Welcome back to Digible Dudes: Riffing with Reid, where Digible’s co-founder and CEO, Reid Wicoff, is tackling his list of 100 multifamily marketing principles, one caffeinated episode at a time.
This installment covers principles 11 through 20, diving deeper into what to stop, start, and continue doing if you want your marketing to actually work. If you missed the first 10 multifamily marketing truth bombs, go back and check them out.
In this week’s Riffing with Reid, Reid kept it refreshingly real while rolling through his next batch of multifamily marketing principles. Spoiler alert: there’s a lot to stop doing, and a few things you’d better start and continue before your campaigns flatline.
Stop Budgeting Like It’s 1999
Sure, Prince made it sound fun, but static “per door” budgets are so last century. Your ad dollars should flex with your inventory, not follow some dusty spreadsheet formula.
“Don’t hit the easy button,” Reid says. “Lean into the dynamic nature of leasing.”
“Don’t hit the easy button, lean into the dynamic nature of leasing.”
– Reid Wicoff
If your two-bedrooms are moving but your three-bedrooms are ghost towns, your spend should reflect that. It’s not rocket science, it’s responsive marketing. Which, coincidentally, is also how you stop lighting money on fire.
Stop Pacing Campaigns Evenly
If you’re spending the same amount every day, you’re ignoring your own data. Instead, ride the wave. When leads flood in, capitalize. When it’s crickets, maybe don’t shovel money into the void.
Digible’s call analytics can show your leads’ strike zone, the days and times when renters actually reach out. Why fly blind when the data’s basically begging to help?
Stop Assuming Your Agency Is A/B Testing
You’d think A/B testing is marketing 101. You’d also think everyone does it. Spoiler: they don’t.
So ask your agency, “What did you test this month, and what did it tell you?” If their answer sounds like an improv routine, that should indicate a red flag to you.
– Reid Wicoff
Start Educating Yourself on Fee Transparency
“Fee transparency” might not sound sexy, but neither do lawsuits. With more states cracking down on lease fees and hidden costs, you have to make sure you stay informed before regulators do it for you.
Total monthly leasing price = the safest bet. Compliance may not trend on TikTok, but fines definitely won’t look good on your P&L.
Start Benchmarking Data at the Property Level
Forget cookie-cutter benchmarks. Reid compares it to human biology, “Your property’s data is like its bloodwork. What’s healthy for one might be alarming for another. You could be reacting too quickly or not quickly enough.”
Moral of the story: know your asset’s baseline before you start diagnosing problems. Otherwise, you’re prescribing Advil for a broken leg.
Start Following the Page Views
In multifamily marketing, follow the page views.
Reid breaks down site analytics into three stages: Awareness (homepage views), Consideration (amenities & floor plans), and Decision (contact us form or book a tour).
Track the flow between them and you’ll actually understand where renters drop off instead of blaming Mercury in retrograde for slow leasing.
Continue Asking About ChatGPT (But Be Patient)
Everyone’s buzzing about AI, but make sure you don’t go overboard. ChatGPT will change how renters search, but the question is when.
“This could shift the pendulum between organic and paid marketing,” Reid notes. So yes, keep creating content, optimizing it, and testing what sticks. Just maybe don’t rebrand your property as AI-powered yet.
Continue Marketing Through the Whistle
Marketing doesn’t end when the lease is signed. Keep reminding residents why they picked you in the first place or someone else will when renewal time rolls around.
Social media’s your secret weapon here. Show off the good stuff, build pride, and make moving out sound like a bad idea.
Not sure what to post? Check out this article with 30 post ideas to increase engagement and leases.
Continue Defining Your Differentiators
If your property looks, feels, and sounds like every other one across the street, good luck. Reid’s mantra: differentiate or die.
Define what makes your property unique, build a message house, and plaster that story everywhere from Google Ads to TikTok. Consistency beats flashy every time.
Final Reid Riff
Reid is still aiming for his 100 marketing principles, and if the next 80 are anything like these, multifamily marketers are in for both a masterclass and/or a roast.
Until then, stop budgeting like it’s 1999, start following your data, and for the love of marketing, make sure someone’s actually running those A/B tests.
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