Online Apartment Advertising: The Glitz, The Glamour & The Truth

It just sounds cool, "We're advertising online." The sentence carries an edgy tone to it that tells others that you know what you're doing. That's about all of the glitz and the glamour of online apartment advertising...now, let's talk about the truth.

The truth about online advertising is that it's a tough world out there. It's almost impossible to rely solely on online advertising to bring in enough qualified apartment renters, month after month, to keep your occupancy high. With the amount of online ad space that's sold every day, how are you supposed to make your community stand out from all the others?

YOU WON'T STAND OUT BY ADVERTISING ON POPULAR APARTMENT WEBSITES!

Apartment Postcards believes there is a better way to achieve a strong web presence without advertising with all of your competitors. When you advertise on popular apartment websites, all of your comp properties are just an easy click away.

Let me show you what I mean.

When a prospective renter goes online to see what apartments are available in their local area, how long will it take before he/she eventually finds your community? How many of your comps will they have had to wade through before seeing the ad you pay for every month? Hundreds? Even thousands? And, what is it about your ad that will entice them to visit your property over the others?

Does it seem farfetched that very few prospects will view your community, much less come in and sign a lease? Look at what a simple search on one of these popular apartment websites reveals:

Phoenix, AZ: Apartments Found - 716

Washington, DC: Apartments Found - 720

Houston, TX: Apartments Found - 701

Even if you're paying big bucks for a premium position on one of these popular apartment websites, your competitors' pages are only an easy click away...and you can be sure your prospects are going to check them out.

IT'S ALL ABOUT QUALITY, NOT QUANTITY!

Your community needs a simple, effective alternative to those non-performing websites where the odds are seriously stacked against you.

Fortunately, at Apartment Postcards we know how to get qualified prospects to go directly to your community's website without having to click through all of your comp properties first. The solution to running a successful Internet advertising campaign is to have your own website and to publish your web address on every marketing and advertising tool available.

When your marketing activity prompts a prospect to go directly to your community's website, they won't be bombarded by advertising from every other apartment community in your area. Their complete focus will be on the amenities and services of your property, and your property alone. Just by taking the competition out of the picture, you'll significantly increase your qualified traffic and sign more leases!!!

HOW DO I DRIVE TRAFFIC TO MY SITE?

That's easy. The very best way to market your community and drive traffic to your site is with direct mail. Direct mail is a proven, apartment marketing solution that reaches only local renters who are already qualified to live in your community. When they visit the website printed on your postcard, they'll be "driven" to investigate your property. What better way to automatically set yourself apart from your comps and capture the undivided attention of those qualified prospects! Click here to learn more about our direct mail programs.

Here are more ways to draw qualified traffic to your community through your website:

- Invite current residents to earn cash by referring prospects to your community. Make it easy by providing attractive flyers that highlight your web address. Click here to see examples of our custom-designed flyers.

- Distribute rack cards to local businesses, professional offices, chambers of commerce, etc., and give your website a prominent place on the card. Click here to see examples of our custom-designed rack cards.

- Add your website to your business cards, and pass them out at every networking opportunity. Click here to see examples of our custom-designed business cards.

- Advertise on Yahoo Local. It's free, and will link directly to your website. You will have your prospect's undivided attention because your competition will be out of sight and out of mind!

- All websites custom-designed by Apartment Postcards are Search Engine Optimized. This means that we know how to strategically build the HTML code to include keywords and phrases that put your website high on the list of Yahoo and Google search results! Click here to see our custom website offerings.

In summary, drawing prospects to a well-designed website means they don't have to wade through all your comps to find you. Capturing their undivided attention and showcasing your community in an attractive and easy-to-navigate Internet environment pays big dividends in the form of more qualified traffic and more leases!

If you need help putting together an apartment website, Apartment & Real Estate Promotions can do it all at a budget-friendly price! Call 800-973-3317 today to shift the Internet odds in your favor! It's fast, it's easy, and it works!