Rental property marketing is among the most important tasks that a property manager or property management company is responsible for. It is not just about finding tenants, but about keeping them on long-term contracts as well to make your property management clients happy. You need to attract the right kind of tenants who would fit in well with the rental property and the neighborhood. New property managers especially would benefit from successful long term leases and this kind of success will help them get more property management leads. So here are a few rental property marketing ideas to try for your rental listings.
5 Rental Property Marketing Tips
Usually, putting a For Rent sign up is not enough – it is seen only by the people passing by. You need to expand your reach, but also target the right potential tenants. We present to you some out-of-the-box rental property marketing strategies to get higher quality tenants.
Related: How to Write a Rental Description That Will Attract Tenants
Create attention-grabbing marketing materials
Marketing a rental property starts with good visuals. People need to see the space so they can start imagining living there. In addition to a big For Rent sign, make flyers to hand out. Use less text and more pictures. Put the property’s floor plan on it, even. Using the help of a good graphic designer will pay off.
Getting a billboard in the area is also a good idea. Such ads reach lots of people driving by. Using a marketing message such as “Want to live in this neighborhood?” or the more provocative, “Want your kids to go to this school?” (placed next to a school, obviously) will certainly earn you calls from leads.
Talk to neighbors for leads
Filling a vacancy in a building or neighborhood sometimes depends on the cohabitants as well. If potential tenants do not get the right vibe, they will walk away. No one wants to feel unwelcome. That is why it is a smart rental property marketing approach to start with the people already living in the building or on the block. They might have potential renters in mind.
Ask them if they know someone who is looking for a rental property. Maybe they have a friend who loves their building. This is a hot, qualified lead. Or maybe they have family they would love to live closer to. People are much more welcoming to people they know. Tenants can help you not just find tenants, but make them feel comfortable, too. This increases your chances of converting a lead to lease. And the better tenants feel, the longer they will stay, keeping your occupancy rate up.
To take this even further, create a referral program to help your rental property marketing. Give out commissions or rewards in the form of shopping vouchers to people who bring you leads that become tenants.
Stage a party in the rental property
Showings are a crucial part of rental property marketing. But traditional staging for rent attracts people who are already considering the property. To get more people through the door and increase your chances of finding a tenant, you can follow some unorthodox marketing tips.
Why not organize an event on the property to draw more people in? The event can be carefully themed to attract a certain type of public – your ideal audience. Use it as an opportunity to highlight specific features of the rental property to excite them on a subconscious level: the big yard with a beautiful pool, the winter garden, the huge and functional kitchen, etc. This way, you automatically show the rental property to a larger public that can react emotionally and convert.
You want your target audience to start thinking about renting this property. Some ideas include:
- A brunch or a pool party
- A chamber music concert
- An independent movie screening
- A cooking class
- A scavenger hunt for kids
- An engagement party
Related: 10 Tips for Showing Rental Property to Prospective Tenants
Of course, check with the homeowners association about what kinds of events are permitted in the building or in the neighborhood. You do not want to damage your property management business’ reputation.
Find your target group and meet them where they are
Another rental property marketing best practice is to ask yourself who the target group for a particular property is. What is the ideal type of tenant for the neighborhood and the building? This, of course, depends on the rental price, property type and size, amenities, and location. Your property management company should have such data from a rental market analysis and rental comps.
If you need more data and insights on neighborhood rent prices and properties available in any location in the US, try Mashvisor.
Are they college students? Go to the college announcement boards (both offline and online). Are they employees in particular industries? Maybe strike up a partnership with big companies in the area to help accommodate their employees. If your ideal tenants would be big families with kids, hand out flyers in front of local schools or churches. Is the rental property a big multi-bedroom loft suitable for subletting? Ask around the coffee shops nearby for young working people looking for a place to share with friends. Do not forget to leave printed flyers in all those places for potential tenants to find.
Post in relevant Facebook groups
Real estate listing websites for long-term rentals are the traditional place for posting a property for rent. But people nowadays are on social media all the time. It makes a lot of sense to try to reach them there. It is a much more democratic space for rental property marketing – people can ask questions and the communication is more natural.
There are tons of Facebook groups for rental listings and it is free to join. Only, look around before posting to make sure your listing matches the audience in the group. A listing too luxurious or too basic can stir negative comments and other listings you post will hit a wall.
Related: 6 Social Media Marketing Tips for Property Managers
The Bottom Line
Rental property marketing is a creative task for new property managers. You are building relationships with both real estate investors and tenants so it is in your long-term business interest to find a good match. There are no strict rules to follow. In fact, the more innovative rental property marketing strategies, the better.