Apartment Blog

Mobile phones and Web based communication platforms are increasing their presence and popularity among the lives of hundreds of millions of people globally. People do everything from sharing monotonous and routine details of every day life to alerting people to breaking news or product launches. You’ve probably heard a lot about Twitter, the free micro-blogging social network that’s growing faster than Facebook as we speak. Still, you’re probably wondering what Twitter is and how it actually works.

Have no fear, For Rent Media Solutions (@AptsForRent) has been spending a lot of time on Twitter lately, and has put together a guide to help Twitter newbies get started. Twitter is estimated to have around 5 to 10 million registered users. According to Compete.com, Twitter received more than 14 million unique visitors and more than 8 million page views in March. Oprah Winfrey set up a Twitter account and tweeted live for the first time on her April 17 show. According to Engadget’s Ryan Block, 1.2 million people signed up after she did. Is this a coincidence or is it the “Oprah Effect”? If your company doesn’t have a Twitter account, make it a priority to jump on the bandwagon. Still not convinced? Check out our lingo break down and tips and tricks below.

What is it?

Twitter allows users to send “tweets,” or text-based messages up to 140 characters long answering the simple question of “What are you doing now?” These “tweets” are then displayed on your profile page and delivered to other users who are “following” you (essentially, subscribing to receive your tweets). Also, you can follow (subscribe) to the tweets of anyone you want, from family and friends to Oprah, major Web sites, big brands and more.

Confused yet? It’s ok. Basically, Twitter is like an online cocktail party, a text message or like a Facebook status update, with which you can keep people up-to date with your life.

Who is “Twittering” and why should I use it?

According to PewInternet, 19% of online adults age 18-24 have used Twitter, 10% of 35-44yr olds have used it and 5% of online adults age 45-54 have also tweeted. Twitter is great for posting the ins and out of your life, but Twitter can be a great business tool to gain potential residents, retain residents or to stay abreast industry trends. Can’t attend tradeshows this year? Stay connected with attendees and speakers by using #’s. For example, you can follow the AIM conference going on right now by doing a Twitter search for #aimconf.

Twitter Lingo:

Followers

MySpace and Facebook use the term “Friends”, but Twitter uses the term “followers”. To follow someone, visit   their profile and select the “follow” option. The user will then receive an alert that lets them know you are now following them, and then they can choose to follow you.

@ Replies

Users have the capability to respond to all tweets by addressing the person by using their Twitter user name preceded by the “@” symbol. This will direct a tweet at another person, and causes your twitter to save in their “replies” tab. As a rule- don’t reply back to every tweet.

Direct Message

Sends a person a private message that goes to their device, and saves in their “Direct Messages” tab.

RT (ReTweet)

RT is short for retweet.  People add RT somewhere in a tweet to indicate that part of their tweet includes something they’re re-posting from another person’s tweet, sometimes with a comment of their own.

Favorites

If you come across a really good tweet that like, you can save it to your “favorites” tab.

What do you Tweet?

Anything you want really. People often times reminisce about a memorable experience, share a joke, share everyday updates, provide product updates and announcements or even simply say hello.  The tweets are just as diverse as the people you connect with. Tweets can be pitchy but not too direct. Mix up your tweets with @replies, general tweets, share photos, and throw in some links every now and then.  It is important to also add something of value to your followers like including links to research and helpful articles.

Who do you follow and how do you get followers?

Following a lot of people does help you get more involved with Twitter. That’s the point of Twitter. However, don’t do it all at one time. Follow people in the multifamily housing industry such as @ericacampbell, @ltrosien, @mbrewer, @30lines, @Eric_Urbane, @JohnTMitchell, @kategood, @RentWiki, and  @NAAhq. You can also follow celebrities, media companies, social media experts, big brands, residents and potential residents. Gaining a strong follower base can be tricky. Remember to be original, creative, funny, and offer quality tweets.

How often should you Twitter?

Twitter can be addicting. Trust us we know! But personally, we think 10-12 tweets should be the upper limit. There should be a good balance. Some of the people we follow, Twitter way more than that.

Get started today and Follow ForRent.com @AptsForRent!

 For Rent Media Solutions™ announces the launch of the new LEADS™ Dashboard. The dashboard was designed to offer a more streamlined approach for property managers to monitor their advertising performance and drive more leads.

“Property managers today are challenged to get more done with fewer resources” said Terry Slattery, president of For Rent Media Solutions. “In these economically challenged times, we understand the importance of proving advertising value for our clients. The new LEADS Dashboard lets our account executives act as total media consultants for our clients, evaluating the overall health of their advertising.”

To better accommodate clients’ needs, For Rent conducted a survey amongst 71 national and local advertisers and decision makers. According to the respondents, walk-in visits, e-mail guest cards and phone calls ranked high as the most valuable type of response from apartment seekers. For Rent used these findings to redesign the dashboard to sort and color-code data based on lead type, allowing clients to easily find the information they are seeking. Watch this video to get a peek at the new LEADS Dashboard.

What’s In it For You?

• With all of your LEADS data available in one place in an easy to-read design, daily tracking of the past 30 days of your advertising performance can now be done quickly and effortlessly.

• The convenience and smart design of the LEADS dashboard allows you to monitor your results on a daily, weekly or monthly basis and acts a portal to more detailed reports.

• The Dashboard can be printed or exported to PDF or Excel in seconds.

• Easy-to-read graphs breakdown your total LEADS.

• Your time is our priority. The graphs have been designed and color-coded throughout the LEADS Dashboard for instant visual reference.

• Different LEAD types are arranged in order of relevance, according to an internal survey of customers just like you.

• The Touch point section enables you to see how apartment shoppers gather information about your community and is a good indicator of your property’s advertising health. This section will show you where you may need to update your listing.

To read an interview between Terry Slattery, president of For Rent Media Solutions and Erika Schnitzer, associate editor of MultiHousingNews.com click here>>

Mobile phone usage is increasing in popularity and in time will become the primary center of activity for whatever you do when you shop, learn, entertain, or communicate. Just like the Web, mobile phones are allowing users to create, consume, combine and share media at their convenience. On April 24, 2009 Apple announced that customers have downloaded one billion applications from the iTunes® App Store.

Following the likes of Facebook, The Weather Channel^®, Twitter and the “Today Show,” ForRent.com has launched a new iPhone™ and iPod^® touch application. The FREE feature offers many of the same functions found on ForRent.com and brings apartment seekers the convenience of searching for apartments in the palm of their hands. comScore recently published a mobile report which disclosed mobile media usage habits of iPhone users compared to Smartphone users and general mobile users.  Key highlights from the report include the following: accessed news/ info via browser 80% vs. 20% all mobile users, accessed email 76% vs. 13%, social networking 55% vs. 13% and web search 55% vs. 12%. Of the iPhone users 75% are male and mostly aged 18-44. According to Facebook, each month 25 million of its users access Facebook.com via a mobile device. That’s 4 million a day.

The ForRent.com iPhone application allows apartment seekers on the go to search for apartments any time, any place. And unlike our competitors, our app includes video and a mapping feature. Consumers can use touchable map pins to click on a pin representing a property and go directly to the property’s page, zoom in and out and view the proximity to surrounding apartment communities. Using this application, apartment shoppers can browse through thousands of listings nationwide to view descriptions, videos, floor plans with pricing, virtual tours, GPS mapping and contact information.

By providing immediate access to your community information, the ForRent.com iPhone app will drive even more traffic to your listing, ultimately generating more qualified LEADS™. Since the April 7 launch, the ForRent.com app has been downloaded more than 5,800 times from the Apple iTunes App Store.

Or like they say in Ohio “Ohio, The Heart of It All”

Our professionally produced apartment videos enhance the apartment shoppers, YOUR, experience by allowing you to view apartment communities units and amenities as well as the surrounding city it is located in. All of these videos are syndicated to ForRent.com, AptsVideo.com, along with more than ten major channels including Yahoo, MySpace and YouTube.

Take a look at the most recently uploaded videos for this week, including many in the great state of Ohio….

Apartments For Rent in Washington:
Tenzen Apartments in Bellevue, WA
Cascade Ranch Apartments in Federal Way, WA

Apartments For Rent in Ohio:
Big Creek Townhomes & Apartments in Parma Heights, OH
Liberty Hill Apartments For Rent in Solon, OH
Huntington Green Apartments in University Heights, OH
Granada Gardens Apartments in Cleveland, OH
Clarkwood Greens Apartments in Warrensville Heights, OH
Cobblestone Court Apartments in Painesville, OH
Pepperwood Apartments & Townhomes in Cleveland, OH
Settler’s Landing Apartments in Streetsboro, OH
Hunter’s Hollow Apartments in Strongsville, OH
     
Apartments For Rent in Texas:
Village Oaks Apartments For Rent in Austin, TX
River Stone Ranch Apartments in Austin, TX
Sequoia Cable Ranch Apartments in San Antonio, TX

1. Think before you print.
2. Turn your computer off at night.
3. RECYCLE: Items including fax paper, ink cartridges, and junk mail are easily recycled.
4. Make it a habit to bring your own dishware for meals you eat at the office.
5. Turn off the coffee pot when not in use and de-lamp your vending machines; this can save you up to $100 each year.
6. Purchase office supplies and tradeshow giveaways made from recycled materials.
7. Carpool or take public transportation to work.
8. Change the thermostat…just a little. An adjustment of only one or two degrees can cut heating or cooling bills by 2-3%
9. Be sure to turn lights off at night, for the weekend, and any time you will be gone longer than 15 minutes.
10. Wear clothes that don’t need to be dry-cleaned.

The current economic environment has made more Americans cut back on their expenses with many embracing the ‘do-it-yourself’ route; whether it is making your own coffee, trimming your own hair, etc.  More and more people are also starting to look at their living space and finding ways to improve it. So instead of buying a new coffee table, how can I revamp my current one?

The idea of ‘nesting’ is that someone would have a strong desire to prepare a home, to tie up loose ends of old projects and to organize your world. But again, going back to the state of the economy, doing so in an inexpensive manner is best!

Here are a few ‘do-it-yourself’ tips for your apartment:

• Take a basic bookshelf from bland to GRAND with a quick fix. Paint the bookcase’s back wall in a cheery, contrasting hue. This is easiest to do if the back (or at least the shelves) is removable; if it’s not, you can still do the job. Just cover the edges of the sides and shelves with masking or painter’s tape while you’re brightening up the back. You would have taken an old, boring bookshelf to something new and vibrant with just the cost of paint and a brush!
• Calendar Pages-Last year, you probably invested in a beautiful wall calendar to cheer up your work space. Hopefully you didn’t toss out your old one! You can enjoy the images a little longer by framing them as wall art. Calendars are particularly good for this because the pages are themed -like beach scenes, flowers, Monet replicas, etc.– so they look like a series of prints when hung in matching frames. You can even save on matting if the pages already come with a border! Let’s see here, you can get inexpensive wall frames from the dollar store, or sets of matching ones at Target for less than $20.
• Another nifty idea from Country Living is to add shelving to your bathroom so it can hold pretty toiletries. Remove the back of an old wine crate or wooden box. Make shelves to fit inside the box, and then add a bit of glamour by fastening a gilded frame onto the front of the unit. For an antique finish, spray-paint with Krylon Crystal Color.
• You can revitalize an old lamp shade with inexpensive rubber-stamps. Depending on what type of style you want, e.g. a fleur-de-lis pattern, you can stamp on the border of the shade and fill in the pattern with permanent marker. To make it appear more decorative, you can also outline the design with a different color pen.
• Never throw out old candles! You can find a way to save the left over wax by following this do-it-yourself craft.

We think it’s great that Americans are cutting back spending on other goods and services and in turn are reflecting on improving where they live. That’s ‘nesting’ in its truest form! Do you have other ‘do-it-yourself’ ideas to share?