We’re going to tell it to you straight: Property managers ignore social media at their own peril. Sites like Facebook are playing a greater role in American life, and if your renters are there you should be too. While many properties have already dutifully created the community Facebook page and are incorporating social media into their interactions with residents, marketing hasn’t been so easy. That’s about to change.

Our clients have told us that getting real-time, valuable information out through Facebook is problematic because people who “like” their page don’t like status updates with overt marketing messages.

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How much do we love our smartphones? If you’re counting the ways, we’ve just added another reason. For the past year, we’ve been leading the charge with mobile friendly websites and our best-of-breed iPad app. Today, Property Solutions is pleased to introduce a mobile app for residents. This new app allows your residents to easily make rent payments and submit maintenance requests through their phone.

“OK, but why do we need an app?” you ask. We’ll tell you! The new resident app lets residents download the free app, locate your property, and enter their ResidentPortal credentials once… then add payments and work orders whenever they want. More features coming soon. The same functionality that is available through our MobilePortal websites is now that much more accessible. Improved availability translates to increased participation = less work for you.

This app is a free download and is automatically activated for all properties using Property Solutions MobilePortal.

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“The most fundamental goal of online marketing,” guest speaker Mike Whaling said, during last week’s Property Solutions webinar, “is that you need to make it easy for your customers to do what you want them to do.” Whether it’s refining your site layout so visitors can more easily find your calls to action or enhancing search results so your website comes up first, you need to simplify your customer’s user experience.

Mike Whaling, a web marketing consultant, presented these ideas in the webinar “More Efficient Marketing with Web Analytics”, part of our monthly free webinar series. The presentation was attended by over a hundred industry professionals. The webinar gave a broad overview of website marketing, explaining how you can dig for data, track your goals, measure successes and ultimately make your business more profitable.

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Bring cool sophistication to your corporate website this summer with our new Splash template. This template includes completely customizable color, making it simple to match your company’s branding. Visitors can search for available units through a map or simple form. Scrolling photos at the bottom of the page can link directly to individual property websites or other pages. Coordinating property websites are available. Ready to make a Splash? Contact your Account Manager to upgrade your template today.

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