Ideally, property managers and landlords aim to retain quality tenants for the long term by offering competitive rental rates, providing effective communication and conducting credit and background checks. When rental units become available, several marketing strategies can help fill vacancies more easily and efficiently.
Let’s examine some suggestions for marketing your property to ensure a speedy turnover process. 
Know Your Target Rental Audience
Before advertising your open units, it is critical that you understand your ideal tenant to know who you are marketing to. Things to consider include deep knowledge of the area where your rental property is, including whether the area attracts college students, families or seniors. This could drastically change your marketing focus and strategy.
Also important when considering your property is its type. A compact studio apartment tends to attract single occupants, such as young professionals, whereas larger suburban rental units attract families. Use this information to tailor your marketing campaign toward the audience that best matches your location and property. 
Strategic Marketing Practices
To attract high-quality tenants, you may want to employ several strategies as you fill vacancies.
Optimize Digital Listings
In this digital age, it is most common that prospective renters check out listings online before taking a tour or seeing the property in person. Use online rental listings such as Zillow, Craigslist, Apartments.com and other listings local to your property. Include in your listing detailed descriptions such as square footage, parking options, laundry facilities, amenities, bed/bath counts and information about the neighborhood, such as parks, public transportation availability, and local restaurant scene. Consider using high-quality photos or, even better, virtual tour software so prospective tenants can see the space.
Utilize Social Platforms
Depending on the demographic of your targeted audience, social media platforms can make for a great place to display your listing, including video, images and testimonials about your property. Posting your listing to Facebook Marketplace and local neighborhood groups can organically expand your audience.
Streamline Application & Showings Process
To improve the experience for prospective renters and property managers, try to streamline the application process by providing key resources such as digital listings, social listings, high-quality images and video tours and by offering open houses for individuals who want to see the property in person. You can also implement a digital application and offer a schedule of available tour times that work for current and future tenants.
Use Staging When Needed
Many rental areas are overwhelmed by the sheer number of prospective tenants, while others need more incentives to help future tenants see the possibilities of each property. Staging a unit with furniture lets renters gauge the space’s actual size and imagine themselves living there.
Highlight Amenities
Most renters want to know the square footage and number of beds and baths, but they also want to know what extra amenities may be available, such as a tennis court, pool, gym or fitness room and other common spaces that can make community living enticing. Be sure to include these spaces on your virtual tours and on digital listings.
Effectively marketing your rental units requires a multi-faceted approach: understanding your target audience, leveraging digital and social platforms to reach prospective tenants, streamlining the application and showing process, and clearly highlighting the unique amenities your property offers. By implementing these strategies, you can minimize vacancies and attract high-quality residents. For expert guidance and professional property management services tailored to your needs, contact Thayer & Associates today.