Apartment Blog

On Wednesday, August 19^th, For Rent Media Solutions launched a Twitter sweepstakes for multifamily industry professionals. Multifamily professionals had an opportunity to win an iPod Touch® if they logged on to Twitter and sent @AptsForRent a tweet. To be eligible for the sweepstake, multifamily professionals had to enter a tweet that included the ‘Yeah We’ve Got That’ hashtag. This hashtag symbolizes our solutions network to help clients reach renters any time, any place, driving more LEADS for them.

On Monday, August 24^th, we announced Jessica Whitney as the randomly selected winner for the iPod Touch. Whitney works with Resort at Forbes Creek apartment community.  This community has had their Twitter account for a little over a month and loves using the microbloging site for ‘real time’ updates to inform residents of specials, events, etc. In addition to Twitter, we also learned that this community has a robust Facebook page set up displaying updates regarding events in the apartment community.

As a result of this campaign, For Rent Media Solutions saw an increase of followers to our Twitter profile and numerous retweets with our brand message all in less than three days! We also generated a couple thousand page views to our Apartment Blog and had many interactions with multifamily industry professionals.

We want to congratulate Jessica Whitney for winning the iPod touch. We would also like to thank all multifamily professionals who participated. We’re looking forward to running another sweepstakes soon!

When you are searching for an apartment for rent, what are some key things on your ‘list’? Bet you definitely look for the following five apartment amenities while you’re searching.

1.      Pool. This is obviously going to be a perk that everyone desires. Just imagine the long, hot summer days when you get to hop into your apartment community pool for relaxation.

2.      Exercise Facilities- State of the art fitness centers with spa facilities and personal trainers are highly desirable. Just think of all the time & money saved from going to the gym!

3.      Washer/Dryer and newer appliances. Who wants to carry around clothes to laundry facilities? No one. Having a washer/dryer inside the unit is highly desired. As is having newer appliances in the kitchen, as that is one of the main rooms prospective renters are attracted to.

4.      Security Features-Having a security system inside the apartment is a terrific feature and so is a gated community. Prospective renters will really feel safe and comfortable.

5.      Pet Friendly Apartment/community. As we’ve mentioned in a recent blog, ForRent.com Wants to Help You find A Pet-Friendly Apartment, we understand that your pet is a part of your family; therefore, finding an apartment and community that is pet-friendly ranks high on your list.  And depending on the family, an extremely pet-friendly community (one that goes above and beyond for pets) will really be set a part in your mind.

On ForRent.com, when you go to do a search for apartments for rent in your area we highlight popular amenities right on the search results page (see screenshot). As you can see, just from the search results page, you are able to see if an apartment is pet-friendly, in a great location (close to the beach), has a washer/dryer included or has utilities paid for (which is also a highly desirable amenity).

But we want to hear from you! If you aren’t looking for the amenities mentioned above in your apartment search process, let us know what you are looking for!

ForRent.com posts our apartment videos on various social networking and video sharing sites!  We upload videos to our video syndication network which consists of a variety of sites such as: YouTube, MySpace, Yahoo, Dailymotion, AptsVideo and many others! Why do we do this? ForRent.com wants to make sure that we are reaching renters and prospective renters in as many places as possible so that it makes the apartment search easier.  These videos really provide a rich cinematic view of both the apartment community and the surrounding area.

The way people search for information has changed and ForRent.com wants to make sure that we provide you with apartment information when you want and how you want it. So next time you are logged into MySpace or watching a funny video on YouTube, check out apartment videos by ForRent.com!

This week we are going to be spotlighting all the wonderful apartment communities in Texas! If you’re considering a move within or to the Lonestar state, check these out:

Wind Tree Apartments in Irving, TX
Woodchase Condominiums in Irving, TX
Delante Apartments in Irving, TX
Hillcrest Apartments in Irving, TX
Tower Village Apartments in Irving, TX
            
Carrollton Oaks Apartments in Carrollton, TX
Wood Meadow Apartments in North Richland Hills, TX
        
Southern Hills Apartments in Arlington, TX
Parks at Treepoint Apartments in Arlington, TX
      
Fox Hills Apartments in Dallas, TX
Town East Apartments in Mesquite, TX
Riverbend Apartment in League City, TX
Overlook at Bear Creek Apartments in Euless, TX
Village West Apartments in Lewisville, TX
              

To best describe the impressions made on your community and how they impact your brand, it’s easiest to explain it as a circle. Certain key factors such as appearance; residents’ perception of the property; how residents talk about it and the way former residents talk about it are all impressions that impact your brand.

Let’s start with the first part of the circle, overall appearance. Appearance and landscape of your community impacts the prospective residents’ first impression. You can greatly influence how the outside is perceived using little finances, such as hanging plants by the leasing office, community center and laundry facility. Making sure the grass is green and the trees/bushes are trimmed. Continuous upkeep on your property’s exterior will help make prospective renters’ minds after your leasing office is closed.

The next part of the circle would be how residents perceive your community. After a prospective renter becomes a resident of the community, why should they continue to fancy the community they reside in? Offering programs such as health and wellness events, programs on the environment, family safety and financial planning are all ways you can make the property feel like home. These initiatives will also help the way current residents perceive the community which will help for the remaining portions of the circle.

Keeping current renters happy by providing great programs they would be interested in and providing stellar customer service will generate a sense of pride within residents for their community, which in turn will influence the way they talk about your property to their friends and family. As many marketers know, word of mouth if a very powerful tool. It can be used for good or evil, your choice! So long after the first impressions, make sure residents continue to view your community as the destination they hoped for. This piece of the circle is really crucial as it not only helps develop relationships with your current residents, but also helps your image to prospective renters too.

And finally, the last piece of the circle that loops the cycle around is the outcome of impressions. When it comes to renewal hopefully renters will decide to stay with your community. Or in the case when they must move on, former renters’ opinions of the community can either encourage or impede others to visit. If it encourages, which we hope based on efforts we’ve previously mentioned, then the impressions cycle can start all over again.

As you know, you only have one chance at first impressions. Once you make it appear that your community is where the prospective renter wants to live, or that your company is one they want to do business with, really drive that notion home with a positive renting experience. Doing so will bring it in full circle for your business with current and present customers.

Mobile marketing is on the leading edge of making life easier for apartment renters on the go. Now, more than ever, marketers understand the need to integrate mobile into their multi-channel branding, customer acquisition and customer retention plans. Mobile marketing is most effective when your listings have a presence on mobile Web sites, mobile applications (i.e. iPhone® and GPhone applications), and through text messaging. Don’t limit your marketing potential! An effective mobile marketing strategy should start with a strong mobile Web site. Renters can view your listings any time, any place from the ForRent.com mobile site. In addition to receiving more than 845,000 pageviews in the last 90 days, the ForRent.com mobile site has also received more than 865,000 clicks. Be sure to reach renters through online video as well. More than 80.7% of mobile users coming to the ForRent.com mobile Web site can view video.

iPhone apps are popular; our app has been downloaded more than 40,000 times. One out of six ForRent.com mobile consumers utilize ForRent.com applications. However, the iPhone only captures 25% of the mobile phone market share. ¹   In addition, 16% of ForRent.com mobile users are using our apps and 83.7% are using our mobile Web site. Usage of mobile Web sites greatly outpaces usage of HTML sites on smartphones¹. The most popular apps are used for entertainment purposes, such as games. Apple® does not provide detailed metrics for application use. Find out the iTunes App Store Categories and the Top-Sellers here.

Over the past 90 days, more than 35,000 text messages have been sent to property managers regarding ForRent.com properties. For Rent Media Solutions^TM offers the ultimate Mobile Marketing Solution for your advertising needs by providing multiple ways for apartment seekers on the go to search for an apartment.

Find out which mobile devices and manufacturers apartment renters are using to find your listings on ForRent.com’s mobile Web site here.

ForRent.com mobile users view your listings on the mobile site through these cell phone manufacturers:

• Apple 48.3%
• RIM ( BlackBerry®) 20.5%
• T-Mobile® 8.6%
• Samsung 5.3%
• Palm 4.9
• LG 3.6
• Other 8.5%

* Apple mobile device usage increased 27.9% from June to July.

* RIM mobile device usage increased 81.7% from June to July.

* T-Mobile mobile device usage increased 80.25% from June to July. 

The following are the top mobile devices by the top three manufacturers ForRent.com mobile consumers are using to view your listings:

Apple

• Apple iPhone 38.9%
• Apple iPod® Touch 9.4%

RIM

• BlackBerry 8330 7.8%
• BlackBerry 8320 3.6%
• BlackBerry Storm 2.7%
• BlackBerry Pearl 1.2%

T-Mobile

• T-Mobile G1^TM 8.1%
• T-Mobile Dash 0.5%

The ForRent.com mobile site adjusts to the dimensions of our users’ screens, reformatting for easy viewing and use. Most consumers are viewing your listings on the following screen sizes:

• 320 x 480: 48.7% of mobile views
• 320 x 240: 17.4% of mobile views
• 480 x 320: 8.7% of mobile views
• 320 x 320: 4.3% of mobile views
• 240 x 260: 3.2% of mobile views
• Other: 17.6% of mobile views

ForRent.com mobile users view your listings through these cell phone operating systems:

• MacOS X: 48.3% 
• RIM: 20.7% 
• Unknown:16.5%
• Linux: 8.5%
• Windows: 5.9%
• Symbian: 0.1% 

ForRent.com wants to make sure that we are reaching apartment renters and prospective apartment renters any time, any place.  We want to make the apartment search process easier for you! So we post our apartment videos on various social networking and video sharing sites!  We upload videos to our video syndication network which consists of a variety of sites such as: YouTube, MySpace, Yahoo, Dailymotion, AptsVideo and many others. These videos really provide a rich cinematic view of both the apartment community and the surrounding area.

Take a look at these…..

ForRent.com Apartments in the West Region:
Tuscaro Apartments in Sacramento, CA
Cirby Oaks Apartments in Roseville, CA

ForRent.com Apartments in the South Region:
Golf Brook at Sabal Point Apartments in Longwood, FL
Aqua at Millenia Apartments in Orlando, FL
Waterford Place Apartments in Memphis, TN

ForRent.com Apartments in the Midwest Region:
The Landing at Park Shore Apartments in Milwaukee, WI
Riverwalk Apartments in Minneapolis, MN
Pointe 400 Apartments in St. Louis, MO

ForRent.com Apartments in the South West Region:
Advenir at Foxmoor Apartments in Dallas, TX
Fairfield Trails Apartments in Houston, TX
City Scape Apartments in Dallas, TX
The Davenport Apartments in Dallas, TX
Rock Creek Apartments in Dallas, TX
Josey Place Apartments in Carrollton, TX
Reserve at White Rock Apartments in Dallas, TX
Claridge Apartments in Houston, TX
Meadow in the Village Apartments in Dallas, TX