It's time to refocus on your neighborhood and location in your apartment community's marketing strategy.
RealPage's 2023 National Multifamily Renter Study respondents say that an apartment community's location is their top reason to rent.
73% of renters cite that if they cannot afford to buy a house in the neighborhood they like, they are willing to rent instead. It's all about choosing the environment they want to be in versus resigning to a location that doesn't meet their personal needs.
These statements ought to give apartment communities whose branding and marketing ties directly to the property's location incentive to keep pushing their nearby surroundings to prospective renters because that will be their competitive advantage.
It also means that apartment communities in all markets and cities should explore opportunities to highlight their neighborhood in their marketing strategy and discover how property location could be a positive differentiator. Here's how you can get started.
1) Know your community's renter profile.
A foundational first step before mentioning neighborhood features is understanding who your renters are because assumptions about your apartment community's customer base may cause marketing efforts focusing on your neighborhood and nearby attractions to be off-base.
That means taking time to determine your apartment's ideal renter profile, which is a general representation of your apartment community's renters and their demographics, goals, motivators, and challenges.
We wrote an entire blog on determining ideal resident profiles for apartments, which is well worth your time if you're new to multifamily marketing. We establish a series of seven questions you can ask to help you determine who is renting from your community, why, and what features about your community positively impact their personal preferences and daily routines.
2) Research your apartment community's neighborhood. What sets it apart?
Stacey Feeney, founder of ZipCode Creative, says location research is essential for launching a successful multifamily marketing plan.
73% of renters cite that if they cannot afford to buy a house in the neighborhood they like, they are willing to rent instead. It's all about choosing the environment they want to be in versus resigning to a location that doesn't meet their personal needs.
"An undeniably crucial factor in the success of any real estate venture – assessing the location of your building to evaluate the surrounding area such as local hotspots, conveniences, attractions, and the overall perception of the neighborhood," Feeney said.
Take the time to get an inventory of those places and features near your apartment community's location. They could be anything from popular restaurants to schools, landmarks, and even significant employers. Don't skip!
Then, study those things through the lens of what attracts your ideal resident profile to help you identify location information that sets your apartment community apart and share it in your marketing strategy.
3) Add information about your community's neighborhood in marketing copy.
Once you've identified your community's ideal resident profile and the neighborhood features that match their wants, the next step is to incorporate that information into your marketing copywriting, advertising, and website.
Here's an example we've written in the past of a 'sales pitch' for an imaginary apartment community located in our hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska, whose ideal resident profile was younger millennials who work downtown and enjoy an active social life:
Rising atop downtown Lincoln, Nebraska, near the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus and State Capitol building, The Flats at Salt Creek offer a sociable living experience at a premier location where work and play collide. You'll be just steps away from the thriving nightlife, restaurants, coffee shops, and boutiques of the historic Haymarket and Railyard Districts, as well as major employers such as Hudl and Nelnet. Enjoy an unparalleled view of Memorial Stadium and Pinnacle Bank Arena from the private rooftop lounge—the perfect place to enjoy a cold beverage on game days. Or get your sweat on with our fully-equipped community gym on the main floor! The Flats at Salt Creek is a pet-free community that offers beautifully designed one and two-bedroom floorplans. Each unit is accessible by elevator and has modern kitchen and laundry appliances.
The bolded copy in the example above shows how you can excite interest in your amenities and offerings while effectively mentioning nearby neighborhood attractions.
Most readers aren't familiar with Lincoln, but the question is: If you take out the specific details about the apartment's location from the pitch copy above, does it change the perception of that community?
Of course, it does, and as more prospects decide to rent because of location and lifestyle, this presents an excellent opportunity to call out neighborhood features by name in your messaging.
4) Add maps highlighting the location on your apartment community's website.
Another helpful way to prioritize location in your apartment's marketing strategy is to display a map of your community and nearby restaurants, stores, schools, and more on your community website.
On our apartment websites, we have an 'Explore your Area' section that allows prospective residents to see all the places near a client's community, which is also helpful for increasing engagement.
5) Target keywords of your apartment community's location in your PPC advertising campaigns.
If there are primary geographic attractions like a school, employer, stadium, or restaurant district near your apartment community's neighborhood, targeting keywords in your pay-per-click advertising strategy that include those attractions by name would be wise.
Here's our guide to help you establish your apartment community's keyword marketing strategy.
Say a prospective resident searches for 'apartments near the University of Nebraska,' and your community ranks first in a Google search for those keywords. It would immediately increase the chances your apartments are where that person would ultimately choose to rent.
6) Remember critical local SEO tools like Google Business Profile and Apple Business Connect.
Lastly, as more renters prioritize location, it's safe to assume they will also turn more toward navigational applications to perform discovery searches for apartments.
Instead of choosing one apartment over another based on its unit and amenities, more will compare apartments within a specific geographic location they desire.
That's why you need to hone in on your apartment community's listings on Google Business Profile and Apple Business Connect, as they may be the first marketing channels prospective residents come across for your apartment community.
Summary
- Location is Key: RealPage's 2023 National Multifamily Renter Study reveals that an apartment community's location is the top reason people rent. Many are willing to rent if they can't afford to buy in their preferred neighborhood.
- Tailor Marketing to Ideal Residents: Understand your community's ideal renter profile. Then, research and highlight the unique features of the neighborhood that resonate with this target audience.
- Incorporate Neighborhood Info: Include neighborhood details in your marketing copy, add maps to your website, and target relevant keywords in your PPC advertising strategy. Optimize your presence on platforms like Google Business Profile and Apple Business Connect for increased visibility in navigational searches.