7 property management marketing ideas to attract rental property owners

The word straight from Buildium’s 2023 Industry Report is that 63% of rental owners we surveyed said they were working with a property manager, up from 55% before the pandemic. That’s a 12% increase from last year.

And as the nation navigates these uncertain economic times, many owners are looking for help managing their current properties while they figure out what they should do next to position investments for success. Now more than ever, owners are looking to property managers to help them handle regulation compliance, maintenance requests, and even new investment opportunities.

If you’re a property manager looking to grow your portfolio, now might be a good time to step up efforts to find those owners seeking the kind of expertise you have. 

But how can you reach them? Check out these seven property management marketing ideas to get you moving.

#1: Start With Your Property Management Website

A professional property management website puts your best foot forward to your potential clients. You can invest in an elaborate marketing plan, but if your website is difficult to navigate or contains low-quality photos or copy—the traffic your marketing attracts will leave (or bounce) quickly.

Start with organizing your preferred site structure for all the information you’ll want to include and create a diagram that organizes the hierarchy of information.

One essential element you’ll want to include is a landing page to which your marketing channels can direct potential clients. Make it simple, with sharp photos of your current properties, testimonials from owners and residents, and a contact form that makes it easy to get in touch with you.

Use dynamic calls to action (CTAs) to compel visitors to take the next step. For example, instead of something like:

For more information, click here.

Try:

Reach your investment goals.

Finally, include keywords that will bring your site up in search results. This is referred to as search engine optimization (SEO). For example, if you know your target audience is looking for hoa property management companies, make sure that phrase is included in the text of your website, especially on your owner landing page. Whether you write it or not, make sure the copy your site presents is to the point.

Pro Tip: Include an FAQ (frequently asked questions) page on your site. It’s a great way to answer commonly asked questions and another opportunity to include keywords property owners are using to search online.

#2: Claim or Update Your Online Business Listings

Claiming your business listings on search engines, particularly Google, helps potential clients discover your business, and it’s completely free.

Start by opening a Google My Business account, then fill in all the pertinent details. The more you fill out, the more likely you’ll show up on page one when someone searches for property managers in your area—and, the more appealing you’ll be to potential clients. According to Google, users are 70 percent more likely to view a business with a complete business listing as reputable, well-established, and approachable.

Include terms that describe what kind of property management company you are, the types of properties you manage, and where you operate. All of these descriptions translate into search terms owners are using to find the right property manager for them.

#3: Expand Your Network

No doubt you already have relationships with local real estate agents and realtors. Keep those relationships going, particularly if they have referred good clients to you in the past. Reciprocate by sending them people you know are looking to invest in properties (and remind those investors how you can help them once they’ve found a property).

Your networking efforts can go beyond real estate professionals, however. Keep in touch with other property managers in your area. If an owner comes along whose property isn’t quite the right fit for you, refer them to a company that can help them. They will appreciate the referral and remember you when they come across an owner who fits the bill for you.

Finally, maintain good relationships with local businesses who deal with rental properties regularly. Contractors, cleaning services, and HVAC professionals, for example, may be a good source for leads, simply because they talk to property owners every day.

#4: Turn Yourself Into a Local Property Management Expert

In our Industry Report, 76% of the owners we surveyed considered themselves investors. And, seasoned or not, those investors are turning to property management professionals such as yourself to help them make smart decisions about their portfolios.

Of course, you’re already an expert in your local market. Now, you just have to let others know it. You can do that by writing a blog, starting a podcast, or making yourself available for media interviews. The more content you put out there, the more likely it is that property owners will find you. 

That said, you’ll want to be judicious about the content that most benefits your owners and prospects, since creating marketing takes time and effort.

#5: Amp Up Your Content and Social Media Marketing

And that leads us to content and social media marketing. That blog or podcast not only positions you as an expert in your market, it also creates another channel for people to find you online, and another tool to direct potential clients to your website, or even to contact you outright.

Start by studying your target audience to understand their pain points, and the kinds of topics they’re interested in. (You can use our Industry Report to start your research.) Use those topics to create a blog or a podcast that answers their questions or provides solutions to their problems.

Identify which social media platforms your target audience gravitates toward and ramp up your posting on a regular clip. And don’t stop at listing and blog or podcast updates. Post questions that start conversations, or articles you found insightful in property management forums. 

Start a Facebook group for property owners in your area (if there isn’t one already) or use LinkedIn to post your customers’ achievements and milestones. Remember, highlighting clients’ success stories will get the message across and make your company stand out.

#6: Invest in Paid Marketing

Pay-per-click ads on search and social media can be a good investment, particularly if you’re going after a very specific, geo-targeted audience. Paid advertising on sites such as Facebook and Linkedin let you get very granular with your target audience, and ads on search let you target specific keywords.

With paid advertising you get almost immediate feedback on what’s working and what’s not through their analytics tools, so you can make tweaks to your ads (or change them entirely) if you’re not getting the response you’re looking for. You can even run a few ads at a time to see which one performs best for you. This is so valuable because you’re able to learn what resonates with your audience—and use those insights into future service offerings and content that attracts new leads.

The key is to target the right keywords and the right platforms for property owners. Don’t blanket all social media platforms with your ads. Instead, go after the ones your audience uses. For search ads, narrow your keyword list down to those you think your target audience is looking for.

Pro Tip: If you want to skip the effort that comes with investing in paid marketing yourself, you can also work with a niche, lead-generation service. 

All Property Management, for instance, connects property managers with high-intent property owners. You can specify the property types and zip codes you’re targeting so you get quality property owner leads that are more likely to convert to customers.

#7: Start a Property Management Referral Program

Did you know that 90 percent of people surveyed are more likely to trust a brand if it was recommended by someone? People love recommendations from others because it makes a company seem more reliable.

You can hope your current owners are singing your praises to other property owners they know, or you can incentivize them. Set up discounts or little gifts for owners who recommend your service or write a positive online review.

Property owners look to property managers to help their investments succeed. You have the expertise. You just have to find the best way to market your skills and services.

Expanding your marketing strategy is a multi-channel effort that demands your consistent focus—and a lot of discipline. Start with these ideas and keep tabs on what’s working and what’s not. Lean into the strategies that are paying off and fine-tune the others to build a marketing strategy that gets you where you want to go.