Why Multi-Family Marketers Need to Turn to Localized Marketing to Survive COVID-19

Amid this global pandemic, both multi-family marketers and residents, alike, are struggling to navigate these difficult times. As a multi-family marketer, localized marketing can help your property survive. If you’re not already using a localized marketing strategy, it’s time to start. On the other hand, if your properties already have a localized marketing strategy in place, good for you! This blog will help your property develop a localized marketing plan specifically for surviving COVID-19.

Connect With Residents

One of the most important benefits of a localized marketing strategy throughout COVID-19 is that it allows you to connect with your residents at the local level. Like we mentioned previously, it’s a scary time for both property management companies and residents, and a localized marketing strategy can help everyone feel connected. In a previous blog, we discussed the importance of empathizing with your residents. Everyone is going through a difficult time right now, and knowing that we’re all going through this together can make it seem less scary. In addition to empathizing with your residents, a localized marketing strategy allows your multi-family business to provide your residents with entertainment or essential information as well. Below is an example of Greystar explaining what steps their properties are taking to keep residents safe during COVID-19.

On the other hand, you could provide your local community with different ideas on how to keep themselves occupied during the quarantine. It’s time to get creative and share different types of content that are relevant now during times of social distancing.

Maintain a Local Presence

While it’s great for your properties to be connecting with residents during this time, you may also be concerned with the increasing barriers around face-to-face interactions. We know that many properties have had to close amenities, close their leasing office, or shut-down altogether. A loss in in-person traffic can mean a decline in new leasings. However, a strong localized marketing strategy can help your property get creative and not miss out on potential opportunities. For instance, now is a great time to host virtual tours of your property that you may have been planning for months. This provides an easy opportunity to get in front of potential residents, and can also be used in future marketing efforts. Another great way to get in front of both residents and potential residents during this time is through virtual events. If your property wants to hold a virtual happy hour or game night, now is a great time to do so. With so many people currently confined to their homes, everyone is looking for ways to engage with other people - social distancing doesn’t have to mean being socially distant. While your sales may not instantly increase after hosting these virtual events, it will likely help your brand in the long run. Once everyone can start slowly getting back into their routine, and the economy starts to bounce back, your property will be at the top of their mind when prospective residents are looking to make housing decisions. Virtual tours are another huge opportunity to maintain leasing operations while we’re all quarantining. Providing potential residents with Zoom video tours is a great option to have potential residents become familiar with your community, and sign new leases!

Spread Your Messages Across Properties

Like we’ve mentioned previously, a localized marketing strategy would not be possible without the ability to communicate at the local level. Target audiences can vary across locations, which is why personalization and localization are so important. For instance, throughout this pandemic, your properties could be facing different restrictions at each location - since many of these directives are coming from both the state and city levels. It is crucial to communicate your property’s current hours of operation, along with any other changes that have been made to the facility. If your property is an apartment complex and has closed amenities such as the gym and pool, you must communicate those modifications to your residents. Now it’s more important than ever to have an accurate digital presence for every one of your properties. Residents are searching for local information, and your property's local search and social pages are providing the critical information needed for a consumer to ultimately make a housing decision. To communicate at the local level with your potential residents, your properties must have all pages claimed. For instance, your property should have a Facebook page and Google My Business (GMB) page claimed for each location. While Facebook and GMB serve as examples, your property should ensure it has local pages claimed on all search and social platforms that are relevant to your industry and audience. Throughout this pandemic, it’s critical to keep information like hours of operation and contact information up-to-date on all of your property’s local pages.

Consolidate Your Localized Marketing Efforts

You may be asking yourself, during this unprecedented time, how am I supposed to keep up with a localized marketing strategy? We know it can be challenging to keep up with communicating across 100s or 1,000s of properties. That’s where SOCi can help! At SOCi, we can help you manage a comprehensive localized marketing strategy across all of your properties. From social content to reviews to local listings management to ads, we have you covered all from a single platform. For more information about how SOCi can help your property management company manage its localized marketing strategy, and withstand the pressure that COVID-19 is putting on your business, check out our website or email us at [email protected].