by judybellack on February 8, 2010
Last Friday we were fortunate to host a webinar on Yelp — a very cool website that combines local reviews and social networking functionality to create an online community where users can share ratings and information about everything from restaurants, clubs, merchants, and (yes, you guessed it!) apartment communities. The webinar was presented by Geoff Donaker, COO of Yelp, along with Luther Lowe, Manager of Local Business Outreach. The two covered topics ranging from the basics of Yelp and how to create an account, to the filtering software that ensures Yelp reviews remain balanced and fair. There’s obviously a great deal of interest in the topic of ratings, as there were over 900 registrants and over 500 live phone lines joining the webinar. If you missed it, just click here to see the recorded version.
Apartment Finder advertisers have the option of streaming Yelp reviews of their community directly into their property page on www.apartmentfinder.com — something many consumers are looking for as they search available online information to reach a buying decision. Unlike some other ratings sites, Yelp invests a great deal of resource into making sure ratings aren’t either pumped up unrealistically (by friends, family or employees, for example) or unfairly pulled down (by competitors, disgruntled former employees or chronic complainers). Pretty well thought out, and a big reason Yelp now has 26 million users a month searching their site.
Here are some helpful links if you are considering Yelp as a tool to help manage your community’s online reputation:
http://www.yelp.com/business
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yelp/sets/72157623054478330/detail/
http://www.howcast.com/videos/282447-How-To-Use-Yelp-For-Business-Owners
by ApartmentFinder on February 5, 2010
STATE-OF-THE-ART AND FASTER THAN EVER
Leading Provider of One-Click Access to Apartment Information Revamps Web Site in Response to Consumers’ Wants and Needs, Gives Advertisers Enhanced Traffic and Lead Volume
Lawrenceville, GA – February 4, 2010 – As the leading source of critical information for apartment seekers in the multi-family industry, ApartmentFinder.com has launched its new 5.0 web site to provide apartment shoppers with a simplified, better search experience, and drive higher lead volume for advertisers.
With one of the largest collections of apartments for rent anywhere online, ApartmentFinder.com provides one-click access to apartment information, and has re-engineered its site in direct response to what consumers said they want and respond to.
“In the first two weeks after launching ApartmentFinder.com 5.0, our e-mail lead conversion rate more than doubled, and we experienced 235% improvement in advertiser URL click-through conversion and a 49% increase in lead generation, creating more high-quality leads for our customers during an especially challenging time in the business cycle. Combined with its 65% increase in unique visitors over the past year as a result of proprietary SEO optimization techniques, ApartmentFinder.com has established itself as the pre-eminent fixed-cost, high-volume lead generator in the multi-family category,” said Marcia Bollinger, president of Apartment Finder.
The smarter, simpler, more powerful ApartmentFinder.com 5.0 provides more options for shoppers to connect with advertisers. Features include:
- Details page has been redesigned with a newer, cleaner feel, cutting out unnecessary distractions to drive consumers’ focus straight to the listing.
- Visual appeal has been enhanced through vibrant, eye-catching colors featured on the Search Results page, to make the listing’s name and contact information a prominent focal point.
- Each Details page now provides a list of Nearby Apartments, automatically generating more opportunities for consumers to link to advertisers’ listings.
- Pages now load faster and deliver one-click search results to ensure better user experience and stronger results.
Apartment Finder’s dedication to state-of-the-art Internet development extends far beyond the launch of ApartmentFinder.com 5.0. Over the past year alone, Network Communication, Inc. (NCI) has:
- Launched the DigitalSherpa social media marketing service, with the introduction of CommunitySherpa, the first-ever social media marketing program for the multi-family industry, DesignSherpa, for the design and home improvement markets and CRE Sherpa, for the commercial real estate market
- Implemented social media distribution
- Introduced mobile Apps for the iPhone and iTouch
- Increased web traffic more than 100%, making NCI one of the top hyper-local destinations on the web for housing and home design solutions
In addition to rolling out the latest website enhancements, Apartment Finder has also ramped up its investment in print for the prospect focused on-land distribution by adding 21 new chains in 65 markets for 1,150+ new locations. Apartment Finder services 115 markets across the U.S.
Apartment Finder is the anchor of the multi-family division of Network Communications, Inc., the largest publisher of print and online housing information in North America. Considered the fastest-growing multi-channel brand in the industry, Apartment Finder’s print and online products provide the latest information about apartment rentals to millions of consumers around the country, while offering a comprehensive and targeted integrated advertising solution for multi-housing professionals.
Media Contact, Tami McCarthy, TMG, 212.750.5755, tami@TMGpr.com
by mildredthompson on February 4, 2010
The “new world” of Social Media can be an overwhelming, fast-moving arena. Questions like when to post, how often do I need to be out there, if I respond to someone, will it be politically correct for everyone? and how do I get my customers to engage are things we all think about. I was reading an article from Inc. the other day - “30 Tips for Using Social Media in Your Business” and I thought that April Joyner had some relevant, easy to use ideas for all of us. I especially liked these:
- Interact with visitors—really. Just putting up a blog or a Facebook fan page won’t do much good if visitors sense the flow of conversation only goes one way. In fact, Matt Mullenweg, founder of blogging platform Wordpress, lists not participating in comments as a surefire way to kill a community.
- Reward customer loyalty. Through social media, companies can not only run promotions more frequently than coupons in the mail, but also devise more whimsical and engaging campaigns. Sprinkles Cupcakes, a bakery chain based in Beverly Hills, CA, uses Twitter to send out daily promotional offers. The tweets, which ask customers to whisper a “password” to receive a free treat, have helped the company draw more than 17,000 followers.
- See what people are saying about you. A quick search for mentions of your company on Facebook, Twitter, and Yelp can yield a goldmine of information concerning your reputation. Several users on Yelp, for instance, suggested that employees at Quimby’s Bookstore in Chicago were less than welcoming. After reading the comments, the store focused on improving customer service.
- Make amends with dissatisfied customers, quickly. Andy Carlson, owner of an Ace Hardware store in Denver, once came across an angry Twitter update from a customer who had bought a tool that broke after one use. He resolved the issue in a matter of minutes by referring the customer to an area store and notified him of Ace’s lifetime guarantee.
And my favorite -
- Help others promote you. Social media can help you find passionate customers who are more than willing to spread the word about your company.
by Marcia Bollinger on February 3, 2010
In the face of major change – how do you react? One of my friends sent me this and I thought that it reflected how life can be, and how we may or may not react to these challenging times, I wanted to share this “survive the storm” story . . .
A young woman went to her mother and told her that life was so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She pulled the contents out of each pot and asked her daughter what she saw. ‘Carrots, eggs, and coffee,’ the daughter replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to see how each item had changed and explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water and became a cup of aromatic coffee to enjoy.
Which are you?’ she asked her daughter. ‘When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? Were you the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do you wilt and become soft and lose your strength? Were you the egg that starts with a soft heart, but changes with the heat? Did you have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, become hardened and stiff? Does your shell look the same, but on the inside you are bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or are you like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level?
How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? Think about it when the next challenge you take on – becomes an opportunity.
by Patty Blum Crawford on February 2, 2010
Last week I celebrated my first birthday since being heavily engaged in social networking and what an amazing experience it was! I have vivid memories of my 30th driving up I-95 to Florence, SC where no one knew I was quietly celebrating and “Happy Birthday” was not as easy to page as “hello.” (For those of you too young to remember, we had pagers and built “pager- speak” similar to the LOL’s of todays texting minus the use of letters.) Hello was 07734 upside down, it seems more like hieroglyphics today.
Fast forward to 2010 where I am on the tradeshow floor at the Alabama State Tradeshow, again quietly celebrating with a crowd of people, some very good friends others new freinds who were not aware of the special day. Now you may think the friends were not so good if they did not remember my birthday, but who could keep track of all of their 400+ friends birthday in their head without the helpful reminders set in the land of social networking?
Back to the tradeshow floor where my blackberry began to flash yellow indicating a low battery after a full charge the night before. By the looks of the inbox count, someone had either died or one of my children went to the hospital- how else could I get 100 messages in a matter of hours? My skipped heartbeat turned to joy and surprise to see an inbox of birthday wishes from what seemed to be everyone I have ever known.
The following day on my drive back to Atlanta, it hit me how this experience translated into our efforts to connect with our residents and how simple it is. The conversations we have on Facebook are those that years ago were reserved for a small group of our closest friends and relatives that kept track of our annual events and celebrations. It may still be possible to connect with residents in this manner for a community of 100 homes with low turn over and a manger that has been there for years. The average community with 250 units, move-ins, move-outs, reports, scheduled maintenance and the like would find it impossible to keep track of daily, monthly or annual happenings of the residents.
So, those properties stuck on how to start engaging residents and building a social network need not fear. Look at it as a new opportunity to connect residents, the management team, and the friends of both by a few comments here and there that let fans and freinds know you are interested in their lives. Learn what they are doing from their comments. Post regularly or you could miss a golden opportunity (and that’s not to imply that my birthday was one you would associate with golden.) Add content that is relevant to your residents’ lifestyle. It is an opportunity that was nearly impossible just a few years ago and will allow you to connect more fully than ever before.
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