Apartment Blog

Former vice president and general manager transitions into his new role as president

NORFOLK, Va.-(December 5, 2008)-For Rent Media Solutions, a leading apartment resource for searching apartments nationwide, and a division of Dominion Enterprises, is proud to announce Terry Slattery’s promotion to president of For Rent Media Solutions. This change is in recognition of Slattery’s contributions to both For Rent Media Solutions and the multi-housing industry.

“I have had the fortune of working with Terry for eight years now,” said Jack Ross,  president of Dominion Enterprises apartment and employment businesses. “His impact on For Rent Media Solutions and the industry has been substantial. He continues to show his dedication to multi-housing through his membership in organizations like the National Apartment Association, where he was recently recognized as a recipient of a Paragon Award. I am confident For Rent Media Solutions will continue to grow under his leadership.”

Slattery entered the multi-housing industry in 1993, when he joined the For Rent Magazine^® office in Las Vegas as an account executive. Since then, he has held several positions within the company, including national marketing director, vice president of marketing, and vice president of national sales and marketing. He assisted with the execution of LEADS^TM, the original tracking service in the multi-family housing business, now considered the standard in the industry. He is also credited for heading up the group that created ForRent.com^®, one of the nation’s leading apartment Internet Listing Services.

“I am honored to step into the role of president of For Rent Media Solutions,” said Slattery. “I am proud of the success our company continues to experience and look forward to finding more innovative ways to promote our clients through a combination of print and Internet services.”

Slattery is very active in the multi-housing industry, attending many industry conferences and serving as a board member for the National Apartment Association. In 2007, he was appointed chairman of the National Supplier’s Council. In this position, he co-chaired the NAA Education Conference and Convention in Las Vegas and oversaw the development of the National Suppliers Council. This is the highest level that a supplier can rise to in the multi-family industry.

In his last role as the vice president and general manager of For Rent Media Solutions, Slattery brought innovation to the industry through new initiatives such as online video and mobile technology. As president, he will oversee all aspects of print, Internet, production and operations for all For Rent Media Solutions publications and Web sites, including: For Rent Magazine^®, ForRent.com, Apartamentos Para Rentar^®, CorporateHousing.com and After 55^TM Housing and Resource Guide.

Leading Internet Listing Service is responsible for 66 percent of apartment industry’s social share of voice according to Vitrue, Inc.

NORFOLK, Va.-(November 19, 2008)-No other Internet listing service in the multi-housing industry has engaged its audience through social media quite like ForRent.com. According to Vitrue, Inc., a social media marketing company, ForRent.com is dominating the multi-housing sector’s social share of voice by 66 percent. As a product of For Rent Media Solutions, a division of Dominion Enterprises, ForRent.com, utilizes tools such as Twitter, MySpace^®, Facebook and YouTube, to achieve this accomplishment.

ForRent.com’s ranking was determined by Vitrue’s Social Media Index^TM (SMI), the recently launched free tool that measures a brand’s online conversations. Based on patent-pending technology, scores are comprised of various online conversations ranging from text-dense micro-blogs to multi-dimensional video sites.

“We are thrilled with the results found by Vitrue’s Social Media Index,” said Brock MacLean, vice president of national sales and development, For Rent Media Solutions. “Social media is a very effective way to communicate with our core demographic of 18-34 year old adults. For Rent Media Solutions’ involvement in social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and video sharing sites like YouTube allows us to participate in a true dialogue with consumers, giving us more insight into our audience and their needs. We plan on expanding our social media efforts in the future. The Social Media Index will help us gauge the success of our efforts and how we are resonating with our consumers.”

Generating more than 83 percent of social media activity, video sharing makes up the largest portion of ForRent.com’s SMI score. Apartment property video commercials seen on ForRent.com, called Community Theater^TM, are distributed to an extensive network of channels including major search engines like Google^TM and Yahoo!^®, social networking sites such as MySpace, and video sharing sites including YouTube. During October alone these videos were viewed more than 17,000 times a day.

Generating more than 12 percent of the SMI score, communication through social networking makes up the second largest method of social activity for ForRent.com. MySpace has played a significant role in the success of For Rent Media Solution’s social networking efforts. More than 40 profile pages have been set up, representing more than 40 markets where the company’s anchor publication, For Rent Magazine, can be found. Through these efforts, For Rent Media Solutions communicates with more than 5,300 consumers. 

The remainder of the score is comprised of blogging and micro-blogging. This number includes activity from blogs, such as the ForRent.com blog, and key influencers who chat and push content through micro-blogs, such as Twitter. Twitter is a service that allows its users to send updates to their “followers” while trailing other individuals as well. For more details, please view the full Social Media Index report.

“The Vitrue Social Media Index provides invaluable insight for marketers to understand how they are stacking up in the social media space,” said Reggie Bradford, chief executive officer of Vitrue, Inc. “Brands are being talked about in social settings and we are providing the ability to proactively track these conversations. We firmly believe understanding and measuring your performance in these environments is key.”

About For Rent Media Solutions^TM

Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., For Rent Media Solutions is a division of Dominion Enterprises. As the multi-family housing solution for apartment seekers, property/apartment managers and owners, For Rent Media Solutions provides superior products, outstanding customer service, and tangible results.  For Rent Media Solutions is a leading resource for choosing your next apartment for rent, townhouse, condo, duplex, efficiency, studio or loft and provides a free customizable apartment search from more than 50,000 apartment listings nationwide.  For Rent Media Solutions operates For Rent Magazine^®, as well as ForRent.com^TM-The Magazine, and publishes 98 magazines covering more than 190 markets nationwide, including After 55^TM Housing & Resource Guide and Apartamentos Para Rentar^®. For Rent Media Solutions operates five additional Web sites: ForRent.com^®, SeniorOutlook.com^TM, CorporateHousing.com^®, and ParaRentar.com^TM.  For Rent Media Solutions is a company dedicated to the needs of the apartment industry, bringing prospective residents and apartment communities together.

About Dominion Enterprises

Dominion Enterprises, a division of Landmark Media Enterprises, LLC, is a leading marketing services company serving the automotive, real estate, apartment, recruitment and marine markets. The company operates a variety of businesses that offer Internet marketing, Web site design and hosting, lead generation, CRM, and data capture and distribution services. The company has more than 40 market-leading Web sites reaching more than 16.7 million unique monthly visitors, and more than 450 magazines with a weekly circulation of 4.3 million. Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., the company has 5,400 employees nationwide and annualized revenue of more than $946 million. For more information, visit http://www.dominionenterprises.com/.

About Vitrue, Inc.

Vitrue, Inc. delivers world-class advertising solutions for marketers to connect with consumers in social ways. Vitrue turns traditional advertising into direct, personal relationships by harnessing the authenticity, depth and viral nature of social media, which enables consumers to help build brands through their online actions. Through their industry expertise, technology platform and integrated marketing approach, Vitrue offers the most comprehensive social media marketing solutions built exclusively for Fortune 1000 brands and agencies including P&G, Unilever, Pepsi and Grey Advertising. Vitrue is based in New York City and Atlanta. For more company information, please visit http://vitrue.com/.

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Economic times have many businesses thinking twice before they spend their money. However, numerous studies, going back as far as the Great Depression, have shown that maintaining or increasing advertising during tough economic times yields greater results than advertising during good times. According to a recently released article titled, “Advertising in a Recession: In Chaos Lies Opportunity,” advertisers who can maintain or increase their advertising investment will see a greater impact in their advertising. During the recession of the early ’80s, research shows that firms that maintained or increased ad spending during those tough economic times enjoyed significantly higher sales growth, both during the recession and for the next three years versus those that eliminated or decreased advertising.

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity”- Albert Einstein

Below you will find ten helpful tips for advertising during tough economic times.

1.      Maintain Quality Customer Service

Current and previous customers are your most valuable asset when the economy’s in a bad place. They already know, like, and trust your business. You can avoid the usual sales and marketing costs to introduce them to your business. Instead of chasing new customers, target the ones you’ve already got. Customer service is even more important in challenging times.

2.      Gain Market Share at Your Competitors’ Expense

During the last recession, McDonald’s almost tripled their advertising campaign at a time when their competitors, namely Burger King, were cutting back. So even though this may seem counter-intuitive, tough economic times may be the time to increase your marketing.

3.      Increase Your Visibility

Consumers don’t stop buying during tough economic times. They may become more selective, but they are still going to buy-most likely from a brand they know. The more visible you are, the more confident your customers and prospects become. By reminding them of your stability and staying power, they will put more trust in your business.

4.      Create Synergy Among Marketing Mediums

Utilize all of your offline and online marketing tools and create synergy between mediums. Enhance your print with text messaging and use streaming video to create a better user experience online. An integrated marketing approach helps to create an overall communication strategy for your target market.

5.      Maximize Your Print Advertising with Mobile Marketing

This can deliver highly personalized and useful information when and where it’s needed. By including a For Rent Magazine^® text messaging keyword on your print or outdoor advertising, you’re allowing prospective renters to reach you 24/7. According to Mobile Marketing Association, 69% of U.S. mobile subscribers use text messaging, with 44% texting daily or weekly. Mobile marketing is on the rise and consumers are conveniently searching for apartments and jobs via mobile Web sites and PDAs.

6.      Enhance Your Internet Marketing with Streaming Video

ForRent.com’s Community Theater^TM video package is an effective Internet marketing alternative allowing you to cost effectively reach hundreds of thousands of prospective renters with our video syndication network. Streaming video has a proven track record to be a successful brand-building medium that has increasingly effective and measurable results. According to comScore Media Metrix, Americans viewed more than 11.4 billion videos for a total duration of 558 million hours during the month of July 2008. 

7.      Build Closer Relationships

The mantra, “It’s not what you know but who you know,” will become more important in tough economic times. Online social networks allow you to actively engage with consumers and deliver messages that are relevant to their changing needs. According to eMarkerter.com, 44% of U.S. consumers used social networking sites at least once a month in 2008. Customers will be looking for those businesses that are still actively engaging with them.

8.      Integrate Community Theater Videos Into Your Social Media Profiles

Through social media, new relationships can be formed between brands, businesses, and consumers which will outlive the economic downturn. Get involved in communities and social networks where your customers are already engaged. Post your Community Theater videos on your apartment community social media profiles such as MySpace^®, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube^TM.

9.      Leverage E-mail Marketing

E-mail marketing will gain market share because marketers can tie them to sales. Use your ForRent.com Community Theater video and send an ePostcard to prospective renters that filled out a guest card on ForRent.com. ForRent.com’s Community E-mailer also allows you to create and send a personalized brochure via E-mail. The power and reach of email has become a must for businesses. It is easy and provides direct interaction with your customers.

10.  Provide Perks

Providing perks to existing customers is good for brand loyalty and can help you achieve brand differentiation. Providing perks to new customers can also provide a leading edge over your competition when it comes to catching the attention of first time customers.  Some example perks are move-in coupons, waiving application fees, rent specials, movie coupons, gas gift cards and more!

New technology combined with traditional marketing methods
generate more leads for property managers

Finding a home is a big decision for potential renters. Property managers should be interested in making this process as seamless as possible. With the emergence of new media putting properties in front of prospective renters quicker than ever, it is important for property managers to take advantage of new, technologically-savvy marketing techniques. While maintaining traditional efforts, to continue generating leads you can utilize all of your offline and online marketing tools and create synergy between mediums. By adding mobile marketing, streaming video and social media to marketing initiatives, property managers have the potential to increase their reach, better identify with the apartment market’s target demographic, and generate more leads from potential renters.

Mobile marketing, such as text messaging, and streaming video can assist your marketing endeavors in many ways. Maximize print advertising with text messaging to create an opportunity for property managers to interact more with their residents—increasing the residents’ brand loyalty in the community and the property management company. Mobile marketing expands marketing reach to all types of media and results in more online conversions. As a marketing tool, streaming video can generate more exposure for property managers and encourage conversation between properties and their potential residents. According to comScore, U.S. Internet users viewed over 11.4 billion online videos during July and 75% of the total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video. Read the full comScore report here.

Social media personalizes the apartment searching process, allowing seekers to become more connected with a property. It offers a variety of marketing avenues for property managers. They can communicate with residents and prospective residents through social networks, blogs, instant messaging, and podcasts. According to the findings of the 2008 Cone Business in Social Media Study, almost 60% of Americans interact with companies on a social media Web site, and one in four interact more than once per week. The survey found that 93% of Americans believe a company should have a presence in social media, while 85% believe a company should not only be present, but should also interact with its consumers via social media.

With the advances made to communication through technology, it is not only important for property managers to deliver their message to potential renters, but to also actively participate in the conversation. Today, that conversation is taking place on social networking sites, blogs and video-sharing sites. These new forms of new media personalize the apartment searching process, allowing seekers to become more connected with a property.

We are witnessing a change in the way media is consumed and the way the entire consumer shopping experience has changed. Consumers are finally in control, and they are consuming media when they want, where they want, and how they want. Video sharing sites and social networking sites have emerged as major factors in the culture of communication among Internet users.

Video consumption on the Web is rapidly approaching the tipping point for advertisers as streaming video is becoming increasingly popular among leading consumer website genres such as media and entertainment, news, social networking, footwear and apparel, automobiles, and major search engines, just to name a few.

According to recent research from comScore Media Metrix, Americans viewed more than 11.4 billion videos for a total duration of 558 million hours during July 2008 and YouTube alone drew in 5 Billion U.S. online video views. comScore also states that 75% of the total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video.

As budgets tighten, companies look to cut spending in order to stay competitive.  However, companies need to remember the importance of having a strong Internet presence coupled with their print presence. Online video is a very effective and cost efficient Internet strategy.

The multi-family housing apartment industry is tapping into these trends to create a new and innovative way to help property managers attract clients, advertise their community and boost sales for their developments. ForRent.com’s

Community Theater^TM streaming video product is a great advertising solution for property managers and owners. This professionally produced video allows consumers to view features and amenities of apartment communities nationwide. As a complement to the virtual tour, Community Theater will not only give prospective renters a glimpse into a property’s units and amenities, but the surrounding city and community that the property is located in, as well. View our Community Theater product video here.

ForRent.com enables property managers and owners to reach more apartment renters by pushing Community Theater videos to our video syndication network. Our network includes major search engines like Google^TM and Yahoo!^®, social networking sites such as MySpace^®, video-sharing sites including YouTube^TM and metacafe and many more that reach hundreds of millions.

Online video raises the bar for multi-family housing professionals and property managers looking to attract potential clients. Professionals who choose to utilize online video to drive traffic to their site, have the opportunity to build their company’s brand awareness as well as raise company perception to their audience.

We can expect many positive changes in the future of online video advertising. According to an eMarketer report, video ad spend is expected to reach $775 million in 2007 from $410 million in 2006 and video online spending by marketers will increase 89% in 2007 over 2006. In addition, 66% of Americans watch online video advertisements and 46% take action on what they’ve seen. If others in the multi-family housing industry take advantage of the many opportunities that this new form of advertising can create, it will prove to be a beneficial investment.