Have a New Apartment Lease Up? In this in-depth guide you'll get solid advice for getting fully leased up. Compliments of Resident360. Full resource at: https://www.resident360.com/blog/5-step-apartment-lease-up-marketing-plan-ideas/

1. The Ultimate 5-Step Apartment
Lease Up Marketing Plan

2. When it comes to new apartment construction, there are no
signs of the industry slowing down anytime soon.
With construction at a 10-year high, property managers and
marketing directors are looking for ways to successfully establish
a credible presence – and increase occupancy
rates – in incredibly saturated markets.

3. For apartment lease ups, this process can be convoluted thanks to
the sheer number of stakeholders involved: architects, construction
teams, developers, property management teams, and even
residents.
We’ve put together the ultimate 5-step lease up marketing plan to
take any confusion out of the process and replace it with
serious results.
Our marketing plan is broken down into 5 parts starting with
your foundation.

5. Part 1: Your Foundation
The first thing you need to do is establish your identity. A strong iden-
tity is the foundation of all your marketing efforts.
Start by addressing these 6 foundational items:
#1 Community Name
What are you going to call this development? You want something
unique, but still simple enough to pronounce. At the very least,
Google your potential names to avoid duplicating a nearby communi-
ty within the sub-market or possible offensive names that have many
meanings.
#2 Select a Domain Name
Make it easy to type, keep it as short as possible, avoid hyphens, and
try to keep the .com extension.

6. Should You Have Keywords In Your Domain Name?
The short answer is “Yes.”
Having a keyword in your domain name will help you rank better on
Google. Why? The keyword gives Google a clear indication of what
your website is about.
For example, take the domain U32Apartments.com. It’s obvious to
you and I – this is about apartments. Obvious to Google as well.

7. Now take the domain LiveatCortesian.com. It’s not immediately ob-
vious this is an apartment website. It has to do with living, but no
clear indication it’s apartments.
That’s where having that specific keyword can give you a little bump
on Google search results.
To add to that – a prospective resident is much more likely to use the
word “Apartments” in their Google search. Armed with this informa-
tion, the next logical step is to secure a domain name that contains
your community name plus the word apartments.
Now the problem with domains that have the word “Apartments” in
them – is they’re rarely available anymore. They’re also not that sexy
when using it for a luxe development.
In this case we need to get creative.

8. Here are three ideas to help you secure a good domain name:
#1 – The ideal domain name looks like this: [Community]Apart-
ments.com
Example: U32Apartments.com.
Something you’ll need to be aware of is the length. If you have a long
community name then I would look at one of the variations listed
below.

9. #2 – Another good option looks like this: [Community][Neighbor-
hood].com
Example: Five55SantaCruz.com.
I like this style domain name because it includes the local area as the
keyword. This will help with Google rankings.
#3 – A shorter domain looks like this: [Community] + Apts.com
Example: West10Apts.com.
This variation is good for communities with long names. If none of the
above variations work for you, I recommend just sticking with the
community name as the actual domain.
If that’s not available then you can play with variations of “rent” and
“living:”

10. Example: RentJasper.com or [Community]Living.com.
You should be able to secure a great domain using one of my varia-
tions listed above. Make sure you always go for .com over .net or
any other ending. If you’ve never purchased a domain before, Go-
daddy.com is still our go-to source for domain searches and purchas-
es. They’re a good resource.
#3 Claim Listings
When people search your name, they need to find you. Claim your di-
rectory listings (like Google My Business), website URL, and social
media profiles as soon as possible. Here’s a good article we wrote on
how to claim and optimize your Google My Business listing.
#4 Logo/ID
How do you want people to think of your development? Modern?
Luxury? Your logo design should capture how you want your brand to
look and feel. The logo/ID is not like a brochure or banner that can be
discarded down the road to start over — you are setting the tone for
the overall brand.

11. #5 Brand Concept, Look, Graphics
This will also tie in with your logo/ID and acts as a blueprint for the
property, guiding all of the materials and assets that are developed
for marketing. Color palette, style guide, typography and brand book
can all be included here.
#6 Renderings

12. You probably have an exterior rendering for your new community but
what about unit and amenity renderings? You should strongly con-
sider both and also make sure your exterior rendering is up to stan-
dards in terms of quality.
These elements establish the foundation of your new community.
Next, you need to build anticipation and excitement around your de-
velopment. This should be a key part of your apartment lease up
strategy.
Part 2: Driving Interest
Part 2: Driving Interest
In Part 2, it’s all about building your marketing list of hot prospects.
That means you need to drive a lot of interest to your new develop-
ment.
Here are 6 marketing items you should consider:

13. #1 Waiting List Website
Otherwise, known as a landing page, is the launching point for your
digital marketing actions (this isn’t your full website just yet, it’s much
simpler).
On this waiting list website, prospective residents can enter their con-
tact information to stay in the loop as your new apartment community
is developed. This will help you build a solid list of good prospects.

14. #2 Email Marketing
Your waiting list website is collecting contact info that includes email
addresses of interested prospects. You want to make sure you stay
top of mind with these hot prospects.
The best way to do this is with email marketing.
How often should I email?
1-2 emails a month is plenty, but be consistent so you stay top of
mind. The first time a prospect opts in for more info on your website,
they need to receive an email immediately welcoming them. This very
first email is important. Spend extra time making sure you’re creating
the right experience with your words. Then set this email up as an
auto responder, so they receive it a few minutes after leaving their in-
formation.

15. These emails can simply be updating them on the construction prog-
ress, making them feel part of the process. Keep your emails fairly
short, to the point, and include a picture if possible. You can also post
these updates on your branded social media profiles.
What should my subject line be?
To get your emails opened, you need to have a good subject. We’ve
had a lot of success using the following: VIP Update. What you want
to keep in mind here is you need to be consistent with the messaging
that’s on your interest list website. For example, if your interest list
website says, Join Our VIP list. Then your emails should reference
this.

16. How do I send the emails?
You can use a DIY service like Mailchimp or Constant Contact for
managing and sending your emails. If you want to be totally hands off
you can partner with Resident360 for best results.
What else should I be aware of?
Prospects will reply to your emails, so make sure you have someone
that can talk to them in a timely manner. Nothing is worse then a
prospect’s emails sitting in your inbox for two weeks with no-reply.

17. Once you have the waiting-list website, you need to drive traffic to it.
Google AdWords is an effective way to draw people in who are al-
ready searching for a new apartment community in your area.
For example, people are actively searching on Google for, “Apart-
ments in [Your Area].” You want to make sure your property is at the
top of those search results. That’s what Google AdWords will do for
you. Here’s a recent article we published on Google AdWords that
will give you further insight.
#3 Launch Google AdWords

18. #4 Construction Banners & Signage
Create large construction banners or fence wraps with your new logo,
web address, quality image, and call to action. Display your banners
around the development to attract prospective residents walking by
the community.

19. #5 Social Media Posting
Don’t forget branded social media profiles, too. Social media could
help generate more potential residents. Post construction updates
here as well.
#6 Virtual Reality Tours

20. Virtual reality (VR) is finding uses in many industries right now, in-
cluding multifamily. When a potential resident comes to the sales
office, invite them to put on a VR headset to walk through a simula-
tion of one of the units. It will be a unique and unforgettable experi-
ence.
Part 3: Pre-Opening Activities
A few weeks before your grand opening is the time to create and
launch your full website, with all the features you’ll need to capture
leads and interact with your residents.
Of course, you’ll also need to continue (and even ramp up) your email
marketing efforts. Every person who gave you their email is someone
who might want to live in your new community. Just because they
didn’t sign a lease now doesn’t mean they won’t in the future.

21. You can invite people to grand opening events, share photos and
videos about the community, and promote any special move-in offers
you might have on your property.
Now is also the time to create more offline marketing materials, like
brochures, business cards, flyers, and giveaways such as branded
water bottles or t-shirts with your logo.

22. It’s a good idea to start searching for local business partnerships for
your launch parties. You can create connections with local businesses,
which may attract more residents or offer special perks to existing
ones later down the line.
Part 4: The Grand Opening
After the opening, you can start to sell the living experience of your
community.
#1 Get High-Quality Photos
Have a professional photographer take photos of the living areas and
any other amenities you think will excite potential residents. You want
them to see these pictures and be able to visualize themselves and
their families there, cooking in the kitchen or hanging out by the pool.
Get photos of neighborhood hotspots to show off your property’s lo-
cation.

23. #2 Gather Testimonials
Ask residents when they’re handed their keys, “Why did you choose
to lease here.” The answer to that one question will make a very
good testimonial. Stay proactive – your on-site teams should be con-
stantly on the lookout for new review opportunities.

24. Ask residents when they’re handed their keys, “Why did you choose
to lease here.” The answer to that one question will make a very
good testimonial. Stay proactive – your on-site teams should be con-
stantly on the lookout for new review opportunities.
Positive prospect tour – ask for a review (Doesn’t matter if they
sign a lease or not)
Positive move-in experience – ask for a review
Positive move-out experience – ask for a review
Survey residents on a quarterly basis.
Positive surveys – ask for a review
Positive interaction with resident – ask for a review
Tie-in some type of benefit/reward, so on-site staff actually makes it a
goal to get a set number of reviews monthly.

25. #3 Continue Google AdWords For Driving
More Traffic
Hands down it’s the #1 lead source for every community that Resi-
dent360 manages it for.
Once you’ve opened and the occupancy is stabilized, you can start
prepping for more long-term efforts.

26. Part 5: Market & Monitor
Now that the community is open, your marketing needs to continue
so you can maintain your occupancy goals. A few things to consider:
#1 Keep Communication Open
Your brand, website, and social media channels should all communi-
cate a similar message about why your community is unique; this will
appeal to new residents while keeping your current residents happy
and in-the-know.

27. #2 Optimize AdWords for Better Results
You can use a more aggressive approach when you need to fill vacan-
cies and then dial back as needed. Keep an eye on results or hire an
agency to help you manage campaigns for optimal effectiveness.

28. #3 Monitor Your Online Reviews
Google, Facebook and Yelp are some of the first reviews that will pop
up as prospective residents look into your development. Create a
plan to manage them now, instead of waiting until there’s a problem.
Responding to negative reviews can help you to earn trust and turn
negative situations into positives.
Here are a few things to think about:
1. How will you monitor reviews/responses?
2. Who will respond? How will they respond? How fast will they re-
spond?
3. How will you foster/encourage new reviews?
4. Who will oversee the whole thing?

29. There are several third party monitoring dashboards out there that
will handle the collection of reviews/mentions of your properties and
alert you to what’s hot.
Ideally you want to have a point person overseeing this dashboard
and your reputation management as a whole. They should be work-
ing with on-site teams to respond authentically to negative reviews.
Keeping the responses authentic is the hard part, but it’s truly what
needs to be done.

30. As you can see, there are a ton of moving parts when it comes to
a new apartment lease up. You may want to consider working
with a company that can help lay out and manage a step-by-step
plan, including establishing an apartment lease up schedule tai-
lored especially for you.
Why You Should Consider Resident360
Resident360 is your premier partner for multifamily marketing.
We’ve worked with hundreds of properties, so we have the ex-
perience and know how to get the job done right the first time.
Our services include:

31. Websites - Landing Pages, Apartment Websites,
Corporate Websites
Branding - Overall Brand Direction, Asset Name, Logo/ID,
Style Guide
Renderings - Exterior & Interior, Community Site Maps
Traffic - Google Adwords, Facebook Advertising, SEO,
Email Marketing
Floor Plans - 2D, 3D, and Virtual Walking Tours
Collateral - Brochures, E-brochures, Stationary
Signage - Construction Banners, A-Frames
Developer & Asset Reposition Packages

32. If you’re looking for a personalized solution and love great ser-
vice, let’s continue the conversation. Get started by checking out
our work samples. Just click the button below:
EXPLORE WORK SAMPLES
VP of Sales & Marketing
Resident360
lisa@resident360.com
855-360-9327 Press 1
To your success,