You get a notification that someone has left a Google review of your apartment community. Holding your breath, you click through to the apartment review. It’s five stars. Exhale.
Not only is it five stars, the reviewer wrote a glowing account of her first month as a resident of your community. Positive, heartfelt apartment reviews are absolute gold — it means you’re doing something right, and happy residents can do wonders for your apartment online reputation.
So, rather than letting that great review sit in your apartment Google My Business profile, why not incorporate it into your apartment marketing strategy?
In this post, we’ll explain how you can inspire your residents to write positive apartment reviews and why it’s smart to transform those reviews into powerful content that can make your apartment community stand out from the competition.
How To Get More Positive Apartment Reviews
Unfortunately, negative apartment reviews come easier than positive ones. Think about it: When you’ve had an unpleasant or disappointing experience with a company, leaving a bad review is often the easiest recourse. It takes more for someone to leave a positive review after a positive experience.
An effective way to remedy this is to give residents reasons to write a great apartment review, then approach them at the right time to ask for it. This will get you better results than asking for reviews at random times. A few ideas:
Provide excellent service.
Residents notice when you do things like respond quickly to emergency maintenance requests, hand-deliver packages to residents who are unable to lift heavy boxes, and communicate clearly and respectfully. If your residents are treated well on a consistent basis, they’ll be more likely to share their positive thoughts online.
Host fun events.
While the pandemic has put a damper on in-person gatherings, you can still get together with your apartment community virtually for book club meetings, yoga or other events. This can help build a sense of community and make residents feel more connected, which could result in positive apartment reviews.
Address patterns.
Even the very best properties will get bad apartment reviews because you can’t please everyone all the time, but it’s smart to take note of patterns. If you keep receiving negative reviews about a rude employee, or a broken front gate, or residents who don’t pick up after their pets, you need to take action. Chances are that residents will appreciate your efforts and will be more inclined to revise or update a negative apartment review.
Why You Should Share Your Positive Apartment Reviews
Great apartment reviews speak for themselves, but there’s no shame in tooting your own horn a little. There’s actually some psychology in play that makes sharing positive reviews a powerful way to persuade prospects to choose your community.
It’s called social proof, and it’s a concept in which people conform to the actions of the masses. The assumption is that since so many others are taking a certain action, it must be the right choice.
Sharing your glowing apartment reviews on social media is an ideal way to harness the power of social proof, but it’s not the only reason why you shouldn’t keep your great reviews to yourself. Here are six other reasons why you should be sharing them:
It’s a point of pride for residents.
Publicizing the great things people are saying about your apartment community can make your residents feel like they made the right move in signing a lease with you. Doing so could also create a halo effect, meaning residents may show extra patience or consideration when run into issues with their living experience.
It sets a standard for staff members.
Sharing positive apartment reviews gives your team examples of the kind of work the entire team should be striving for, especially when the reviews mention customer service.
It inspires others to write apartment reviews.
Reading what other residents have to say about your community can inspire their neighbors to write their own apartment reviews. Plus, having more reviews organically boosts your community’s visibility online and cements your image as a great place to live.
It’s user-generated content.
When you share your positive apartment reviews on social media, it’s content you don’t have to create yourself or pay someone to write. It’s an easy way to reinforce your brand image, and reviews are usually filled with relevant keywords, which can help others find your apartment community online.
It boosts employee morale.
Sharing the kind words that reviews say about your community is like patting your employees on the back. It shows that you don’t take their hard work for granted and that they’re making meaningful contributions to the success of your community.
It balances out negativity.
Like we said, all apartment communities are bound to get bad reviews at times despite your best efforts. Prospects and current residents are watching how you respond to and act on negative reviews, and they’ll likely stay online for years. Using the power of positive apartment reviews can help to stabilize your online reputation.
Conclusion
Positive apartment reviews are powerful and valuable, so if you have them, flaunt them! Respage has created technology fueled by artificial intelligence to help apartment communities get those coveted great apartment reviews and then share them to your social media platforms. Review Booster uses A.I. to ask your residents for reviews, then Review Share uses A.I. to transform those reviews into ready-to-go pieces of content. Contact Respage to learn more!
