by threshold | Dec 10, 2019 | Digital Marketing
Internet Listing Services (ILSs) have long been a major part of the marketing strategies of real estate brands, and it’s not hard to see why. These online listing sites like Apartments.com, Apartment Finder, and Zillow help real estate brands ensure their properties show up in Google search results, driving clicks and conversions while freeing up the property management to focus on concerns beyond digital marketing strategy.
However, ILSs may not be the best marketing option for real estate brands today, and a shift away from these services is already beginning within the real estate industry. There are a few key reasons for this, which we’ll discuss, but the main takeaway is this: internet listing services simply aren’t worth the money real estate brands spend on them—at least, not when relied on as heavily as they traditionally have been.
So what should real estate brands be doing instead? Well, the answer is complex, and we’ll get into it, but the short version is that these brands should be diversifying their digital marketing mix. Let’s talk about why and how.
Internet Listing Services Are Easy But Not Efficient
We’ve already touched on why real estate brands have been putting their marketing dollars into ILSs: it makes things simple. It is a truth universally acknowledged that most property managers have enough on their plate without worrying about how to optimize their digital marketing strategy. Many real estate brands choose to let ILSs worry about that stuff for them, knowing they can benefit from the strong SEO and SEM of established ILSs that prospects already recognize and use.
However, real estate brands are beginning to understand that they’re not getting as much bang for their buck this way. While ILSs do bring in leads, brands are likely to pay a much higher cost per lead than they would on other digital marketing strategies like paid search or retargeting ads. Not only that, but ILSs could be delivering less qualified leads, resulting in fewer lead conversions, which brings us to our next point….
Internet Listing Services Can’t Verify Conversions
In other words, ILSs can’t prove their worth or provide you with analytics that help you make smart decisions about your marketing spend. That’s because when a user lands on an ILS after searching for housing, your property appears along with competing properties in the area, and users often click through several listings as they peruse their options. That means that ILSs attempting to track conversion rates by either a first-click or last-click attribution model can easily provide an inaccurate or incomplete report of your conversions from their site.
So, unless these prospects take a tour, start an application, or otherwise reach out to property staff, you may never get a chance to verify where that lead came from and how much value ILSs are really adding to your marketing strategy. And with unclear analytics, you miss out on the opportunity to evaluate and optimize your strategy along the way.
Relying Solely on ILSs Means Missing A Big Opportunity for Growth
In addition to missing out on the opportunity for continuous optimization, relying solely on an ILS for your digital marketing means limiting your brand’s marketing potential in other ways.
One of the shortcomings of ILSs is that they don’t do a good job of making your property stand out from the competition. Instead, they lump you in with your competitors and provide easy opportunities for your prospects to shift their attention to properties other than your own as they search. Other digital marketing strategies like PPC ads and SEO give you more opportunity to stand out from your competition and make a strong first (or second, or third) impression.
Speaking of making more than one impression, another shortcoming of ILSs is that they only allow you to intervene at one step of your audience’s buyer journey. Every prospect goes through a number of different stages as they search for housing, and using an ILS tends to be one of the earlier stages in the digital buyer journey. Being able to reach your audience early in their journey is great, but reaching them more than once is better. If you limit your digital marketing to just ILSs, you’ll miss out on opportunities to stay top-of-mind and catch your prospects at later stages of their journey when they might be more likely to convert.
Another way ILSs fall short is that they tend not to create strongly qualified leads when used alone. Again, that’s because the ILS user experience places your property alongside your competitors’ and limits your opportunity to wow your audience. Spending your marketing dollars to instead create a website experience that is both conversion- and search-optimized allows you the opportunity to connect with your prospects through compelling branding, provide your audience with reasons to trust, and deliver all the information a prospect needs to convert.
So What’s the Answer?
We actually don’t recommend that you stop using ILSs entirely. ILSs are currently a useful way to reach prospects at a key part of their housing search. However, there’s a lot more you could be doing.
That’s why we recommend diversifying your marketing mix. Keep ILSs in that mix if they’re helping you, but consider allocating some of the spend you’d normally put toward an ILS to other digital strategies that are cost-effective and provide more opportunities to reach your prospects and stand out from the competition.
Creating a conversion-optimized website with strong SEO is a fantastic start. Consider also launching search ads through Google Ads as well as retargeting display ads that help you stay top-of-mind for prospects who have already encountered your property through their online housing search.
If this is sounding like a lot, we get it. You can’t become a digital marketing expert overnight, and many folks in the real estate world simply don’t have the time to devote to it. Still, there’s a cost-effective way to incorporate better marketing strategies into your budget. Can you guess what we’re going to say?
If you guessed, “work with a marketing agency,” you’d be correct. Better yet, work with Threshold! We specialize in the real estate industry and we have experience working within your budget to create great marketing results. Best of all, we’ve got a team of expert digital strategists who can help you launch effective marketing strategies and optimize them as you go, so you’re always getting the most effective marketing for your spend.
If you want to learn more about digital marketing with Threshold, chat with a team member today! We’d love to get you started.
by threshold | Dec 5, 2019 | Digital Marketing, Marketing, Tech/Web
Video continues to dominate content strategy across the digital landscape, making it more advantageous than ever to incorporate YouTube advertising into your digital media strategy. In fact, YouTube is the second most popular search engine today, so taking advantage of this platform means you’re poised to capture lots more attention from users who are actually ready to make decisions. Not only that, but you’ll have the option of leveraging a variety of ad types across the YouTube platform, each with the ability to drive different actions and increase brand awareness. In other words, you can inspire and excite your audience more than ever before and get the results to match.
We recommend YouTube video ads for anyone looking to heighten audience engagement and conversions. YouTube ads make a particularly strong retargeting strategy, inspiring users who are already searching for housing in your area to emotionally connect with your brand and actively imagine themselves at your property. That’s because video ads have the power to communicate a mood and message more effectively than static ads alone, using a variety of images, movement, audio, and written copy to tap into your audience’s wants, needs, and dreams. It’s also because YouTube benefits from Google’s flexible and powerful targeting capabilities based on search behaviors, video topics, and user demographics, allowing you to reach prospects who are most ready to convert.
How It Works
When you sign up for our YouTube services, Threshold will recommend a YouTube advertising strategy based on your goals and spend budget. We will then work with you to define your success metrics, identifying the goals we can expect to reach at key milestones, starting with three months after launch.
Our packages allow you to choose between one video ad each month or every two months and campaign management and optimizations at monthly or bi-weekly frequencies. You can also opt for the addition of location extensions to your ads as well as our help in setting up a basic or branded YouTube channel for your property. We can help you ensure the package you select fits both your marketing needs and your budget.
To get ready for your first campaign launch, we’ll gather existing assets (such as high-quality property photos or video clips) or contract with a specialized YouTube videographer to conduct an on-site video shoot at your community. Once we have the necessary assets, we’ll arrange for our existing video editors to create a polished video ad that engages and excites your audience while delivering key information they need to convert. Our digital team will then help you implement the ad effectively, leveraging YouTube’s powerful targeting options.
If you’re already one of our fantastic clients, then reach out to your Client Success Manager to get started! Or if you’re new to the Threshold fam, you can reach out to our team here—we look forward to meeting you!
by threshold | Nov 12, 2019 | Digital Marketing, Marketing, Tech/Web
If you read our blog post from earlier this year, you may already know that in March of this year, Facebook announced that it would be making changes to its ad targeting tools. Now, as of this September, those changes have gone live and are already affecting both existing ad campaigns and new campaigns. You may already be working to discern what this means for your real estate marketing plan and wondering what you can do to adjust your Facebook ad campaigns to ensure you’re still getting what you need from this digital platform.
As you ask yourself those questions, we’re here to help. We’ve been hard at work familiarizing ourselves with the recent changes and leveraging our expertise to compile updated best practices. Rest assured that while these changes do limit the functionality of certain targeting tools, it’s still possible to use Facebook ads as an effective part of your ad mix—you just need to rethink your strategy.
Why Did Facebook Change Its Ad Targeting?
In case you missed it, this all started back in March when Facebook was sued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for violations of the Fair Housing Act. According to HUD and a number of other organizations who supported the charges (including the ACLU and NFHA), Facebook’s ad targeting tools limited the housing options being presented to certain protected classes by allowing advertisers to target ads based on age group, location, education status, and so on.
Facebook then announced that it would be making changes to these advertising tools by the end of 2019, but did not offer a more specific time frame during which these changes would go into effect.
How Did Facebook Change Its Ad Targeting?
This September, without prior warning, Facebook implemented a number of changes that had immediate effects on existing campaigns and new launches. Many housing and financial advertisers logged in to find their radius targeting reset or their campaigns turned off.
A word to the wise: if you haven’t checked the status of your existing Facebook campaigns since September, it’s a good idea to give them a look and ensure they’re live and working as intended.
The September changes include:
- A number of interests have been removed from the targeting options for housing, employment, and credit ads. For example, many interests related to universities can no longer be targeted directly.
- Lookalike Audiences are no longer available for housing, employment, or credit ads.
- Demographic targeting by traits such as age, ethnicity, and income has been removed.
- Radius targeting has increased from a 1-mile minimum radius to a 15-mile minimum.
The overall effect is that competition among ads is now higher because ads are being served to broader audiences, meaning more people are seeing a wider variety of ads. This makes it more imperative than ever to find ways for your ad to stand out from the crowd.
How Should I Adapt My Facebook Ad Strategy?
There are a number of best practices and work-arounds we recommend in the wake of these changes. These strategies can help you work with the options still available to you to approximate the targeting strategies that have been removed, and/or ensure that your ads still get qualified clicks and low cost-per-click despite targeting limitations.
First, a disclaimer: while Facebook has an option to declare that your ad is a housing ad, you can’t get around these restrictions simply by not declaring. Facebook also has sophisticated AI that will flag housing ads even when they’re not declared by advertisers. Better to declare and work within the restrictions given from the start.
Get Crafty with Interests Targeting
While a number of interests have been removed from the targeting options, you may still be able to target by relevant interests that will create a qualified audience for your ad. For example, student housing brands may find that, while many university-related interests have been removed, there are still targetable interests such as Greek Life that indicate an individual may be a current college student. Take a look through the remaining interests and see if any are uniquely relevant for your target audience.
Place your Targeting Radius Strategically
In some cases, you can still meaningfully target by location, even with the 15-mile minimum targeting radius. A trick that may work for your location is to center your target over rural or less densely populated areas so that only the outer portion of your circle includes the area you actually want to target. This reduces the number of unqualified prospects your ad is served to while still allowing you to target the desired location.
Switch to a Cost Per Click (CPC) Model
Facebook allows you to choose between a cost per click (CPC) or a cost per thousand impressions (CPM) strategy. The targeting limitations mean that, even with some adjustments, your ad is likely to be served to a broader audience, translating into more impressions. As a result, we recommend switching to a CPC model if you haven’t already. This means you’ll only get charged for clicks on your ad rather than on how many people see your ad, which will likely result in less ad spend per lead.
Optimize Your Ad Copy & Design
With more ads competing with yours, it’s more crucial than ever that your ad has crystal clear messaging that will resonate with qualified prospects. In other words, it needs to be clear what you’re advertising and why someone should care. Ad space is limited, though, so stick to high-impact copy and simple, high-quality property images.
High-impact copy typically includes the word “apartments,” “living,” “housing,” “townhomes,” etc. and the location of the property. Alternatively, you might specifically reference “2-bedrooms” or “$100 off your first month’s rent.” Whatever you do, just be sure it clearly communicates your product and what’s great about it.
Reconsider Facebook’s Role in Your Ad Mix
If you make adjustments and you’re just not getting the results you want, it might be time to reconsider the role Facebook plays in your overall ad mix. For example, even if Facebook ads don’t work well when targeting new prospects, you may still get a lot of bang for your buck when using Facebook for retargeting ads. That’s because retargeting ads target users by behavior (visits to your site) rather than by demographic, so those who are served your ad are already a qualified audience.
These are just some of the strategies you can use to adjust to the new Facebook ad targeting changes for real estate ads. For more Facebook ad insights and other digital marketing expertise, contact a Threshold team member today. We’d be happy to be your guide for all things digital marketing!
by threshold | Oct 29, 2019 | General
As of 2019, the Boomer generation is between the ages of 55 and 75, and as they look to move into housing that suits their next stage of life, they are dramatically changing the face of senior living. With 76 million Boomers in the United States alone, and 86 million Gen Xers right behind them, a wave of adults over 55 is bringing new attitudes, new expectations, and new demands to the real estate industry, and we can expect even more change to come.
Years ago, senior housing was mostly “retirement communities” and “nursing homes,” but as senior living communities adapt to shifting demand, adults over 55 can expect a wider variety of options, many of which are more attractive to today’s seniors and offer a more active lifestyle than the senior housing options of yesteryear.
Today, we’re discussing just a few of the ways senior living is changing in 2019 and will continue to transform in the coming years. If you’d like to learn more about senior real estate marketing, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at Threshold once you’ve read this article. We’re always happy to talk apartment complex marketing ideas. Now, without further ado, let’s talk about the changing face of senior living.
Demand for Senior Housing Will Rise
The Boomer generation is now reaching the age where many are beginning to look for senior housing options or have already moved out of the homes where they raised their children, built their careers, and established many of their adult relationships. Gen X will soon reach this stage as well, with the oldest among this generation turning 55 in 2020. That means a lot of adults 55 and above are beginning to look or will soon be looking for housing options that better serve a new stage of their lives. There is a major opportunity—and major demand—for housing communities that cater to these groups. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Not only is this sector growing rapidly, it’s also taking on new strategies that better suit new generations of seniors. For example…
Senior Housing Is Taking Cues From Student Housing
Much like student housing, senior housing is becoming more about fostering a vibrant, active community than it is about providing care or relieving the burdens of home ownership. Senior housing communities are focusing more than ever on community programming, social events, and engaging meeting spaces that foster a sense of community and encourage connections between residents.
Since many adults describe retirement and aging as a lonely process, fun-filled communities with lots of events and programming are well-suited to adults over 55 who are looking for new experiences as well as good friends and neighbors to share them with.
More Active Living Communities Are Emerging
Speaking of fun-filled communities, Active Living is one sector of senior living that’s growing quickly to fill new levels of demand. While Independent Living, Assisted Living, and Memory Care are all still essential senior living communities that will also grow with increasing demand, growing numbers of young retirees and pre-retirees from around 55 to 65 years of age are demanding communities that challenge the old models of senior living.
These adults see the next stage of their lives as an opportunity for fun, new experiences, and active lifestyles, and senior living is changing to meet this need as these adults look for communities that align with their goals. As more senior living communities are built, we can expect to see many that focus on events, programming, and amenities that support an active lifestyle.
Adults Over 55 Are Staying Closer to Urban Centers
It used to be that transitioning into senior housing meant retiring to the suburbs or the country, but more and more often, seniors are choosing to stay in or near major urban centers. According to David Block, the Director of Development at Evergreen Real Estate Group, “There is certainly a move back to the city among a lot of groups, including a population of seniors who maybe left when they had kids, but always wanted to move back.” Additionally, seniors who already live in urban centers are preferring to “age in place” or “age in community,” meaning that when they do move into senior living communities, those communities tend to be within the same city or town as their previous home, which reduces the feeling of isolation that can come with aging. Responding to both of these factors, more senior housing communities are emerging in and around major metropolitan areas and focusing on keeping their residents within arm’s reach of “the action.”
This should come as no surprise, given what we understand about adults over 55 expecting more active and exciting options than were available in the senior housing of yesteryear. Urban centers provide plenty of opportunities to enjoy novel experiences and live an active lifestyle. Proximity to the city also tends to mean more opportunities for travel, better transportation options for those who don’t drive, and a greater sense of connectedness to nearby friends and family.
Technology Is Taking Center Stage
Gone are the days when senior living communities could safely assume their residents wanted a low-tech living experience. With over 88% of adults aged 50-64 using the internet and 72% of this group using Facebook and other social media, seniors are more tech-savvy than ever. Contrary to popular belief, many adults over 55 are not intimidated by new technology, and appreciate how it makes their lives easier.
Smart home technology and high-speed internet are becoming must-haves for new senior living communities. Moving forward, these communities will leverage the added convenience and connectedness these technologies provide to attract adults over 55 who spend significant time on social media and value staying connected to the online world.
Looking to adapt your real estate marketing plan as senior living continues to change? We can help with that. For starters, check out our article on How NOT To Market Senior Housing. Then consider getting in touch with a Threshold team member to see how we can help you launch modern senior housing campaigns that get results.
by threshold | Oct 15, 2019 | General
The senior consumer is changing, and senior housing is changing alongside them. So too, will senior real estate marketing be challenged to keep pace with the shifting priorities of senior consumers. So far, marketing directed at adults over 55 has been lacking—this group is either ignored entirely or treated to messaging that doesn’t match their attitudes or priorities. Today on ThreshNews, we’re identifying some of the common shortcomings of senior living marketing today in order to inspire better apartment complex marketing ideas for your senior living community.
Before we jump in, a quick disclaimer: There are several types of senior living, including Active, Independent, Assisted, and Memory Care. In this article, we’ll be focusing primarily on marketing DON’Ts for Active Living communities, though many of these apply to other senior living communities as well.
Now without further ado, let’s talk about how NOT to market your senior living community.
Ignore the Online Experience
In spite of evidence to the contrary, some marketers operate under the incorrect assumption that today’s seniors don’t spend time online or rely on technology to make purchase decisions. In reality, seniors are more tech-savvy than ever, with 88% of adults aged 50-64 and 73% of adults over 65 identifying themselves as internet users.
Today’s target audience for senior living communities will rely on online searches, online reviews, digital ads, and your property website to help make their final housing decision much the same way younger generations do. As you market your fantastic senior living community, it’s worth making sure you have strong SEO, a healthy online reputation, and a user-friendly website that encourages trust and helps your audience get the information they need quickly and easily.
Don’t Bother With Social Media
Most seniors have adopted social media, particularly Facebook. Many seniors use Twitter and Instagram as well, but Facebook reigns supreme for its focus on fostering connections with family, friends, and acquaintances both current and past. To get specific, 72% of American adults between the ages of 50 and 64 were on Facebook in 2016, as were 62% over 65. As you may already know, this also means that seniors between the ages of 50 and 70 respond well to Facebook advertising. After all, 15% of users in this age range spend 11+ hours per week on the site.
Assume Someone Else Is Making Decisions For Them
While many seniors may have adult family members or friends helping them make a final housing decision, most adults over 55 are still playing a major role in this decision even if they’re not making it completely independently. No one appreciates being talked about rather than talked to, so when you’re building your website and running ad campaigns, we recommend taking special care not to exclude your potential residents from your messaging.
If you’re marketing for an Independent or Assisted Living community, feel free to take this advice with a grain of salt. In these cases, it may make sense to run ads that target the families of potential residents and include messaging on your property website that is directed to them as well. If you’re marketing for a Memory Care community, much of your messaging may directly address family, friends, or caregivers of potential residents. But regardless of what sort of senior living community you’re marketing, it’s smart to include messaging that will appeal directly to potential residents, not just those who care for them.
Focus On Dependence
Many seniors are very independent, and those who do need some assistance would prefer to focus on what they can do, not what they can’t do. Some of the amenities of your senior living community may make life easier for folks dealing with the effects of aging, but there’s a way to talk about these amenities without risking condescending to or infantilizing your audience.
We recommend focusing on how your amenities will empower residents to do and experience more and avoiding messaging that focuses on getting seniors the “help they need.” This is especially true for Active and Independent Living communities, but you may find it less essential for Assisted Living or Memory Care services—as always, use your best judgment. You know your community best.
Assume They’re Ready To “Slow Down”
The label “senior” encompasses adults at many different stages in life and with varying levels of activity. Adults 55 and above, especially the Boomers and Gen Xers who are just transitioning into this age range, are not intending to slow down anytime soon. Instead, they tend to see this next chapter as an exciting chance for something new—new experiences, new opportunities, and new beginnings.
Marketing that suggests a slower pace of life may be appealing to some, but it will not have wide appeal for young retirees or pre-retirees in the 55+ group. Instead, we recommend focusing on added value, novel experiences, and active communities.
Address Them as a Population Rather Than As Individuals
This one sounds obvious, but it’s especially important in a world where seniors are so often ignored or erased, and when they’re not, they appear as caricatures of old age—feeble, domestic, or stuck-in-their-ways. Every senior deserves to be treated as a worthy individual, and there’s so much opportunity to surprise and delight with personalized marketing efforts. Keep in mind that your on-site staff is a key part of your marketing strategy, and personal interactions are your most powerful marketing opportunities.
Take special care during in-person interactions and follow-up communications to find out what each individual prospect is looking for, and avoid making assumptions about what they need or want out of an apartment community. Focus on the aspects of your community that are perfect for them, not on how your community is great for seniors in general.
Make Them Feel “Old”
By now, you get the gist that the senior audience won’t appreciate being treated like they’re less capable, less active, or less unique (but you knew that already). Many adults over 55, especially those just beginning to look for senior housing, do not view themselves as “old” and are not at a stage in their lives where they want to slow down, do less, or disconnect.
The interesting (and fruitful) challenge we face as marketers is to strike the right balance of youthful energy and mature dignity. We must avoid implications of elderly senescence as much as we avoid implications of youthful inexperience, instead finding a middle path that brings age, growth, novelty, and activity all under the same conceptual roof. In other words, we must develop new marketing strategies that meet today’s seniors where they’re at, and abandon outdated stereotypes that inform some of our worst senior marketing instincts.
Looking for more advice on how to market your senior living community? Our team is more than happy to help! Chat with a Threshold team member today to see how we can put our expertise to work for you.
