New Media Apartment Marketing
Get Social with Mills: The Journey Begins
It’s official – Mills Properties is taking the plunge into new media. For the past three years we have been at work producing real results with simple tools like Craiglist and vFlyer. One example, which I will fully detail in a later blog post, includes a manager that used CL exclusively to add 23 points of occupancy in just seven short weeks. It’s an amazing story but it is not where we wanted to be. We wanted to be fully immersed in the use of new media as it relates to marketing apartments.
The Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with One Step
I am jazzed to report that Mills Senior Leadership has given blessing for me to document the entire journey from soup to nuts. In doing so I hope to utilize all the rich media out there in order to produce some massively cool dialog. The chief aim is to bring real meaning to the word engagement as I am fully convinced that the word is very often misplaced and misused in the world of marketing and new media specifically.
All that being said, I invite you to join us as we take the first step to Get Social with Mills.
Update: And, if it starts to look and or feel like a ton of self promotion, company promotion or ego-centric rhetoric, say as much. Our intent is to tell a story that may add value to your new media marketing efforts.
M
New Media Apartment Marketing: Random Thought
Just a quick post for your Sunday reading pleasure.
New Media Apartment Marketing: Experience
I am vacationing in Denver this weekend. I am taking some time away from the day to day work I do with Mills Properties in Saint Louis to recharge the batteries. It feels great to get away to refresh the mind, body and soul. This morning as I was sitting in a coffee shop grabbing a quick cup of Joe and something to eat I overheard a conversation that intrigued me. The two people communicating wore bright red clown noses and looked to be having a great time. But, that was not the intriguing part. They were talking about random topics when the following comment caught my ear,
What experiences would you like to get out of that trip?
It came on the heels of another question and a subsequent comment. One clown nose man asked the other, “where would you like to vacation if money were no worry?” The response was, “Somewhere in the Bahama’s.” This is where the inquisitive clown nose asked the above question.
New Media Apartment Marketing: Question
It made me think that we should be asking that question of all of our constituents be it Mills Properties employees, residents or otherwise. Answers to that question could yield some pretty cool information as it relates to both online and offline experiential marketing efforts. It could assist in tailoring both inhouse and outsourced initiatives along with in general work practices.
It’s not to suggest that we don’t practice some form of information gathering that is rivals this question. But, the thing that really caused me pause was the pause it created in the responding party. For all intents are purposes the question was not normal and it caused the man to think before he responded – something that is losing it’s common place anymore. And, when he responded, it was with mindful thought in lieu of random generalness (if that is a word).
I will let you know how it goes….
In the mean time, let me know your thoughts on the subject and have a compelling Sunday
New Media Apartment Marketing: Random Thoughts
Could not pass up the chance to share this list from Logic + Emotion. It’s from a post titled Random Thoughts. In it, David Armano lists five pretty simple yet compelling thoughts that should no doubt be a guide for all of us. The first thought he lists is; We all live in glass houses.
Be Mindful of What you Say
I think many times in the world of new media it is easier to say just what is on your mind without being mindful of the long term ripple effect. It’s really very easy to sit behind a keyboard and rattle off thoughts that are no doubt driven by our emotions. We have all been guilty of it – someone writes something on a blog or in a comment and wham-o Satan’s spawn comes dwelling up inside of our being and we lash out… Or, someone presses something derogatory about our Apartment Community on a ratings site and we sign up just to set the record straight by one upping them in the art of condescension. In this same breath I would suggest there is a difference between expressing passion and ignorance.
Be Mindful of Our Actions
Penned by some philosopher an undetermined number of years ago – actions speak louder than words. I think the essence of David’s thought is that the very act of throwing that stone is reflective of one’s character. I can say, with learning in mind, that there a number of stones I wish I had back in my collection. They were much more useful to look at when I had them in my possession. And, in the same respect, it’s my hope, as we become more and more embedded in our new media apartment marketing lives, that we remain mindful of our virtual actions. Just remember new media never forgets…
Marketing Apartments with New Media
As we continue to venture into the world of new media and the use of Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, FourSquare YouTube, Flickr and Local or Regional Blogs we will no doubt encounter plenty of opportunity to grab that tin of rocks we keep in the darker places of our mind, warm up the lizard brain and write away. The next time that happens exercise another ancient philosophy [amended for modern times]; write it a un-savable word doc, read it twice, sleep on it and let it go.
Let us know what you think? Drop us a comment below and let’s discuss….
