Online marketing used to be a relatively streamlined task for property marketers, with one central and overarching mission: drive qualified visitors to your property sites and ILS listings. Today, online media and the ways that your residents and prospective residents are utilizing that media has fragmented to the “n”th degree – people are searching, surfing and socializing online in ways no one could have predicted even a few short years ago. Renters now can truly experience your communities and what it’s like to live in them in an entirely virtual environment – from awareness, to engagement and re-engagement, to credibility references, to word of mouth, there is a world of information about YOU available online…and in many places that you not only don’t control, but that exist entirely without your knowledge. So how do you positively nudge a prospective renter down a path that starts with community awareness and ends with a new lease, all the while proactively managing this new process by which residents research rental options online? This session will cover many important, of-the-moment topics, among them:
What is “web presence optimization”, and how does it differ from traditional SEO and SEM?
• How are your residents and potential residents REALLY using the web today?
• What is the value of “social media” and where does it fit in to the “new” web?
• How is Google changing and what does it mean to you and your communities?
• Is it wise to make decisions regarding the allocation of scarce resources based on “last click” lead attribution?
• What does the online “publishing revolution” mean for your online marketing efforts?
• How do various, seemingly unique online marketing efforts integrate and impact one another?
• What are some actionable, simple ways to kick-start a comprehensive web presence optimization effort?
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Web Presence Optimization: Building Community & Reaching New Residents Online
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Intro – What is the new web:Old (Web 1.0): The totality of your communities online existence = your property website(s)New (Web 2.0): multiple places to experience, engage with, verify others experiences, with your communities (Places/local listings, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Youtube, blogs, ApartmentRatings, etc. etc.), many of these places existing outside of your direct control (someone talking about their experience with you on their personal Facebook account, etc.)Old: Static website, never or rarely changing. Google was like the Library of Congress, a mass repository of anything historically documented on the web about any given subject/topicNew: Fresh, engaging, relevant content – brought on by publishing revolution (publishing friction/barriers lower, publishing increases - facebook, blogs, twitter) and Twitter launching the new focus on “real-time” search. Google’s algorithm now accounts for fresh content that is relevant and engaging (using “social signals” to measure relevance like positive review, fans, followers, etc.).Big Challenge: How does a business positively influence the discussion in all these different places, respond quickly to third-party negative content, and proactively manage and control online reputation….all the while continually pushing out new “stuff” that their community of interest finds interesting and engaging?
Within this new “Web 2.0” environment, how do we frame prospective new residents online behavior. Within three core activities:Searching, Surfing & Socializing.Renters are searching online for places to live – you have the opportunity to “pull” them to you.Renters are surfing the web and browsing their favorite sites – you have the opportunity to “push” your messaging and awareness of your properties, in a very specific, targeted fashion.\\Renters are socializing, asking their social circle for suggestions on living options, reading reviews, and checking out your community.
Brief review of information in slide
Most businesseshave one static site (property and/or regional site), but your renters are finding you in many different places throughout the Web.We define these places as:Your Site(s):Your website, blog or profile page.Local Directories: Google Places, Map listings, Reviews,etc.Social Media:Facebook & TwitterContent Sites :YouTube, Flicker, etcThere are literally thousands of these sites…..
Right now, everyone is talking about Facebook & Twitter (and for good reason), but (as you can see) there are many roads leading to your properties...objective is to pave those roads and make them super highways.Renters consult multiple online sources as they become aware of a community and then verify it’s desirability, before ultimatelychoosing where to tour.Of the 71 percent of apartment hunters already active with social media, obtaining supplemental information including recommendations, visuals and special offers topped the reasons they tap these websites during their apartment search. So now you know the theory, here’s how this dynamic might play out in practice….[next slide]
Here’s an example of how this process might look. Story of “Joe”: http://justinmink.ca.st/53989/2011/01/26/the-story-of-joe-aka-how-apartment-renters-choose-where-to-live-in-2011.html
Two primary, broad ways to implement a comprehensive web presence strategy:Buying & Build presence to optimize your web presence.Web Presence Optimization (more consumers finding and engaging in more places) has replaced the old SEO (the totality of your online existence was your website, and SEO was attempts to drive traffic to that singular destination)
Buying and building presence in practice – very brief description of paid search, brief overview of new local listing structure and the paramount importance of claiming and optimizing (to the extent possible) Places listings, along with a few caveats about ownership (Places listings are Google properties)
Next, enhance your web presence by publishing fresh new content in the many places that your community can engage you. Build community (fans, followers) + generate positive reviews = increased discoverability (search & social) to take advantage of Google algorithm updates
Buying and building work together to help you dominate shelf space and control how your brand is presented. Advertise (buy), and publish (build) – google places, facebook, twitter, yelp, apartmentratings.com, blogs, Flickr, Youtube, etc
How the “Buy + Build” strategy ties in to the “Three Conversations” renters are conducting online – Search, Surf and Social
The benefits of an optimized, integrated web presence program are multi-fold: generate referrals and build community through social discovery (Joe finding his buddy on Facebook), 2) generate good will and community advocates/evangelists = credibility with renters AND Google, which will lead to, 3) more roads that lead to you and are controlled by you, paved and expanded to become super highways…dominate that search engine results “real estate” (or “shelf space”) and increase your market share