Weighing Options for Apartment Tenant Communication

Being able to communicate with tenants in a clear, concise, and effective manner is crucial for everyone involved. From spreading news of holiday parties to making renters aware of big changes to the property, keeping people in the know is your job. It’s too bad that this is often easier said than done, however, as it’s an area that landlords frequently need help with mastering.

Like many areas of management, though, there’s always room for improvement. We’ve come a long way since the days of a noticeboard hung on the wall, so it’s up to the people in charge to change with the times. With that in mind, let’s review some options for apartment-tenant communication, as well as modern options to make it easier and better than ever.

Modernizing Equipment

A major stumbling block for communicating with your tenants is the equipment you’re using — or the absence of equipment. Ensuring that your message is delivered and that your tenants get the most out of it can be difficult when the medium of communication is outdated, inefficient, or difficult to use. 

From getting your message out there to having it noticed by the people living in your apartment building, low-tech solutions are hopelessly unfit for the modern world.

You have a number of options to change this, from email blasts to text notifications and beyond. However, one excellent option to implement on a rental property is modern, dynamic digital displays that contain customized content the residents of your building will appreciate and look to for relevant, interesting information. 

Like a traditional bulletin board, a screen center would be placed in a communal area like in elevators, in lobbies, hallways, or wherever your residents frequent. With the right digital media partner, this display can be kept constantly up to date with curated content that meets the interests and needs of your specific residents.  

In start contrast to old-fashioned community boards or signs taped around the building, digital media displays attract attention and make the building feel modern and fresh.

Using screens in this way has many benefits, both for fostering better communication and better community within your building. Not only can you provide a desirable amenity for your residents, you can also deliver your building messages more clearly and update them with far less work and waste. 

Compared to printing off updates, posting them around a property, then having to take them all down and repeat the process because you mistyped a date somewhere, sending an update from your computer takes only seconds.

At the same time, residents of the apartment building will find themselves talking together and building community as they stop to catch the latest local or national news, stock information, uplift stories, and more. 

Existing Screens and New Screens Can Both Help

Depending on the state of your property, you may already have screens to use placed in common areas. However, it’s equally likely (maybe even more likely) that you don’t have any. Both of these situations are workable.

If you already have the screens, the utility of transforming them into digital signage is fairly obvious. Instead of letting them languish or occasionally using them like televisions, put them to work actively. Doing this means you’re simply maximizing the potential of the assets you already own, minimizing overhead costs.

If you need to purchase new screens, though, there’s still a compelling argument for using this type of signage. While there is some degree of cost inherent in this, the various benefits of having these screens far outweighs the costs associated with not having them. 

Between the money saved on paper and ink for traditional communications, the time saved compared to updating traditional bulletin boards, and their potential use in generating additional revenue, these screens essentially pay for themselves after a short while. Combine that with the decreased cost of materials used for physical signage and communications, as well as the time you’ll save by turning to digital solutions, and the value of your digital signage for effective communication is clear.

Quality Over Quantity

Focusing your message is always the better option compared to overwhelming tenants with your communications. This is one advantage of digital signage, as it consolidates everything you need to say in one accessible space. This eliminates the stress of multiple messages and excessive communication, boiling everything down to the most important parts while maximizing the value of each message.

In general, it’s far better to focus your message when communicating with tenants. Focused, bespoke content that’s engaging and of actual value to tenants is the ideal here. Not only will they absorb your message more thoroughly, they’re also more likely to see your signs as useful and worth coming back to in the future. Keeping this in mind will help you optimize your screen and presentation for the best results.

Better Content for Better Communication and Engagement

Converting your communication medium to digital screens opens up brand new possibilities for the kind of content you can send to your tenants. While your messages are the most important, there’s tons of room to customize a screen’s display with other engaging content. Things like news snippets, weather forecasts, local updates, and more are all ways to make people feel more engaged. Many also enjoy things like relaxing scenary or travel ideas and report that it has a de-stressing affect, making them good options, too. If you decide to go down this route, working with a digital signage company can be a good option, as they offer various algorithmic options for determining the best content to use in these situations.

Improving Profits

While your main goal in making changes is to foster better communication with your tenants, the potential for increased profits that comes with this can’t be overlooked. When running a business like apartment management, finding different ways to monetize the mundane is an extra stream of revenue for you. While rent is the backbone of your income, there’s plenty of other ways you can start earning even more, with improved communication via digital signage and the like being a major facilitator.

Reminders of upcoming rent at the beginning of the month can be helpful to some, especially when there’s a constant note about it that they can absorb passively as they pass by. If your properties offer any kind of budgeting or financial help, those can also be promoted. If you’ve worked out collaborations with utilities providers, you can also announce that through your signs. There’s any number of other ideas that could be implemented here depending upon your particular situation.

Promotions and Advertisements

Nielsen notes that street-level digital screen advertisements were some of the most prominent and effective forms of advertisement in the modern world, so why should yours be an exception? Finding good collaborative ad opportunities, both with large brands and local businesses, can be an easy way to increase profits while showing your tenants brands they want to use. Ads, be they whole screen ones or smaller ones in a corner of the screen, can quickly get a message out into the world. They’re also less easily ignored compared to a flyer hanging off a bulletin board.

Implementing These Strategies – What to Remember

We’ve covered several strategies and considerations for improving communications with your apartment tenants so far. The benefits for digital signage are clear, being an effective option for properties of any size or tenancy number. Some key points to remember from all of this include:

• Consider upgrading your existing communication methods with a focus on digital communication over other methods.
• Try implementing or making better use of new and existing digital screens in communal areas.
• Focus on clear, concise, and engaging communication with tenants to improve relations and get your message out there more effectively.
• Keep the focus on what’s most likely to serve your tenants, since valuable messaging is what’s most valuable.
• Use a variety of strategies to engage tenants in what you say, as well as things like ads and promotions to help improve your bottom line.

Navigating the world of emerging digital technology can be challenging, but the rewards far outweigh the growing pains. Mastering communications with things like digital screens can give you a leg up on competition while helping to improve your communication with tenants on your properties. In both the short- and long-term, you’ll be able to improve the renting and management experiences on both sides of the equation.

Get in Touch With Captivate to Improve Landlord-Tenant Communication

If you’re looking for a way to make the most out of digital communications with your tenants, Captivate’s ScreenCenter the just what you need.

Captivate uses top-of-the-line technology to help you implement and optimize your communication at your properties. As a screen-agonistic technology, we can both install new screens for you or work with the ones you already have. We show you exactly how to make use of our programs to give you total control of what your tenants see and can even help integrate your existing technology like apartment apps into the equation. Our goal is to put the power in your hands to ensure you get what you need from your messaging to the benefit of everyone. Contact us today to learn more about our business and what we can do for you and your tenants.