What is your 2025 digital marketing strategy for apartments and what do you have to do to stay ahead in multifamily marketing heading into the peak leasing season?
By Kevin Juhasz
In a fiercely competitive multifamily market, digital marketing is crucial for attracting qualified leads and increasing occupancy. An effective marketing strategy is equally vital as the industry approaches the 2025 peak leasing season, and success requires a more diverse and sophisticated approach.
Multifamily marketing professionals must continue expanding their digital presence across multiple channels, even though many face flat or decreased marketing budgets.
While 88% of marketing teams use an Internet Listing Service (ILS) and plan to keep investment relatively steady, about three-quarters of them are planning on investing more across digital channels to find their next renters, according to Rent. However, there is a fundamental change in how teams are using marketing channels.
Diversifying the Channel Mix
A community’s marketing mix typically includes such reliable industry standards as ILS, community websites and social media platforms.
However, to maximize reach and engagement, multifamily marketers are starting to incorporate additional strategies that are both cost-effective and proven to attract high-intent prospects.
By integrating geofencing/digital display, paid search and paid social into their marketing strategy, multifamily teams are enhancing visibility, increasing lead quality and improving leasing performance in 2025.
- Paid search: Paid search remains one of the most efficient lead-generation strategies for multifamily communities. By targeting high-intent searchers who are actively looking, communities can drive qualified traffic to their websites. The key to success is rooted in keyword strategy, bid management and ongoing optimization to maintain high conversion rates while keeping cost-per-lead (CPL) low. Multifamily marketers should activate paid-search campaigns now for maximum impact when peak season begins. By launching early, campaigns can go through the learning phase, allowing the Google Ads algorithm to refine its targeting, optimize bids and improve ad performance before the spring rush.
- Geofencing: More than 40% of marketers are trying new digital channels like geofencing for the first time in 2025, according to Rent. These tools allow properties to deliver highly targeted ads to potential renters when they are searching for apartments near a community or visiting competitor locations. This hyperlocal approach increases brand awareness, foot traffic and lead quality, making it a cost-effective complement to search-based advertising.
- Paid social: Social media plays a crucial role in renter decision-making, so paid social media campaigns allow marketers to reach audiences where they spend the most time—on such platforms as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Advanced targeting features enable leasing teams to retarget website visitors, engage predictive audiences and reach renters based on demographics, interests and behaviors. Paid social is increasingly effective at generating interest and driving tour sign-ups and applications.
Adding AI to the Mix
AI is revolutionizing the multifamily marketing by enhancing personalization, lead generation and operational efficiency.
AI-powered chatbots and virtual leasing assistants can engage prospects 24/7, answering questions, scheduling tours and collecting valuable data. Predictive analytics help marketers analyze trends, demographics and online behaviors, allowing for more targeted campaigns.
Sentiment analysis helps community managers gauge perception and adjust marketing strategies accordingly. AI also enhances resident retention by analyzing feedback and identifying patterns that influence resident satisfaction. This allows management teams to address concerns and proactively boost reputation management efforts.
Building a Data-Driven Channel Mix
 By striving to base marketing decisions on up-to-the-minute data insights, owners and operators can optimize their marketing budget through practical analytics that identify top-performing channels.
Properties with integrated analytics systems can better track lead sources and calculate the exact cost-per-lease metrics.
Digital marketing for apartments needs constant monitoring of performance indicators. Properties that use data-driven strategies can better predict market trends and adjust their marketing mix accordingly. Marketing teams with complete analytics platforms can show clear value and ROI for their campaigns, measuring channel performance through these key metrics:
- Lead source tracking and conversion rates
- Cost per lead and cost per lease
- Website engagement metrics
- Social media interaction rates
Up-to-the-minute performance-tracking guides efficient channel diversification. Advanced analytics tools let properties measure the effectiveness of different channels simultaneously and make quick adjustments to maximize budget spending and results. Using proven performance metrics, marketing teams can better allocate resources across channels.
Measuring Multichannel Success
Measuring success across multiple marketing channels requires accurate tracking and analysis of performance indicators. Property managers who track lead quality see 44% higher conversion rates. They achieve this through detailed analytics systems that examine multiple touchpoints at once:
- Lead-to-tour conversion rates
- Cost per application
- Website traffic patterns
- Brand-visibility indicators
- Direct traffic volume
Property managers who use advanced analytics tools can better predict occupancy trends and reduce operational costs. Specific metrics help marketing teams identify the strengths and weaknesses of particular strategies. For instance, high website traffic with low conversion rates often indicates the need for targeting adjustments.
Multifamily properties with detailed tracking systems can better measure their marketing spend returns. Properties that focus on improving conversion rates at every touchpoint run more efficient marketing campaigns. Marketing teams can analyze data across channels and make quick campaign adjustments, allowing them to optimize based on actual results instead of guesswork.
Successful digital marketing for apartments through 2025 requires a strategic mix of diverse channels, analytics and accurate measurement systems. Multifamily marketing teams that adapt to this digital world will generate and convert more qualified leads, helping them stay ahead of their competitors. This detailed approach, combined with immediate analytics and performance tracking, builds a resilient growth foundation.
About Rent.
Rent. is a two-sided marketing platform that simplifies the entire renter experience by matching the right property with the right renter, at the right time. Rent. is operated by Rent Group Inc., a subsidiary of Redfin Corporation.
About the author:
Kevin Juhasz is a content manager for LinnellTaylor Marketing.
