The Evolution of Technology at Princeton Properties

The Evolution of Technology at Princeton Properties. Visit our YouTube channel and take a trip back in time with me; we have certainly come a long way in the past decade! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5fShy137js

Mobile Marketing - guest post for www.thetrainingfactor.com

There are more than 2.4 billion mobile phone users, this number is growing everyday! About 30% of these mobile phone owners (more than 700 million and growing) have browsed the Internet through their mobile phones. This is why mobile marketing is predicted to become the next predominant media segment. Local search is also an area being give much discussion as of late. Unsurprisingly, searches conducted via mobile products are much more likely to be of a local nature than a desktop query. According to Google, 1/3 of all mobile search queries have a "local intent." Google also states that 15% of all iPhone apps are local. With this information, it seems like a “no brainer” for us Multifamily folks to get involved with mobile marketing. We all know the old real estate adage “location, location, location” – so, local search via mobile becomes a must! The next question is how do we develop a mobile presence?

Here at Princeton Properties, we recently launched 12 mobile websites. I have learned much during the process and would like to share a few tips for developing a successful mobile site:

Less is More

Make sure your design doesn’t over burden the mobile screen. It’s a small screen, remember that! Keep the site simple, streamline, and contact information friendly. Also, have minimal navigation, don’t make the mobile user drill down 3-4 pages before finding the information they are looking for.

Contact Information

Put the call to action on the FIRST page and leave it on a footer or header on every interior page. The call to action should be a telephone number and email address. With smart phones you can press the telephone number or email address and it will automatically take the appropriate action. The mobile user is on the go and needs “skimmable” pages with easy contact links.

Be Consistent

Make sure the look and feel of the mobile site compliments the corporate and/or property websites. The sites should work together, don’t get caught up in the “let’s try something different because…” mentality. The media channels should compliment each other for you to realize the best branding exposure. This isn’t to say you cannot deviate slightly with design but the sites should enhance each other.

Prospect or Resident or Both

First decide who you are building the mobile sites for; are you strictly trying to prospect for new business? If so, offer up imagery and pricing very quickly. Are you looking to service both the prospect and resident? (This is the way I designed our sites) Then offer up the contact information and a resident portal link from the FIRST page of the mobile sites. Residents can pay rent or submit work orders while prospects can browse photos, floor plans or connect with the rental office directly. Decide who your target audience will be prior to starting the design.

Tell People

If you build it, they will come…..doesn’t always work! Don’t forget to promote your mobile pages. Start conversations about the mobile sites on all your other media outlets – websites, blogs, print, social. Attach the mobile website to your SMS campaigns. Also, don’t forget to let your current resident base know about the mobile pages either with email blasts or good old fashion signage in the office, laundry centers, fitness centers or stickers on packages delivered to the site.

Mobile marketing is an extremely fast moving media segment; there are many ways to accomplish the same outreach goals. I have highlighted some tips that have worked for me, I am curious to hear what you are doing with mobile. Are you using it to market your properties? If so, do you have any impressions or experiences to share?

Green with Greenough

Here is a link to my conversation with the GreenLandlady regarding Princeton Properties solar projects in Massachusetts!

http://greenlandlady.com/site/business/princeton-discovers-solar/

Do we know more or less?

We are living in the world of Twitter feeds, RSS feeds, Blog subscriptions, Google alerts, targeted news apps and subscription email alerts. We have more information thrown at us in a single day now than perhaps in an entire month 10 years ago - but do we know more now?

The subscriptions and feeds that I read and follow revolve around topics and people that interest me. They were MY choice, MY selection. Have I narrowed my knowledge and/or education because I have "specialized" my information? Does this blinders on approach for information hinder me or help me be more efficient? We as readers are defined and informed by the diversity of the information sources that we choose to consume. It is a user-created Web!

In this busy world, we do not have enough hours in the day to absorb all the news and information available so we are forced to choose topics. I am no longer regularly exposed to information and points of view other than what I have asked for. The news that is served up to me has been specifically ordered by me! I wonder, is this exacting behavior a detriment? Exposure breeds creativity, tolerance and active thinking. Certainly I receive news and information FASTER now than ever before but do I have enough exposure to topics and ideas that are foreign to me? By learning about "the other side of the coin" we are often better at explaining our own point of view. After all, knowledge is power.

So with that thought, how do I find the "other point of view"? Do I just shoot darts out in the dark and randomly select news feeds or Twitter accounts trying to broaden my information base? How can I stumble upon something if I have such a controlled environment of where to look?

My Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy will end with this tweet:

“The power of Twitter is in the people you follow.”-@nytimes

New friends are a lot of WORK! ;)

Each time I attend an industry conference, I have the opportunity to connect with inspiring industry friends and discover so many new wonderful and creative people. When I get back to my office - I want to "be connected" to my new friends so I can stay inspired and motivated. After getting back from the most recent AIM conference in Huntington Beach (which did not disappoint with the wonder and creativity - FYI) I began updating my contact lists.....

Making new friends can be A LOT of work (tongue and cheek - yes). Let me explain! The documentation and updating social sites aspect of making new friends can be an arduous task. After making new acquaintances at a conference or networking event, first I begin updating and grouping my new friends in Twitter groups, then I'm off to Facebook to either accept friendships or send out requests, then I make my way to LinkedIn to update my connections, sift through the inbox and review the "people you may know" column.

Phew....not done yet.....now I must not forget to check to see if my new friends have a YouTube channel, a blog or a Foursquares account. The social networking connectivity goes on and on. What gets even more confusing and time consuming is that some of your new friends are "work people", some are "work/friend people" some are "friend" people - these internal categories create inner dialog...."Should I put him on my Facebook page or just leave him on Twitter?"; "I guess I could block her viewing my FB photos or simply connect to her on LinkedIn?" So many decision to make when documenting and categorizing new friends! Not every relationship needs or wants to be a part of every social networking site - so how do you choose? What is your secret?

I know, I know.....there certainly are more earth shattering problems in the world but hey......we are social people, we like to talk about EVERYTHING!

And P.S. - the updating of the social sites is SO worth the effort.

Oh Craig, you & your $#@% List!

It seems that no matter where I turn, the topic of Craigslist (CL) is rearing its head. Questions are forever flying - "Do you post apartments for rent?", "How many times a day do you post?", "Do you use auto-posting software or tracking software?", "Why is it working so well for leads?". The conversations seem endless. CL has become quite a Juggernaut. There seems to be a segment of the apartment rental market that exclusively uses Craigslist to find their new home rather than using ILS's or Management corporate websites sites.

Why do apartment hunters seem to be flocking to CL over ILS's? They appear to be afraid to be "sold" on a place to live. An assumption is being made that the large management companies will dish out a bill of goods (usually on "pay sites") that might or might not be true. Individuals want to find out the "real deal", and currently CL is associated with a more grass roots, "reject the man" way of searching for products - housing included. Many apartment hunters feel they have a better chance of getting a great deal on CL. I think ultimately what the CL model teaches us is that the consumer wants to have a more intimate and specific conversation when looking for housing. This apartment searcher doesn't want to be sold on the overall apartment community and the varying floorplans. They want to talk about THEIR floor plan specifically and how the community will work for THEIR way of life.

In addition to Craigslist, the evolution of sites such as RentWiki really confirm the need for community feed back and more intimate details on specific locations and apartment homes. Now that the large Management companies are super aware of CL success in generating leads, they are posting apartment ads at a rapid rate. Management companies (myself included) are flooding the grass roots directory with our corporate advertisements. We seem to be collectively breaking the toy that is Craigslist! We are slowing morphing CL into an apartment listing site, similar to any of the ILS site we pay to participate on. At the end of the day, it seem like the general public needs to find our information in many arenas. We need to have a great Craigslist ad, informative community website, robust ILS ads and an approachable corporate website. Phew, that is a lot of work!! As always, we need to keep our eyes on the horizon for the next best thing because I'm certain it is coming soon.

Overworked or Impatient

I recently watched a news brief highlighting certain behavioral patterns among the French culture. This survey stated that on average, the French (in France, not here) tend to sleep 9 hours a night and dine for a minimum of 2 hours a day. This adds up to 11 hours a day of "me" time. I can't remember the last time I slept 9 hours in a row....I'm lucky to have a combined total of 9 hours in a two day time period. As for relaxing enough to sit and have two hour meals.....the French must not have to eat at their desk while multitasking. Most internal documents received from colleagues now-a-days have some sort of coffee ring or food spill on the edge highlighting the fact that I am not alone in the "eat as you work" crowd. I feel envious of the French - I too want to sleep a full night and dine with friends for hours. How do we get there? What would it take for our society to shift gears so dramatically and prioritize this "me" time over "corporate" time? Are we an overworked society or do we not truly understand the addage of "work smart, not hard" and the French have it figured out? Or are the French just lazy........LOL.......