I received this email from Meredith Mobley the Marketing Communications Coordinator at For Rent Media Solutions. I thought about paraphrasing it for the blog but Meredith says it so very well.
Meridith, thank you for taking the time to respond to our recent post and keep up the great work.
Here is what she had to say about social media and it’s role in the multi-family space:
Hi Mike,
My name is Meredith
Mobley, Marketing Communications Coordinator with For Rent Media Solutions. I
read your blog yesterday about our new Click to Call and Save and Send
features. Thanks for your support! As a bloggers, it is obvious that you know that
Web 2.0 is a growing trend. Judging by the success of Web sites like
Myspace.com and Facebook.com, it is obvious that social media is growing and
showing no sign of stopping! Market research company, eMarketer
projects that the number of user-generated content creators will rise from 77
million in 2007 to 108 million in 2012. With products like Community Theater™
and Text Messaging, it is evident our company has embraced social media as
another way to deliver our message and our client’s message to apartment
seekers.
Statistics have shown
that social media is particularly popular with generation Y (18-27). This is
also the main demographic for ForRent.com, which is why we are proud to
announce the first major ForRent.com video contest, which is now live at http://www.WinApartmentFurnitur
The “If Only Your Apartment Furniture Could Talk” video contest is
another way For Rent Media Solutions is reaching out to apartment seekers and
property managers giving them an opportunity to be creative and connect with
our brand. Why don’t
you try your hand at directing and submit a video!
Feel free to read the
information below and review the attached document for more information on
social media and how property managers can benefit. If you have any additional
question that I can answer, feel free to contact me. Thanks!
Regards,
Meredith
Meredith Mobley | Marketing Communications Coordinator | For Rent Media
Solutions™| 150 Granby Street, 16th floor
Norfolk, VA 23510|(757) 351-7366 | Fax: (757) 961-4826 | meredith.mobley@forrent.com |www.FRMediaSolutions.com
|IM memobley
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
For Rent
Media Solutions an Industry Pioneer in Social Media
“If
Only Your Apartment Furniture Could Talk” video contest now open
NORFOLK,
Va.—(May 6, 2008)—For Rent Media Solutions, a leading apartment resource for
searching apartments nationwide, and
a division of Dominion Enterprises, announced today that its “If Only
Your Apartment Furniture Could Talk” video contest (http://www.WinApartmentFurniture.com)
is now open for entries.
“Social media is a
proven promotional tool which enables us to build our brand effectively,”
said Brock MacLean, vice president of national sales and development for For
Rent Media Solutions. “With this contest, we are reaching out to
our consumers and giving them the opportunity to create their own Web 2.0 user
generated content. This helps strengthen our consumer relationships, build
brand loyalty and solidify our position as an innovative leader in the
industry.”
The consumer video contest—in
which the grand prize winner will receive $10,000 to re-furnish their apartment
home—is intended to leverage the power of social media to the benefit of
ForRent.com’s apartment community clients. The video contest is the latest
addition to For Rent Media Solutions’ commitment to social networking as
a complement to print and online advertising. In November 2006 For Rent
launched Community Theater™, a streaming video product, and in
July 2007 it launched Text Messaging, a mobile media product.
Directly
Benefits Property Managers
Participating property
managers should see an increase in LEADS™ from the boost in
site traffic on ForRent.com. The contest also provides an opportunity for
property managers to interact more with their residents—increasing the
residents’ brand loyalty in the community and the property management
company—and can be used as an extension to their existing Resident
Retention Program. Collateral pieces announcing the contest may be requested by
e-mailing contest@forrent.com.
The furniture promotion
is supported by online and offline advertising including billboard advertising
in select markets, national print advertising targeting college students and a
public relations campaign that incorporates social media placement.
The consumer promotion
utilizes a variety of social media features, most notably in its ability to
quickly become a viral marketing campaign. After the contest closes on June 15,
visitors to WinApartmentFurniture.com will vote for their favorite video.
Voters have the opportunity to comment on each video and e-mail videos to
friends to encourage them to vote. Consumers can also use a syndication widget
to easily distribute their favorite video to more than 20 popular social
networking Web sites, including Myspace, Facebook and Friendster. The contest
will help entrants build a sense of community through the exchange of personal
stories and ultimately better match the right apartment seeker with the right
apartment.
Utilizing Branded
Watermarking™ a unique technology provided by Vitrue, the leader in
branded social media communities and promotions, each video will be tied back
to ForRent.com. The ForRent.com branded videos can move from one social network
to another, live on third-party video sharing sites, be e-mailed through
anyone’s list of contacts and still retain the stamp of approval and an
active link back to the ForRent.com community.
How It Works
Participants are asked to
creatively tell ForRent.com through the eyes and voice of their current
apartment furniture why they should win $10,000 towards new furniture. Videos
must be original and 2 minutes in length or shorter. Acceptable formats include
MPEG, QuickTime and Real Media, among many others. Maximum file size is 100 MB.
The winning video and the
top ten finalists will be announced on or around July 22, 2008.
The grand prize winner
will receive $10,000 to be used towards the purchase of new apartment
furniture. The top 10 finalists will take home an iPod Shuffle. The grand prize
video and the runners-up will be posted to WinApartmentFurniture.com and other
social networking sites.
To learn more about
ForRent.com’s “If Only Your Apartment Furniture Could Talk”
video contest, log on to http://www.WinApartmentFurnitur
About For Rent Media Solutions™
Headquartered in Norfolk, Va.,
For Rent Media Solutions is a division of Dominion Enterprises. As the
multi-family housing solution for apartment seekers, property/apartment
managers and owners, For Rent Media Solutions provides superior products,
outstanding customer service, and tangible results. For Rent Media
Solutions is a leading resource for choosing your next apartment for rent,
townhouse, condo, duplex, efficiency, studio or loft and provides a free
customizable apartment search from
more than 50,000 apartment listings nationwide. For Rent Media Solutions
operates For Rent Magazine®, as well as ForRent.com™-The
Magazine, and publishes 94 magazines covering more than 190 markets nationwide,
including After 55™ Housing & Resource Guide, Apartamentos Para
Rentar® and Florida
Condominium and Townhome. For Rent Media Solutions operates five additional Web
sites: ForRent.com®, SeniorOutlook.com™, CorporateHousing.com®, ParaRentar.com™
and FLCondoGuide.com. For
Rent Media Solutions is a company dedicated to the needs of the apartment
industry, bringing prospective residents and apartment communities together.
About Dominion Enterprises
Dominion
Enterprises, a division of Landmark Communications, is a leading marketing
services company serving the automotive, real estate, apartment, recruitment
and marine markets. The company operates a variety of businesses that offer
Internet marketing, Web site design and hosting, lead generation, CRM, and data
capture and distribution services. The company has more than 40 market-leading
Web sites reaching more than 12.5 million unique monthly visitors, and more
than 500 magazines with a weekly circulation of over 5 million. Headquartered
in Norfolk, Va., the company has nearly 6,000 employees
nationwide and annualized revenue of more than $946 million. For more
information, visit http://www.DominionEnterprises
Contact:
Meredith Mobley
Marketing Communications Coordinator
Phone: 757-351-7366
Fax: 757-961-4827