5 Marketing Hacks for Property Managers

If you are managing a property, whether it’s residential or commercial, you need to keep every unit filled as much as possible. Maximizing the number of renters requires proper marketing as well as keeping your existing tenants happy. Here are some tips for attracting renters and staying competitive.

Modern property management software can automatically monitor rents posted by similar properties, and then give you the data you need to stay competitive with other buildings in the area. Too low and you are wasting money. Too high and prospective renters will go somewhere cheaper. You can use this data both to set new rents and to offer competitive rates on renewals.

Renters can be attracted to your property by blog posts, videos, etc. One good option for residential managers is to post SEO optimized blog posts about local attractions, events, and features of the neighborhood. People with interest in the neighborhood will then see these and go to your site, then possibly check out what you have to offer. A similar approach can work with commercial tenants and even with property owners. Video marketing is a particular growth field right now.

If you have wall heat units or any other negatives in apartment units, it can be tempting to hide them. However, your prospects will see them when they visit the property. If you are up front, you will not waste your time on people for whom these are dealkillers, and this will improve your reputation – nobody wants to think their landlord or property manager is deceiving them. They might think if you are lying about this, you are lying about something else.

Your best friend is the internet. This does not just mean listing vacancies on the internet. An online application that a prospective renter can fill in at home and email removes the “pressure” of being sat down in the leasing office and handed a form and a pen. These days, too, you are at a major disadvantage if you do not allow tenants to pay rent and put in maintenance reports using their computer or smartphone (you could even consider a smartphone app for putting in maintenance reports). One example of this is ValencePics, which can optimize a property manager’s busy schedule.

Facebook creates highly targeted advertisements, which people can then be encouraged to share and talk about. (Facebook is currently the best social media platform for real estate marketing in general). This can send your marketing viral, especially if the property has good reviews and satisfied tenants willing to tell their friends.

Marketing rentals in this day and age requires, as you can see, an understanding of technology and the internet. Property management software can help you manage leads, set rents, and make life more convenient for your existing tenants, all of which can help you keep vacancies to a minimum. Want to learn more about our management tools?