Marketing & Communications Strategies to Promote Affordable Housing

Economical Tips, Tricks and How-Tos Marketing & Communications Strategies to Promote Affordable Housing Julianne McCollum – Yellow Duck Marketing

Introduction • Census • Developing Marketing & Communication Plans • Branding • Public Relations • Social Media • Other Outreach • Q & A Agenda

Who am I? • BS in Consumer Sciences & International Marketing, Purdue • MBA from Wake Forest University • 14 years Real Estate marketing & market research experience with Market Rate, Affordable and Commercial on client side • Most recently Vice President of Marketing & Technology for Crosland • Work with 7 real estate clients through Yellow Duck Marketing • Who are you? Agenda

What is good marketing? • Delivers the message clearly • Connects your target audience emotionally • Confirms your credibility • Motivates your buyer • Motivates concrete user loyalty • How are you perceived? • How are you different than your competition? • Do you have a distinct/unique position amongst competition? • Attribute based vs. Image based Marketing 101

When developing your plans, ask: • What are my goals? • Occupancy? • Corporate Brand awareness? • Promote initiatives? • What are major milestones? • Grand openings/Groundbreakings • Awards • Full Occupancy • Who am I trying to reach? • End consumer – how do they get information? • B2B – developers/subcontractors, etc? Marketing & Communications Plans

What is your marketing mix? • Depending on goals, mix will vary. Marketing & Communications Plans

Do you have a crisis communication plan? • What happens in case of fire/death, etc? • What is phone tree to get out information? • Who is on point for media inquiries? • Who develops talking points? • In case of TV, do you want to be on camera? Who should be? • Divert to police • Corporate disaster • Do you have disaster recovery plan for e-docs, connectivity, etc.? Marketing & Communications Plans

Not as important in the world of email, but add page #s The anatomy of a press release: Make it easy if they have ?s to find you Only image in press release should be org/project logo MOST IMPORTANT INFO @ TOP LEAST IMPORTANT INFO Boilerplate about organization stays consistent for every release Link to images or respond to specific request- do not insert or attach to release ### Signals the end of the release Use AP Style for places, titles, state abbreviations, etc… Press Release 101

Before expecting it to get coverage, ask: “Is it newsworthy?” • What is your goal for the release? • Determine who the audience is, then determine the right media outlet to reach that audience. • Do you have a relationship with the reporter already? • Do not send it to them right at deadline time. Mornings are best, as are early in the week. • Does it have a human interest element? • Connect the dots & celebrate wins at your communities. • Make sure you tee up a resident for them to talk to and media-train that resident. Everyone chokes! • What are the 3 main things you are trying to get across? • Stack most important info up front • Don’t try to put too much in • Too many quotes are a turnoff • Headline & email subject are very important!! Press Release 201

Great! You got an interview- now what? • Use 2-3 main talking points • Create memorable messages: • Think creatively • Talk in pictures • Short is sweet (cut out fluffy adjectives) • Back it up with facts and figures • Tailor to your audience • Say “Charlotte Housing Authority” rather than “we” so it gets in quotes/on TV • Repeat, repeat, repeat • Avoid Misquotes • Media Train your associates who might be interviewed! • Reinforce organizational talking points • Practice bridge techniques • Practice creating memorable messages Interviews

Using Events as Public & Community Relations Tools • Anne Ehlers Events

What does your brand say about you? • A brand helps set consumer expectations. • Is it consistent with your value proposition? • Do you have brand standards or a style guide? • Logo • Fonts, Colors • Email Signatures • Design matters, consistency matters. People ignore design that ignores people. — Frank Chimero Brand Audit

Presentation is Everything! • Which cake would you rather eat? Style

Developing a logo does not cost $5. Or $500. • If you pay $300 for a logo, you’re buying someone else’s logo. Guaranteed. • It’s the foundation for building the rest of your brand. • Which is more appealing? • What do each of these say to you? City Place Apartments or or or Logo Design

Raster images • Flat images with a finite # of pixels. Can be reduced in size, but NEVER increased. • Examples : JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, BMP • Vector images • Series of shapes based on formulas and therefore can be scaled to any size. • Preferred for high resolution documents, logos, signage, billboards, etc. • Examples : EPS, PDF, AI, WMF Pixelated “stretched” raster image: Graphics 101

Fonts matter. • They can be free. • www.fontsquirrel.com • www.dafont.com • Caveat Emptor: Free = Can be used by everyone. • Other sources: fontshop.com, kernest.com, myfonts.com & fontspring.com • “Standard” fonts are great for shareable documents but not great for design. • Never use Comic Sans. Ever. • Times New Roman is boring. • But non-boring are even more noticeable if overused. Fonts

Fonts

What feeling do you want to convey? • Do your preferred demographics have certain preferences? • Reflect the site/surroundings/corporate culture • Have one brand advocate who has authority to police/develop brand • What is your brand proposition? I’ve always held to the belief that the practice of creating compelling graphic design occurs not by employing the principals of a democracy, but rather, that of a monarchy. — Thomas Vasquez Brand Development

Make sure the brand is cohesive. Printed collateral Business Cards Signage Preconstruction Microsite Branding Example

Must Haves: -Visible Phone Number -Address, Hours & Map -Floorplans -Equal Housing Logo -Clear call to action -Easy Contact form or email -Diverse people -Text! - Huh? Optional: -Project Photography (if not built) -Translate button -Social Media/Blog -Apply online -Pricing/income Restrictions -News / Newsletter Signup -Pet Policy Full Property Websites Website Development

Informational Microsites • Pre-development website to share information with neighbors/potential residents • 1-3 Pages (could include floorplans) with signup for waiting list • In house? Use Wordpress templates Website Development

1) Do you have a Social Media Policy? 2) Social Media is sexy, but not a panacea. • Who is your audience and where do they get information? • Who cares? • Are they even on Facebook/Twitter? Ask them! • What are your goals? • Communicate with your residents/constituents? • Engage them? • Boost Occupancy? • Boost Search Engine Rankings? • Keep informed? • What can you do well? • If you can’t hang, don’t do it at all. • Don’t forget about email! Social media is more about sociology and psychology than technology. — Brian Solis Interactive Marketing

Which Social Media Style is your organization? • Comprehensive Policy: This camp believes Social Media Policies should be comprehensive with strict rules for employee use and content. Comprehensive social media policies often require approvals for blogs, posts, and content and involve strict oversight to ensure compliance with company policies, branding, and marketing messaging. • Broad Guidelines: This approach relies on common sense on the part of both management and staff as well as trust. Another line of thinking with this approach is that existing organization policies already cover or can cover employee behavior and actions. Note with this approach you should review and update your existing policies to cover social media use and content and give examples. • Laissez-faire: The thinking here is that there is no need for an organization Social Media Policy or that existing policies sufficiently cover this. This is a common approach in small and mid-size companies and organizations with an entrepreneurial culture. Social Media

Facebook • Most popular site on web, outpacing Google. • People don’t want long posts. • Use images • Don’t forget to post photos of resident functions- people like to see themselves. • Brands have seen that photo posts often have more interaction than text/link posts. • Phrase posts as questions to engage. (e.g. What’s your favorite thing about fall?) • Create an editorial calendar! • Beware of oversharing • How do you use Facebook? Social Media

@yellowduckmktg Twitter • How many people use Twitter? • 200 Million User Accounts but only 13% of population • 88% of people are aware of Twitter • 54% are female & 47% have children • The majority of Twitter users are 30-49 – 42% • 25% of African American adults online are on Twitter • Like Facebook feed on steroids • 1 Billion tweets every week – 1,650 tweets every second! • 52% update status daily • 5PM is best time for RT • Don’t have time? Use SM management software like Hootsuite Source: Twitter.com, The Pew Research Center Social Media

Be aware of what cues people will use to form impressions of your brand: • Use a compelling subject line! • Grammar & spelling should reflect your brand. • [Small] Images in email signatures are OK, but never use a preloaded “stationery” Other tips: • Remember many programs/ISPs strip out images • Small attachments ideally below 2MB – use file send services or FTP for large files • For e-blasts try and keep under 500 words. • Build your list!! Email tips

Inbound Marketing: • Use free tools to your advantage! • Google & Bing Business Listings!! • Yelp.com • Every listing service/directory possible • Craigslist • Consider paid search & SEO Other methods: • YouTube • Blogging/Blogger outreach? • Content is king • Who in house can blog for you • Editorial Calendar • Get on other blogs! Other Interactive

Questions? Q & A Julianne McCollum julianne@yellowduckmarketing.com @JulianneMcC @yellowduckmktg Facebook.com/yellowduckmktg 704.271.9555

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Marketing & Communications Strategies to Promote Affordable Housing