The advertising and marketing landscape changed dramatically for rental properties when landlords and property managers began posting homes for rent online instead of in print media, where it would take much longer for prospective tenants to even see your listing, let alone respond.
Things continue to change. Online advertising is still where you want to focus most of your marketing energies and resources, but you have to do more than that. If you want to rent your Santa Rosa home quickly to well-qualified tenants and reduce vacancy costs, you need to create a listing. Then, you need to post it on all the popular rental websites.
But don’t stop there! Now, you want to share it on social media sites, too. You want to send it in emails to prospective business partners such as real estate agents who might be looking for a rental home for a client. You want to work with relocation companies and major employers to connect with people who might be moving into the area and looking for homes.
There are a lot of different strategies to marketing and advertising your investment property successfully in today’s marketplace. We’re sharing some of our best tips on effective marketing and advertising, based on our experience as leading property managers in Santa Rosa.
Here’s how to elevate the way you attract tenants to your property.
Housekeeping: Prerequisites to Effective Marketing
We are as eager to dive into the marketing tips as you are, but before we go there, let’s think about something important that you need to remember:
You can have the best marketing plan in Santa Rosa. If you don’t have an outstanding property, all of the advertising in the world won’t help you.
Start with a great product to market. Make sure your rental property is ready for prospective tenants, because in order to advertise effectively, your prospects have to imagine moving right in. Make sure everything works. Take care of minor repairs. Invest in improvements and upgrades such as fresh paint, high quality floors, and energy efficient appliances. Small, cosmetic updates can be a great idea, too, such as new switch plates or a tile backsplash in the kitchen. New faucets on the bathroom sinks will help your home look great.
Don’t begin advertising your property until it’s clean, well-maintained, and ready for a new resident.
Another housekeeping item is pricing. You won’t have an easy time marketing and advertising your Santa Rosa rental home if it’s not priced according to the market. Spend some time researching what similar properties in your precise area are renting for. Evaluate how long they’re on the market and whether the rental amount is the same as the listed amount or whether there was some negotiation. If you have trouble accessing accurate and reliable data, get some help from a Santa Rosa property management company. We keep up with the latest analytics and insights, providing excellent information and comparable rents to owners who are setting their own price.
A rental value that’s too high will dissuade tenants from scheduling a showing. Draw them in during the marketing process with a rental price that’s accurate, fair, and still profitable.
Focus on Photos and Videos
We have talked about the importance of good photography before. This cannot be overstated; your prospective tenants are most interested in your pictures when they click on your listing. They’ll read your description and they’ll take a look at your rental qualifications and the exact location, and they’ll make sure you’re within their budget. But, what tenants will spend most of their time doing is scrolling through your photos. They’ll zoom in. They’ll take screenshots. They’ll want to know what you’re offering, and they’ll want to know it on a visual level.
If it’s in the budget, professional photography is worth the investment. If that’s not in the budget, get some great photos taken anyway. Take a lot of them and pay attention to quality as well as quantity. Make sure the rooms are well-lit. Natural light is best, but turn on the overhead lights, too, if necessary. Work with the right angles. Don’t stand in the middle of a room and snap a picture; put yourself in the corner so you can get the whole space
Include photos in your listing of the things people really want to see when they’re thinking about their next home. You’ll need to show off your kitchen, your living area, bedrooms, and bathrooms. Don’t forget to take pictures of any outdoor space, even if it’s just a balcony or a courtyard.
Video can be a huge benefit, too, especially if you’re thinking about posting on sites like TikTok. Put together a walk-through video that takes a prospective tenant through the entire property, room by room. This will be especially beneficial to your time. Tenants will either really love what they see, and want to come see the home right away or they’ll realize that it’s not exactly what they’re looking for, and they won’t waste your time with a showing or with a lot of back and forth correspondence.
Know your Best Online Platforms
You know where most of the tenants are looking for their next rental home, right? If you don’t, here’s a brief list of rental websites that absolutely must include your listing if you ant to maximize the attention you’re getting. Tenants in Santa Rosa like to use:
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- Zillow
- Zumper
- Trulia
- Rentals.com
- PadMapper
- HotPads
- RentCafe
Take a look at these sites to see what kinds of homes they’re offering for rent in and around Santa Rosa and Sonoma County. Make sure your listing gets the attention it deserves; tenant will stop and click when you fit into their budget, offer a great headline, and have a lot of pictures for them to enjoy.
You’ll need to stay on top of the responses you receive through each of these sites. You might get phone calls or emails. Make sure you can track where they’re coming from so you know which marketing platforms are doing the best work for you.
Consider syndicating a single listing across multiple platforms. Property managers in Santa Rosa can easily do this for you because we have sophisticated property management technology. If you need help, get in touch.
Get Comfortable on Social Sites
Social media marketing has to be part of your strategy. It’s simply unavoidable. Even if you don’t have your own profile on sites Iike Facebook and Instagram, it’s time to at least set up a profile for your rental homes. This will get a lot of attention for your property, and you’ll have a larger pool of tenants to deal with because of the reach of social media sites.
Social media can be a distraction, so you have to make sure your posts get the attention you want. If you have not already built a presence on these sites, start doing so by following friends, colleagues, and others in your personal and professional networks. Expand out to follow other experts in your industry.
The social media strategy works because when you post your listing, others have the opportunity to engage with it. You can answer questions. You can go back and forth with a tenant who might be interested in renting it. People can like and share what you’ve posted and the momentum builds.
You can also do interesting things with specific sites. On Instagram, for example, you can go “live.” This usually involves a video of you doing something in the moment, so perhaps you’ll do a live walk through of the property or you’ll host an online open house. On Facebook, there’s a marketplace section that’s dedicated to homes for rent. Make sure you’re there.
Network In-Person to Market Your Santa Rosa Rental
Talk to people who may come into contact with prospective tenants. Your vendors can be a great resource. So can your current tenants. If you’re renting out a four-plex, for example, and one unit is vacant, invite your other tenants to make referrals. If one of them suggests a tenant who is ultimately approved and moves in, perhaps reward your tenant with a discount on the next month’s rent.
Talk to relocation companies. If you’re on their radar, they’ll know to get in touch with you when they have someone looking for a home to rent. It’s always a good idea to network with real estate agents and other professionals in the property industry or adjacent to it.
There’s a lot that can be done with marketing and advertising, and if you want to have good results, you need to keep up with the latest trends and best practices. We’re always working to come up with new ways to market and advertise the rental properties we lease and manage. If you’d like som help with marketing, we can provide it. Please contact us at Prestige Real Estate & Property Management. We manage homes in Sonoma County, including Santa Rosa, Windsor, Sebastopol, Petaluma, and Rohnert Park.
