A Guide to Multifamily Reputation Management - Digible Dudes Podcast

Katie Ritter and Jake Hughes from Widewail joined a recent episode of The Digible Dudes Podcast, hosted by David Staley and Reid Wicoff. The podcast is hosted by Digible, a marketing and tech company specializing in multifamily marketing services. 

Together, these four discuss online reviews and the role they play in attracting new residents, as well as improving the rental experience for existing ones.

Throughout the episode, Katie and Jake offer some excellent insights for multifamily managers looking to improve their online reputations. 

Property Management Podcast - Episode Summary:  

The episode kicks off with the hosts asking Katie what the return on investment (ROI) of Widewail is for a multifamily operator. Katie emphasizes the importance of generating reviews during key lifecycle stages. Residents are more engaged at certain moments, for example after a tour or during move-in, and this engagement generally results in higher-rated reviews. Katie explains how Widewail’s specialized strategies are designed with this in mind. 

“We need to get more efficient with getting more reviews online… let's trigger off of these four life cycle stages: tour, move-in, renewal, work-order complete… these life cycle stage triggers are going to produce reviews over a 4.0. We see that in our system. We see anywhere from even a 4.5 to a 5, that's typically where these stages are rated. So… you can expect to see this from each life cycle stage, which will then in turn increase that Google rating.” - Katie Ritter

The conversation continues with the Digible Dudes asking Katie if multifamily operators should be targeting a specific number when considering review volume and average rating. Katie responds with very tangible metrics that operators should strive for as they look to improve their online reputations.

“You should strive to be above that 4.0 mark. Because if you use the qualifier ‘best’ in a search, or ‘best apartments Denver,’ Google says, ‘Okay, they're looking for the best,’ and they will automatically filter out anything below a 4.0. So you're losing some visibility opportunity there.” - Katie Ritter

Jake then goes on to field a good question about the difference in review volume between multifamily and automotive. He points out that automotive just inherently has more opportunities for reviews due to the large number of customers and customer interactions that occur each day at a car dealership. He highlights some key reviewable events that many multifamily operations are overlooking.

“Expanding your universe of reviewable events within multifamily is the key to success. There's never going to be as much opportunity as automotive because you have a finite set of residents at any one moment in time. So, you have to really optimize your system to get as much content out of that set of residents… by focusing on different life cycle stages. Especially early on, I think the tour stage is the one real opportunity for huge growth. We see it accounts for roughly 60% of review invites within our system. The volume is huge there compared to everything else. If you don't turn on tour, you're just shutting off over half of your opportunity.” - Jake Hughes

Later in the episode, the Dudes ask Jake if Widewail has identified any areas of online reputation management that may not be as important as a multifamily operator might initially think. Jake highlights the importance of using technology not to take over for staff but to free them up to do what they do best, taking care of the resident and their experience. 

“If you really want to optimize your reputation, it's all about setting your onsite team up for success so that they can do their main primary job of (creating a) great resident experience, face-to-face, the best that they possibly can and removing any distractions from around that.” - Jake Hughes

This episode of the Digible Dudes podcast is great for any multifamily operator looking for free tips on how to optimize their online presence and reputation. Jake and Katie cover many topics, ranging from key reviewable-lifecycle stages for renters to the use of AI for responding to reviews on social media to the new Voice of the Resident series Widewail launched in 2024. 

Key Takeaways:

• The best way to improve your average star rating is to ask for reviews in the four key lifecycle stages that generally get the highest ratings: tour, move-in, residency, and renewal.
• Average star ratings that lag behind those of local competitors (typically less than 4.0) are often buried by Google.
• The tour lifecycle stage accounts for roughly 60% of multifamily reviews. The best way to boost review volume is to provide prospective residents with an excellent tour experience and then ask them to review it.
• Using a reputation management partner will free up your employees to create an excellent experience for your tenants. It might seem obvious, but the path to better ratings is providing better value.

For more expert advice, check out the full Digible Dudes podcast episode.