How Property Management Software Can Make You a Marketing Machine

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IntroductionLet’s be real. Between moving residents in and

moving residents out, a ton of work happens

behind the scenes. Applications are collected.

Checks are deposited. Ads are created. Units

are inspected. The list goes on, but you know

the drill. A major challenge of many property

management companies is that there aren’t

enough troops on the ground to do all the

heavy lifting.

Enter modern property management software.

It alleviates the burden of tedious tasks so

you can focus on the important things that

technology can’t do: provide excellent

customer service, brainstorm creative ways to

bring in new residents, and build a long-term

strategy to grow your business. You can focus

on becoming a well-oiled marketing machine.

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What This Guide Will Cover

The importance of appearing on property

listing websites

Tips to improve your property listings

Optimizing your company’s website

How the right property management software

can enhance your marketing e�orts

BONUS: How to market property management

software to your owners

We’ve broken down two of the most essential areas

of marketing your properties—vacancy postings and

your company’s website—to show how property

management software can launch your marketing

e�orts to the next level.

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The Modern Renter’s Apartment SearchToday, most people looking for a new place to

live don’t drive around town in search of “for

rent” signs, and the number of people flipping

through newspaper ads is on the decline.

Millennial apartment seekers start their search

online by visiting websites like Craigslist,

browsing property listing websites like

Apartments.com or Rentals.com, or using

Google Search and social media channels to

pull up vacancies in the area of interest.

FOR RENT

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Online Property ListingsYou need to be where the apartment hunters are,

which is on the Internet listing websites. But to post

your properties on these sites, you might spend

anywhere from a couple of hours to an entire day

manually submitting your property information,

researching payment plans, and hunting down

lost passwords.

Once you’re up and running with an account, your

property information needs to be manually entered

into dozens of online forms. Now, multiply this

process by 100 for a more accurate picture of how

time-consuming this can be. And to maximize visibility

into your open units, you need to be on many listing

sites, and manually doing this can quickly spiral into

a nightmare task.

The Technology AdvantageWith modern property management software, you can fill out the

information for your property one time and, with a click of a button,

disperse the information to hundreds of listings sites simultaneously.

Some property management companies have strong relationships

for premium-listing services to give you top billing on more sites

and maximize your exposure to prospective renters.

There are many sites that integrate seamlessly with property management software, which means:

Vacancies are posted to listing sites

more quickly (in some cases, less

than an hour)

The data is more accurate, which

makes renters very happy

Old listings can be removed much

faster (avoiding wasting renter’s time

with already-filled units)

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The faster you can promote your open units, the faster

you can bring in new renters.

Free up your sta� to focus on other marketing channels

that need a more personal touch, such as social media

and review sites. These channels are extremely

important for property management companies in

today’s digital landscape. But for those without property

management software, they often take a backseat to

more traditional marketing channels.

Zillow Rental Network has

more than 25 million rental

shoppers each month.

Trulia attracts more than

55 million house hunters

every month.

The Power of Property Listings Sites

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2. Add PhotosProperties with photos get 66% more leads than those without—and quality counts. What works well:

Exterior photos on blue skies with the sun behind you

Interesting angles

Interior photos with clean or empty rooms

9 Tips for Better Property ListingsProperty management software frees up time so you can focus on

marketing your vacancies and optimizing your property listings.

1. Keep Your Listings UpdatedRenters may ignore out-of-date advertisements, and updated ads appear higher in search results.

3. Include a Complete Description and Rent AmountListings with descriptions receive 77% more leads than listings without, and listings with longer descriptions get even more leads. Listings that show the rent receive22% more leads compared to listings sans rent.

4. Include Links and Attachments Take video tours and walkthroughs of your properties and include them in your listings. Also include links toyour company website, social media profiles, online rental applications, and pet policies. Specifying a petpolicy results in 20% more leads, even if the policy is simply “no pets.”

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6. Pick Up the PhoneBased on a recent RentLinx study of almost 8,000 calls in response to online vacancy listings, 26% of callers couldn’t reach a human during business hours. Speaking to a potential renter and asking them about their needs and what they are looking for can have a huge impact on how many showings you book.

5. List Your Top AmenitiesPeople want to know what they’ll get by living at your property. Be sure to include a list of your top amenities and you’ll be sure to get more leads.

8. Post to Premium SitesAdvertisements on premium (pay-to-list) websites can receive 2–12 times as many leads as free listings. Free sites are competing for attention in the search results and listings could be buried beneath lower-quality ones.

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7. Use Social Media Posting your vacancies on listing sites is not enough. You need to take the extra step and post on social media to increase your brand awareness and reach.

9. Is Craigslist Still Cool?A lot of property managers ask this question. With recent changes to the former go-to site for finding apartments—no more HTML, poor mobile map interface, fraud and spam posting issues—all signs point to fewer and lower quality leads being driven from Craigslist. If it is working for you, keep listing; but if it isn’t, your time might be better spent elsewhere.

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The First ImpressionMatters...A LotIn the modern world, having a professional website is

a must. But what’s worse than no website? A poorly

done website.

Building a professional website is hard when you

don’t have the background, and it takes a lot of time

to do it right. Many businesses will pay an arm and a

leg to a third-party design firm to build their site. If

you’re a smaller business, this isn’t a viable option,

so you’re left to build it yourself.

A well-done website conveys:

Trust Professionalism

Knowledge Personality/Culture

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You could spend up to an entire year

building a website for your company,

and it still won’t bring in enough business.

There are a number of DIY platforms out

there, but after educating yourself on best

practices, designing and redesigning,

adding in customization fees, and then

having to keep it updated with new

listings and information, you’ve spent a

huge amount of time and money on

e�orts that might not be working for you.

And with how often technology changes

in this digital age, your website might be

outdated quickly or even penalized

whenever Google decides to make an

update (remember Mobilegeddon?).

What Makes a PropertyManagementWebsiteSuccessful?

Modern design

Mobile-friendliness

Intelligible copy

Quick contact options

Positive reviews

Social media integration

Search engine optimization

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RENT

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The Technology AdvantageHaving a property management company who works

with you and builds your website based on best

practices is a major advantage. They get you up and

running quickly so you can focus on other marketing

e�orts: writing compelling content to entice people

to your properties and responding to all those

inquiries that will come pouring in. Having property

management software that integrates with your

website is also a major plus. Residents can pay their

rent online and submit maintenance requests directly

from your website, saving you the time and hassle.

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Having a professional website that can

capture prospective leads for your business

is important, too. Working contact forms and

guest card tracking can help bring in more

renters, and since you’re not bogged down

with dealing with unforeseen website

issues, you can spend your time responding

to leads and getting people to convert to

renters. Customer service is the new

marketing, and you’ll free up your time to

focus on the people.

It’s vital to measure the success of your

marketing e�orts, but a lot of property

management companies don’t have time

to do it all and reflect on the data. But you

don’t have to be doing it all. With property

management software by your side, you

can concentrate on the most important

marketing strategies to reach your

business goals.

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BONUS: Bringing the Owners on Board

Modern technology puts you

light years ahead of the

competition. (The longer it

takes competing properties to

adopt technology, the further

behind they’ll be when they do

make the change.)

You can respond faster and

provide better service to

owners and residents.

Your owners need access

to sensitive data about all

properties at any time and

from anywhere. (The right

software can provide

security and backup.)

Monthly statements can be

delivered via email, saving

time and paper. (More trees

is always a good thing.)

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Property maintenance issues

can be addressed much faster

with electronic work orders and

vendor communication.

Your owners will be paid faster

and more securely with funds

directly deposited into their

bank accounts. (Mo’ money,

no problems.)

You can e�ectively market

all your properties and fill

vacancies quicker.

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Learn how AppFolio property management software can help you modernize, automate, and grow your business.

Visit www.appfolio.com.