Each day I receive an email from a marketing blog I follow. Some days it features really helpful articles, so I always give it a click.
The other day, one of their emails really caught my eye. The subject line in my inbox read: 'What Is Clubhouse & Should Marketers Care?'. I hadn't heard of Clubhouse, but it's a new social media app where influencers can host uncensored, private audio chats about their lives to an exclusive audience that must receive an invite to attend. It has the potential to also be used by industry experts and other business professionals as a platform to highlight their products, share their thoughts, give presentations, and more.
The unveiling of Clubhouse, and discovering more about how it worked, added to a dilemma that continuously afflicts marketers like myself. It seems like our world changes daily as new marketing tools emerge touting it’s the greatest way to spread your message. If you don't stay up to date with all the latest trends, and utilize every new thing like Clubhouse in your marketing plan, you could get left behind.
This threat is especially relevant for apartment marketers. It's worth noting that multifamily, in general, has been slower to adopt new marketing trends than other industries. For many years, highlighting apartment communities was done via traditional means like newspaper advertising, billboards, catalogues, listing services, etc. Only recently have apartment communities began focusing more on owning websites, using video, and deploying digital advertisements.
Then the Coronavirus pandemic happened, accelerating this shift. A typically slow industry had to quickly adjust towards digital as a safer alternative for highlighting units and amenities. Nearly every aspect of the leasing office became virtual. The threat of being left behind in the world of apartment marketing became very real.
Apartment marketers, as well as property owners, must have felt overwhelmed investing in websites, videos, digital ads, and other online tools. There's so many different options to choose from.
How do we know what works, and what doesn't?
That's it.
That's the only question apartment marketers need to ask themselves.
Whether they're working for a new property, upgrading the marketing plan for an old one, or reacting to significant changes like the ones brought on by the global pandemic.
Will investing in this marketing tool help me sign more leases?
Will boosting the amount of followers your community has on Facebook generate more leases? Is spending tens of thousands of dollars on a website that looks amazing but lacks helpful information going to generate more leases? The answers to both of these questions is no.
This is a flawed approach for apartment marketers. Investing in marketing tools designed only to get your name out there works for Coca-Cola, but never for apartments. No one has ever rented from an apartment solely based on its brand.