by threshold | May 16, 2014 | All, Tech/Web
I love my parents. They are a big reason I started my own agency so many years ago. Sure there was some trepidation and fear but I forged ahead. Made my own path, so to speak. They’ve lived up in the Dallas area for nearly 20 years now and recently decided to relocate to be closer to the family in Austin.
So began the trek to find them a place to live – something “nice, elegant, upgraded but affordable,” said my mom. As most of you know, Austin is one of the fastest growing cities in America – all the hip, cool, creative types just can’t get enough. We’re changing the world down here, man! At any rate, we turned our eyes to the quickly growing city of Buda and all the new housing developments under construction.
Visiting the sales centers I realized just how important new development marketing and pre-sales/leasing centers are when you’re, in all essence, selling dirt. Good ‘ole Texas clay. At Threshold, we’ve spent a considerable amount of time developing best-of-class new development creative that gives clients a leg up. Here’s some advice on new development marketing when breaking ground on a new student apartment community, senior housing facility or any new home division:
- Make sure to find a pre-sales or leasing center that can staff your team of marketing experts until the permanent model home or clubhouse is finished. Preferably, doors for the sales centers need to open well in advance of anticipated move-in (especially in student housing) in order to build the brand awareness necessary to capture folks when they begin searching.
- Your digital brochure – aka website – needs to be up and running as soon as a name, the amenities and a contact are ready to go. Search engines take time to index you and the extra time will be well worth it when things really start to heat up.
- Get the construction site filled with as much signage as possible. Bright, creative, relevant designs that won’t dirty OR are cheap to replace. We hate seeing great creative all muddied up from the elements. Check with the city on temporary construction sign ordinances to ensure your sign isn’t removed.
- Think about ways your future residents can interact with your community at the pre-leasing center. Mini-models or interactive display boards are fun and certainly help people pass the time while they wait in the long lines to lease or buy.
- Create a solid marketing plan. New developments will cost more to market becuase you are building awareness. Do it right the first year and you’ll be thankful the second.
Now, while this list isn’t all-inclusive it’s a good start to ensuring your new start launches well. Those folks in Buda did a good job at ensuring my parents felt comfortable and excited about that new piece of Texas clay they just purchased. And we’re certainly excited because we now have another set of well-qualified babysitters moving to town.
Downtown anyone?
Happy Marketing!
by threshold | Mar 4, 2014 | All, Tech/Web
“When I was a kid, I had to walk to school, in the snow, uphill, both ways.” I can’t tell you how many ties I heard that growing up. Of course, way back then, there was no way for me to know if what I heard was accurate. Did these masters-of-all beings really have it that bad? Way back then there wasn’t the Internet to check, and the old Encyclopedia Britannica didn’t have an entry for “we had it tougher than you kids.”
Today, my son can check Google Earth and see not only that we lived next to the school but the hill was more like a gradual slope. With a few more clicks he could see that bus or carpool were really the only methods of transportation. And one more would show a list of reviews and tips related to best parking spots and how to bypass the carpool line.
Apartments today face similar, albeit varied, exposure to online reviews. The digital landscape is dominated by user-generated content and it’s only growing. Student housing marketing requires property management companies to keep an extra eye on their online reputation. Here are a few online reputation tips to protect your digital reputation:
KNOW THE SITES: There are hundreds of sites were users can review businesses. From Facebook to Google+ to Yelp to ApartmentRatings.Com, it’s important to know (and visit) the sites popular in your market. Get in the habit of doing a Google search of your property periodically.
ENCOURAGE REVIEWS: A positive online reputation will help you turn prospects into leads and residents into referrers. If you seek out the reviews it will likely be more positive. The next time a resident gives your team a compliment, ask them to give you a positive review online. Many people tend to write online reviews because of a negative experience. By encouraging your happy residents to rate you, you’ll get more positive reviews.
DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS: Your first instinct might be to delete a negative comment on Facebook or ignore a bad rating on Yelp or ApartmentRatings.Com. Don’t! Respond to the comment and show off your great customer service skills. And after you’ve corrected the issue, ask the user to revise or update their comment. You’ve turned a negative to a positive and got some good feedback on areas of improvement.
DON’T FORGET ABOUT YOUR COMPETITORS: Keep an eye on your competitors and pay attention to what they’re doing. Who knows? You might learn a thing or two about what TO DO and what NOT to do based on what their customers are saying.
By following these online reputation tips, you’ll be able to protect your digital reputation. Be a part of the conversation and actively engage with your customers. After all, they have access too much more than you may think and it will pay off to know where you stand. Hiding behind tales from the past is just that – a thing of the past.
Happy Marketing!
by threshold | Feb 20, 2014 | All, Tech/Web
If you’re using Facebook to help promote your communities, this is a post you’ll probably not want to miss. So, that means basically everyone. Back in December, Facebook changed its algorithm that drives their News Feed feature. The News Feed is the central content area on Facebook or the Facebook app. It’s where many, many brands and individuals would post updates in hopes the throngs of their “fans” would see it and purchase whatever they were selling.
(more…)
by threshold | Jan 24, 2014 | All, Tech/Web
I posted an article a few months back about my desire to build an unbeatable fantasy football team (a la 1972 Miami Dolphins). I wanted to crush my cousins’ teams into oblivion, so I turned to the internet to do my research. Create my game plan, if you will, for global fantasy football domination. What I found along the way were enormous amounts of marketing – video clips, paid ads, great content – pulling me further and further along my path. I found it so intriguing that for something as niche-related as fantasy football, there were folks like me – the Don Draper wanna-be’s of the world – building that digital strategy.
(more…)
by threshold | Jan 15, 2014 | All, Tech/Web
My grandmother is 93 years young. A product of New York until her early 20s, she is a spirited woman with grand stories and even sharper wit. I loved hearing the stories of her experience working at Macy’s in Manhattan, raising my dad on Governor’s Island, and subsequently around the world (second generation Army brat here), and her beloved Dachsund, Gussie. We’d normally hear these nostalgic stories over a superb dinner of lamb and red cabbage. These would be great stories and (foodie photos), I thought, to share with family and friends. What better way than via Facebook or some other social channel?
(more…)
by threshold | Jun 18, 2013 | All, Tech/Web
By now, I’m certain that you’ve read an online review about a company, a property, a travel destination, a restaurant, or your favorite celebrity. Whether good or bad, these online reviews provide a “true” glimpse into what your experience might be based on others that have had the pleasure (or displeasure) already. Why are these important to the residential industry? Well, people trust people – even if they don’t “know” them. Negative reviews will significantly damage your brand AND your opportunities to get folks past the Threshold of your community.
(more…)
