the majority of your residents read email on a smartphone) and HTML emails render differently on a phone than they do on a desktop or tablet.
Host a Renewal Signing Party
Hosting a renewal signing party at your clubhouse is a great way to boost your residential renewals, because what college student is going to say no to free food?!
Pull together a few of your leasing agents, and plan a fun, lease signing party in the clubhouse. Invite residents to perform (there’s a high chance someone in your property is a musician or DJ) and that’s a great way to build a rapport with your residents (and get the word out about the party).
Then, pick up a few pizzas, showcase your property’s great amenities, and even consider contacting some vendors who are willing to sponsor your event with free giveaways! Local radio stations love to party!
Distribute High-quality Print Brochures and Flyers
Print marketing is a tried and true form of marketing and is sometimes overlooked, but it can have a very strong impact because it’s puts your message in a physical format your current residents can keep on-hand. Plus, print is not limited by battery life or screen size – it looks great to everyone!
One way to remind your residents to re-sign their lease is to print the front page of each resident’s renewal lease and put it in their mailboxes – making sure you highlight the savings! This way, your residents get a physical and visual reminder of how much rent would be if they decided to renew in the same space. You can also create flyers to post around your property (mailboxes, the clubhouse, and other common areas) reminding your residents of the renewal deadline date.
Offer Renewal Incentives
Everyone loves the idea of winning a prize for accomplishing a task. Give residents a specific deadline to renew their lease and if they do, enter them to win a prize! Not sure what kind of an incentive to give away? Sometimes the people with the best ideas are your part time employees that are students.
Tech gear your residents like is usually a great giveaway, headphones, mini fridges, and anything that makes your resident’s home more enjoyable.
You can also get property specific and give away bikes, camping gear, river floating essentials, and beach necessities.
As renewal season approaches, think about these and other ways you can boost residential renewal rates at your property.
If you have questions, or want to discuss an idea with Threshold Agency, simply contact us and let us know! We’d love to help you fill your property!
Mama Mia you don’t have to live in Chicago, read The Book of Mormon or be An American in Paris to deliver Wicked marketing while increasing Rent.
If you work in the residential housing business, you know its lights, camera and ACTION all day, everyday. So if this were New York’s theatre district we would focus on lighting, set design, the script and the actors. Each of these elements is an opportunity to sign a lease or a renewal. Our business offers the same opportunity everyday to roll camera, shoot and get it right. So grab the clapboard!
Lighting-What is your focus? You have to have a strong message, intent or story. If you are a new community in lease-up mode…ask what makes you different: the architecture, the location or some great new concierge-type of service?
Set Design-How is your community staged online? What does your website look like? Have you looked at your Google Analytics to access your bounce rate and time spent on each page? Does your photography draw people in? What colors are you using, does the mood reflect the lifestyle and demographic of your clientele? It’s about getting their attention, keeping their attention and getting their feet in the front door.
Script-Are your employees trained on the art of conversation and the sale. What are your best closing tools? Do you ‘role play’ proactive scenarios to get the conversation focused and meaningful? How do you answer the phone, respond to emails, and greet people as they walk in the door?
The Actors– Whether you are in student living, senior living or multi-family, you know your greatest asset is your actors (your staff) and their art of conversation and communication style. In the residential business, communication is key to success. You need ability to communicate that only comes from experience. In this business, experience is the best teacher. Whether you start as a Community Assistant at a student housing community, a General Manager on a multi-million dollar conventional high-rise, or a corporate marketing director or trainer…..the experience and language you learn in this industry is priceless. That experience is the WOW factor.
So stage your asset right, get your props set and your people the tools to blow your audience away with charm, information and a welcoming attitude. And then sit back and enjoy the positive reviews (and leases!)
I couldn’t wait to turn 15. Just the thought of, legally, being able to drive a car, albeit with my parents tagging along, was exhilarating. The time seemed to drag on and on, though. However, I kept my eyes focused on that day in 1989. Fast forward to my twenties, where driving was more of a chore than the exhilaration I felt during my younger years (Milk? I’ll get it! More groceries? Send me!), time just wouldn’t stand still. Weeks turned to months, then years. Before I knew it I celebrated my 41st birthday but didn’t really feel like I should really be 41. That’s when it hit me – time is flying by, so much has changed, and the last 15 years look nothing like it will in another 15.
In our agency, we focus on senior living, or senior housing, apartments and communities as much as we do for student housing or multifamily marketing. However, the one thing we have noticed in the past 15 years is the growth, no, surge, in marketing to the senior community online. While some of the senior demographic may not be doing the actual search for a trusted senior community, you can bet their adult children and grandchildren are searching online. The art of senior living is also changing to offer many vibrant options for extending each resident’s talent through art, music and community. It is important to be able to relate that in a smart, inviting digital format as well as in your collateral.
Statistically, an online search for senior living is the first place people go to learn more about a community. However, finding that senior living website is the first hurdle many operators or managers face. While there are plenty of services offering paid listings and such, your competitors are also on those same pages. Here’s what we suggest for senior living communities who want more eyeballs on their website:
Invest in a website domain name that is unique to each community. Google loves that. And if Google loves that, that means better search results for you.
Make sure the website content is relevant to your residents and their families. Google loves that too.
Invest in a strategic pay-per-click (PPC) campaign manager that will research the right keywords for you, adjust your website content to fit those results and monitor your monthly spend.
Ask for reports. Data will show you whether the right campaigns are in place. Traffic to your community will show you whether the strategy is working.
Don’t be afraid to change things up sometimes. If you have a special event or promotion that you’d like folks to know about – build a campaign about it. We recently did a similar campaign that resulted in a 200% increase in website traffic from last year.
While driving may no longer excite me like it once did, where marketing will be in the next 15 years certainly does. We Thresholdians are the leading folks driving an agency that helps senior living communities with their marketing. We’re working to provide a glimpse into the future of senior living.
