#47- Lifestyle Marketing: A Focus on Fitness at Your Apartment Community
Lifestyle marketing is a technique that positions your apartment community with ideals, aspirations, and aesthetics that your prospective renter and current resident can identify with. The more your prospect can see themselves in your marketing, the more likely they are to choose your community. And when their identity becomes intertwined with the lifestyle your community provides, the more loyal they will be to your community.
Understand how you can use lifestyle marketing to build a brand that is both enduring and endearing without excluding anyone!
Listen or watch the training below.
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Fitness and health are at the top of everyone’s mind in the New Year, but it’s also extra important after a pandemic year. For some people, fitness is a big part of their identity, an essential part of their lifestyle. In this blog, we’ll show how you can really bring to life the fitness-friendly lifestyle with your various marketing touchpoints. Remember, you can alternate various lifestyle components throughout the year!
For many of us, it’s not socially safe to go outreach marketing in person.
We’re sharing TWO ways to outreach market your health-centric community virtually on Instagram as well as a fit follow-up and referral.
2 ways to do a virtual tour on Instagram:
Option 1: Create a carousel in your feed with a fitness-themed video or graphic as the starting image and your community photos or videos after. Add your fitness center photos, yoga studio photos, walking trails, outdoor fitness areas, sports courts, past fitness events, etc.
Caption with: “A healthy lifestyle awaits at ______ (apartment name). Swipe to tour!”
Option 2: IGStory using a Floor Plan promotional image (or other) and follow it up with your community photos and videos.
IN-PERSON MARKETING PLAN (if socially safe to do so)
Don’t just market to gyms. Think about diabetes centers, doctor’s offices, and weight loss businesses (like Weight Watchers or MyFitFood-type of services).
ADD A FUN TWIST: Calculate the number of calories that can be burned if you live on the second or third-floor units and you take the stairs a couple of times a day. How many calories would you burn in a week, a month, or a year? What does that translate to in weight loss?
Know your stats. What is your walk score? Bike score? How far are the parks, walking trails, or farmer markets?
Sell your heart-smart lifestyle as you tour your prospects. Set up a mini model that highlights a health-centric lifestyle. Have a 2 bed/1 bath floor plan? Turn it into a 1 bed/1 yoga studio floor plan.
BRING IT TO LIFE
Here are a few ideas for things to pair with your designs:
Pair your marketing collateral with branded water bottles, granola bars, and other healthy treats.
Offer heart-smart move-in gifts/incentives: i.e. gym bags full of healthy essentials (yoga mats, workout music, healthy snacks, fitness DVDs, and more)
Invite prospects to your virtual fitness events (if your community is hosting them).
Give out “Health Passes” when you outreach market (when socially safe to do so). Invite prospects to come work out at your place for a week to try out a new lifestyle. Working out at the community can save them from buying a pricey gym membership.
fit follow-up
Remind your prospects they belong at your community with this fit-themed follow-up campaign.
We’ve got THREE ways for you to follow up with these active designs.
A Post-Tour Goodie Bag
Customize and print a fitness flyer and attach (or place in a cellophane bag with fun confetti) to a mini water bottle, healthy snack, or other fitness-themed collateral.
Staple your business card to the top.
Hand to prospects on their way out at the end of their tour.
Old Fashioned Snail Mail
Add a personalized little note on the back of the design.
Use bright yellow envelopes for a pop of color when your follow-up shows up in your prospect’s mailbox!
Send out to all of your prospects from the last 30-60 days. Voila!
Via Email
Here’s a quick script to get you started:
Hi there _______ (prospect name)!
You toured ____ (unit) at ______ (apartments) on ______ (date) and we just wanted to follow up with you to say THANK YOU! Thank you for considering _______ Apartments as an option for your next home. It's such an important decision, and we are honored to be a part of it. I know living here will fit your busy, active lifestyle and our __________ (24 hrs/ state of the art / updated) fitness center would be perfect for you. Don't forget we are only ______ (minutes or miles) from ___________ (park or trail) if you wanted to get your workout in with some fresh air!
Attached you will find a _______ (juice bar/healthy cafe) gift card especially for you! Please enjoy it and continue to think of us when you are ready to choose your next home.
Sincerely,
________ (name and professional title)
REFERRAL REMINDERS
Workout partners make the best neighbors! Remind your residents to refer their friends while offering them flavored water and healthy snacks or simply use Sprout social media graphics!
Host a virtual Weight Watchers meeting or nutrition classes and encourage residents to invite their friends and family.