Are You Targeting the Right Demographic for Your Investment Property?

As a rental property owner, you know that effective marketing is one of the keys to your success. Without it, you’re not going to get high quality renters who will provide the cashflow you need each month. Marketing can be tricky, though, and if you’re not targeting the proper demographic, you’re doing yourself - and your bank account - a disservice. Here’s what you need to do to ensure you are advertising to the right audience and using effective marketing strategies:

Step 1 - Understand your neighborhood

First, you need to have a clear understanding of your property’s locale and the sort of amenities that are around it. People want to live in areas that are attractive to them, and different demographics will find different features attractive. For instance, if your property is located in an area that has an active nightlife and bar scene, your target market might be young singles. If you’re in a suburban community, it will likely be families. The point is to take note of the things that might be drawing people to your area, so you can tweak your marketing tactics to align to the demographic that would find those amenities most appealing.

Step 2 - Get to know your audience

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the neighborhood and identified a target demographic, it’s time to get to know them. Who are they? What things do they like? What do they dislike? What sort of jobs do they have? All of this will help you determine the best tactics to use when communicating with them, along with the types of things you’ll want to include in your message.

Step 3 - Use the right form of communication

Using effective communication is arguably the most important aspect of marketing, so this step is crucial. It’s also where you need to use the knowledge you gathered in Steps 1 and 2. Different demographics utilize different methods of communication, so you need to find out what strategies your market will respond to. This might be Craigslist, Facebook, the newspaper, or even radio ads. For example, elderly people and millennials likely won’t be using the same platforms to get information, so be sure that whatever method you’re using will reach your audience.

Step 4 - Develop diverse marketing strategies

Don’t limit yourself to one marketing approach. Like your investment portfolio, it pays to diversify. The more marketing avenues you have, the more people you will reach. When you’re hitting more of the rental pool, your chances for landing a high quality renter are greatly improved. Employ different strategies - print media, social media, open houses, etc - to reach as many people as possible.

Step 5 - Refine if needed

Not every marketing campaign is going to work how you envisioned, so it’s important that you make changes if you’re not netting any prospects. The best investors know when to change something that’s not working, so make sure you’re tracking your marketing efforts as much as possible. If your message isn’t reaching your audience, change it up.

Don’t make the mistake of skimping on marketing. It can be the determining factor in your success or failure, so make sure you’re doing everything you can to get the word out about your property to the right people. Of course, if you use a property management group, all of this is done for you - and done right if you’re using a reputable company.