[A Note From The VP of Investments’ Desk – Billy Pettit]
Next week, I will be heading to the National Multi-Housing Council Conference in Dallas, Texas. The conference will cover the latest trends in the apartment industry and is something I have been looking forward to for weeks.
I am looking forward to a number of panels, but in particular the ones that highlight how a real estate firm can utilize social media to lease apartments and generate buzz.
For anyone attending the conference, the following panels are highly recommended:
“Guerilla Webfare” — How to Optimize Your Web Presence
Today’s competitive online environment is a “war of the web” that requires a “guerilla- style” approach to optimizing your company’s presence online. Rapidly changing consumer preferences and demand for digital content has brought mobile, video, digital media, blogs and other social media outlets into the mix. While operators utilize these tools in new and innovative ways to connect with renters, lenders and investors also access information about your property during the underwriting process which adds an additional layer to consider when creating a corporate web strategy. Learn from industry experts how to engage all of the latest resources to effectively create and manage must-have web content in a way that not only reaches target renters, but also enhances your brand and adds to the value of your property.
Speakers: Mike Manfred, Director of Interactive Marketing, Forest City Management; Jared Miller, Vice President, Performance & Strategy and Director of Asset Management, The Bainbridge Companies; Meghan Varga, Vice President, Program Marketing, Berkadia
Moderator: Jennifer Staciokas, Vice President, Marketing & Training, Lincoln Property Company
Marketing and Social Media Technologies…More Advanced Than You Think
Today’s marketing technologists are thinking about external promotions, the customer experience, marketing management and social media participation and it goes far beyond using an Excel spreadsheet and some marketing intuition to generate incremental leads and lease sales. Join in this lively discussion led by industry leaders Steve Taraborelli and Jamie Gorski about how technology convergence is growing for marketing and social and how to be prepared for 2013 and beyond.
Facilitators: Jamie Gorski, Senior Vice President of Marketing, The Bozzuto Group; Steve Taraborelli, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, UDR, Inc.
The Permeation of Social Media into Corporate Strategy
Social media has transitioned from an alternative marketing tool to a more integrated part of overall corporate strategy. Using social media to enhance corporate branding, promote company culture to both residents and staff, and even recruit and retain employees, further deepens the role of marketing professionals in setting overall corporate strategy. In this session you will hear case studies from leading industry marketing leaders of successful integration of social media into corporate strategy and branding efforts in other industries as well as in the multifamily and student housing industry. This highly interactive session will engage the audience to vote on the challenges and opportunities they are facing as social media permeates across departments and into all aspects of business operations.
Speakers: Stephanie Haefner, Vice President, Interactive Marketing, Madison Apartment Group; Christina Steeg, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Training, Simpson Housing, LLP; Kevin Thompson, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Bell Partners
Will you be attending the conference this year? Which panels do you recommend?
