Your Neighborhood Might Be Your Best Amenity

Your pool, fitness center, and clubhouse aren’t the only amenities you’re selling. Sometimes, your best amenity is everything outside your front door.

In this episode of The Multifamily Marketers Podcast, hosts Josh Grillo and Caroline Mills break down why the neighborhood should be a much bigger part of apartment marketing—and how properties can turn local restaurants, coffee shops, parks, employers, trails, and entertainment into compelling reasons to live there.

From creating better neighborhood pages to staff favorites, resident recommendations, local partnerships, and social content, this episode is packed with practical ideas for selling the lifestyle surrounding your community.

You’ll learn:

• Why the neighborhood can be one of your property’s strongest amenities
• What a great neighborhood page should include beyond a generic map
• How staff favorites and resident recommendations can make your content more authentic
• Ways to turn neighborhood content into social posts, videos, move-in guides, and more
• How local content can improve SEO and AI search visibility
• Creative ways to partner and cross-promote with nearby businesses
• Simple things your team can do this week to better market your neighborhood

To suggest a topic, get in touch!

For more multifamily marketing help, connect with us at Resident360.

Drop Us a Review If You Enjoyed the Episode!

TRANSCRIPT

Episode 56: Your Neighborhood Might Be Your Best Amenity

Podcast Co-Hosts: Josh Grillo and Caroline Mills, Resident360

Josh: Welcome back to the Multifamily Marketers Podcast. I’m your host, Josh Grillo, co-founder here at Resident360, and I’m joined by my co-host, Miss Caroline Mills, our director of digital marketing here at Resident360. Caroline, how are we doing?

Caroline: Hello, Josh. You caught me on a good day. It’s bright and sunny here in Florida, but you guys have been going through a heat wave recently.

Josh: Really, really hot. Up around 102 over the weekend where I live.

Caroline: Oh, hotter than me!

Josh: But tomorrow it starts to cool down a little, which is great. I want to tee up today’s episode. We actually already recorded this one, and unfortunately, when I went to post the show this past week, the recording wasn’t there. I don’t know what happened, but I apologize. So this is a re-record of a show we’d already done. You haven’t heard it yet, but we’re a week late on this one, so I apologize for the delay and for not having an episode last week. This one will be good, though, and there are some really good ideas in it.

We’re talking about something a lot of apartment communities underutilize in their marketing, and that’s the neighborhood. Your neighborhood might be your best amenity. Think about when people are moving into a new apartment. The questions come up: “Where am I going to get my coffee? Where am I going to eat? Can I walk anywhere? How close are the schools? How close are the parks?” So the neighborhood could be one of your property’s biggest selling points. Caroline, first question: How important is the neighborhood when somebody is deciding where to live?

Caroline: Oh, it’s huge. It’s a huge part of someone’s decision, and it’s something I personally look for when I’m moving. Renters aren’t only comparing apartments, finishes, granite countertops, and stainless steel appliances. They’re comparing lifestyles. Sometimes location can outweigh the apartment itself.

Different renter personas care about different things. Maybe it’s walkability, nightlife, schools, restaurants, or walking trails. How’s the commute going to be? What entertainment is nearby? Whatever it may be for your market. So properties should absolutely understand why somebody wants to live in that particular area, and then build their marketing around it.

Josh: Do you think properties do a good job marketing their neighborhood?

Caroline: Honestly, most don’t. A lot of websites just have a very generic map with a few nearby businesses listed, maybe where you can click and see where they are, but that’s where it stops. That doesn’t tell the story of what it’s like to live there. Neighborhood content often feels like an afterthought, or like a page copied from another property.

There’s a big difference between saying Whole Foods is half a mile away and actually showing someone the lifestyle around the property. A few of our properties have started doing really cool lifestyle videos. Those tell a much bigger story and really show what it’s like to live in the community. If I’m in downtown Chicago and I can see what it’s like to leave my apartment building, walk downtown, have a drink with friends while watching the game, then walk my dog and pick something up at a shop, that’s so different from just telling me how far away the grocery store is.

Josh: Let’s look at one of the biggest touchpoints: the apartment website. Somebody is starting their search for a new place, and they land on an apartment website. What should the neighborhood page look like, if there is one? If we could dream it up, Caroline, what would a really captivating neighborhood page be?

Caroline: Yes. Okay, my dream neighborhood page would include so many things. Favorite restaurants, and we have a really cool idea we were talking about before the show that we’ll touch on here. Local coffee shops, bars, and breweries: the places that define a neighborhood and tell its story. Parks and trails, shopping, gyms and fitness, entertainment, grocery stores.

Major employers are a huge one. Not only does that capture someone’s attention (“Oh, I work at that engineering plant right down the road”), but it also helps with SEO. Transportation and commuting information is huge for big metro areas; we did this for one property outside Atlanta. And photos and videos from around the neighborhood, like I said, showing what it’s actually like to live there.

The key is to curate it, not just dump 50 different pins on a map, and tell people what’s actually worth knowing. We were batting around a cool idea the other day for this dream page, about sharing favorite restaurants in the area. And you had a really cool story about something you did back in the day with your favorite food and how you used it in your marketing.

Josh: You were leading into that, and I was thinking, “What is she talking about? Do I know this idea?” And then it dawned on me. Oh, man. This was when we released the first edition of the apartment marketing book I wrote, The Definitive Guide to Apartment Marketing. We were bringing it to the National Apartment Association (NAA) event when it was here in San Diego.

I’m big into direct mail, so I decided to do a full direct mail campaign. One of the pieces I mailed was the top 10 things to see, do, and eat in San Diego from a local. I sent it to a bunch of portfolio owners, developers, and people on the NAA list. What was cool about the list was that it was things I actually do: places I’d eat, exactly what I’d order, where I’d sit, and whether you need a reservation. I put it all in there. I figured, what the heck? For people coming to San Diego, even if they’d been before, I thought it was a really good guide, because I felt like I do some really cool stuff.

So we’re on the trade show floor in the exhibit hall, and we probably have 300 books stacked up at the booth: “The Definitive Guide to Apartment Marketing, come get your signed copy.” A guy walks by and says, “Hey, Josh, I ate at that restaurant you listed on your mailer. I ordered exactly what you said to order and sat where you said to sit, and I have to tell you, man, it was fantastic. I’ll make sure to talk with you after the show.” And lo and behold, when he got back to North Carolina, I think that’s where he was from, he gave us a call. We did a presentation and ended up doing business with his company. We handled marketing for their entire portfolio for probably five, six, seven years, until they sold it. And that all came from one little personal touch: somebody read it, did what it said, had a fantastic experience, and came and told me about it.

Caroline: That’s so cool.

Josh: So now I’m going to tie this back. Think about your neighborhood page. Let’s say Caroline is part of your on-site leasing team. She’s very vocal, and everybody around the property knows her: “Oh, Caroline, how are you doing?” So, “Caroline’s Faves.”

On your neighborhood page, you could have a whole section of Caroline’s favorites: Caroline’s favorite coffee shop, and then take it a step further. Not just the coffee shop, but Caroline’s favorite order there. What does she drink? Little things like that. I really think it pays to get as personal as you can, because it invites outsiders, prospects just landing on the site, to take a deep, personal look at what’s happening at the community, and more importantly, at the staff. There’s a warmth that comes across when you do stuff like this. Caroline can have her list, and other team members who interact with residents around the property can have their lists, too. I think that’s a really cool idea.

On top of that, you could survey your residents about their favorite places. Put together a really cool list and share the results on your neighborhood page and your socials. See what we’re doing? We’re taking your neighborhood and making it a top amenity. Think about all the ways you can repurpose Caroline’s faves or your residents’ favorites. You can even take it into print with a move-in guide. Someone just signed a lease, and what’s next? A nice printed piece with Caroline’s favorites and the residents’ favorites. Caroline, you see what I’m saying? You can bridge this and repurpose it so many different ways, and it has value because it’s not generic. That’s the key piece. It’s not generic.

Caroline: Oh, absolutely. Speaking from on-site experience, prospects who tour with you get very attached to whoever gave the tour, because they built a personal connection. They spent time with you and opened up about why they’re moving and their personal lives. Even if you’re the community manager or whatever your role is, whenever that person needs something, they come to you. So it builds that personal touch. They come in for their tour, they’re meeting you for the first time, and they say, “Oh my gosh, Caroline, I tried the lavender coffee you mentioned. I never would have tried it, but it was so good.” Now you’ve built that connection.

And speaking to the resident experience, residents love to be included in things, whether it’s being featured on social media or taking part in a survey and seeing their recommendations make it out there. They absolutely love being part of those things.

Josh: I’m going to ask this question, but I think everybody already knows the answer. Should properties really be creating their own local content instead of just talking about the property all the time?

Caroline: Absolutely, 100%. Building off our favorites list, think of other things in your community you can tie back to this. Best weekend activities within 10 minutes. Where can you find Caroline on the weekends? Talk about all the places where you can be found and what you’re doing. “I’m walking my dog down at the loop,” or “I’m going to my local yoga class,” whatever it may be. Now you’ve tied that in, too. It could be the best running or biking trails nearby, or where to take your dog near the property. That’s a fun one in towns with a lot of pet-friendly areas.

New restaurants opening in the neighborhood are another one, and you can use those for cross-promotion with those businesses. This gives communities a truly endless source of content, and it’s so much more interesting than another photo of the pool.

Josh: Oh, yeah, for sure. All right, does this type of content help with SEO and AI search?

Caroline: Absolutely. We’ve talked a lot about this in our AI episodes: People are entering long-form queries. They’re searching things like “apartments near my employer within walking distance of this dog park,” “apartments near these restaurants in this entertainment district,” “pet-friendly apartments near these parks,” “apartments near trails or universities,” or “apartments within a five-minute commute of where I work.” Good local content gives Google and AI search engines more context about where the property is and what it’s close to, and it can help the community show up for those specific, high-intent searches.

Josh: We’re also talking a lot about local businesses here. We’ve mentioned coffee several times, and that’s a local business. So how can local businesses become part of a property’s marketing strategy when it comes to the neighborhood?

Caroline: I can’t stress this enough, especially for lease-ups or struggling properties: use this to your advantage. A lot of the time, it’s free. We have a lease-up in Alabama, Front Row, that’s partnering with a coffee shop within walking distance of the property on a partnership coffee. The drink will be named after the property, with fun stuff going on around it, and it all ties back together. Then they cross-promote each other and post about each other on social media. It’s all free, and you’re getting more exposure. You’re not only helping your SEO and your content, but you’re also building that community relationship.

You can highlight these local businesses, create special move-in offers with them, like 10% off a new resident’s first purchase, whatever it may be. And like you said earlier, you can cross-promote and create neighborhood guides for your residents. It benefits both sides and makes the community feel more connected and more personal to the area.

Josh: I guess it pays to think outside the box and think about collaborations. If you’re focusing on your neighborhood, and you’re in an area with a cool neighborhood vibe, what can you do? What’s fun, interesting, unique, or different? I think it really pays to think outside the box with this stuff.

Caroline: Absolutely.

Josh: All right, what big mistakes do you see properties making when it comes to marketing their neighborhood?

Caroline: Treating neighborhood marketing, or the neighborhood page, like a checklist. You add a map, drop a few pins, maybe add a few categories, and you’re done. Instead, properties should answer: Why would somebody actually want to live here? Why would they want to live in this area? That’s your story. The best neighborhood marketing creates a picture in someone’s head, or even shows them through video, of what their life could look like after they move in.

Josh: All right, give us a few things a property could do this week to market its neighborhood better.

Caroline: Absolutely. Number one, and everyone is probably thinking it: update your neighborhood page. Replace the generic copy with real recommendations and local favorites. Number two: create one neighborhood-focused social post or reel. Highlight a restaurant, coffee shop, park, or nearby activity. And number three: ask the leasing team what prospects are talking about. If you’re a marketing manager and you’re not located in the same city as your team, ask them. Find out which nearby places people ask or talk about most, and build content around those.

Josh: I’m going to add a number four, and then I think we’ll wrap up this episode. Number four: survey your residents.

Caroline: There you go.

Josh: Create a quick survey, no more than five questions, and send it to your residents. It’s a great source of engagement. See what their favorite spots are. That’s something you can easily turn into tons of content and repurpose all day long: on your neighborhood page, in any print materials, and in your social posts. I think that can go a really long way. So with that, we’ll wrap up this episode, and we’ll be back next week with another exciting one. I’m glad we got through all things neighborhood on this one.

Caroline: Me, too. I think this was a fun one. Some cool ideas came out of it.

Josh: It’s like when you start talking things out, the light bulbs start going off. Ding, ding! But I do think if you can think outside the box, creativity is king in any kind of neighborhood marketing. And it doesn’t have to be used just once. If it’s something really neat, why not use it across everything? Repurpose it as much as you possibly can. Okay, that’s it for this episode, guys. Please like, subscribe, and share with all your teammates and on-site teams, and we’ll be back next week with another episode. Take care. See you later, Caroline.

Caroline: Thank you, guys. Bye!