Last modified on January 5th, 2016
By Elizabeth Millar

We’ve mentioned developing online business directory listing information before, but this week we’re focusing on the benefits for your property management company. The more you understand about connecting to influencers and potential clients, the easier it is for you to design an engaging campaign to attract new clients and improve retention rates.

Let’s dig deeper to help you write your story to build a truly successful outreach campaign.

Benefits and Bonuses

Business directories aren’t just another ad channel. Online directories are beneficial for businesses and consumers. A first-rate business listing serves visitors by making information available that will help them make decisions about your property, and also find information about their community at large.

Keep these goals in mind as you fine-tune and develop your listings for Google, Yelp and FourSquare.

1. Establish new contact points for social influencers, web-surfers, current owners, residents and both active property seekers and those that may need a new place in the future.
2. Expand name recognition (both online and offline) opportunities for potential clients, employees and vendors.
3. Improve website appeal by monitoring traffic search origination and channels.
4. Build relationships and increase social communication for future relationships.
5. Update information immediately.
6. Manage trust and credibility levels.

Quality and Quantity

Positive link popularity ratings help move your website up the ladder for organic searchers. Most buying decisions today, including real estate rental and purchases, start with an organic search online. By monitoring traffic patterns and attaching a link from your business directory to your static pages you’ll improve the visitor numbers and page rank–IF you link to high quality content. Linking to your contact page or a banner ad on your website provided by your property management software are two options.

Whether you are linking your own blog or the blog of a journalist, blogger, or social media wiz, create relevant, informative contact for both the business directory and the linked pages.

Choosing Influencers Wisely

In the online realm, social influencers can help you build your business or work against you, even if you aren’t actively ‘in a relationship.” Rather than cross your fingers and hope a strong influencer will stumble across value-packed, sharable information on your directory listing, take a more proactive approach.

Reach out to journalists and bloggers to ask for media exposure: links to your articles, mentions in posts with or without a web address, coverage for a special community event, etc. Before you approach a media contact (paid or gratis) make sure you know what will appeal to each contact.

• Know what topics or geographic areas are relevant.
• Find popular influencers for diverse media channels, you’ll likely have a different go-to person for Instagram than you have for Facebook or Pinterest.
• Explore past content to uncover patterns and follower interest. This means you will discover topics your influencers prefers to share and also which information is most relevant to their audience (your potential target).

Stocking the Tech Tool-Chest

Your online business directory is a valuable resource. Like your resident portals that facilitate online rent capture and owner statement disbursements, business directories allow you to give your customers what they need to manage their lives better. To get the most from your free and paid services, build your listings with the reader at the forefront. If your goal is to help your page visitors find information they need, they’ll be more satisfied with their visit.

Need more help building a killer business listing? Reach out to your Appfolio.com representative for tips on linking your property management web pages to your listing.