multifamily market
Apartment Internet Marketing – Exclusivity
Came across an interesting survey at over at emarketer that spoke to the want’s of social following. The results were captured in the following chart:
Using this chart as a catalyst, we are going to do a five part series titled: The Five E’s of Apartment Internet Marketing. The overarching premise will be playing to the want’s of would be apartment Facebook, Twitter and other social medium friends. We start the series with Exclusivity.
What is Exclusivity?
Exclusivity can be defined as the sole right to a specific business function. AT&T’s exclusive right to market the iPhone is likely the most paramount example of this. Beyond that there is a huge push by aggregators to secure exclusive rights to content. We have seen this with the likes of Harvard Business Review striking a deal with an aggregator and Steven Covey striking a deal for distribution on Amazon’s Kindle. These are mass examples of exclusivity but the concept can be applied to things as simple as white papers. In this case the exclusivity comes in the way of getting for giving or more specifically, give me your email address and I will give you the white paper. It’s exclusive in the sense that not everyone would be willing to give personal information to get.
Value Exchange
The overarching point is that exclusivity has a give and take scenario baked in. You give up Sprint to get the iPhone, you give up buying from B&N and buy a Kindle so you can read Covey, you give up personal information to get information. The goods, services, experience or information requires an action on the part of the consumer and guess what, it’s the overriding reason they friend brands. They want to learn about specials, sales, etc..
Consumer Expectations
Human beings have a few things in common – one being the innate need to feel important, wanted or needed. When we apply that fact to the concept of exclusivity we can clearly see that the perception of being a part of what could be considered an elite group is compelling. We own an iPhone so we can feel cool. We read the HBR so we can feel cool. We read the latest Covey book so we can feel cool. We found our apartment on Craigslist and it was a great deal so we feel cool. Consumers are willing to give up stuff and things to feel important, wanted or needed – all day long.
Offer it and they will come
As it applies to Apartment Internet Marketing in the context of social mediums – more times than not, if you offer it they will come. Now, before I go on, I am not suggesting that you can just put any old thing out there and expect participants to join in, you have to work it. You have to willing to commit to listening, joining in, trying, failing, retooling and trying again. Otherwise it’s all for naught. I am suggesting, however, that if you do things as simple as offering a rent concession to the resident that increases your fan page base the most, or something we eluded to awhile back with tryvertising, or simply setting up a kiosk in your lobby set with twitter and facebook and asking anyone that walks in the door to friend you – you will gain an audience. However, it does not stop here…
…in part two of this series we will talk about what to do with that audience: Education
In the mean time, feel free to continue the Exclusivity conversation by leaving us a comment below.
And, have a compelling day!
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Can you call it engagement if you buy it?
At the risk of sounding cynical – Engagement? Really? Over the last day or so I have read a number of news posts, blogs and comments that suggest this is what engagement looks like. I think it would be more well stated to suggest this is what manufactured engagement looks like. Even then – I can’t wrap my head around this campaign as it relates to the word engagement.
I agree with @TamiMcCarthy –
“@mbrewer Check out the link I re-tweeted to the IKEA Facebook campaign. Brilliant buzz marketing.”
This is just that – brilliant buzz marketing. That being said, introducing the notion of being the first to tag the photo of a product and win it tosses engagement out the window for me. It crosses the threshold of authentic. In terms of risk/reward – the upside was to good to pass up. I believe true engagement is when people of influence [Evangelist] share for no reason other than they really like the experience.
In the way of apartment marketing, I think I could achieve a similar result if I filled an apartment full of furniture and suggested the potential fans be the first to tag the items to win them. Moreover, I could give away free rent for a year for the first person that tagged a photo of a vacant. And, hey maybe I throw in a second set of products [furniture] to that winner. Buzz!!!! Love this idea – think it is time to propose it as a way to kick off a Mills Properties Facebook Fan Page [Fan building campaign]. But engagement? Not so much – not in my book anyway. You can’t purchase real engagement.
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Tell Them How Much You are Moved by the Neighborhood
Don’t tell prospects and residents how much your apartments are – tell them how much you are moved by the neighborhood.
Tell them about waking up on a crisp fall morning and taking a run in Forest Park just one block over from your apartment. Tell them about stopping back by Velocity Coffee Shop to have a cup of coffee – served by a friendly Barista named Tracy who rarely smiles but wants to. Tell them about the free copies of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the St. Louis Dispatch. Tell them about the free wifi. And, oh – it’s a bike shop too with cool bike motif everywhere. The bathroom even has a cool chalkboard where you once drew a giant dragon that looked as if it were eating the giant flower someone else drew.
Tell them about Papa John’s pizza and Subway at the end of the block where Tony and Charles remember your name and serve you with a smile. Tell them about Atlas Restaurant located in the heart of the neighborhood and the amazing food and desserts that they serve. Tell them about The Loop and The Central West End [very cool Saint Louis neighborhood hangouts] being just one mile away and don’t forget to mention the friendly cab driver resident who will drive you over while entertaining you with great conversation. Tell them about all the fun nights you had in those neighborhoods.
Tell them about Mr. and Mrs. Wang who own the dry cleaners right next door to Papa John’s and how they wash and fold clothes for $0.75 a pound. Tell them how much you love the fact that each Christmas they give your children big canisters of candy as a thank you for your business.
Tell them about the dog park even if you are not a pet lover – not even in the least.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, this is the neighborhood that I fell in love with in Saint Louis. Oh yeah, and I lived in a great apartment that overlooked a tree lined street that looks amazing in the fall.
Tell them with conviction how much you love the neighborhood the rest will fall right into place.
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EQR’s Q4 Earnings call transcript
Equity Residential Q4 2008 Earnings Call Transcript — Seeking Alpha
The first nine months of the year really carried the day for us and the fourth quarter saw a dramatic fall off of pricing power. We are clearly experiencing one of the worst economic climates in anyone’s memory. According to some, unemployment could climb as high as nine to 10%. These would be levels we have not seen since the late ’70s or early ’80s.
That perspective from one of the most well respected multifamily REIT’s in the country. I can’t help but to feel that there is a major ping happening in our space. Having worked at EQR for nearly ten years, I have the confidence that leadership is doing everything possible to weather the storm.
I can’t help but to be optimistic in the sense that we have an opportunity to pick up a serious education during this catasrophic hiccup. You can’t buy this kind of experience at even the most prestigious of instituions. Those of us that look at each and every nuance of the business, especially in this climate, will be positioned to take advantge of an insanely great upturn that is sure to come.
Your looking forward to the next eighteen to twenty-four months optimist,
M
Mike Brewer, Apartment Market, Multifamily Market, EQR
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Unemployment rate and the apartment market
Mike Brewer · · 1 Comment
It will be really interesting to see how unemployment rates affect the multifamily industry in the near term. With 533k more jobs gone with today’s announcement, unemployment has crept up to 6.7%. And, if my math serves me correct then 5,330 apartments were given to vacancy today.
The fundamentals for household formation turn for the worse with each and every American that is laid off. And, don’t look to the supply side for much hope. Even though it has come to a near halt, single family home foreclosures and condo reversions are stepping in to prop up inventory. The hard part about that market is that there are no formal tracking mechanisms. We are left to speculate what the impact will be on the rental market.
Be the difference that makes a difference is what I will leave you with. Whether you choose to be the value play and or the crazy and over the top all out frills apartment community, you must differentiate yourself. You must stand out in the crowd. It is no longer and option to be mediocre, run of the mill or plain white vanilla.
What are you doing to stand apart? Check out some of the prior entries on this blog to get some ideas. A few of my fellow apartment maniacs have been generous enough to share some amazing treasures that you can apply today.
Feel free to share some of your ideas as well in our comment section below.
Apartment market, multifamily market, unemployment rate