http://www.multifamilybiz.com Latest Expert Commentary from MultifamilyBiz.com en-us © 2025 MultifamilyBiz.com 1 /blogs http://www.multifamilybiz.com/images/multifamilylogosmall.png 144 33 Industry Voices - MultifamilyBiz.com RSS Feed Artificial intelligence (AI) is currently one of the hottest buzzwords in tech and with good reason. The last few years have seen several innovations and advancements that have previously only been seen in the realm of science fiction movies, transformed into reality. AI bots, such as ChatGPT, have turned industries on their heads – from content producers, educational institutions, to legal assistants and market research analysts, the chatbot has proven to be powerful enough to generate answers to complex questions. AI is disrupting businesses, while redesigning our economic system. Experts state AI has the potential to introduce new sources of growth and change the way work is done across multiple industries. For example, a recent study predicts that AI could potentially contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2035, with China and the United States benefiting nearly 70% of the impact. But AI is not without controversy, some say it could displace roughly 400 million jobs worldwide by 2030, while others point out that with the tight labor market and aging workforce, we must augment jobs that we are wasting human talent on. What is Artificial Intelligence In simple terms, Artificial Intelligence is a method of making a computer, robot, or software think intelligently – much like a human. AI is accomplished (or trained as we say in the tech world) by studying patterns and processes. The outcome of these studies develops intelligent software and systems. The humble beginnings of AI started in 1956 when an American computer and cognitive scientist named John McCarthy was the first to discuss artificial intelligence. Not only did he coin the term, but also held the first AI conference known in history. From that point, we have seen everything from the Supercomputer Deep Blue that was built by IBM defeat world champion chess player Garry Kasparov in a match in 1997, to robotic vacuum cleaners, chatbots, speech recognition, and now with ChatGPT, which is a large language model AI with massive learning techniques. It is said that ChatGPT has consumed over 450 billion pieces of content to learn from. It also gets smarter as people like us ask it questions, as it uses machine and deep learning technology to provide those answers. Today it has over 100 million active users. What Myths and Magic Does AI Bring When it comes to AI myths, most theories revolve around AI somehow taking over human civilization. This may seem possible with the power of AI and the emergence of robots, but when we look at the actual capabilities of that technology today, it is a stretch for it to take over the world. AI programs are created with a narrow focus, which does not allow them to function outside their prescribed task. They currently cannot reproduce learning from their knowledge and apply it in the real world, as their purpose is to do a defined action with precision and speed. Keep in mind, humans build technology. Though AI is often looked at as a replacement for humans, it is increasing job productivity through augmenting redundant human tasks. For example, AI-powered chatbots can provide a seamless experience to customers and resolve the most basic questions instantly. AI can analyze sales calls and offer real-time tips for sales managers to improve communication with clients. They can help our workforce by handling tasks, analyzing data, and helping us work smarter. This helps businesses significantly boost their productivity and revenue per headcount. Leveraging AI in The Multifamily Industry If we look at the core needs in our industry, AI makes a lot of sense to utilize, since today s consumer is redefining how they want to transact business. Known as the digitally conscious customer, they have one common theme – instant transactions and results. AI can automate routine tasks, such as marketing, prospect onboarding, rent collection, lease renewals, and document processing. By automating these processes, property managers can save time, reduce administrative errors, and focus on more strategic aspects of property management. Appealing to today s digitally conscious renter involves delivering a seamless digital experience, which means keeping your user inside one unified experience, and not bouncing them across multiple platforms. They should have the ability to inquire, tour, apply, and have a lease delivered immediately upon approval inside that same environment. Once they sign their lease and become a resident, they are transitioned into portal to communicate, request service, pay rent, and renew leases; not being thrown to another site – just one seamless unified experience. As our industry continues to embrace digital transformation, now is the time to rethink the user experience and move into the instant everything economy. From automated marketing, rental applications to building and delivering leases without staff intervention, it is all possible with today s technology. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/440/the_myths_magic_and_mayhem_of_artificial_intellige... Thu, 12 Oct 2023 12:48:00 GMT 97cf2cac-31d1-431c-94b7-c70202b4a68f Kerry W. Kirby Apartment communities are unique, they are hyperlocal, designed to fit into the market they serve, and are developed based on a ton of demographic data to support its need in the market. They also run on a unique sales model, known as inbound marketing. To achieve this, you must reach into the market, let searching renters know you exist, and find a way for them to consider your community in their rental housing search. But what are today s renters really looking for when they land on your apartment website and how do you stand out above the rest in the crowded marketplace? Welcome to the twenty-first century, a place where websites are so much more than a pretty picture, especially in the multifamily housing space. We internally equate them to a hybrid of running an airline, with pricing, availability, an array of options for seats, destination, and of course, buying a ticket, or in our case applying for that unit. We then bundle that scenario with how savvy online merchants drive traffic, through pushing content on their website and social channels, all while building a large digital footprint. It makes perfect sense - but not all visions are understood. Leveraging The Power of Content In the world of digital marketing, search engine optimization is a vital component for any business that wants to gain visibility and attract customers through organic search. The heart of any successful search engine position strategy is content. Search engines like Google use complex algorithms to determine the relevance and authority of web pages, and content is a critical factor in both. High-quality content that is well-written, original, informative, and engaging is proven to rank well in search results. Creating relevant content is the key to the kingdom of organic search results. Producing high-impact content has been proven to be effective in promoting customer engagement, enhancing your online presence, and establishing your place in the market. Unlike traditional marketing methods, content marketing that is built into your website through blogs builds more web pages, which over time creates a large digital footprint. That content plays a larger role than any of the items on your extensive digital marketing checklist, as it brings diversity and scale to an otherwise static website through expanding metadata, title tags, and attracting valuable backlinks. Weaponize Your Social Media Pages Social media has undoubtedly become a powerful tool to connect with target audiences and promote brands. But did you know that you can leverage social media to boost your search engine rankings and attract more traffic to your website? Through sharing your blog content from your website, you not only boost your online visibility, but also create high-quality backlinks through interlinking your post back to your website. The value in maintaining active profiles on various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are that they increase your appearance in search results. As managing multiple social media profiles can be time-consuming and requires significant resources, automating social media posts has been proven to be highly valuable. One of the primary benefits of automating social media posts is consistency. Through automating posts, you can maintain a consistent posting schedule, and ensure that followers always have fresh content to engage with. Automating social media posts can improve efficiency, streamline activity, and make it easier to manage multiple profiles, all while pulling the burden off staff to maintain these distribution channels. Bringing Your Community to Life What most marketing managers do not realize is that consistently posting content is the most powerful marketing tool they can deploy, and the value it yields is the highest return on investment against any other marketing channel. In analyzing data across websites that are leveraging content marketing, we see a minimum of forty-percent increase in leads, versus those that do not. This is a significant piece to the puzzle, especially since apartment marketing never sleeps. In addition to all the search engine benefits content will bring, don t ever forget about that prospect on the other end of your website. Today s renters are looking for more than pricing and availability, they are looking for a living, breathing community. One that is active across multiple social media channels, distributes relevant content on a frequent basis, and has a website that provides more than transactional or fluff information. They are seeking a community with a personality, one that makes you feel more approachable, credible, and integrated with your residents. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/439/apartment_websites_have_become_the_most_powerful_t... Thu, 27 Jul 2023 19:25:00 GMT 1c11970e-f6c5-4dab-8a9a-8fd23d116962 Kerry W. Kirby Operating any business in today s sea of uncertainty is nothing short of a challenge. From the epic failure of Silicon Valley Bank, the ongoing battle with inflation, to a series of interest rate hikes – the market has been a challenge to predict. In our own industry, the rental housing market has been in a state of flux. We are seeing increased vacancies, declining rents, and concessions being offered across most major metro markets. There is overall weakness across markets like Austin, Nashville, Orlando, and Dallas-Fort Worth, which have been either negative or barely positive in rent growth. The bright spot in this sea of doubt has been job growth. We continue to see jobs being added, despite some high-profile layoffs in the tech sector. We are still unbalanced in the number of job openings versus the number of available people in the workforce. The larger problem looming is how skill gaps are impacting businesses, especially across certain sectors. If you are not familiar with the term skill gaps, it is the challenge of finding workers that have certain skills, most of which require high-level training, such as nurses, airline mechanics, HVAC techs, the list goes on. Centralization of Multifamily Operations The concept of centralization is not new. Businesses of all types have been looking for better ways to serve customers, reduce operating costs, and eliminate redundant tasks. Centralization has certainly been the latest buzz word in our industry. It consists of taking a hard look at your operations, and figuring out what you can consolidate under a single roof, or in our case, a specific team. If you have a condensed geographic footprint, it can even open the possibility of bringing maintenance teams into this model, by enabling them to be mobile for handling on-call services across various locations. Many multifamily housing operators have figured out that working a lead to convert to lease does not have to take place onsite - hence, centralized leasing was born. It also opened the door to enabling remote teams to become centralized leasing agents, with the usual ratio of one person for five communities, depending on the size of each community. Typical agents are handling incoming phone calls for leasing, answering email leads, setting appointments for in-person or self-guided tours, and in some cases, building out a lease and sending for electronic signature. The Digitally Conscious Customer The biggest issue technologists must overcome when pushing out new features is the fact that business adoption is slow, and customers are usually way ahead of what businesses have adopted. If you are looking for a why or how to that fact, look no further than your mobile phone. A new one comes out every year, with more features, faster processors, and higher-pixel cameras. Mobile devices are direct to consumer products and do not have a business sitting in the middle to adopt their products. Today's consumers are always connected and aware of what they can do with technology. Channels such as smartphones, social media, wearables, apps, machine learning, and automation are causing a shift in customer expectations. The rapid production of new digital technologies has created a new kind of modern buyer the tech industry has named the digitally conscious customer. This new term for our consumers better defines what drives everything we have, or will have in the market. Trifactor Tech Meets Modern Leasing The traditional process of renting an apartment has become outdated and cumbersome for both renters and property managers. If we look at the core of how those digitally conscious customers transact business, there is a common theme, they want everything instantaneously. What that means is consumers want instant answers, transactions, and acknowledgement of approvals and appointments. That instant response happens when we bring a trifactor of technology together, being self-service modules, automation running in the background, and AI constantly learning from those interactions. Most apartment communities rely on one thing to hand over the keys, a favorable screening report. Gone are the days of calling references, speaking with the prior landlord, or getting a work supervisor on the phone. With real time identity verification, screening data, and instant payment approval, delivering a physical lease through automation should just be part of the same process. It brings modernization to a currently broken process, allowing renters to execute a lease in real time, just like most other modern financial commitments are completed today. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/438/how_utilizing_trifactor_technology_can_take_your_m... Fri, 26 May 2023 19:18:00 GMT a5837348-5bef-46d4-9712-68d17afba412 Kerry W. Kirby Intelligent automation is a rapidly growing field that is transforming the way we work and interact with technology. It refers to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms to automate tasks and processes, allowing for more efficient and effective operations. One of the key benefits of intelligent automation is the ability to improve accuracy and speed. By automating routine tasks, businesses can reduce the chances of errors and improve the overall efficiency of their operations. This can lead to cost savings and the ability to handle higher volumes of work. Another benefit of intelligent automation is the ability to free up human workers to focus on more complex, value-added tasks. Rather than spending time on tedious and repetitive tasks, staff can use their skills and expertise to tackle more challenging and rewarding work. This can lead to higher job satisfaction and improved retention rates. Intelligent automation can also help businesses to better serve their customers. By automating customer service tasks, businesses can provide faster and more accurate responses to customer inquiries and complaints. The Digital Generation The term "digital generation" generally refers to people who have grown up with technology and are comfortable using it in their daily lives. Members of the digital generation are often proficient in using a wide range of technology and they are comfortable using the Internet and social media for communication, information-gathering, and entertainment. The digital generation has had a major impact on the way businesses operate and market themselves, as they have come to expect a high level of convenience and personalized experiences when interacting with companies. Today s renters have grown up with technology and are more accustomed to using it in their daily lives. They are more likely to use text messaging, social media, and other digital tools to access information or communicate with your community. Many younger consumers prefer to use self-service options, like online reservations or chatbots, rather than interacting with a human representative. This trend towards digital engagement has become a large part of the consumer market, and those that are not providing this level of access are being ruled out in their selection process. On-Demand Services The biggest undercurrent emerging in the market is that self-service tech has become a here-to-stay commodity. Thanks to rapid technology adoption, we are now living in what is known as the convenience economy – where we have access to anything imaginable, delivered to us any time we desire. In fact, over two-thirds of consumers are willing to pay more to have their groceries and food delivered to them, as they see little value in venturing out when self-service options are available. The need for self-service technology extends beyond the consumer. Businesses need to reduce operating costs and accelerate revenue. As businesses have now lived through the great labor shortage, they have their sights set on being less dependent on human workers, and looking for technology to fill many of the gaps that have surfaced over the past few years. Providing self-service around the clock brings in new customers and reduces the reliance on the workforce. Modern Leasing Housing was always considered a big step in one s life. Getting your own place and space has always been the dream for countless generations. That dream still exists, and with the flexibility of technology, renters can explore different options and move more easily. The traditional process of renting an apartment has become outdated and cumbersome for both renters and property managers. The current process involves a lengthy application process with irrelevant questions, a long wait for screening and approval, and a disconnected lease signing process. With today s mobile society, there is a need for a more streamlined and efficient process that caters to the modern renter. Most apartment communities rely on one thing to hand over the keys, a favorable screening report. Gone are the days of calling references, speaking with the prior landlord, or getting a work supervisor on the phone – they could be operating in the Metaverse for all we know. Screeners have become more accurate with access to so much data, payments are now instant, and delivering a physical lease should just be part of the same process. Delivering a fully automated apartment leasing platform brings modernization to a currently broken process, allowing renters to execute a lease in real time, just like most other modern financial commitments are completed today. Now it is time to rethink our rental applications, scale them down to what is really needed, and deliver a real time decision directly to that waiting renter – moving approved applicants through the process to lease execution. As our industry continues to embrace digital transformation, it is now time to let innovation streamline the user experience and move into the instant everything economy. Ready to modernize your leasing process? Learn how 365 Connect can automate your leasing today. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/437/embracing_automated_leasing_tools_to_deliver_new_l... Tue, 21 Feb 2023 21:09:00 GMT a5261485-5b57-4408-917a-45c91f54fe3f Kerry W. Kirby The gaps in website accessibility for people with disabilities and other underserved groups continues to be exposed. With one in four American adults disabled, digital accessibility has become more critical than ever, especially since we continue to shift to working, shopping, and accessing services online. From the absence of captioning capabilities to the disregard of structing code for screen readers, these voids create barriers in access to telehealth, education, and even government websites. With multifamily housing operators outsourcing their designs, branding, and website projects, they need to be aware of the small things that can get missed, which will break accessibility compliance. As there are no quick fix solutions when it comes to having a truly compliant website, many items must be manually verified, and take the help of skilled professionals. Let s take a quick look at the most common website accessibility issues: Color Contrast Problems Text not meeting the color contrast requirements is not only the most common problem, but in a lot of cases it is also the most obvious. Most apartment communities like to incorporate their branding guideline colors into their websites. This is great, but most designers are not familiar with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) requirements for contrast and include colors that might get used in unintended ways. The most common places to spot this is in navigation bars, buttons, titles, or links, this is where most web designers tend to incorporate brand colors. One of the hardest places to nail down compliance is overlaying text on an image. When you have a beautiful background image of your apartments or amenities, how can you be certain that you are meeting contrast requirements? Most modern websites are built with screen responsiveness in mind which causes your text to lay over different areas of an image making your contrast ratio a moving target. This point alone requires you to have a trained professional that can identify the possible outcomes and manually validate the website for accessibility compliance. Inaccurately Described Images Photos are the most crucial part of you online curb appeal, but a picture is only worth a thousand words if you can see it. For users that are visual impaired, a screen reader is their only window into your breath-taking community. Screen readers can do this by reading text that is in an alt tag, which is required by WCAG 2.1. Most people read this requirement and think that having text is where that guideline stops, but this is flat out wrong. The guideline requires you to not just have text, but for that text to be an accurate representation of what is pictured for non-text content. There are even automated tools that add text, but none of them can properly add context of what is pictured with accuracy. Links That Fail to Inform Users Throughout the WCAG guidance, there is a common theme: to give visually impaired users all the details needed to understand the site s content and functionality as well as, if not better than, someone with sight. This becomes extremely important for links, especially those that are simply icons or images. The first takeaway is that the link must tell the user where they are being navigated. In the case of an icon, you must have a description that is accessible to a screen reader, but obviously not visible to the user. A great example is a property management company s logo at the bottom of the page. Some automated solutions attempt to guess where you are going based on the URL or other context clues, but an inaccurately described link is as damaging as one with no description at all. On top of needing an accurate descriptor, it is required to notify users that use screen reading assistive technology that they will be navigated to a new tab or window. This is an example of something we need to demonstrate better to visual impaired users than someone that can use a website natively. For users with great vision, something as simple as a link opening in a new tab is obvious, but for other s it can be disorienting or confusing. Screen Reader Specific Text for Abbreviations Abbreviations are commonly used in website content and design. While it is okay to use abbreviations and stay WCAG compliant, you must do it by following the guidelines. To paraphrase, an abbreviation must be explained the first time it appears or made readable to a screen reader. This is a simple thing to miss as it requires understanding of what s an abbreviation and what s not. The most common example on most apartment websites is in a community s hours of operation. Simply putting Mon – Fri instead of Monday through Friday makes your site no longer compliant. Depending on Accessibility Widgets Our industry has a reputation for aggressive salespeople over promising and under-delivering. This sentiment applies to accessibility overlay widgets just as much as any other product. While chances are good that these widgets won t make your website less compliant, they are not the silver bullet you were sold. Many guidelines for compliance require a true understanding of the content s context and purpose, which makes it impossible for widgets to fix every possible problem. Color contrast of text on photos, accurate description of where a link is navigating someone, descriptions of images that are accurate, and abbreviations, there is no magic wand that can take care of these compliance issues. In fact, accessibility overlay widgets, which have been sold as a solution, have become a target in much of the recent website accessibility litigation, as they have been known to serve as a barrier to blind and visually disabled persons. The options are to either hire web developers that can keep up with changes and manually validate everything is compliant, or find a website provider that delivers a product that is compliant without the help of other technologies, and engages in regular audits to ensure compliance as WCAG evolves. 365 Connect is the leader in website accessibility compliance, delivering the industry-first WGAC Certified platform, which is re-certified semi-annually. If you would like to learn more about website accessibility, please contact us for a free consultation. Be sure to download our latest whitepaper to learn more about ADA compliance for your apartment website. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/436/the_five_biggest_problems_that_make_your_apartment... Mon, 28 Nov 2022 20:34:00 GMT 82ad3cf6-c9af-41a8-853e-85e69add320d Kerry W. Kirby The world has changed at a very rapid pace over the last few years as we have navigated through an array of historic challenges. From a global pandemic, supply chain issues, surging prices, and labor shortages, we seem to be living in a new level of chaos daily. Throughout it all, we have relied on technology to keep us connected, help operate our businesses, and in the multifamily housing industry, lease available apartments. Now that we have all experienced how technology can step in to supplement our workforce, the need to take it to the next level has never been greater. The Human Factor Let s face facts, finding qualified staff into today s market is next to impossible. From retailers to restaurants and more, there are few areas that haven t been hit by the current labor shortage, and it has left many employers scrambling for solutions. Add to that what is referred to as the great resignation, where record numbers of people (4 million a month at last count) are leaving their jobs, and you have the making for the perfect storm. The larger problem with people leaving the workforce is, many of the older skilled workers whom companies relay on to train new recruits have exited. As many positions remain unfilled, businesses are struggling to provide consistence services, especially those that are consumer facing. The most notable example is the airline industry, where we are witnessing massive disruption in delays, flight cancellations, and subpar service experiences. As the airline industry has done an amazing job of automating its ticketing and back-office functions through technology, the customer-facing elements of the service, such as greeting them and providing support, is not something that can be supplemented with robots and technology. Workforce Supplementation Throughout history, humans have been building machines to create better products, scale production, and make their jobs easier. The benefits that come from these innovations are the ability to optimize costs and outcomes. It also enables businesses to utilize structured learning models to train their workforce, being it is much easier to train a human to pull levers than build a machine. Supplementing our workforce with technology has been around since the industrial revolution, we are now leveraging new advancements like never before, as we enter the race to automate. Humans and technology can be a great mix, as they each have unique abilities that the other does not. Humans can provide social interactions, create connections, and resolve issues that require critical thinking. Technology, on the other hand, can offer greater accuracy, efficiency, and eliminate repetitive tasks to enable workers to evolve into more productive roles. While businesses have plenty of sophisticated technology options to assist in meeting customer expectations, it is important to find the right system that allows for human intervention if needed. Intelligent Automation There are so many buzz words when it come to the latest technology, from artificial intelligence, which are systems that can mimic human intelligence to perform tasks and improve their own abilities based on the information they collect, to augmented intelligence, such as virtual assistants that do not make decisions for you, but simply provide the data you need when you need it. If you have ever used Alexa, Siri, or another virtual assistant, you ve used augmented intelligence, it is on-demand data that it collects from an array of sources, such as the weather forecast or latest news. But have you ever heard of Intelligent Automation (IA)? It combines several advanced technologies to create end-to-end business processes that have the ability, at their highest form, to think, learn and adapt on their own. Intelligent automation can be utilized to different extents and is sometimes referred to as intelligent process automation and hyper-automation. Its highest and best use is making flexible, resilient, modern business operating models possible. Effective IA takes existing processes and integrates them to drive sustainable and scalable changes into framework. In the multifamily housing industry, we have done a great job with creating technology that automates marketing, social media, and the ability to capture leads and answer questions through chatbots. Now we can take a prospect from application to a signed lease without human intervention through intelligent automation. Leases can be built-in real time, along with digital invoices to capture payment, and digitally delivered for signature. It eliminates human error and enables communities to accelerate the leasing process. Automated leasing is now available to work with the industry-standard for compliance, Blue Moon. Learn how 365 Connect can automate your leasing today. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/435/intelligent_automation_technology_brings_new_abili... Thu, 08 Sep 2022 13:11:00 GMT fe5e1492-ecfd-4c01-a7d8-58a7c20d4cf4 Kerry W. Kirby Google is certainly good at keeping web developers on their toes, as they are always tweaking their algorithm to deliver the best results to their users. Their latest update, known as Page Experience, encompasses an array of aspects related to how a user interacts with your website, and how well your website meets their expectations. This simply means that certain factors to enhance a user s website experience that were not previously assessed in search results will now be taken into consideration by Google. Now, with apartment occupancy levels so high, is the perfect time to build your organic search engine position. Let s take a walk through what our read is on Google s latest changes, and what you can do to make sure you stay on top of your search results. The Page Experience Vitals Page experience is made up of several existing Google search ranking factors, including its mobile-friendly update, page speed update, HTTPS ranking boost, as well as intrusive interstitials and safe browsing penalty, while refining metrics around speed and usability. These refinements are under what Google calls Core Web Vitals, which it defines as the common set of performance signals critical to all web experiences, being loading performance, response rate, and layout shifts. These core components are the standard to create a great user experience and are important for search engine positioning. Breaking down Core Web Vitals, we find three major signals you will want to focus on. The first, called Largest Contentful Paint, measures your loading speed. Specifically, the time it takes for your page s most prominent content to load, such as hero images or videos. The next, called First Input Delay measures a page s interactivity by assessing the delay between a user s first interaction and the response to that interaction. The last major signal called, Cumulative Layout Shift measures the visual instability related to unexpected page shifts that happen when you have elements that load at different speeds or those loading with undefined dimensions. The Content Factor Google also puts a lot of weight on site content, and states that great page experience doesn t override having great page content. The factor of content becomes very interesting on several aspects, as Google looks for what it calls authoritative content, being a reputable source of content related to the product or service, and in some cases, the market area in which it serves. It all comes down to delivering content that helps readers not only find what they re looking for, but is also relevant to their interest or lifestyle. Remember, optimizing your site is great, but without content, it is pointless. Google at its core does one thing very well, index websites, which it does from content. Publishing consistent content gives Google a reason to crawl your site, as it has new pages to index. The best method to publish content is blogging, which has been proven to increase your visibility in search engines, drive more organic traffic, and engage your site visitors. Creating an effective blogging strategy is critical, publishing a minimum of a blog a week is optimal, and writing about topics that will remain relevant and valuable over a long period of time, known as evergreen content, is important. Building The Search Foundation Nothing is more valuable than owning and maintaining a great organic search engine position. To do so, you must first select a website provider that maintains a deep knowledge base of the technical aspects of a website, as this is what the Core Web Vitals is all about. Not all websites are created equal, and the framework to a website will play the largest role in building those big digital footprints. The important features to look for are site mapping, image tagging, and the ability to place content on pages throughout the site. Remember, a webpage looks different for you and the search engine. Creating consistent and relevant content is critical. Keep in mind, every time you use a search engine, you are looking for content, which can come in the form of words or images. Search engines use content to determine how to rank a page, it also uses the element of new content to establish relevance. Think of a media website and what will happen to its ranking if it ceases to publish any news. Just as news sites strive to stay relevant and have high rankings in search engines, publishing content is an easy way to ensure that yours can stay relevant and rank in the search engines too. That content will also create valuable backlinks if you post it across your social media channels to drive readers back to your site. Rethink your social media and utilize it as part of your ranking strategy. With apartment occupancy and rental rates hitting an all-time high, now it the perfect time to build a strong organic search engine presence. Equipping your apartment community with a user-friendly website, active social media platforms, and a well-executed content marketing strategy are the keys to becoming less dependent on buying pricy ads and listings when you encounter market changes. Looking to accomplish these goals without the massive costs of hiring a marketing team? Learn how 365 Connect s stack of automated marketing products can accomplish your goals. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/434/optimizing_your_apartment_website_for_googles_late... Mon, 25 Jul 2022 14:10:00 GMT 74104ba4-9d65-4746-94e3-57ade61d6599 Kerry W. Kirby ADA lawsuits alleging that websites, mobile apps, and certain digital content (such as video) failing to meet WCAG standards are running at full steam, and with an array of court victories and high-profile settlements paving the way, many websites are an easy target. In 2021 alone, thousands of federal and state lawsuits were filed. The top states where ADA website lawsuits have been filed include New York, California, and Florida. New York more than doubled second place California, with its Southern District being most active. In addition, there are private settlements taking place daily, that are harder to measure, and never make their way into the count. Most often, demand letters are being sent directly to properties, threating litigation unless settlement demands are met, including a payment to the party that could not navigate your website with a screen reader and brail keyboard. There is no question that receipt of demand letters far outnumber the federal and state lawsuits being filed across the industry. Most demand letters include a list of items for you to comply with, such as training your web developers on accessibility compliance, agreeing to bring your website into WCAG compliance within a certain period of time, and of course a monetary settlement to the damaged party, usually in the $5,000 to $20,000 range. Dealing With Demand Letters Website accessibility litigation is not anything new, it started over 20-years ago. But long before a lawsuit walks through the door, a demand letter is usually sent on behalf of users with vision impairments, alleging your website is inaccessible with screen reader software. It is estimated that over 250,000 web accessibility demand letters are sent a year, so don t feel like you were singled out, much of the digital world remains inaccessible to people with disabilities – making it fertile ground for litigation. Many of these demand letters will allege you violated the Fair Housing Act, as there are a few hooks into some state and federal laws, such as the Unruh Act in California. The first step to take when receiving a demand letter is to review its validity and make certain the claims being made are relevant to your website. Bring in an accessibility expert to help you determine how to respond and take any remediation steps to correct issues that surfaced in the letter. Contact your website provider to fully understand what they are doing for website accessibility compliance, and compare that information against the letter you received, especially what version of WCAG your provider followed when building the codebase for the website. Whatever direction you take, avoid solutions that offer to fix everything with a simple line of code, such as overlay widgets. The Overlay Widget Red Flag To avoid litigation, many website operators have turned to quick fix solutions, such as accessibility widgets. Think of those little icons at the bottom of a webpage that deliver tools for disabled users. The problem is these icons now serve as a red flag and are the new lawsuit magnet. Overlay solutions are essentially plug-ins that detect accessibility issues directly on a webpage and attempts to repair them in real-time, instead of within the web code as required. The inadequacies of accessibility overlays are common knowledge in the technology industry, with most experts agreeing they re only capable of detecting 20 to 30 percent of issues occurring on a website, thus leaving 70 to 80 percent of the issues on your website vulnerable. One of the biggest issues that accessibility widgets cannot remedy, is unlabeled or mislabeled form fields. Forms are the heart and soul of completing a transaction, such as creating a guest card, scheduling a tour request, or filing out an application in the multifamily housing space. Beyond these shortcomings, they are known to interfere with screen readers and have experienced issues in certain mobile environments. These reasons have led to website accessibility lawsuits being filed against companies using overlay widgets on their website. In these lawsuits, it was stated that the widgets do not improve accessibility and ultimately, serve as a barrier to visually disabled persons. The Benefits of Accessibility Compliance According to a recent study by Forrester, it is estimated that the average cost of an accessibility lawsuit is $100,000, which includes legal fees, settlement fees, and reparation costs to change the website in line with accessibility requirements. Beyond avoiding the costs of litigation, accessibility pays off in many other ways as well, such as demonstrating your commitment to prioritizing inclusion and diversity. And, the benefits do not stop with public perception, as the code that lays the foundation for true accessibility speaks loud and clear beyond screen readers. Boosting your SEO performance is the other benefit. With Google s Page Experience algorithm update, which Google plans to fully roll out to mobile and desktop by end of this month, the search engine giant plans to evaluate your website, in part, by how accessible the content is to the user. Just like great designs, workflows, and experiences have consistently evolved, so has the need for websites to provide accessibility to all users. With search engine positioning now at stake, the benefits are clearly outweighing the costs to become compliant. The Website Provider Role Achieving digital compliance is a massive undertaking, it is also not a one and done task, as WCAG is constantly being added to, with many of its aspects open to interpretation. In addition, there are currently over 400 World Wide Web Consortium members that contribute to creating an array of guidelines, code examples, and standards to the WCAG guidelines. The core set of features you must achieve are, keyboard navigation, where someone can navigate your site with only a keyboard, and the ability for a screen reader to speak your content. These are core basic elements, but there is so much more, such as color contrast, image descriptions, focus indicators, and navigation descriptions. As our industry is specialized, and most apartment communities utilize a provider to deliver these services, it s important that your provider is leveraging technology that can be mass updated – such as platform technology, not just a series of one-off websites. A platform will allow changes to be unified across your entire online portfolio at once. This will ensure that your property-level websites, forms, applications, portals, and payments are compliant and updated together – not one by one – which are cost prohibitive, become error prone, and are hard to deploy ongoing updates to, which leaves room for compliance vulnerabilities during the process. Demand that your provider is compliant, ask for details about their procedures and ability to update code frequently. Take the time to have a deep conversation about how they are testing their code, and what they are doing to stay current with the rapidly changing WCAG guideline. Don t fall for the quick-fix overlay widget solution, there were hundreds of lawsuits filed over this last year alone. Remember – you are the one at risk here. Also, keep in mind that it is our responsibility, not only in the housing industry, but as a society, to ensure that no one is left in the dark. Download our latest whitepaper to learn more about ADA compliance for your apartment website. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/433/next_steps_to_take_when_you_receive_a_legal_demand... Tue, 03 May 2022 19:39:00 GMT c64a94a5-1f1d-474c-a007-e1c40301e0a2 Kerry W. Kirby The metaverse has certainly been the new buzzword of late. The metaverse name actually came from the 1992 sci-fi novel – Snow Crash. Plowing through that snow are some big names such as Facebook, which made a big splash recently when it rebranded the company as Meta, signaling where they see the future heading. Microsoft has also joined the metaverse party with its Mesh for Microsoft Teams announcement, which will create a quasi-metaverse capability into its popular video collaboration tool. The big question is, what is the Metaverse and how do I get there. The actual definition of the metaverse is the merging of various technology elements, including video, augmented and virtual reality, that allow users to exist within a digital world. The metaverse vision is a place where we can all work, play, and stay connected with others. This will range from work events, conferences, virtual vacations, and entertainment events such as live concerts. Entering The Metaverse To enter the metaverse you need fast broadband internet access for a high-quality experience and a VR headset, such as Oculus. Products in the market like Oculus and Microsoft HoloLens, which are augmented reality goggles, are examples of metaverse products. While next-generation VR gear has become less cumbersome, some users don t like wearing headgear for extended periods. The headsets are where some improvements will be needed for this to really take off, so look for a ton of innovation when it comes to headsets, this is where we will see next generation smart glasses come back into play. But make no mistake – this market is booming. The Oculus Quest 2 has sold over 10 million units and has been at number one on Amazon s best seller list for weeks since its debut. We are also seeing companies such as Accenture, which is one of the largest consulting firms in the world, announce it will acquire 60,000 Oculus Quest 2 headsets for employee training. So, look for companies to find creative ways to leverage the Metaverse. Be sure to keep an eye out for new versions, The Oculus Quest 3 is already in the works, and is said to have a lower price point to entice more users into the metaverse. The Great Land Grab Venture capital is pouring into metaverse developers from across the globe, with over $3.9 billion pumped into startups in 2021 alone. But some of the more interesting moves have been in the real estate market. Sales of real estate in the metaverse topped $500 million last year and are predicted to double this year. The sales have been inside what is known as the Big Four - Sandbox, Decentraland, Cryptovoxels and Somnium. Leading the charge is Republic Realm who paid a record $4.3 million for land in the largest metaverse real estate platform, Sandbox, where the company is developing 100 islands. Republic Realm s development is called Fantasy Islands, featuring villas and a related market of boats and jet skis. Ninety of the islands sold in the in the first day for $15,000 each and some are now listed for resale for more than $100,000. Like the real world, location is everything in the metaverse, as buyers paid a premium to be near Snoop Dog s metaverse mansion, as the celebrity rapper jumps into partnerships with metaverse developers. This surge is signaling the focus on the metaverse as the new frontier for digital real estate development, with models of buying, selling, and even leasing digital properties. The Multifamily Metaverse Beyond trying to lease virtual apartments - can the multifamily housing industry really find a place to leverage the metaverse? Of course, it can, and the possibilities are endless for where PropTech developers can take this. As luxury residential brokers are starting to utilize the metaverse to create new sale channels and make property tours more conversational, so can the multifamily industry. In fact, the easiest place to start would be with offering apartment tours, as most of the market mastered the art of virtual tours over the last two years and already have digital assets to work with. The metaverse still has a ton of unknowns, but the one known factor is its core will be to create a virtual world, something that can be easily replicated from real-world buildings. We are seeing the metaverse positioning itself for new e-commerce experiences, which opens the doors for technology providers to be able to build leasing platforms, and even in-unit maintenance tools to help ease some of the pain-points of the labor shortage. As multifamily operators have been perfecting their ability to handle task without the assistance of on-site staff, the metaverse opens a world of possibilities. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/432/moving_beyond_the_hype_and_into_the_future_through... Fri, 18 Mar 2022 21:26:00 GMT 9aed6e4e-0508-4717-a318-03314467674b Kerry W. Kirby When digital rental applications became the launchpad for prospects to take that important next step in the process, the multifamily housing industry knew it was on to something special. As the bulk of renters shopping for their next home takes place after hours, handing them the ability to apply online didn t only make perfect sense, but it transformed the leasing office into an around the clock operation. For property managers this was a goldrush, a method to bring in qualified renters, while eliminating a redundant workflow that on the surface, appeared broken. As all things in technology improve over time, we saw the evolution of the ability to pay fees, automate screening, and create industry standard documents. We begin to truly leverage the power of the Internet, by turning this paper heavy task into a self-service machine. Further, we modernized the back-office into a paperless environment and had immediate access to these important documents through cloud-hosting. Today, the big question is, have applications improved enough to stay current with the expectations of our next generation renters? The Modern Consumer The line is blurred as to where it all started, but some would argue it happen with Uber. That household name that allowed us to summon a car with a mere tap on our smartphone, which magically knows where we are standing. Then we watched patiently on the app s map to follow our pick-up car in real-time to see where it is located and get the approximate time for it to arrive. This was the moment of true self-service tools, the moment of not only knowing when - but where, the moment that launched what is known as the instant everything culture. Now armed with an army of smartphone users, willing to let you know exactly where they are located, the gates opened to an array of self-service apps, from food, merchandise, and services. You name it, and there is probably an app for that – all willing to drop whatever you need, right on your doorstep. Our reliance and use of technology have certainly accelerated, and all for good reason, as it has made our lives easier. As disruption brings change in behavior, the modern consumer is changing the way we think about how we transact and interact in today s market. The Convenience Economy The biggest undercurrent emerging in the market is that self-service tech has become a here to stay commodity. Thanks to rapid technology adoption, we are now living in what is known as the convenience economy – where we have access to anything imaginable, delivered to us any time we desire. In fact, over two-thirds of consumers are willing to pay more to have their groceries and food delivered to them, as they see little value in venturing out when self-service options are available. We are now seeing this very influence push into the offices of corporate America, where work looks a lot different, as our workforce is now opting for remote and hybrid positions. In fact, almost 70-percent of millennials stated they would give up certain work benefits for a flexible remote work position. Something many companies are capitalizing on, as the demand for workers has become an extremely competitive field, and remote work offerings are a great advantage. In fact, eighty-five percent of employers believe that having remote teams will become the new norm, sending a clear message that convenience extends beyond apps. The Instant Apartment Housing was always considered a big step in one s life. Getting your own place and space has always been the dream for countless generations. That dream still exist, but it has changed dramatically. Our society has become mobile, and today s renter is only a Zoom town away from moving to explore their next dream. The largest piece of baggage we continue to carry forward is our broken application system – one that presents an applicant with questions that have absolutely nothing to do with the approval process, like the make and model to their car – which we can all agree is a resident onboarding question. Most apartment communities rely on one thing to hand over the keys, a favorable screening report. Gone are the days of calling references, speaking with the prior landlord, or getting a work supervisor on the phone – they could be operating in the Metaverse for all we know. Our screeners have become more accurate with access to so much data, it is now nearly impossible to not be able to verify almost anything you can think of, from biometrical data, employment, and payments on things you would never know how to find, such as mobile phones and appliance rentals. The dive can go deep in today s digital world. Now it is time to rethink our rental applications, scale them down to what is really needed, and deliver a real time decision directly to that waiting renter – moving approved applicants through the process to a lease. We certainly have the technology and are using pieces of it today. Our industry has embraced digital transformation, and it is now time to let innovation streamline the user experience and move into the instant everything economy. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/431/creating_the_instant_apartment_through_streamlinin... Mon, 10 Jan 2022 16:10:00 GMT 08dee33f-bf02-4f82-ad9c-87d302410a4d Kerry W. Kirby The economy is undergoing massive changes, from a move to more delivery-based services and labor shortages we never saw coming, it has never been a more challenging time to operate a business. The glaring issue in the labor market is, there are 10 million job openings and 8.4 million people who are actively looking for work according to the latest reports. Business owners state they can t find enough workers to operate, and consumers are frustrated with the never-ending presence of be patient – we re short staffed signs at stores and restaurants. As the consumer votes with their dollars, and have moved most of their purchasing power online, all those items purchased must be delivered, and the looming labor shortage has not helped. E-commerce moves at the speed of a mouse click, but from there, orders are pulled from the supply chain, sorted, boxed, and addressed for delivery. Those packages are then routed through a maze of networks to ultimately land in the hands of what is known as last mile delivery centers. That space that lies between the delivery driver and consumer. We then look for the all too familiar delivery trucks, such as UPS or FedEx to bring those packages to our door. But the labor crisis is hitting hard. FedEx stated they are rerouting more than 600,000 packages a day to keep up with service standards due to staffing shortages. They pointed to their Portland Hub for an example, which has just 65% of the workers needed to handle volume. The Multifamily Connection What do restaurants, stores, and e-commerce have to do with renting apartments? The simple factor that they all need to deliver product but have traditionally relied on people to do so. When we don t have people, such as leasing agents in our case, the system starts to break down quickly. On-ground delivery is moving to autonomous vehicles, restaurants are experimenting with robots to cook food, and multifamily has done a decent job of taking things online – except they all lack the last mile of placing product in the consumers hands. Just like driverless trucks can have cargo loaded on them and make it from point A to B, an array of systems would need to be adopted at each touchpoint to get that product in the hands of a consumer. The multifamily housing industry stands in such a better position, as it has been able to piece together some automated solutions to bring verified renters to its door, making the onboarding process more like the airline industry. You handle everything online, and don t interface with a team member until you are boarding the plane – or in our case, moving in. Customer Centric Touchpoints The industry has certainly increased its reach when it comes to bringing new prospects into the funnel through leveraging omnichannel marketing, which is the seamless integration of branding, messaging, and touchpoints as consumers move through the sales funnel. Omnichannel marketing takes a consumer-centric view of marketing tactics, meaning it is designed around their interest. This is where we have stepped up the game over the last few years, by utilizing AI and intelligent analytics to enable personalized marketing, such as drip emails about the one-bedroom they viewed. Thanks to innovation and input from multifamily housing operators, moving prospects through online funnels has also become easier. Gone are the one-size fits all contact forms, now replaced with tour scheduling, waitlist with alerts, and more defined information request forms. These detailed requests know exactly where to place a prospect in the funnel. With a chatbot answering questions, and the ability to select and apply for an apartment from the property website, the labor shortage has been chipped away at through shear automation and self-service tools. Conquering The Last Mile They say the last is the longest mile, and just like the challenges e-tailers are facing in having their products delivered, multifamily housing operators have struggled to find a clear-cut solution. The issue at hand rest in two facets of resident onboarding. First, our application process, a last mile unto itself to convert a prospect to a resident, it s too cumbersome. Many managers take everything for the application to the lease and process every piece manually. To truly automate the onboarding process, we must embrace digital verification, real-time approvals, and self-service tools to build and execute a lease. Like an airline, that new resident should not encounter a person until they are moving in, and that can even be avoided with some highly integrated smart locks into the system. Our leasing agents should be repurposed and re-titled – we should have community ambassadors and utilize them to handle the things technology cannot solve, such as making sure a space is blocked for moving trucks, placing welcome gifts in apartments, and greeting new residents to your community. Our world has become overly complex, and we have been tasked with an array of things to navigate. Throughout the emergence of technology, people have always been concerned that a robot or computer was going to take their job. Today, we need those robots to supplement our workforce, and evolve our team members into more productive roles. The last mile is certainly long, but it is not impossible to conquer, we just need to take one step at a time. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/430/navigating_the_onsite_labor_shortage_at_multifamil... Fri, 19 Nov 2021 13:55:00 GMT e33613ba-8abf-44fd-8188-e44e32277cf9 Kerry W. Kirby Digital dust is a term that has been around for some time, but recently it has been revived with a new meaning. The term now ties itself to what is known as the Internet of Behaviors, being human behavior from interacting with connected devices, such as Alexa, smartwatches, and mobile devices – all which have a common thread of knowing our location and the tracks we leave on the Internet, from social media post, reviews, and online buying habits – the list runs deep. Even our cars now have digital voice assistances and what is known as telematics, which can monitor driving behaviors. In short, digital dust is the evidence that is left behind from all our internet related usage, and companies are getting smarter about collecting it, as it provides the intel to better understand their end-users. This information allows companies the ability to anticipate what customers will want in the future. Data Mining is Growing Rapidly If we look at online data usage in terms of what is called exabytes, the numbers clearly show the surge in our usage. For reference - one exabyte is equal to 1 billion gigabytes. In 2019, monthly data traffic in the United States reached 42 million exabytes. But in March 2020 alone, we had a 34-percent increase in data usage on smartphones, and 18-percent on in-home internet usage. That massive jump of in-home data use in 2020 is certainly driven by so many companies converting to remote work. But a lot of it is coming from the fact that the typical household now has eleven Internet-connected devices – which is leaving a ton of digital dust behind. So what is being done with all the digital dust we generate? Demographic data mining, your contact information, and location data are the most popular. These data packets are being bundled and sold to different businesses looking to target people of a certain demographic and location. Actionable Data Surfaces Trends The multifamily housing industry can only get smarter from using certain data sets, but that data needs to be aggregated for it to become truly actionable, as we create a mountain of data points from every user. For the record - actionable data is information that gives you enough insight into the trends that the actions you should take becomes very clear. If you break down what would be actionable in our industry, you need to look at it in two defined segments, external and internal data. External data are actions from open usage, such as what link did a user click, a good example of external data is web traffic. Internal data is gathered from internal usage, such as when somebody paid their rent. Let s look at what we should be able to grab pretty easy – mobile vs desktop users – this will allow us to know what devices our prospective residents are using the most and give us insights on where to market and optimize our search presence. If the bulk of our audience is mobile, we need to market on mobile driven platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok. Slicing Data to Dive Deeper If we dive deeper, we can see where our leads are coming from, Facebook, Google, or even an ILS. I am not talking about prospects selecting their source in a dropdown on a lead form, that is not accurate enough – this is through mining data the moment they arrive on our website. The list goes on as to what data we can gather and aggregate, such as what floor plans are being viewed most, or how many clicks are you getting from social media on your latest blog post. We can then grab some internal data, such as general inquiries versus tour request versus applications, and then we can run some of our external data against it, such as how much web traffic we need to generate these actions, what floor plan type is getting the most tours or applications - versus which ones are not. We are now arming ourselves with actionable data to make decisions – and optimize the performance of our community. Data has become a highly valuable asset, and over the last few years, data volumes have grown massively. Businesses that leveraged data to better understand their customers and improve their decision-making are the ones that are outperforming everyone else. Want to learn how to leverage data to track today s mobile renter? Download our latest whitepaper. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/429/slicing_and_dicing_through_fragments_of_digital_du... Fri, 08 Oct 2021 15:08:00 GMT ad4bf11f-c7b0-43d2-b770-2c69ab31c6a0 Kerry W. Kirby In the multifamily housing industry, we have seen a mass adoption of chatbots. The self-service technology is an accommodating way to serve renters around the clock, especially since they are perfect for answering questions, through AI technology, that are common in our industry. Despite all of artificial intelligence s amazing possibilities and increasing sophistication, chatbots are about to become a lot smarter in helping us operate our communities and serve prospects and residents alike. The chatbots of the future must replace the in-depth processes that we put prospects through to apply for an apartment. Much like applying for a credit card online, these chatbots will connect prospects with an array of services that deliver instant decisions. They should be able to build leases, secure signatures, collect payments, and transition leads to residents – all with very little human interaction. Add some smart-locks to your community, and your chatbot can even hand your move-ins their digital keys. The Generational Movement When it comes to their sheer usage of the technology, Millennials and Generation Z are leading the chatbot revolution. Currently, 40 percent of Millennials interact with chatbots every single day, and almost 60 percent of both generations use direct messaging in social platforms for their customer service-related concerns. Now, experts are focusing on a new generation on the horizon, known as Generation C, which is short for Generation COVID, who will continue to carry the torch of these trends and demand even more of the technology. Some experts believe Gen-C will be defined by their behavior, values, and digitized lifestyle, not their age. They are a powerful force, and the sheer thought of them entering the market already has caused disruption. We can expect to see a good deal of Gen-Z s characteristics mirrored by Gen-C, as technology continues to play a large role in their lives. Like Gen-Z, they will embrace on-the-go connectivity, smart tech, and other contactless ways of living. Their lifestyle will inspire a new segment of chatbots – and user expectations – in the tech market. The Need for Instant Everything If we merge all recent generational terms together, it would be very easy to combine them under a common phrase, the Uber Generation. This generation has helped normalize instantaneous digital transactions, such as tapping an app for a ride, food delivery, and even payments, like Venmo and Zelle. The Uber Generation made these business models possible, and in the process, they ve caused mass disruption to those still using outdated methods, while transacting business. Speaking of transactions, over 89 percent of Generation Z is now exclusively using mobile banking. In fact, their utilization of technology is rendering bank branches obsolete, to the tune of a 5 percent drop in the number of bank branches over the last three years. This means, 4,400 bank branches have closed permanently across the United States – the biggest decline in history. Since Gen-Z is now our second-largest group of apartment renters, reflecting a major demographic shift in our industry, it s high time we cater to their preferences when it comes to how they would prefer to interact with your community. The Move Beyond Chatbots Multifamily is an industry of extremely involved processes and workflows, which do not always correspond with the expectations of next-gen renters. Though we cannot change every single mode of operation in our sector, we can shift certain practices to match those expectations. As chatbots have gone from nice-to-have to must-have over the past year, this noteworthy self-service tool can evolve even more deeply to not only keep communities leased, but also to become an actual transactional platform within itself. Chatbots are already making it easier for on-site teams to work more efficiently and seamlessly. Well-designed chatbots, using mashup AI, can fully engage prospects in scheduling tours, managing time and date availability on your tour calendars, and communicating reminders and follow-ups – no human interaction required. They can even stream video conferencing capabilities for live community and individual unit tours. AI technology has come a long way, which has continued to fuel chatbot s popularity in the modern market. We can expect chatbots of the future to replace the thorough processes that we put prospects through to apply for an apartment – and make our jobs a little easier. Our success will hinge upon our industry s ability to deliver the instantaneous decisions and services that newer generations of renters are actively seeking. Learn more about leveraging the power of chatbots by downloading our latest whitepaper. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/428/selfservice_technology_has_now_become_mainstream_i... Fri, 27 Aug 2021 12:34:00 GMT a9ca6af7-ace1-48fc-b979-f55d3fe54406 Kerry W. Kirby After developing and launching your multifamily website comes one of many crucial steps: generating traffic to that very site. Aside from publishing a social media page and updating your Google My Business listing, one of the best ways to accomplish this initiative is by harnessing the power of on-page SEO. On-page SEO involves optimizing webpage content and its elements for search engines and their users. This stands in contrast to off-page SEO, which involves any activities driving awareness and referral traffic to your website from other sites. Although marketing professionals often tout the importance of off-page SEO, on-page optimization is still relevant, even with Google s current level of sophistication. In fact, an analysis of 11 million Google search results found a correlation between keyword-rich title tags and first page rankings. So, are you ready to take the next steps in applying on-page SEO to your website marketing strategy? Here is what your team should do to get started. Invest in Keyword Research Conducting keyword research is the first step you should take when implementing an on-page SEO strategy. You want your site to use keywords in deliberate ways, so that Google will deem the website relevant when a user searches for those terms. There are many keyword research tools on the market to achieve this goal, whether you choose to invest in a paid platform, such as Ahrefs or SEMRush, utilize a free tool, like Google s Keyword Planner, or even hire a team of multifamily marketing experts to handle the workload for you. When conducting your research, start by experimenting with the search terms that people might use when looking for an apartment. Remember, common sense is your best friend. Your tool of choice will return suggested keywords similar to what you entered, showing each term s search volume and competitiveness, or keyword difficulty. To gain organic traction quickly, you ll want to target the least competitive keywords with the highest search volume. Place Keywords Where They Matter Whether Google admits it or not, keyword placement matters. Despite the increasing finesse of search engine marketing practices, certain old-school SEO tactics remain prevalent today. These include optimizing target keywords within the first 100-150 words of your meta description and avoiding keyword stuffing, which typically involves cramming as many keywords as possible into a single stretch of content. If you participate in this type of practice, expect your website to be flagged for suspicious behavior. In terms of structuring your site content, you obviously have to think beyond the first 100-150 words. Be sure to naturally incorporate keywords into your content, using these terms just enough to confirm your website s focus with various search engines and visitors. Heading structure is also imperative when it comes to structuring your on-page content in an organized manner, as headings assist Google s crawlers with the 700,000 inquiries that they receive per second. To be effective, your headings must be easy to understand and include your most important keywords. Appeal to Nearby Searchers with Local Keywords Did you know that 97 percent of Internet users find out more about a local company through the web? In recent years, local SEO has become an effective way for businesses to market themselves on a localized level through the power of the Internet. Referring to a collection of practices used to improve a brand s visibility in organic local search results, local SEO is far-reaching and extends across multiple online channels, including search engine results, social media pages, and, of course, your website. As location is one of the most important factors in a prospect s housing decision, you should always include location-based keywords in your property s SEO strategy. Keywords, like apartments in [city, state], [name] apartments in [neighborhood] for rent, or pet-friendly apartments in [zip code] are three simple, yet powerful, terms to consider. Keywords that mention a particular landmark, employment center, or school district can also earn high search traffic and are worth including, too. Blog on a Regular Basis Adding a blog to your apartment website is one of the easiest ways to expand your on-page SEO strategy. Not only do blogs increase the number of pages on your website, which Google and other search engines tend to favor, but they also provide marketers with more opportunities to write content with traffic-boosting keywords. Plus, blogs tend to give every party involved – users, search engines, and apartment marketers – exactly what they need out of a website experience with their informative material. Aside from showcasing your extensive keyword research efforts and helping familiarize prospects with your community, blogging also helps multifamily marketers create an effective marketing loop. The marketing loop circulates fresh, keyword-optimized content from your marketing website to your social media channels. In utilizing this strategy, you ll further establish brand trust with search engines, placing your website among the ranks of companies whose blogs earn them 97 percent more backlinks to their site. Add Videos to Your Website Google s algorithm likes websites with high-engagement content and tends to favor those that include video as part of their user experience. Many people enjoy using videos as an educational tool, since they can communicate a lot of material in a short amount of time. 86 percent of Americans reportedly use the video sharing platform, YouTube, to learn new things. Since Google s mission is to connect users to content that they ll find valuable, video is a powerful answer to many consumer inquiries. Not only does video deliver plenty of worthwhile information atop a great UX experience, but users also absolutely love it. Overall digital video penetration in the United States continues to climb steadily, reaching nearly 84 percent last year. By 2022, it is estimated that 82 percent of the global Internet traffic will come from video streaming and downloads. These numbers alone are enough to prove that video will perform well within your website s on-page SEO plan. Improving your visibility online has never been more important. Whether you re new to the content marketing game or a seasoned professional, everyone can benefit from a rejuvenated approach to their digital strategy. Although these suggestions only skim the surface of a comprehensive SEO approach, they offer an excellent way to begin implementing first-rate practices to your on-page content strategy. Want to learn more about the power of SEO? Download this free whitepaper on increasing search visibility. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/427/why_every_multifamily_marketer_should_begin_with_o... Fri, 30 Jul 2021 15:24:00 GMT 33a8a45d-628e-4b6d-87e6-2709942fc51b Kerry W. Kirby Over the past year, the gaps in technology access for people with disabilities and other underserved groups became rapidly exposed. Since global online content consumption doubled in 2020, it has become more vital than ever to cater to all audiences. Despite our best intentions, however, the Internet wasn t built with everyone in mind. Let s take a quick look at the gaps in accessibility through the numbers: Globally, the Internet penetration rate has just surpassed 50 percent, which is pretty surprising to most, who would think it d be higher. Even in the United States, there are still 14 million people, who do not have Internet access at all. Aside from those who do not have Internet at all, 24 million lack Broadband access, which is more secure and consistent than Wi-Fi. For people with disabilities, these figures are even more troubling. Even though they make up about 26 percent of the American population, only 60 percent of them have broadband at home, compared to 79 percent of Americans without disabilities. The Disability Divide on Website Accessibility Speaking of numbers, one in four American adults is disabled, making digital accessibility more critical than ever. As we continue to shift to working, shopping, and accessing services online, many gaps continue to surface when it comes to delivering equal access to these users. From the absence of captioning capabilities to the disregard of structing code for screen readers, these voids create barriers in access to telehealth, education, and even government websites, which more than 30 million Americans utilized to file for unemployment during the pandemic. There are more advocates getting behind the issue of website accessibility, and they are pushing for change, even if that means litigating all the way to the United States Supreme Court. Claims are rising at the federal and state level, especially in California with numerous filings under The Unruh Civil Rights Act, a state-wide law preventing discrimination. On a national scale, nearly 11,000 ADA-related lawsuits were filed in federal courts in 2020. Even with the whole country in lockdown, people with disabilities continued to speak up for their right to equal digital access. The Misconception About Accessibility Widgets To avoid litigation, many website operators have turned to quick fix solutions, such as accessibility widgets. Think of those little icons at the bottom of a webpage that deliver tools for disabled users. These overlay solutions are essentially plug-ins that detect accessibility issues directly on a webpage, instead of within the web code as required, and attempts to repair them in real-time. The inadequacies of accessibility overlays are common knowledge in the technology industry, with most experts agreeing they re only capable of detecting 20 to 30 percent of issues occurring on a website. One of the biggest issues that accessibility widgets cannot remedy is unlabeled or mislabeled form fields. Forms are the heart and soul of completing a transaction, such as creating a guest card, scheduling a tour request, or filing out an application in the multifamily housing space. Beyond these shortcomings, they are known to interfere with screen readers and have experience issues in certain mobile environments. These reasons led to over 250 website accessibility lawsuits being filed against companies using overlay widgets on their website in 2020. In these particular lawsuits, it was stated that the widgets do not improve accessibility and ultimately, serve as a barrier to blind and visually disabled persons. The Online Accessibility Act: Take Two Congress has attempted multiple times to update the Americans with Disability Act to address digital accessibility. Now, it seems to be getting some play again in its recent re-introduction by a non-partisan trio of U.S. Representatives. This new bill sets forth requirements for consumer-facing websites and mobile applications owned or operated by a private entity, with guidance regarding website accessibility by the disabled population, which would make the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) the standard. The proposed bill states the Department of Justice would be the enforcement agency behind the process, with fines proposed to start at 20,000 dollars for an initial violation, and 50,000 dollars for additional violations. These proposed fines are not terrible numbers compared to what is happening in courtrooms and private settlements. The bill also introduces an initial Notice and Cure period that would require any aggrieved individual to notify the website or mobile app operator and allow them 90 days to address the issues. Advocates for those with disabilities are said to be opposing this cure period and violation fees. Although the bill will be modified to some extent, it is expected to eventually pass, as there are now enough court rulings that tie website accessibility to the ADA. The Road Forward and Beyond The road to digital accessibility is now paved with a long list of court victories, including the landmark case, Guillermo Robles versus Domino s Pizza, which made its way to the United States Supreme Court. Current court cases have plaintiffs citing non-compliance with WCAG 2.1 rather than 2.0, which was the standard published in 2008, and is often stated in accessibility cases. Plaintiffs have no shortage of locating websites with a significant number of accessibility issues, either. According to a 2020 WebAIM research report, 98.1 percent of the top one million websites homepages had detectable WCAG failures. The proposed Online Accessibility Act stands to fuel the momentum that the movement has built over the past couple of years. Want to learn more about ADA compliance your apartment website? Get the whitepaper on MultifamilyBiz. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/426/the_digital_accessibility_movement_is_heating_up_w... Tue, 29 Jun 2021 12:42:00 GMT 81495f69-e02c-4d60-a38c-48b0b18445b1 Kerry W. Kirby Though a troubling year for most of the American workforce, 2020 was quite kind to e-commerce. Last year alone, Americans spent upwards of 860 billion dollars online with U.S. merchants, leading the e-commerce industry to experience a record growth of 44 percent. According to the United States Postal Service, shipping and package volume in 2020 rose by 1.1 billion parcels, and 1.5 million new delivery points were also added to their shipping network. Currently, 49 percent of Americans surveyed report receiving at least one package per week, and one in ten said that they have a new package delivered every day. Unlike in years past, online spending isn t limited to mere wants, like beauty products, house plants, or even smart devices. Needs, including groceries, prescriptions, and clothing, also contribute to the rising tide of package deliveries. Grocery delivery services, like Instacart, revolutionized how Americans shopped for groceries, with the app facilitating 35 billion dollars in sales during 2020. Meanwhile, Amazon, which sells budget-friendly household necessities alongside a host of other retail goods, claimed nearly a third of all American e-commerce growth in 2020. So, what s the takeaway here? It s simple – Americans spent a lot of money on online orders in 2020, and their dependence upon e-commerce isn t likely to disappear overnight. In fact, these online shopping habits are so widespread that it is extremely likely an incoming wave of perishable and non-perishable goods have already made their mark on your apartment community – and, if you re reading this blog, you might have questions about how to accommodate the new explosion of shipments. One contactless solution currently earning a lot of attention within the multifamily housing industry is smart lockers. These lockers are designed to hold packages and delivered goods in a secure place until the resident can retrieve them. They are self-service and can be accessed at any time of day, given that your resident is able to provide a code, card, or other type of input to prove their identity. With smart lockers, multifamily staffers can automate the package delivery and acceptance workflow, and in some cases, completely eliminate the burden from property managers to-do lists. Since delivery couriers have direct access to these smart lockers, they can simply drop off the packages with little need for oversight. Like a resort-inspired saltwater pool or a full-service fitness center, smart locker systems are quickly becoming a highly sought-after community amenity, especially by Generation Z. According to one survey, 76 percent of residents strongly preferred having package lockers compared to traditional office pickup. As any seasoned multifamily professional will tell you, amenities are everything in the race to attract prospects and sign leases, and residents agree. In fact, 87 percent of luxury apartment residents say that amenities are the biggest deciding factor in whether they will sign or renew a lease. Offer a smart locker system on-site, and you ll appeal to both current and incoming residents, who now do the bulk of their shopping online and desire parcel accommodations and security. Speaking of security, another benefit of smart lockers is their defense against porch pirates, as package theft is a growing concern for the 43 percent of Americans, who have experienced it first-hand, or know of a neighbor dealing with a stolen package. Considering that the average value of a stolen package is 106 dollars, it s easy to see why package theft is a high-stakes issue and needs to be addressed as such. Fortunately, smart lockers prevent this sticky situation altogether with a bit of tech magic. Most lockers are equipped to send an alert to the package s rightful recipient immediately after it is dropped off, and in some cases, they can even use photo capture capabilities to photograph every interaction with the resident s locker, from delivery to retrieval. In these ways, smart lockers provide residents with a tech-savvy, highly secure solution to what was becoming an age-old problem of package theft and mismanagement. Finally, smart lockers can be just as beneficial to business ROI as they are to your resident's peace-of-mind. In addition to freeing up on-site labor costs, keeping these lockers in operation can generate extra income, should your community choose to solicit a small monthly fee for their use. Though there might be a couple of residents who might not see the value in next-level package delivery and maintenance systems, 94 percent of apartment residents say that they would consider paying higher rent for improved on-site amenities. You could say that smart lockers are no more than a sign of the times – an indication of Americans current obsession with online spending. Yet, the world has been evolving towards contactless solutions for a while now. With more Americans doing their shopping online than ever before, it is clear to see that the multifamily housing industry must shift its package acceptance practices to accommodate the hundreds – or, in the case of larger-scale communities, thousands – of packages that are delivered to your community each week. Smart lockers are an excellent solution to this issue that is unique to the Digital Age and will appeal to multifamily residents and their operators alike. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/425/with_ecommerce_skyrocketing_smart_lockers_could_be... Tue, 25 May 2021 21:16:00 GMT fb832403-0520-45f4-ac5a-4f02268fbbe4 Kerry W. Kirby Google My Business (GMB) is one of the most important marketing channels in the multifamily housing industry. It is a free tool from Google that allows businesses to manage their presence across the search engine and leverage a fully-fledged, location-based SEO strategy. Considering that 4 in 5 consumers use search engines to find local information, GMB offers significant results for brands seeking localized exposure and digital traffic. Not only does Google My Business provide these benefits for geographically minded brands, but it also circulates verified information to Google s Knowledge Graph, Maps, and Search. Since Google continues to be the world s most visited website, the value of a GMB listing cannot be overstated. Here is how you can claim, create, verify, optimize, and maintain your Google My Business listing, and in turn, set up your apartment community for success across all of Google s knowledge panels. Claim or Create Your Listing The first step in optimizing your Google My Business listing is learning whether your listing has already been claimed. This is common for apartment communities with a lengthy ownership history, but not so likely with newly constructed communities. Remember, a typical GMB listing receives 59 actions per month. You could be missing out on extra lead flow without it, so don t be afraid to take the time to see where your listing currently stands! The easiest way to find out if your listing exists is to create or use a property Gmail account to login to Google My Business. Type in the property name, address, and phone number. If the property listing is created, Google will prompt you to request access from the Gmail account with Primary Ownership. When requesting access from a third-party, Google will give them three days to reply to your Ownership request, before they allow you to take it over yourself. No listing already created? Google will walk you through its initial prompts to start a brand-new GMB listing. Verify Your Listing To ensure the validity of your business, Google requires that all new listing claimants undergo a verification process. Google decides by which method you can verify your business listing: mailing address, phone number, or email correspondence. Unfortunately, you will not be able to choose the method on your own accord until Google automatically generates the address, phone number, or email address it believes to be associated with your business listing. Typically, you will be given one or more of these options by GMB to verify, making it easier for those who need to coordinate with on-site staff from a corporate office or marketing agency. Verification takes a bit longer to complete than claiming or creating your GMB listing, but it is well-worth the effort, given that Google will not display your listing to its fullest extent or grant you access to page insights and review management until it is properly verified. The good news is that this process can typically be completed within a week. While a postcard takes up to five days to arrive via the United States Postal Service, the phone and email verifications can often be completed instantaneously. Once you receive the five-digit code through one of these methods, simply follow the prompts to enter it in the GMB dashboard. Optimize Your Listing Think of Google My Business as a Yellow Pages directory that is built into Google. It has its own search algorithm and uniquely ranked Maps results, which millions of people use to learn about local businesses. That s why it is vital for the information regarding your business to be correct. The best way to go about this is to optimize all of the business information on your GMB listing – including your property name, address, phone number, website URL, office hours, and so forth – to make sure it correlates with your other online business and/or apartment listings, social media channels, and marketing website. Aside from implementing all of your basic business information, you should also write a full description of your property in the prompted field, add up-to-date property photos and videos, upload floor plan images to the Products section, and include apartment and community amenities in the Services section. Since 80 percent of consumers lose trust in a local business with incorrect or inconsistent online information, you ll want to make sure intel concerning your community is correct and consistent across all digital business assets. Update Your Listing While it s absolutely essential to add complete and correct information to your Google My Business listing from the get-go, it s even more crucial to keep it updated as time goes on. If you decide to change your business hours, for example, you ll want to amend the information on your GMB listing long before the day arrives. This way, your prospect won t show up at your door to find your property closed, then leave disgruntled, and in their frustration, punctuate their overall experience with an unfavorable online review. In the same vein, you ll want to keep all your photos and videos updated when any improvements are made to your community. Businesses that include photos in their GMB listings receive up to 42 percent more requests for driving directions and 35 percent more website click-throughs than businesses without photos. Finally, keep up with responding to all Google Reviews, both positive and negative. Not only do they increase your visibility in search results, but responses also demonstrate your property s commitment to current and future residents. Google My Business listings undeniably round out any multifamily marketer s digital strategy. If used alongside a user-friendly website, active social media platforms, and a well-executed content marketing strategy, Google My Business and all of its corresponding features will encourage prospects to stumble upon your brand and contact your leasing office. Whether you decide to tackle it in-house or hire a team of seasoned multifamily professionals to do the work for you, your Google My Business listing will help you achieve your short and long-term leasing goals. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/424/what_you_should_know_about_google_my_business_list... Tue, 20 Apr 2021 19:49:00 GMT 7d12af04-d698-4348-aacf-032bd1081903 Kerry W. Kirby Tracking performance is important to any business. Whether it d be across a social media platform, corporate website, or a Google results page, it s vital to see where you stand in comparison to your competition. This is exactly why Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs, typically come in handy for many businesses, serving as a source of invaluable information for any ambitious leasing team. Defined as measurable values that demonstrate how effectively your company achieves business objectives, KPIs offer a comprehensive way to measure the health of your multifamily property. They can better inform your business approach, help your team gain worthwhile leads, and ensure resident satisfaction. In fact, applying and evaluating various KPIs to your business strategy is beneficial across all industries in some way, shape, or form. Even still, you might wonder how best to establish worthwhile KPIs, so you may receive the proper intel needed to accomplish your end-goals. Too often, companies blindly adopt certain KPIs, and then wonder why they fail to advance their business initiatives. The reality is that every business is different, even in the multifamily sector, and there are no one-size-fits-all to KPIs. To inspire your very own strategy, we ve compiled a short list of the top KPIs to consider tracking in 2021 and beyond. Occupancy and Vacancy Rates Occupancy and Vacancy Rates is arguably the most fundamental KPI for multifamily professionals to track, since it reveals how fully leased your community is at any given time. Of course, it s important to remember that the current state of the economy has increased apartment vacancies. Recent numbers show that 28 percent of property managers are holding on to empty apartments for longer than usual. Even still, using your PropTech provider s analytics dashboard to track these figures is a great way to ensure that your team is doing everything to meet their target occupancy rate. Average Days to Lease Referring to the number of days your apartments remain vacant until a new resident moves in, Average Days to Lease is an indispensable KPI to track in our industry. It will help you determine how long, on average, your apartments remain empty and how many dollars you spend on these vacancies. No community wants to maintain dozens of vacant apartments, so this measurement will go a long way in helping your team fine-tune your leasing strategy and boost future occupancies. Once you understand your community s Average Days to Lease, you can work on developing new and creative marketing ideas that will encourage renters to sign or renew their lease, like a look and lease application fee discount or a complimentary gift card upon renewal. Resident Turnover No matter how attractive your apartment community is to searching renters, it is far more expensive to pursue and place new residents than it is to retain the ones you already have. Once you factor in all of the expenses associated with marketing and preparing an apartment for leasing, high resident turnover rates can easily cost you thousands of dollars per month – and that is just for a single vacant apartment. That s why the most seasoned multifamily professionals turn to Resident Turnover KPIs to take note of how many residents are moving out, in addition to how long they were with your community. Is it long-term residents who are vacating? How many short-term renters decide against extending their agreements? Confirming this type of information help you refine your retention strategy, particularly when it comes to resident satisfaction. One of the best ways to stay on-track with your business goals is to measure Key Performance Indicators, such as these. Doing so will allow you to take an objective look at your business overall health and identify the areas in need of improvement. After all, you cannot monitor what you do not measure, and failing to do either is sure to harm your community in the long run. Though the process of managing and tracking KPIs may initially seem burdensome, the work is sure to pay off once you are able to get an all-encompassing view of your community s performance. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/423/track_these_key_performance_indicators_to_fine_tun... Wed, 17 Mar 2021 17:13:00 GMT 655e544d-f444-4080-b44e-e9b802b6ec30 Kerry W. Kirby Marketers have kept their eye on digital strategies for the past decade or so, with the proliferation of social media, search engines, and online reviews impacting the way we conduct standard business transactions. Today, people are spending more time online than ever, and consumers are making plenty of purchasing decisions online beforehand. Many businesses that typically depend on foot traffic and word-of-mouth marketing, must remain continuously vigilant and innovative in how they educate, engage, and entice prospects. Building trust and credibility through successful marketing and customer service practices have been critical to running a lucrative business for decades. Yet, online reviews have now upped the ante on reputation management. With more than three in four shoppers now saying that they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, it s clear that we ve all been conditioned to seek out this 21st-century intel before transacting with a new business. These preferences have intensified even more during the pandemic, with a recent survey revealing that one-third of customers now check reviews of online products and services more than they did before. Aside from rising to meet consumer expectations, there are several reasons why your community should keep your digital reputation in check. Here are a few undeniable benefits of online reputation management in 2021. Strengthen Your Online Brand s Identity and Visibility There are many platforms to seek out information concerning your ratings and reviews. While social media provides an excellent online space for prospects and residents to share their thoughts on your offerings and services, the challenge lies in keeping track of comments made about your community – the good and the bad. You re probably well aware that remedial measures can go a long way in helping brands tackle damage, or in more appreciative instances, demonstrate your gratitude when responding to positive remarks. There are many options that allow you to manage reviews from multiple platforms within a centralized dashboard, so you never miss a comment again – positive or negative. Online reviews not only strengthen your community s identity but also your online visibility. Believe it or not, online reviews play a major part in search engine optimization (SEO). SEO strategies, like link building, keyword implementation, and the addition of back-end titles and descriptions, increase your website s visibility in search engine rankings, including the 1.2 trillion searches Google processes worldwide per year. In other words, online reviews can garner significant clickthrough rates, especially if you re regularly earning glowing feedback. Understand the Evolving Needs and Expectations of Renters It goes without saying, the last year caused a massive shift in customer needs and expectations. While brands were previously focused on engaging with audiences through the promotion of their products and services, many companies shifted their business models to lend support to their consumer base. Instead of pushing the same overt sales and marketing tactics, businesses are now focusing their energy on customer-oriented approaches that address resident needs and helping them to feel acknowledged and accommodated. Because 97 percent of consumers read businesses responses to reviews, utilizing reputation management is a great way to establish meaningful connections with customers, understand their evolving expectations, and demonstrate your commitment to their ultimate satisfaction. For example, if a disgruntled resident leaves a comment about disregarded service request, you should respond quickly to let your online audience know that you re aware of the issue and plan to resolve the problem. In the end, you ll not only indicate to future renters that you take their concerns seriously, but you ll also demonstrate to your community that you re interested in cultivating genuine customer connections that extend beyond temporary transactions. Build Trust and Loyalty During a Period of Uncertainty Right now, people around the world are actively seeking support, encouragement, and motivation to move forward, whether it s from family members, close friends, or even their favorite brands. Therefore, lending your support to both prospects and residents has never been more vital. With social media usage hitting an all-time high, publishing reviews on platforms, such as Facebook and Google My Business, is becoming a more common way to share brand experiences with others. By engaging reviews and comments in a friendly and empathetic manner, you will assist your prospects and residents in feeling positive and affirmed during these uncertain times. Transparency has always been a crucial factor for securing the trust of your online audience. In fact, 94 percent of consumers tend to remain loyal to brands that offer them complete transparency. Transparency allows space for customer feedback, which will leave the end-user feeling comfortable with your brand and likely to remain loyal to it in the future. At the end of the day, client retention is much more cost-efficient than constant acquisition. So, nurture your residents when and where you can – and a good place to start is by listening to your online reviews. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/422/your_online_reputation_is_more_important_than_ever... Wed, 10 Feb 2021 19:50:00 GMT 39a29e5e-8627-4e6d-bee2-626c95ee964f Kerry W. Kirby Business success isn t only measured by annual revenue or one s position in the market, but also by adaptability, or the ability to adjust to new demands when circumstances call for it. 2020 has revealed the stark need for businesses to seamlessly and even routinely shape and shift, as government regulations, customer expectations, and supply and demand have all changed drastically over the past year. Like many other industries, the multifamily housing sector understood the need to transform its business model, in order to remain competitive. To do so, industry leaders have readily embraced technology to continue business operations, advance leasing goals, and communicate with prospects and residents in a normal fashion, even if extenuating circumstances are anything but typical. As we continue to adjust our operations, offerings, and objectives, these technological tools can help your multifamily community improve its bottom line when it matters most, and in turn, equip your property with the resources it needs to survive – and even thrive. If you re still unaware of all the benefits that contactless technologies have to offer, read on to learn why this type of tech adoption is key to our industry s livelihood, now and in the years to come. Contactless technology creates a fuller picture of prospects via digital dust. Although big data isn t anything new, digital dust is a relatively recent term used to describe the accumulation of data surrounding one s online behaviors, like social media usage, purchasing decisions, and location tracking services. Since we are increasingly looking to tech devices to fill the void for in-person workflows, these newfound points of contact will allow for a richer scale of data to be collected and utilized by various industries. According to Gartner, the individual activities of 40 percent of the global population will be tracked digitally by 2023. That equates to more than 3 billion people worldwide! With this new wealth of information, we can expect the multifamily industry and others to fully immerse themselves in the Internet of Behavior, or IoB. The IoB will make it easier for professionals in our sector to gather, combine, and process data extracted from the most basic of an end-users daily habits. This technology is expected to partner with tools, like facial recognition technology and other biometrics, to paint a complete picture of your end-user. In turn, everyone from executives to marketing mangers and on-site team members can better cater to user preferences, resulting in a hyper-personalized experience for prospective and current residents alike. Contactless technology helps eliminate missed leasing opportunities. Unfortunately, the multifamily industry has a long history of missed connections – and prospects take notice, especially in the Digital Age. According to Zillow, approximately one-third of prospective renters will simply move on if a community doesn t respond to them, which is more so the case with Millennials and other younger generations. Needless to say, your community must be available to communicate with current and future residents at all hours, which will increase your odds of capturing lucrative leasing opportunities – and won t close you off to a potential 35 percent of leads. If you re wondering how any leasing office can be available around the clock, you ll be happy to learn that there is a way to accomplish this, aside from stretching your staff too thin. Chatbots can help leasing teams catch incoming questions or touring inquiries when a human agent isn t available to answer, whether they re tied up with other tasks or offline during nights and weekends. Once your prospect has connected with a chatbot, livestream touring capabilities allow your end-user to view individual apartment homes safely from a distance. This option appeals to renters who wish to tour a specific unit while continuing to follow social distancing guidelines. This strategy also helps keep the Resident Lifecycle moving along seamlessly, even without the direct and/or constant oversight of property staff. Contactless technology allows property staff to cultivate relationships from afar. Despite current events, the desire for interpersonal connection has not disappeared, and the need for top-notch customer service is still very much intact. Although we never imagined ourselves living in a time that requires six-feet of distance between one another, it has presented itself, and it s essential to find ways to remain connected to your community even when physically apart. After all, cultivating relationships with current and potential residents during these very challenging circumstances is a great way to show empathy, while boosting your reputation within the community-at-large. Even though in-person meet-ups may be off-limits right now, technology can help multifamily communities replicate interpersonal interaction. Video conference platforms, like Zoom, have emerged as a user-friendly, cost-effective way to host social events usually held on community grounds. Not only can video conferencing help you connect with current residents, but it can also be leveraged to add a personal touch to contactless tours, as you walk residents through your community s shared amenities and even the actual unit that they will call their next home. With vibrant video and solid audio quality, your prospects will feel as if they are in the room with you, and by catering to their needs before the lease is signed, you ll provide them with an idea of what it s like to call your community home. Over the years, technological advancements have changed the way we shop for goods and services, share social updates with friends, and even transact business. Now, tech tools are helping us overcome new challenges related to current events. Though the multifamily housing industry hasn t been immune to this year s economic impacts, property management professionals are in a prime position to emerge from 2020 stronger than before, with the many contactless tech tools on the market today and their incredible benefits for businesses and consumers alike. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/421/here_is_why_contactless_technologies_will_help_the... Wed, 20 Jan 2021 17:16:00 GMT c86652c3-551a-4e3b-aab9-331b47f0292b Kerry W. Kirby What do A-list celebrities, global corporations, and local businesses have in common? They use the power of social media marketing to boost brand awareness. Over the past decade, social media platforms, like Instagram, have become a preferred way of communicating and advertising by businesses and individuals alike. Originally launched on iOS, Instagram has since become one of the world s most-used social media apps across all devices. Today, the photo and video sharing app boasts over one billion active monthly users and handles over 100 million uploads per day. With its photo and video sharing capabilities, Instagram has become a welcomed avenue for marketing brands of all sizes. Because Instagram is a visual platform, it offers apartment marketers an easy, user-friendly way to establish brand identity in the digital sphere. Featuring filters, stickers, and other editing tools, Instagram will not only allow your business to solidify its place in the current market, but it will also help you to showcase the personality of the property and the people behind it. Though its users span several generations, Instagram is particularly popular amongst members of Generations X, Y, and Z – or, Gen-Xers, Millennials, and Gen-Z. According to a recent study, nearly 46 percent of Generation X use Instagram. 59 percent of Millennials are active on the platform, as are 73 percent of Generation Z. What s more, usage has shot up in response to the pandemic. These days, adults under 35 are spending at least 40 percent more time on social platforms, including Instagram. Instagram s large user base is also very receptive to discovering new brands on the app, with approximately 200 million users visiting at least one business account daily. If that statistic weren t impressive enough, 83 percent of users turn to the platform to discover new products or services, and another 80 percent base their purchase decisions upon a brand s Instagram presence. These numbers could explain why engagement rates on Instagram are nearly double those on Facebook! Other than being a marketer s dream due to its widespread use, Instagram also offers businesses a way to solidify their standing with major search engines, like Google. Though social media presence is not officially considered a Google ranking factor, there s no denying that well-maintained social media pages work to enhance your community s online reputation and can influence search engine algorithms. For example, if an Instagram user decides to visit your apartment marketing website directly from your bio, this is deemed favorable by search engine crawlers. Now that you know more about the many benefits of using Instagram for your marketing strategy, there s just one thing left to do: determine what your community should post. As with other marketing initiatives, the answer will largely depend upon your goals and objectives. If you re building a brand for a lease-up community and want to reach full occupancy before opening your doors, for instance, Instagram is a great platform for posting progress photos, welcome specials, and other valuable leasing information. Your community may also use Instagram to raise brand awareness by distributing sponsored posts, which blend seamlessly with your end-user s organic feed and lacks the overtly salesy tone that modern consumers tend to reject outright. You should also consider posting walkthrough videos of available floor plans, or property photos highlighting unique amenities and design details. Your content can center on the community s management team, too, and encourage users to virtually meet key employees at your property. Don t forget to try Instagram s Stories feature, which allows you to upload ephemeral content that only lasts for 24-hours. If you re hesitant about planning content for two different feeds, just remember that one-third of Instagram s most viewed Stories are posted by businesses. When it comes to tracking the success of your Instagram campaigns, you will be relieved to discover that you don t have to hire a marketing analyst to do the work for you. Like its sister site Facebook, Instagram s business pages feature a built-in analytics dashboard, which detail need-to-know metrics, like follower trends and engagement rates. Simply check the Insights tab directly on your page anytime you d like an update. If you operate through Facebook for Business, you ll also have the option of linking your Facebook page to your Instagram account, allowing you to take advantage of many free management tools that are designed to help brands, like yours, make the most of both platforms. When it comes to establishing your brand, few social media apps are as effective as Instagram. With its vast, global user base, user-friendly posting tools, and insightful analytics dashboard, Instagram is a natural fit for apartment marketers, who are looking to attract new residents and solidify their reputation within the competitive multifamily market. For a simple way to connect with prospective and current residents during a time when everyone is living their lives spaced six feet apart, set up a business page on Instagram and watch your community‘s reputation flourish and occupancy boom. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/419/marketing_your_apartment_community_with_the_power_... Thu, 22 Oct 2020 17:31:00 GMT af4085e0-6de8-4cd9-abd1-37c93dc9837c Kerry W. Kirby Search engines are useful for just about everything we do online, from finding the best takeout in town and making informed household purchases to boosting our multifamily community s brand image. In fact, 68 percent of all online experiences begin with a search engine, and the world s most powerful search engine, Google, racks up about 5.6 billion searches every day. However, simply being familiar with search engines and their incredible capabilities won t get you any closer to those higher page rankings within the search engine itself. If your community wants prime access to the massive user base that search engines cater to, then you must invest in a solid SEM, or Search Engine Marketing, strategy – whether you apply your efforts to organic or paid search. If you re wondering about the differences between the two, you ll be surprised to learn that it all breaks down pretty easily. Organic search traffic is generated by users who naturally stumble upon your website in search results. With organic search, ranking factors influence users' access to your brand online. Paid search, on the other hand, comes from those who click on your paid advertisement within a page of search results. Like its name implies, paid search requires that businesses pay the search engine for the Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaign. When it comes to search rankings, it s crucial to consider your competition within the market, which for many of us, are other apartment communities. As with any other business strategy, choosing to run with either organic or paid search tactics depends upon your property s business goals, available labor, and marketing spend. Ultimately, your decision will be contingent upon the speed, volume, and frequency necessary to amplify your community s message. Paid advertisements can certainly provide results without the blood, sweat, and tears required of an organic strategy. Since paid search campaigns do the legwork for you, all you need to get started is an account with a digital advertising platform, like Google Ads. Once your account is registered, set a budget and start to immediately pull in leads with your PPC campaign. Because paid search is a pay to play system, you ll enjoy the instant gratification so many of us have come to love in The Digital Age. PPC campaigns will help your multifamily brand break through the noise and grab the attention of target audiences, whether they d be students, seniors, or young professionals. After all, with billions of users globally, the World Wide Web is more crowded than ever before, and PPC ads allow businesses – especially those of us in the competitive multifamily market – to boost brand awareness by 80 percent. Additionally, 75 percent of consumers report that PPC campaigns make it easier for them to find what they re looking for in a page of search results. If you have the time and ability to nurture your organic search strategy, though, you will likely see better long-term results. Believe it or not, organic search is responsible for 53 percent of all website traffic, and 70 percent of marketers surveyed viewed the practice as more worthwhile than PPC. Better yet, Google and other reputable search engines consider organic search traffic as more valuable. This is largely because organic traffic is based upon the quality and relevance of your website offerings – two factors that search engines prioritize when ranking sites. Nurturing your organic strategy starts with creating meaningful, keyword-optimized content. To put it simply, you must ensure that every page on your apartment marketing website contains relevant content designed to respond to users search inquiries. Remember, it s important to construct your content – both on-page and in the back-end code – towards keywords that renters are actually searching for. Unsure what those are? Whatever you do, don t guess! Turn to keyword research tools built for this exact purpose, such as SEMRush or AHREFS. You ll also want to pay attention to your website blog, social media channels, and online business listings, like Google My Business. Ensuring correct, consistent information across every online platform, business listing, or marketing resource reinforces consumer trust in your brand and makes it easier for potential residents to learn more about your community. Plus, it will solidify your community s place as a reputable business in the eyes of Google and other search engines. Are you still not sure whether you d benefit more from organic or paid search? Luckily, you don t have to commit solely to one or the other to see results. Many savvy apartment marketers utilize a combination of both organic SEO strategy and PPC campaigns to accomplish their business goals. For example, you could optimize your apartment marketing website with keyword-rich content that answers user s search queries, then link it to a PPC campaign and watch the results pour in. This way, you ll experience the best of both worlds, as your website pulls double duty and works to establish reputability with both site crawling bots and potential residents. Search engine marketing is vital to any multifamily community hoping to engage leads and move them through the sales pipeline. Whether you re interested in boosting your community s visibility with paid ad campaigns or steadily building a rock-solid online reputation with a more organic approach, both search strategies offer two iron clad methods to build a digital footprint and improve your community s occupancy rates. Allow your goals, resources, and budget to influence your decision between organic or paid search, and your brand will experience infinite growth opportunities across the world s best high-traffic search engines. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/418/organic_search_versus_paid_search_building_a_strat... Wed, 23 Sep 2020 19:32:00 GMT 2cb90baf-5bdb-4857-860b-3517601a3fc7 Kerry W. Kirby The rental housing industry is no stranger to change. Throughout the decades, the multifamily sector has witnessed its fair share of highs and lows, ranging from economic recessions to occupancy booms. Through it all, our industry has remained consistent in its dedication to customer service, loyalty to local businesses, and steady support of technological solutions. Now, the multifamily industry must conquer a new challenge: providing the apartment experience that residents desire (and deserve) during and after these uncertain, trying times. A few months ago, Forbes reported renewed interest in apartment searching, as residents continue to move in and out of rental properties during the pandemic. Even with searches reaching pre-pandemic volumes, coronavirus has shifted resident expectations – just like many other aspects of daily life. Despite your current roster of luxury amenities, it s likely that your management team will still have to adjust your current leasing approach to effectively capture incoming prospects. Of course, certain precautions should be followed by every multifamily community to ensure everyone s safety, such as diligently sanitizing common areas or providing on-site staff with as many preventive measures – like hand sanitizer and disposable face masks – as resources allow. However, what about residents long-term expectations? Which amenities, services, and conveniences should you afford current and future residents in light of recent events? Check out the suggestions below! Creative Co-Working Spaces Co-working spaces have steadily increased in popularity over the past few years, but these days, they re far more than a trendy apartment amenity – they are essential to the American work-from-home force. With over 60 percent of the population now working remotely and countless businesses unsure when they ll resume in-person operations, it s safe to say that these spaces will be a much-appreciated feature to incoming prospects. Implementing or updating co-working spaces is especially important to the current residents who will continue working from home, even after the worst waves of the virus subside— i.e. Google recently announced remote work will continue to at least Summer 2021. Any work-oriented space should contain safely distanced desks and chairs, a seamless Wi-Fi connection and plenty of charging outlets. Add features for eventual communal use, like a coffee bar and billiards table, and your co-working space will be just as attractive, if not more so, than other designated co-working spaces within your given area. If your community is lacking the space needed for a co-working station, consider marketing any generously sized floor plans as work-from-home friendly. If these homes have enough space to comfortably accommodate work-related necessities, this label will encourage prospects to consider how interior apartment spaces can serve their remote needs. Fun Outdoor Offerings As our knowledge of these new obstacles grow, it has become increasingly clear that shared outdoor spaces are preferable over indoor ones. According to numerous studies, Americans are safer outdoors when it comes to potential spread of COVID-19. Additionally, being outdoors offers numerous wellness benefits to residents, including mood enhancement and the opportunity for physical fitness. Considering that 95 percent of Americans have reported experiencing anxiety during the past few months, you can bet that safe outdoor access – which is proven to alleviate emotional distress – will climb to the top of your resident s wish list. In fact, Bloomberg has recently declared that building better balconies is one of the pandemic s crucial takeaways for the real estate industry. Individual patio and balcony offerings will continue to be a deciding factor for many prospects, who are hoping to expand their apartment square footage through outdoor spaces. As for community-wide amenities, features, like outdoor lounge areas and dog parks, are still highly sought-after by prospective residents looking for safe ways to break-up the monotony of self-isolation – as long as regularly scheduled sanitizing and social distancing is practiced in such spaces. Contactless Technology If there s one industry that has excelled to meet the challenges of the pandemic, it s technology. Big Tech – including Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft – is laying the groundwork for the future of their companies, purchasing cloud computing businesses and social media apps, hiring an additional 175,000 employees, and continually optimizing the services they offer. It s true that Big Tech has undoubtedly gotten bigger during 2020, since their products and services allow Americans to maintain some semblance of normal life. Thanks to this industry, we can digitally connect with loved ones, order groceries and other necessities, and engage in more contactless workflows overall. Speaking of contactless workflows, they are needed to push our industry – which relies on personal touchpoints – forward during a time of emergency. For example, apartment tours are a make-it-or-break-it point within the Resident Lifecycle that you cannot afford to sacrifice to pre-recorded video tours or 3D floor plans. Prospects prefer to see the actual apartment home that s up for grabs, with only 14 percent of them willing to lease an apartment sight unseen. AI chatbots are one of the technological solutions that have arisen as a way to fill personnel voids during this time, helping both leasing agents and leads adhere to social distancing guidelines. The final impacts of the novel coronavirus across the business landscape are yet to be seen. Luckily, a few tweaks to your current operating strategy is all multifamily owners and operators need to make a big difference in the appeal of their property and the well-being of their residents. These suggestions are just a few examples of how your team can rise to meet all of these brand-new expectations from your prospects and residents alike. By investing in these amenities, you ll only further establish your community s commitment to resident satisfaction and, above all, safety. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/417/the_game_has_changed_in_the_amenities_race_here_is... Thu, 27 Aug 2020 20:23:00 GMT 21561fa6-856f-4d6c-a828-d2b5c8f31ddb Kerry W. Kirby Whether you realize it or not, you draw hasty conclusions about brands every day based on their visual appeal. Think about it this way: how often do you find yourself enticed by a brand after stumbling upon their user-friendly website or well-curated Instagram grid? Similar to your own experience, it only takes mere seconds for consumers to form a first impression of your company, and many of these perceptions are based upon the strength of your visual branding. In fact, visual content is strongly linked to memory, as visuals help consumers remember 65 percent of new information for up to three days. This explains why 80 percent of marketers use visual assets in their social media marketing campaigns. While visually appealing design is a major component of any reputable brand, mastering the basics of graphic design itself can be difficult for teams without the resources to employ a graphic designer or marketing specialist skilled in this arena. For multifamily companies, who want to exude professionalism and appeal to target audiences, however, it s a necessary skill to attain. Luckily, any multifamily community can now harness the power of design with web-based design platforms, like Canva, which are known for their easy-to-use interface, simple photo editing abilities, and extensive selection of templates, illustrations, and stock images. Canva, specifically, welcomes over 15 million monthly active users looking for a simple way to create social media graphics, posters, flyers, and other business-friendly visual assets. This design program — and others like it — are also much more affordable than high-end tools, including Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, which require a moderate level of industry knowledge in order to use them effectively. If you d like to maximize your online presence without spending hours learning an extremely complex program, web-based graphic design platforms are the perfect all-in-one solution. This rings especially true if your team is interested in bolstering your marketing strategy with social media-ready content, including branded imagery, interactive posts, and informational graphics. After all, establishing a firm foothold within the social media sphere requires that potential residents become familiar with your brand, which can increase revenue by as much as 33 percent! Fortunately, simple-to-use design programs make it easy to create memorable branded content. Simply upload your property s logo, colors, and fonts to your design account. When you're ready to insert your logo, you can navigate to the platform s Brand Kit and select what you need. Upload your brand colors and fonts, and you ll never have to keep track of confusing color codes and font names again. Once your Brand Kit is complete, focus on generating social media content. Take your pick of templates sized to every major social media platform under the sun, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube. Create graphics from pre-sized selections, or size your own projects with customizable dimensions. You ll also be able to take advantage of free stock images and videos, a wide variety of professionally designed illustrations and graphics, and even interactive stickers that move across your screen. The uses of these online design programs extend far beyond creating striking social media posts, too. If you need to get the word out about any announcements, recommendations, or specials, you can turn to these platforms to create an infographic, newsletter, or flyer. Home to countless templates for these business-minded projects, you ll find all the elements that you need to solidify your brand identity. Export your work as a graphic, video, or GIF, or use various API integrations to share the final product straight to your social media channels. Interested in obtaining a hard copy of your file? Certain programs even allow you to order prints of your design project with the click of a button. Yet, our favorite part of design platforms is the least expected. Most of these programs tend to offer an ever-growing informational library, perfect for those who d like to expand upon their knowledge of both the platform itself and the larger digital marketing industry. Create an account, and you ll be able to access a comprehensive blog and free, video-based courses that cover topics, like social media best practices and graphic design principles. Considering that similar tutorials can cost hundreds of dollars elsewhere, these resources only add value for your business. Social media platforms offer multifamily communities another avenue to cultivate relationships with prospects and residents, while publicizing important information concerning floor plans, amenities, neighborhood perks, and more. If your small to mid-sized multifamily team is interested in maximizing your leasing and retention opportunities by incorporating high-quality visual assets into your marketing strategy, web-based design programs, such as Canva, are a useful, cost-effective option for knocking these goals out of the park. Great for creating everything from infographics and digital brochures to logos and print collateral, these online design programs are the one stop shop that your marketing department has been searching for. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/416/how_to_step_up_your_digital_marketing_game_with_vi... Thu, 23 Jul 2020 18:49:00 GMT 2155928f-d727-45bb-be10-d8c8a80657dc Kerry W. Kirby As the world begins to emerge from mandated lockdowns, many of us have developed a different perspective concerning humankind s impact on the environment. Even though Harvard University has asserted that there isn t direct evidence to link climate change to the spread of COVID-19, the Ivy League college did suggest that climate change affects human health in general. Whether it s deforestation, the emission of greenhouse gases, or the illegal wildlife trade, many human practices have escalated the climate crisis, and in turn, increased the risk of future pandemics. Currently, multifamily management companies are busy digitizing their workflows to meet social distancing requirements— but, they also should concern themselves with their property s sustainability practices and how they fit into their business goals. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, the amount of sustainable, LEED-certified single family, multifamily, and affordable housing has increased by 19 percent since 2017, with over 400,000 of these projects located in the United States. Investing in sustainable building and community features will better the environment, offer many benefits to your residents and team members, and appeal to a wide range of prospect demographics. In fact, the 200 major companies listed in the S&P 500 that identify as leaders in managing climate risk have outperformed other top companies by 33 percent in the past few months. So, what should prevent your business from joining in the green living revolution? Read on to discover how you can achieve similar success for your multifamily company. Reduce Building Costs If you re like most multifamily operators, you re looking for a way to reduce spend when it comes to construction and operational costs. Sustainable building practices can help you do just that! Green features save owners approximately 33 million dollars across 200,000 buildings. Additionally, buildings that embrace green design recoup associated costs of the project within six to seven years, significantly less than the typical industry average. Given the numbers, multifamily sector can expect to see more communities using natural resources, like bamboo, wool, and reclaimed wood, during construction. Environmentally friendly features can also help your community join the ranks of LEED-certified homes, which save up to 60 percent in energy costs. That s right—it s quite simple to cut expenses by offering eco-friendly amenities where possible. Advanced heating and cooling systems, stainless steel appliances, and high-efficiency plumbing fixtures aren t slowing down in popularity, as sustainability becomes a cohesive goal for everyone within the multifamily industry. Appeal to Next-Generation Residents In addition to minimizing building upkeep and spend, sustainability is great for attracting residents to your leasing office s front door. A recent study shows that 80 percent of residents believe living in a green apartment is beneficial to their health. Additionally, Nielsen found that 81 percent of modern consumers strongly believe that businesses should prioritize environmentalism. As the consumer response clearly indicates, your management company s care for the environment is integral to building resident trust and loyalty. If you re concerned about the cost it takes to convert your community to greener living, consider that 61 percent of apartment residents say that they would pay more in monthly rent for an eco-friendly apartment home, outfitted with sustainably minded amenities and community features. By providing these highly sought-after amenities to residents, you ll speak to their need for environmental friendliness, while also earning an additional 27 to 29 dollars in monthly rent payments per apartment home. Lessen Your Environmental Footprint Environmentalists have advocated for sustainable architectural design for many years now, and though the multifamily industry has been relatively slow to adapt, it s time for every business within our vast, complex sector to examine their environmental footprint, take action to reduce its impact, and weave sustainability into their brand story. If you re keen to adopt federally recognized green practices, your business can earn tax credits and other benefits, while promoting tangible environmental change. Though you may question the significance your multifamily company can have on reducing dangerous carbon emissions, research suggests that every business can help significantly to lessen global pollution. Five years ago, it was reported that just 100 companies were responsible for over 70 percent of emissions globally, a trend that had continued since 1988. Though U.S. greenhouse emissions fell slightly in 2019, there is still much work to be done. (If we want to avoid the worst effects of climate change, we must reduce global emissions by 8 percent each year for the next decade. Are you ready to be part of the solution? Sustainable housing may seem a trend that comes around as quickly as it goes, but in reality, embracing green apartment living offers a multitude of advantages to apartment operators and their residents. Implementing eco-friendly practices and amenities will go far in establishing your community as a leader in green design— all while cutting construction and energy costs, appealing to discerning prospects, and making a lasting, positive impact on our rapidly changing world. https://www.multifamilybiz.com/blogs/415/the_many_ways_sustainability_can_improve_your_mult... Wed, 01 Jul 2020 09:41:00 GMT ad4e4008-1989-413a-a156-8d83ce87f59a Kerry W. Kirby