strategy
#apartmentmarketing: Blog Format Question
Short and sweet today –
One of my favorite blogs, one I read everyday without fail, is Valeria Maltoni’s – Conversation Agent. First rate content always.
Apartment Blog Trunk
I gave up on RSS feed reading about a year ago as I spend more time in my inbox. Nearly every blog I read is done through Outlook now and as such I give more time and attention to the things I read. In other words, I generally do not skim the headline and move on.
About a month ago Valeria made the decision to truncate her email subscription delivery meaning we only see a portion of the message and are forced to click on a link to see the rest.
Result: I read fewer of Valeria’s material to the end. Sorry Valeria.
I understand the reasons for cited in her Saying it in 200 Characters post back on Aug 10, 2011.
My question – should apartment marketers truncate their blog post offerings? We are trying it a Mills [Shameless plug – the Mills Blogging Team is Putting a Dent in the #STL market place].
Would love to hear this communities thoughts? And, thank you in advance for taking the time.
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#apartmentmarketing: Content
Focus on the core problem your business solves & put out lots of content & enthusiasm, & ideas about how to solve that problem. – Laura Fitton
Want tons of followers or fans? Write compelling content that is easy to read, packed with good actionable advice and be personable.
No sage advice there, right. I concur.
Apartment Content Marketing
As it relates to marketing apartments; I subscribe to the school that thinks you provide content beyond the good or service. In this case the actual apartment itself.
Rather look for opportunities to provide content that solves the following [no premise for the categories or the order of]
1. I can’t decorate to save my life
2. I need access to solid and reliable transportation
3. I want to walk to work
4. I want to walk to the coolest pubs in town
5. I need ideas on what to do tonight
6. I need ideas on what to do to this weekend
7. I want to be the first to know about the next ‘thing to happen in my neighborhood’
8. I want to know where to take my dry cleaning
9. I want to know where to get a good glass of wine
10. I want to know about a good alternative to Starbucks
11. I want to what I did last night….hmmm, maybe I don’t want you to solve that problem
12. I want to know how much you care before I buy from you
Have a smashing and amazing weekend; make it compelling too…
M
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#Apartmentmarketing: Blog for Juice
Mike Brewer · · 1 Comment
No matter what, the very first piece of social media real estate I’d start with is a blog. – Chris Brogan
Blog About Everything Unrelated
United Blogs of Benetton is one of my very favorite blogs. It was one of my early inspirations when I started writing a multifamily industry related one back in 2005. The thing that struck me most about the blog is that it had absolutely nothing to do with their core business of fashion. In fact, I remember reading a post they wrote back around that time that suggested their reason for doing so.
I can’t find the post so I am doing my best to recall here. The gist was that they thought that the real value of blogging was to give the people that read it the essence of what they valued as an organization. In other words, they wanted to translate the values of their organization by way of compelling and worldly content.
Our First Company Related Blog
When we started our first company blog in 05′ we did just that. But in lieu of a forward facing, community gathering effort; we brought out the personality of EQRs Portland Portfolio. We called the blog: Portland Rocks Newsletter and the content consisted of stories about our teams. Be it work related or a personal experience we allowed just about everything.
Everything that is except for content about EQR or any specifically related to our apartment communities. Our chief aim back then was to invite people into relationship. Whether they bought from us or not was not the point of the blog. If they did, we considered it icing on the cake.
And, fathom this for a minute. It had nothing to do with SEO or SEM back then. Whoa!
It’s All About the Juice
Fast forward to today – everyone has a blog and everyone is jockeying for the first page of Google search. And, we all do it for Google Juice. We wrap it in 800 count Egyptian cotton [Read: adding value or enhancing experience].
All that being said, I agree 100% with Chris B.
AI: Start a blog today – if you have not already!
M
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Multifamily #Trust30: A Call to Arms
Day 24 of the #trust30 challenge – it’s a big one!
The secret of fortune is joy in our hands. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
What if today, right now, no jokes at all, you were actually in charge, the boss, the Head Honcho. Write the “call to arms” note you’re sending to everyone (staff, customers, suppliers, Board) charting the path ahead for the next 12 months and the next 5 years. Now take this manifesto, print it out somewhere you can see, preferably in big letters you can read from your chair…
(Author: Sasha Dichter)
I kind of feel like Jerry McGuire right about now.
I can’t help but to call upon the great Tom Peters for this exercise. Back in 2006 I drew from Tom’s: The PSF is Everything! Manifesto to re-imagine the way we did business in Portland. I had just inherited the Regional Manager role where I was responsible for managing fourteen properties consisting of over 5000 units spread over five sub-markets. It was a daunting task and I had no illusions that I could run the deal by myself. I knew it would take the collective efforts of our 100+ people as lead by eleven site managers. It was a bonus that they were the best in business.
If given the charge today to chart the course for the next 12 months and beyond; I would break it down just like we did back in 2006.
- Enhance Work & The Legacy
- Enhance Firm & The Brand
- Enhance Employee Commitments
- Enhance Resident Commitments
I would assign our top talent to each of these four over-riding areas. The task? To Develop the next generation of Mills Properties. It would be on each team [with as little guidance as possible] to come up with amazing over the top and executable strategies to create excellence.
Enhance Work & The Legacy
People want to be a part of something bigger than self. And, it all starts inside with the innate need to move character. It starts with a
company that is convinced that organizations are put in place to serve the people that serve it. It stars with mission, vision, strategy and values. As such we would take action on the following:
- Get a crystal clear point of view
- Create a dramatic difference
- Create a culture where ‘Stretch is Routine’
- Create a culture of ‘Game-Changer’ – WOW Projects
- Work only with ‘Playful Clients’ – Life and Business is Too Short to work with Jerks
- We would get obsessed with LEGACY
- We would part ways with anyone who says ‘apartments are commodities’
- We would never shy away from ‘Radical’
Enhance Firm & The Brand
- We would define what it means to make our business ‘cool’
- We would recruit the absolute best talent
- Integrity would rule the day
- Execution would rule the seconds, minutes and hours
- We would create a ‘Swarm Team’ as a way to support
- R&D would get front and center attention
- We will own the relevant Saint Louis digital frontier
- We will aim to be no less than a ‘LOVEMARK’
- Passion would be the guiding principle
Enhance Employee Commitments
- Our talent would breed talent – FANATICS
- We would hire peculiar
- We would manufacture Early Opportunities for new Talent
- They will rise up or be out
- We will make way for YOUTH
- We will get committed to Renewing our CURRENT base of Talent
- We will get obsessed with MENTORING
- Everyone is a leader
- Bring in the Best in Breed
- INTEGRITY with everyone
Enhance Resident Commitments
- We will invite our residents in as partners
- We will draw in only the best vendors to Serve our residents
- Have residents claim that working with US is THE BEST EVER
- Implement Implement Implement
- Our Chief AIM? Resident’s assist in creating CULTURE
- The measure? Did we make a Dramatic, Game-Changing Difference? Will they tell a friend, family member or co-worker about us?
That’s it! That would be my framework for the next twelve months. After that year we would go on an EXECUTION and IMPLEMENTATION QUEST! It would be a No Holds Barred Journey into Compelling, Over the Top, Amazing and downright Stunning Achievement!
Your always striving contributor,
M
Pics tip to Blogging Pro
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Multifamily Leadership: Reward the Doers
Execution and results are the name of the game in any and all business. Be it for profit or not for profit, getting things done that most positively effect the outcome is the chief aim. And, there are several ways to make sure your multifamily business is achieving results. There is the almighty stick and the ever enticing carrot. Threats and rewards. For the sake of this post and the continuation of this leadership series let us focus on reward.
Multifamily Doers
What is a doer? I heard a saying one time that went something like this; I would rather catch a tiger by the tail than have to light a fire under an elephant’s ass. It speaks loudly in the way of defining a doer. Doer’s get things done. They move mountains. They find ways that others never even dream about much less think about. They never let a day go by without making meaningful progress toward their goals and aspirations. And, doers get rewarded.
Three Suggestions
1. Measure what you expect and reward what you measure
2. Reward the doers far in excess of the status quo – exaggerated and excessively reward the doers
3. Promote those that get things done – quickly
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