This edition of Life with RentSentinel features Heather Campbell of Riverstone Residential.
Managing Craigslist for a single account can be a challenge, imagine supervising 680 communities and their Craigslist marketing strategy. RentSentinel caught up with 18-year industry expert Heather Campbell, Vice President of Property Marketing at Riverstone Residential , to learn how a multidimensional routine has jump-started team success.
Need to know Heather Campbell & Riverstone Residential Quick Facts:
RentSentinel: How did you help Riverstone build an effective brand presence on Craigslist?
Campbell: We believe the more detail you provide a prospect the better. A benefit of Craigslist is agents can advertise in real-time so prospects know what’s available, right now. If unit 2016 is vacant I encourage teams’ to communicate this detail in their ads. Using fresh, specific unit content prevents ghosting, a challenge the multifamily industry struggles with as a whole.
RentSentinel: What do you encourage your onsite teams to focus on?
Campbell: We find that the most successful agents tour a property and translate that experience into an effective ad. This means creating consistent ad content. If the title of your ad says “Huge walk in closet and large balcony with city views,” your photos better prove that! We must stay cognizant of posts and check for correlation between titles, photos and content.
RentSentinel: So it’s safe to say your leasing teams are heavily involved in the Craigslist process?
Campbell: Absolutely, Riverstone teams are fully engaged in the renting lifecycle. I encourage teams to personalize and specify their favorite apartment features on ads because people can relate. Ads with personality create a human connection. Their opinions not only add flare, but give apartment shoppers an idea of who they’re possibly renting from.
RentSentinel: How do you effectively manage so many communities at a high level?
Campbell: We use RentSentinel to manage our property portfolios and we benefit from the software by implementing “Craigslist Training” to all teams’ schedules. This keeps us on the same page and ensures optimal results.We’ve found detailed Craigslist ads trigger conversations and improve click thru rates which leads to more signed leases!
RentSentinel: How does RentSentinel support your complex apartment marketing strategy?
Campbell: We employ a specific approach and RentSentinel supports our complex strategies to help us resolve occupancy issues. RentSentinel has an excellent reporting system that provides over 30 marketing reports. We have visibility across our property portfolios and can see which templates, titles and posting times work best. Our marketing plan can continuously develop because the RentSentinel platform successfully manages multidimensional strategies.
RentSentinel: Any last minute pointers?
Campbell: Only implement initiatives with a purpose. Before we implement any marketing strategies we ask teams to consider these key questions:
RentSentinel: Thanks Heather, before we wrap up can you tell me something awesome about yourself other than that you used to live in Chicago?
Campbell: I married my college sweetheart and live in Denver with our two kids, Franny and Gus. I can also say the alphabet backwards in less than 5 seconds!
