Property management marketing ideas to attract rental property owners

US rental property owners have no shortage of opportunities. 45% of landlords manage their own properties. And those already with a property management company may switch if they find a better deal elsewhere.

So, how do you attract both crowds in a fiercely competitive space?

Effective property management marketing.

Landlords are already clued up on property management and are eager to keep learning and growing. They spend time online and may consider property management companies if they don’t have one already.

This is good news for property management companies. Landlords are easy to find, which gives you lots of property management marketing ideas to try.

Why is property management marketing important?

Every business needs marketing to attract leads and build its reputation. Marketing is important for property management companies as it’s a fiercely competitive space.

Property management companies must stand out from the competition and persuade landlords of the advantages they offer. And property management marketing is a powerful way to boost visibility, inspire landlords, and win their custom.

8 property management marketing ideas.

1. Build a customer-centric website.

Your website is a hugely important asset for your business. It can win you new business around the clock. And you own and control it, unlike social media platforms and company listings pages.

Building and maintaining websites can be expensive and time-consuming. So it’s essential to get it right and avoid the common pitfalls that cost you customers. There are many mistakes but they can be summarized into three things:

1. Poor design: First impressions matter and they’re formed fast. Users form an opinion about a website within 0.05 seconds. There’s a balance of style and substance. Overly fancy websites may look great but they can be tedious and confusing. A basic, under-styled website may cause customers to give up and look elsewhere. Digital designers often repeat the saying “Don’t make me think!”. Visitors should land on your website and find the information they need without confusion. 
2. Dull copywriting: Copywriting is often overlooked. But it’s your words that persuade people. Many make the mistake of talking about themselves too much. But visitors want to know what your company can do for them. After all, they’re on your website for a reason. They want to know how your company can help resolve their issues.
3. The website isn’t optimized for conversions: A mix of the two issues above results in a website that doesn’t do enough to win new customers. You know you have a great website if it regularly turns visitors into leads. This is achieved with intuitive design, copy that speaks to buyer personas’ pain points and desires, and effective calls to action to get people into your sales funnel.

How to build a website that converts visitors into customers:

• Apply “the three E’s” in your copywriting: Your website isn’t for you; it’s for your visitors. So your copy should be educational, empathetic, and entertaining. Educational to express value, empathetic to visitors’ stage of awareness, and it should be entertaining to read.
• Make it easy to navigate: Lots of websites are cluttered with too many pages. Focus on your audience personas and design your website to guide them to the services they’re looking for. Remember “one page, one purpose.” If you can’t explain a page’s purpose, delete it.
• Give away value for free: It can feel strange giving valuable information away for free but it’s a powerful way to build great customer relationships. Thoughtful blog posts, eBooks, downloadable guides, etc. tailored to solve specific problems can really help a landlord grow their business. And they may feel obligated to return the favor after receiving helpful content for free.
• Make it mobile-friendly: Approximately half of the web’s traffic in 2023 was on mobile devices. Your website should perform just as well on a mobile device as it does on a desktop. 
• Optimize for conversions: Every second matters when someone’s visiting your website. A website with a 0 to 4-second load time is optimum for conversion rates. Create instructional guides to ensure images, videos, blog posts, etc. are optimized for the web to keep load times down.

2. Invest in search engine optimization (SEO).

SEO can be a confusing area of property management marketing as even a fantastic SEO strategy won’t return results overnight.

It’s a long game but a game well worth playing. Following best SEO practices will lead to a steady flow of traffic while helping you learn more about your audience.

Why SEO is complex:

• Algorithm updates: Search engines such as Google and Bing regularly update how their algorithms register and rank websites. It can take marketers a few weeks/months to figure out how to adapt content for optimal results.
• Content must please search engines and people: Keywords, up-to-date content, loading times, and content quality are all factors that will affect your SEO rankings.
• Monitoring success: High-quality content takes time to create, so it should be tracked and measured to learn what works. Viewing metrics such as bounce rate and click-through rate helps you determine which topics, keywords, and content types resonate the most with your audience.

A “slow down to speed up” approach works best for SEO. Resist the quantity-over-quality scattergun approach to content creation. It doesn’t rank well on search engines and it’s unlikely to build trust.

Create an SEO strategy, execute it, assess performance, and then make adjustments. Stay up to date with best SEO practices with popular resources such as Moz Ahrefs, and Neil Patel’s blog.

3. Update your business listings pages.

Business listings are well worth your time for many reasons:

• Many people will discover your company through them.
• They rank highly on search engines.
• The backlinks to your website boost your website’s SEO rankings.
• Lots of positive reviews shared across directories build your reputation. 
• They’re free!

Create a Google Business profile and a Facebook business page. Finally, add your company to local directories. Check and update them regularly to ensure your details are correct. Upload your most impressive success stories too.

4. Commit to high-value content marketing.

Treating content marketing as a box to tick isn’t a good idea. Content that offers audiences no value reflects poorly on your company. The new wave of AI tools was supposed to aid content creation but for many companies, it’s only helped them churn out low-value content even faster… 

So what is high-value content?

In a nutshell, it’s any type of content (a blog post, podcast, eBook, etc.) that helps audiences learn something or gives them tools to make their lives easier.

High-value content marketing is arguably the most effective property management marketing strategy. It drives organic traffic, attracts new customers, and builds trust and authority.

 Examples of valuable content:

• An eBook filled with essential information for first-time landlords.
• A well-written, well-researched blog post with tips to help landlords boost profits.
• A PDF guide featuring essential checklists and email templates for landlords.
• A long-form podcast interviewing an industry thought leader.

All of those examples provide value for landlords. They’ll appreciate getting something of value for free. And they’ll likely return to your website and social media channels again.

Landlords need to trust you before handing over the keys to their properties. And showcasing your expertise with free valuable content is a great way to earn it.

5. Create paid ad campaigns.

Creating pay-per-click ads and campaigns on social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn give you the chance to get in front of your audience with laser precision. You can target specific audiences and adjust targeting options to test the waters before ramping up your spending.

Paid ads can rapidly reveal which marketing hooks, imagery, channels, etc. best resonate with your audience. 

You can always outsource to an agency if you don’t have the time or patience to get started with paid ads. It gets easy with time once you have a good understanding of what clicks with your audience.

6. Use a property management answering service.

There are only 24 hours a day and we sleep for around eight of them. It doesn’t leave many hours to capture leads, satisfy customers, and grow your company. Doing a world-class job at all three involves many hours on the phone. 

It’s draining to provide exceptional customer service all day when your to-do list needs urgent attention too. As for the calls you can’t take, they’ll go to voicemail. But 69% of callers sent directly to voicemail don’t leave messages. This rises to 84% for those aged between 20-29.

A live property management answering service can do wonders for property management marketing and client management. You don’t need to worry about missing leads or an urgent call from a landlord. A team of friendly virtual receptionists will have your back 24/7. Leads and customers can speak to a friendly human at any time.

The benefits of a property management answering service:

• Capture and qualify leads around the clock.
• Provide exceptional customer service 24/7 – including emergency service and crisis management.
• Offer online appointment scheduling.
• Provide a better, streamlined workflow for landlords.
• Reduce manual data entry and conflicts.
• Improve professionalism and personalization with customized brand scripts.
• Reach a wider audience with bilingual options.
• Get a more cost-effective and flexible solution than a call center.
• Unlock more time to focus on growing your business.

Landlords ultimately want passive income with minimal hassle. As they’re paying for a service, they don’t like it when they can’t speak to a human. A live answering service adds assurance and a professional touch they’ll appreciate.

7. Attend industry events in your community.

The advice in this article is mostly based on digital marketing but in-person marketing shouldn’t be ignored. Attending local property events will help you learn new skills, make new contacts, and find rental property owners.

Look out for local Meetups and follow the National REIA, National Apartment Association, and RealPage, etc. to learn about industry conferences and trade shows.

8. Start a referral program.

All the property management marketing tips in this list take continual effort. A referral program is the closest to “set it and forget it.” Once you’ve created your referral program, you can share the details with leads and adjust it every few months. 

How to set up a referral program for property management companies:

• Define your objectives: Get as specific as possible. If it’s to get new clients, what type of clients and how big are their property portfolios?
• Choose your incentives: It can take a while to learn which types of incentives are the most effective. Explore different options such as cash rewards, gift cards, or a discounted service for a set period of time, etc. to determine which one is the most effective.
• Set criteria: Reduce the chances of complications by clearly defining who is eligible for your rewards and what criteria must be met for a successful referral. 
• Promote it: Don’t keep your referral program a secret. Include a page on your website to explain it and talk about it on your social media channels and newsletters, and tell people about it when you meet them.
• Track referrals: Give all participants a referral code to track your top referrals and where they came from.
• Reward your top referrers: Show your appreciation to your top referrers with gifts and discounts. This encourages more referrals and could inspire others to start generating referrals.

Effective property management marketing helps you attract leads and convert them into customers. Landlords are likely to spend many hours online, so there are many opportunities to get your company in front of them.

See how SignMore can help your property management company capture and qualify leads around the clock. Book a 15-minute consultation.