Published January 10, 2019.
Marketing is an ever-evolving field that impacts all industries, and property management is no exception! To grow your company, you must have an effective marketing plan.
For property management companies, staying updated on the latest marketing trends is key to securing new clients and keeping tenant retention rates high. However, in 2024, some things have changed since property managers first implemented inbound marketing strategies for the company's growth.
So, there's never been a better time to refine your marketing agenda and strategies. The goal is to ensure you have a marketing plan that can scale with your company. The better you plan, the easier it is to stay afloat as changes occur.
Keep reading to learn three marketing trends your property management company needs to closely monitor (and implement) throughout 2024!
We're not saying you should get rid of your paid ads strategies. A well-rounded digital marketing plan should include strategic, targeted paid ads. In fact, your omni-channel digital marketing strategy should include content, paid media, organic social effort, outbound email and even sms text.
However, paid ads alone will not drive the volume of traffic you need to see the leads you need for growth. In 2024, your attraction marketing efforts must focus primarily on SEO-driven relevant content that supports your larger omni-channel marketing efforts.
We've long known that content influences consumer, and even B2B, purchasing decisions with a greater impact than traditional ads. According to research, buyers put the majority of their trust in the following four types of advertising:
People they know
Branded sites
Editorial sites
Reviews
So, if you rely on paid ads only to increase brand visibility and sales, you may want to re-strategize. Today, about 33% of internet users block online ads. That means a third of your ad budget is going to waste as the ads won't reach about 33% percent of your intended audience. Data doesn't lie; when it comes to long term growth, content reigns supreme.
You don't necessarily need to stop using ads completely, but you should consider refocusing your marketing efforts on lead-generating content (with ads to support).
We know it's cliché, but content is indeed king if you want more leads. So, when refocusing your inbound marketing strategies away from primarily paid ad-driven, you'll need to ensure you place a heavy focus on content with excellent search engine optimization — both in the ads and in the other forms of content you use for advertising.
When using ads, they must include highly relevant content to convert the buyer. The same applies to other types of content, like blogs and social posts.
The key is to provide immense value to your audience through different types of content. To do this, you must put yourself in the customer's shoes, which starts with creating a buyer persona. If you don't have one, you should halt your marketing efforts until you create one.
Content that provides value will answer questions your readers didn't even realize they had. In addition to helpful blogs, FAQ guides are excellent property management website content pieces that deliver value.
Inbound marketing should be at the heart of your marketing endeavors. As a property management company, this type of marketing attracts the right audience at the right time. It provides multiple avenues of interaction, ensuring you can build valuable relationships with leads and existing customers.
To take advantage of rudimentary inbound marketing as a property management company, you'll need to:
Build a property management blog
Publish and update content consistently
Share your postings across multiple social media platforms
You'll also want to build email campaigns where you deliver relevant emails to your audience based on their online behaviors.
Take, for example, a reader of one of your blog postings who subscribes to your blog. This behavior could trigger the start of an automatic drip email campaign. You'll be able to connect with the subscriber on a more personal level. As a result, you'll enjoy increased traffic to your site.
Email campaigns also generate leads and boost sales when carefully curated.
With inbound marketing, you must ensure you can engage in punctual interactions no matter the platform you're connecting with your audience. Linking to your blogs through social media posts is one way to engage potential leads on multiple platforms for better inbound success.
However, engaging actively and consistently when using social platforms is important. For example, when users comment on one of your posts on Facebook, you'll want to thank them for their comments and feedback soon after they comment. You'll also want to reach out through Messenger to ask if there are any questions you might be able to answer for them.
Facebook is by far the social media platform on which you should focus the most attention. This social media giant has just over 3 billion active monthly users. For property management companies, this gives you an optimal opportunity to tap into a massive source of potential tenants.
In addition to Facebook, focus your social media marketing efforts on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram, all of which have hundreds of thousands of active monthly users.
Social media platforms provide essential benefits for those operating in the property management industry. They allow you to advertise properties, network with property owners and tenants, generate leads, observe and deploy the latest marketing trends, and partner with investors.
Lastly, your 2024 marketing plan must involve marketing automation software to skyrocket your marketing endeavors toward success.
Imagine logging into a single software that houses anything and everything to do with your marketing. Then, imagine this program being able to work for you even when you're away from the office.
Marketing automation software allows your marketing endeavors to scale as your property management company grows. It allows you to monitor your audience's online behaviors, enabling you to make smarter marketing moves. You'll be able to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time.
The buyer's journey may be somewhat linear, but not every buyer is simultaneously at the same stage of the sales funnel, which is why marketing automation is of such value. You can monitor where each person is along their journey, and your automation software will deliver the most relevant content.
With this resource, you'll be able to build long-lasting relationships, which is what real marketing is all about.
However, while automation can help optimize your marketing efforts, never let it replace in-person or face-to-face "human" marketing tactics. Every once in a while — especially in this age of AI (artificial intelligence) — you still need to contact your clients over the phone or in person.
Connecting with leads and customers personally will distinguish your property management company from the competition.
Tackling everything necessary for successful inbound marketing can be challenging when your primary daily job is managing properties, tenants, and owners. However, in 2024, property managers cannot neglect this strategy if they want more leads or to stand out from their market competition.
Geekly Media can help! We can help you target your property management business's most crucial marketing strategies to grow in 2024. We can also help set your business up for success with property management automation. Reach out to speak to a team member or download our free Game Plan to take your business to the next level in 30 days!