“What do you mean I can’t just post an ad on Craigslist and lease my entire building?” In this day and age, I never expect to hear that, but to my surprise, I still hear those words from developers and managers.

The problem is, long gone are those days of posting free Craigslist ads and watching the leads roll in. These days, it takes a lot more than simple ads to get a building leased and stay competitive.

Even communities or portfolios who have moved beyond that, have resigned themselves to the status quo of marketing. You know the ones, they throw an ad on Apartments.com and post "how to spruce up your kitchen" posts on Facebook and still wonder why they have vacancy issues.

You have to be creative, involved and spend the time and money to ensure your property is at the forefront when renters are searching for an apartment.  Here is what should be the most vital parts of any communities marketing plan:

SEO | SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

This might be the most important of all the recommendations. Having a comprehensive SEO strategy is paramount to your community being found online. It also can provide a HUGE boost to reduced cost lead generation as well as a competitive edge in your market.

PPC | ADWORDS

A fundamental of leasing these days, AdWords advertising can produce excellent results if you know how to optimize it. The keys to a successful AdWords campaign is testing, good copyrighting and keyword selection. Remember, you not the only one doing this, so be creative in your ads!

REMARKETING

Relatively new to the multifamily, world, Remarketing is the ability to show ads of your properties to visitors of your website while they browse other sites. This is a GREAT way to keep your community front and center in renters minds!

SOCIAL ADVERTISING

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram Advertising are now a fundamental source of leads and branding for the multifamily industry. Like AdWords, Social Advertising allows communities to promote their brand within the networks. Onc huge advantage is the ability to target renters based on social, demographic and income data, becoming a very cost-effective way to reach potential tenants.

REPUTATION MANAGEMENT

How your property or community looks online directly impacts your leasing. Negative items showing up online can damage your brand, whereas having a positive online reputation leads to increased leads and retention rates. Every community needs a plan to deal with reputation management.