5 Creative Apartment Leasing Ideas Your Competitors Are Already Using

Posting your apartment listings on Craigslist or social media is only going to get you so far. Plus, putting in countless hours of posting to ILS websites with the same old content you see across most ILS services can waste valuable marketing dollars.

It’s time to get creative with your apartment leasing ideas. Taking a single idea and putting a spin on it or adding some extra creative energy can really pay off.

What follows is an in-depth list of apartment leasing ideas already in use across the multifamily industry - with a special creative spin to them.

5 Creative Apartment Leasing Ideas

1. Follow up in-person tours with a virtual tour

One of the most important steps in marketing to qualified apartment leads is the follow up after their in-person tour. You’ve already hooked them by showing off your community’s best features, now it’s time to make sure that impression lasts.

Sending a basic follow-up email to thank them may get you some clicks and replies, but to get the most return on your follow-up effort, consider investing in an apartment virtual tour and attaching a link to all your follow-ups. While they’ve already seen the space in person, they can continue exploring online with a complete walk-through and even share with family and friends.

Related: Discover how to upgrade outreach marketing ideas for apartments.

2. Integrate with a matchmaking app

Roommate matchmaking services are just another form of ILS that is reshaping how renters find their new homes. Because today’s renters care about connection, this is a useful marketing approach.

Prospects log in to an app, search in their desired area for an apartment and match with a roommate.

ROOM8 is just one example of this kind of service that is helping prospects find their dream roommate and their dream apartment - and you could be just one of those apartments that stand out in their search.

3. Add a site map touch screen to your lobby

Want prospects to hang around longer in your community? Want to show off more than just a sign posted of your floor plans?

Touch screens in your lobby are inviting and engaging to both prospects and tenants, but you can take your touch screen content a bit further with interactive site plans that show real-time availability.

A stacking plan lets users explore your community by each floor, selecting between floor plates to view available units. Here’s an example of one in action:

4. Spruce up your empty model units with virtual staging

Virtual staging is great for tight marketing budgets.

Rather than hiring an interior designer and pay for consulting and hours of staging, 3D artists are able to take professional photos of your empty units and stage them with graphic furniture, decor and other elements to bring the room to life. The process is also fairly short - about one week to virtually stage versus the long process it takes to consult and bring rented furniture in and out of the model units.

Considering that you can also rent out all of your model units with virtual staging, you pay less and don’t lose any monthly rent in the process. It's a win-win.

5. Show off your photos on Instagram and Pinterest

Have professional photos of your community? Great! But don’t let them just gather dust on Google or your website. Leverage their marketing power across hyper-visual platforms like Instagram and Pinterest.

Considering that majority of today’s renters are most active on these platforms, it's a waste to not even test their potential. Majority of Generation Z says that Instagram is their favorite social platform, followed close by Facebook. Not only are you dispersing your content through more channels, you’re hitting the right target audience here.

Think Outside the Apartment Marketing Norms

When trying to lower your vacancy rates, it’s time to go beyond traditional multifamily marketing ideas to stand out. You must get creative while also maintaining smart marketing approaches that cater to your audience.

Contact us to learn more about how technology can help you increase signed leases and get more foot traffic through the door.