August 2022
SPROUTMONTHLY THE APARTMENT MARKETING MAGAZINE
10 EVENT IDEAS Block Party, S'mores, Lemonade, National Night Out, and More!
MUSICAL TOURS INSTAGRAM VIDEO TEMPLATES TO TRENDING SOUNDS
MAKE-READY ESSENTIALS KIT
AUGUST CALENDAR
BACK-TO-SCHOOL
IDEAS
7 WAYS TO KICK OFF THE SCHOOL YEAR
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Table of Contents
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08
14
MONTHLY CALENDAR
BACK TO SCHOOL
EVENT IDEAS
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24
26
RETENTION IDEAS
MAKE-READY ESSENTIALS
SOCIAL MEDIA
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"By providing timely and creative invitations, it allows for an increased turnout at our events."
ANNA-MARIA RESIDENT SERVICES COORDINATOR ARTISAN AT JUDSON PARK
august
PRINTABLE CALENDARS
PLANNING CALENDAR CLICK TO OPEN IN CANVA
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Use our planning calendar to... Outline your marketing efforts Plan any retention efforts or events Put reminders for your team Plan out your social media strategy
BLANK CALENDAR CLICK TO OPEN IN CANVA
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Use our blank calendar to... Inform residents about your upcoming events Outline neighborhood events Give to residents blank to use personally Use personally for your own reminders
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UPCOMING DATES 8/2: Coloring Book Day 8/4: Chocolate Chip Cookie Day 8/5: International Beer Day 8/9: Book Lovers Day 8/10: S'mores Day 8/13: Prosecco Day 8/15: Relaxation Day 8/15: Back-To-School Prep Day 8/16: Tell a Joke Day 8/18: Fajita Day 8/19: World Photography Day 8/21: Senior Citizens Day 8/24: Waffle Day 8/25: Banana Split Day 8/26: International Dog Day 8/28: Red Wine Day 8/30: Beach Day 8/31: Eat Outside Day
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NEWSLETTERS
CHECK OUT YOUR SOCIAL CALENDAR WITH DAILY CAPTIONS, GRAPHICS, AND MORE.
THIS MAKES A GREAT WELCOME GIFT WITH THIS COLORING PAGE!
HOST A FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL BREAKFAST WITH EASY TO-GO ITEMS LIKE YOGURT, GRANOLA BARS, PASTRIES, JUICE, AND COFFEE.
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ADD THESE TAGS TO ANYTHING!
SHOP Table Cloth
Gift Bags
Snack Bags
White Frame
Stickers
Capri Sun
Garland
Pencils
Sun Chips
Risers
Fidget Toys
Cookies
Backdrop
Paint Set
Apples
Paper Fans
Crayons
back-to-school MARKETING MARKETING Have teacher appreciation gifts for your residents to take to school that include treats, pencils, and your marketing flyer. End all tours by giving them these gifts.
SHOP Bags Pencils Cookies Apples
REFERRALS Set up a referral reminder station by the mail area or common room with apples. Add your marketing flyers by the station so residents can grab multiple to share with their friends or coworkers.
SHOP White Frames Bowl Apples
DESIGNS Referral Flyer Awesome To The Core Sign
DESIGNS "Head of the Class" Marketing Flyer "Bright Idea" Marketing Flyer Tags
Marketing is not just about getting new prospects in the door, it's about activating all levels of your funnel to get higher occupancy. This means appealing to your upcoming renewals, encouraging resident referrals, and doing what you can to stay out in front of everyone on social media. These four marketing ideas work for everyone not just for back-to-school. Remember, you can always switch out the design to best fit your target market.
RENEWAL Invite residents to claim their back-to-school kits once they renew their lease. Not doing BTS? Just rename it to back-to-the-grind kits.
SHOP Bags Stickers
Renewal Back-To-School Kit Sign
Apple
Tags
Cookies
Coloring Page
Crayons
SOCIAL MEDIA Set up a booth at your event so your retention efforts can be showcased online. Encourage residents to share the photos on social media and tag your community.
SHOP Streamer Backdrop Balloons Paper Fans
DESIGNS First Day Stars Sign First Day Heart Sign
Say Cheese Sign
DESIGNS
ANNA-MARIA Resident Services Coordinator ARTISAN AT JUDSON PARK
At every event, we ask residents to share ideas about future events. At community meetings, our residents are given a survey of what they would like to see at our property. Communication and listening to wants and needs really makes a difference to achieve resident satisfaction.
block
PARTY
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SHOP White Frames
Sunglasses
Card Holders
Chalk
Sand Buckets
Bubbles
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Beach Balls
Capri Sun
Balloons
Sun Chips
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Large Tin Bucket
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Small Tin Bucket
BASICS
1
Use sand buckets as bowls and have residents make their own summer kit. Do a mix of snacks along with other summer activities.
EXTRAS Use a mix of beach balls and balloons to decorate under or around the table.
2
OVER THE TOP
3
Use bubbles as party favors to thank residents for attending. Invite local businesses to set up a station at the event to sell their goods.
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SHOP Cellophane Bags Mason Jars String Hole Punch Wooden Sticks Marshmallows Hershey's Chocolate Graham Crackers
SHOP
lemonade STAND
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Greenery Floral Garland
Faux Mini Lemon Tree
Glass Pitcher with Stand
Yellow Cups
Wooden Riser
Cellophane Bags
Wooden Tray
String
White Frames
Lemonade Packets
Place Card Holders
Lemon Candy
BASICS
1
Two pitchers of lemonade: yellow & pink. Buy some cute paper cups for that special touch.
EXTRAS Add sparkling wine for a make-your-own spritzer bar.
2
Add some decor such as a garland arch, lemons, etc.
OVER THE TOP
3
Add a charity element by allowing residents to purchase lemonade to go. Proceeds can go to charity. Add lemon candy party favors.
EVENTS FEATURED Back-To-School Charity Drive Back-To-School Breakfast After-School Snack Summer Block Party S'mores Bar Lemonade Stand
OTHER IDEAS National Night Out Social Scavenger Hunt Breakfast Buffet Paw Bar
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EVENTS
NATIONAL NIGHT OUT National Night Out is August 2nd Invite first responders and local law enforcement Host a food truck or just have light snacks available Do this event outside with lawn games
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SOCIAL SCAVENGER HUNT Get your followers to comment with a specific emoji on old Instagram posts by giving clues in your Instagram Stories This will boost engagement and boost followers Randomly select a winner for a prize from the comments
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BREAKFAST BUFFET Do it for back to school or for Waffle Day on August 24th You can easily swap out the photo in this design Do it on the cheap with bagels, fruit, and coffee Add some booze if you want to make it fancy
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PAW BAR International Dog Day is August 26th Set up a paw bar with treats, toys, and more Take pictures of all the pets that stop by Post the photos on social and encourage residents to share
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show the LOVE GIFT IDEAS FOR MOVE-INS, RENEWALS, REFERRALS, OUTREACH, OR JUST BECAUSE
LIVE IN COLOR under $1 per gift SHOP Cellophane Bags Crinkle Paper Crayons
PAWTY ANIMALS under $2 per gift SHOP Cellophane Bags Crinkle Paper Milk Bones Cat Snacks
DESIGNS Tags Party Animal Round of A-Paws Take A Treat
DESIGNS Live The Dream Full-Page Flyer Live The Dream Quarter-Page Flyer Coloring Page
YOU'RE THE ZEST under $1 per gift SHOP Cellophane Bags String Lemonade Packets Lemon Candy
DESIGNS Tags Appreciation Marketing Referral
make-ready ESSENTIALS KIT Getting ready to welcome new residents? Once maintenance is done getting the vacant unit into tip-top shape, you'll need to give it one final look before your resident moves in. Here is what every leasing agent and property manager needs in their make-ready kit so they can easily put the finishing touches on any new resident's home: Tote Bag: Easily carry all these essentials noted below Mr. Clean Magic Eraser: Clean up any scuff marks Mini Cordless Vacuum: Easily clean up any dust, crumbs, or debris Dust Cloth: Wipe up any dust on countertops Cleaning Wipes: Wipe up any mess Trash Bag: Just in case there is any trash left behind Toilet Paper: Put in the bathroom for the new resident Welcome Gift: Pair THESE TAGS with cookies
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speaking to
THE SILENT MAJORITY When we think of social media success, we often think of it in terms of follows, likes, comments, or other reactions. A post may get 12 likes so we think only 12 people liked that post. When we get 2 comments about the business, positive or negative, we believe that's what everyone thinks. However, don't forget about the largest portion of your audience: The Silent Majority. The Silent Majority are the observers of your content. They lurk and watch, rarely publicly commenting or liking your posts. Don't take it personally, they probably do this with friends and family too. It's just who they are.
The majority of content you see online is produced by only a small fraction of people.
In the US people spend an average of 2 hours and 14 minutes per day on social media according to Hootsuite. 90% of Instagram users follow a business according to Instagram. Your reach is actually 4x larger than you think it is based on a joint study done by Stanford and Facebook.
How to stay top-of-mind to continue to speak to the silent majority Whether they are looking for a new home or thinking about their renewal, you want to stay out in front of your audience. Use the strategies below to guage your success with those that prefer to stay in the shadows.
POST OFTEN Post daily using Sprout's Social Plan so you can start seeing what gets the most reach. The days of the week with the most reach is when you should post any calls-to-action like specials. Play with the time of day the post goes out to see what gets you the most reach with your audience.
UTILIZE VIDEO Most social platforms show you your video views which is a good way to see how many are watching. Video is typically prioritized over other types of content which will boost your video's views. Use Sprout's Trending Video Templates that you can customize in Instagram to trending sounds.
INVITE PRIVATE ENGAGEMENT Ask people to share your post privately like via direct message or email with a line like "send this to someone who needs to hear this". Ask for feedback through direct messages or surveys instead of public reviews. You can use this to find out what get's people excited whether that's funny content, pet content, etc.
Reach or impressions are good metrics to use to show success.
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trending:
MUSICAL TOURS Have a plan you want to push? Do a musical tour on Instagram Reels or TikTok to a trending sound with one of our customizable videos. The benefit of posting a Reel on Instagram is that it expands your reach outside of your following, plus Instagram prioritizes video content so you're more likely to be seen.
HOW IT WORKS: Click HERE to open up the video in Instagram App on your phone. Select the ••• in the bottom right corner. Select Use As Template to begin customizing with your photos. Click on each time card to customize and select a photo from your phone. Add any gifs or text to the video. Add your caption. Post!
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GRAB YOUR CAPTION: No leasing special? Just remove that sentence.
🤫 The best-kept secret in __City__ is our __Floor Plan Name__ floor plan. It has everything you’ve ever wanted from __##__ bedrooms, __##__ bathrooms, to __Unique Feature__, and __Unique Feature__. Plus, if you lease before __Month 00__, you can receive __Special__. Snag this plan before it’s gone! #FloorPlanSpotlight #apartments #__City__
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M E M B E R favorites STAY MOTIVATED WITH OUR AUGUST SCREENSAVER. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD!
BARBARA SHARED HER FAVORITE WORK DRESSES UNDER $50 CHECK THEM OUT! SHOP BA RBARA'S AIM LEW K
Other flyers our members love...
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2 Core Shopping List APOTHECARY JAR SET Anchor Hocking Jar Set with Ball Lid, 4-Piece Set, Clear Glass.
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HEXAGONAL RISERS Whitewashed Wood Hexagonal Display Riser Stands
PLACE CARD HOLDERS 12 Pieces Wood Place Card Holders
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MAGNETIC CHALKBOARD Rustic Black Magnetic Wall Chalkboard, Extra Large Size 24" x 36"
MAGNET CLIPS Heavy Duty Magnet Clips, Pack of 10
CLEAR BAGS 5” X 7” (1000 Pack) Clear Resealable Polypropylene Bags CLICK TO OPEN IN CANVA
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WHITE SHADOW BOX 11x14 Shadow Box Frame in White with Soft Linen Back
BLACK SHADOW BOX 11x14 Shadow Box Frame in Black with Soft Linen Back
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CREAM SHADOW BOX 11x14 Shadow Box Frame in Driftwood with Soft Linen Back
WOODEN BOARDS 4 Pack Basswood Round Rustic Wood, Unsanded, 9-11" Diameter
MASON JARS Ball Mason 32 oz Wide Mouth Jars with Lids and Bands, Set of 12 Jars. CLICK TO OPEN IN CANVA Click HERE to have Sprout customize for you.
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STORAGE JARS Ritayedet 1/2 Gallon Glass Jars with Lids, Set of 2 Links provided are Amazon affiliate links.
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