Renter Obsessed

Drew and Michael are joined by PostPilot's Head of Finance, Daan Harmsen, to unpack what the latest eCommerce data reveals about consumer behavior and shifting market sentiment. They dive into lessons from past tariff disruptions and share practical strategies for leading through uncertainty—emphasizing transparency, adaptability, and keeping momentum when it matters most.

This week we welcome Alex Griffis, VP of Product at Knock. He breaks down AI in an easy-to-understand way and answers our questions about how multifamily can use AI to its full potential. Plus, we share the famous “duck incident” that we had to cut out of a previous episode. This is the final episode of Renter Obsessed “Season 1,” so farewell for now and stay tuned for what we have next!

If two companies offer you similar pay and benefits, which do you choose? You go with the one that can offer you professional development. We welcomed Tyler Marker, the Director of Marketing & Professional Development at Zidan Management Group, to share how he creates a path for professional development for his employees by investing in ongoing education. Plus, a big announcement from Sydney.

This week, we put the FAMILY in multifamily to wrap up Pride Month! Hear stories of pride from our panel of speakers in this hour of love, allyship, support, and celebration. Special guest and DE&I speaker Marci French shares her journey of parenting two children who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community, plus Justin Jones gives us an exclusive sneak peek of the Multifamily Queer Space. 

There are so many parallels between the multifamily and the hospitality industries. That's why Sydney was joined this week by Casey Baker, the Director of Sales & Marketing for the Hotel Vance in Portland, OR. They discussed how hotels have weathered the pandemic shutting down their industry, why just picking up the phone can make all the difference, and what it's like being the purveyor of cool local experiences.

On this special episode of Renter Obsessed, Will Moxley, SVP of Product at AppFolio, and Demetri Themelis, Co-Founder and CEO of Knock, stop by to talk about the exciting new partnership between their two companies.

Squirrel! Another social platform just launched, you can't miss out! Social Media Summit Keynote Speaker Andrew Davis shares the importance of being hyper-focused on your workhorse channels so you aren't distracted by FOMOASP. Plus, after a day of drinking wine, Sydney and Andrew forget the conversation is being recorded and start spilling secrets about future podcast ideas. 

No one prospect has the same leasing journey as the next, so what can you do to create a coherent customer experience as a company? Katie Kane, CX & Training Manager at HILLS Properties, stepped in for Sydney this week to break down her process for mapping the customer journey. Plus, the best time (and way) to ask for customer reviews.

Another bonus episode with our lovely partners at Apartment List! Mindy Himmel, VP of Partnerships at Apartment List, and Dorota Firek, Knock's Head of Partnerships, join us to talk about how the integration between Apartment List and Knock can increase your lead-to-lease conversions 4x.

Life happens. And in this uncertain gig economy, making on-time rent payments can be a major stressor in people's lives — not to mention the administrative work burdening onsite teams. In this mini episode, Sydney interviews Flex's George Shafer on how their flexible rent-payment solution makes everyone's lives a bit easier. 

There is so much we can learn from student housing: which types of marketing resonate with the next generation of renters, what their expectations are when it comes to tech, and what their ideal customer experience looks like. That's why we brought together a panel of the top marketers in the industry to share their insights. Plus, the next big amenity that Gen Z could make popular.

According to research from SOCi, the multifamily industry is way behind other multi-location businesses when it comes to effectively reaching their target audiences. So how can we improve? Damian Rollison, SOCi's Director of Market Insights, shares his top three recommendations (and they're all things you can start doing today!).

Live from under the East River, it's Renter Obsessed! On this week's episode, Knock co-founder and CEO Demetri Themelis finally joins us — via phone from an NYC taxi cab — for a no-holds-barred AMA (ask me anything) sesh. We cover why you need to be “a little foolish” to start a business, why our customers are our product managers, and a few hints about what you can look forward to from Knock in the near future.

Having empathy for your customer matters, something that can be challenging when you have many different stakeholders. Investors, owners, onsite teams, renters — each decision you make and piece of technology you implement can affect them in different ways. In this bonus crossover episode, Renter Obsessed host Sydney and Mike Brewer, the COO of RADCO Residential and the host of The Multifamily Collective Podcast, explore the unique relationships between PMCs and vendors, and look at why taking the time to build relationships and educate will create demand for your business in the long-term.

Don't make assumptions about college students' buying habits just because they're young. Do you remember how triggering it was when other generations said “millennials this, millennials that”? Tiffaney Alsup, Senior Group Marketing Manager at Cardinal Group Management, talks about giving students options and how being authentic (and maybe a little dancing) can help stop the scroll. 

It takes a lot more than just experience to be successful in a leadership role. Tony Sousa, Vice President of Operations at RPM Living, shares how he leads with empathy, inspires his staff, and maintains relationships that lead to successful, fully staffed teams. Plus, why does it seem like so many multifamily peeps have a theater background?

Sydney and Katie Kane, a Renter Obsessed regular join Matt & Courtney the hosts of Apartments on the Go talk all things podcasting, taking risks, and putting yourself out there.

If your website is your digital tour path, your Google Business Profile is your digital curb appeal. In this mini episode, Martin Canchola, the founder of Apartment SEO, explains  how attaching your content to stronger domains like YouTube — aka the barnacle SEO strategy — can give your website the keyword-ranking lift it needs.  

 Attending sessions, networking, securing new business, partying, commiserating…multifamily conferences can be a lot. With NAA Apartmentalize a month away, the RO Crew discusses how we can get more out of conference season for the benefit of our personal and professional development. Plus, a special appearance from Steve Lefkovits, the founder of the Apartment Innovation and Marketing (AIM) Conference.

Lightbulb moment! A lot of the social media strategies you are using to attract renters, can be repurposed to attract employees. Executive Managing Director of Western Wealth, Jennifer Staciokas describes how your people lead your culture and how a recruiter's secret weapon is excellent social media marketing skills. 

prompted AVP of Marketing Tina Miserendino to lead a brand refresh for Waterton.   Tina joined us on Renter Obsessed to talk about Wateron's brand refresh journey: How they set their priorities, came up with a timeline, and how they figured out who they were as a company. Plus, Tina defines “resitality” and explains how it guides everything they do in marketing.

How do you get your customers to volunteer their data to you? Randy Rayess, co-founder of Outgrow.co, tells us about creating value with recommendations and personalized experiences to make it worth their while. Plus, will large property management companies look at their customer data to make investment decisions?

As marketers, you can create as many great strategies and campaigns as you want — but none of it matters if your onsite teams can't convert the leads you've brought in or use the tech you've adopted. That's where trainers come in, to be the invisible hand that sets teams up for success. In this week's Renter Obsessed, Knock Senior Training Specialist Courtney Lynn assembles a crew of all-star multifamily trainers to give the 411 on how they help onsite teams deliver. Plus, we debate what's more important: hard skills or soft skills.

Zoom or FaceTime, YouTube or Vimeo, there are so many different applications built for virtual meetings or video hosting. What I love about Realync is that they've built a solution that meets our exact needs as multifamily operators. I met with Ashley McGovern, the Content Marketing Manager at Realync, and our very own Head of Partnerships, Dorota Firek, to talk about Knock's new partnership with Realync and how they can add authenticity to your marketing. 

Live from Social Media Summit, it's Renter Obsessed! Sydney chats with SMS founder Adam Japko; attendees share what makes this event unique; and we learn how teams can both create content that fits their brand personality and market to their communities in an authentic way.

Struggling to hit the lead follow-up quota? Tired of getting ghosted by your traffic? Lucky for you, Knock's made friends with NurtureBoss so your leads receive automated email and text follow-ups until they convert into residents and beyond. Meet Jessica Carter & Tristen Menz from Nurture Boss with a special guest appearance from Knock's head of partnerships, Dorota Firek.

“If leasing agents are your community's promise makers, maintenance staff are the promise keepers.” And chances are, your marketing team isn't taking advantage of such a valuable in-house resource.    Adrian C. Danila, LinkedIn's most popular Maintenance Director and the host of the Multifamily Chronicles, joined us to talk about how marketing and maintenance can work together to create an excellent resident experience. Plus, why the best way residents can say ‘thank you' to maintenance staff is by writing an awesome review.

How do you maximize the impact of paid ads on Facebook? Former Ex-Facebook employee Spencer Smith, now the VP of Marketing at Evocalize, breaks down his test, measure, learn approach as well as how Facebook ads are optimized for you to succeed.

Barbara Savona, the founder of Sprout Marketing, stopped by to get a little content obsessed with us. We talk about how to figure out what types of content to create, and Barbara shares her secret sauce for batch-creating content. Plus, which brands Barbara looks to for inspiration, and why you don't always have to scale projects.

Get up to date in a lightning-speed round up of the top 9 social media trends you need to know right now. Plus, Lauren Sloat and Greer Kimsey of Streetsense release BREAKING NEWS about the new Spotify Live!

Christina Singleton, the co-founder of Show My Property, joins us to talk about how TikTok can actually deliver results for the multifamily industry. From the number of TikToks you should release each day to why going viral shouldn't be your ultimate goal, we cover it all. Plus, why getting customers to laugh with you (instead of at you) can make a huge splash on social media, and the RO Crew shares which sides of TikTok they've ended up on.

Capitalizing on the micro-influencers who live at your communities and tapping into other businesses' audiences through brand collaborations are just a couple of ways your can keep your feed fresh. Plus, we learn from Erica Byrum, the VP of Social Media Marketing for apartments.com, that using the new features Instagram releases can get your content in front of more eyes.

Kara Rice, Chief Communications Officer at Swift Bunny, gives the RO Crew an exclusive first look at the results of Swift Bunny's 2022 Employee Engagement Risk Report. We go in-depth on the biggest causes of team turnover the report uncovered. But it's not all doom and gloom — we also cover what multifamily (including marketers) can do to combat those causes. Plus, should we create a spin-off HR podcast?

We have a unique experience that not a lot of other brands have. Renters want to know us and get the authentic experience of our properties through our social accounts. I got a little tipsy with Delany Duke from Landmark Properties at the Multifamily Social Media Summit and talked all things UGC and EGC.

What's the difference between customer service and customer experience? And how can we figure out exactly what our prospects and residents expect? Noah Echols, VP of Marketing & Customer Experience at CARROLL, joined us to answer these questions and more. Plus, Noah shares his predictions for future multifamily marketing trends (and what went differently than he predicted for this year).

Have you ever received a questionable email from your boss about buying gift cards? Do you rely on just your password alone to protect your accounts? In this bonus minisode, Sydney chats with Josh Glastein, Chief Information and Technology Officer at Berkshire Residential Investments on all things cybersecurity. Plus how you can start your career in IT. 

You can't improve what you can't measure. In this week's episode, we nerd out over all things data with special guest Joshua Bowie, Director of Analytics and Marketing at Gables Residential. He shares how his team takes a holistic approach to improving the customer experience by using data to create and test hypotheses.

Video, Video, Video. By now, any marketer worth their salt knows that video content is what audiences want. (Video not only performs better on social, it's also favored by search engine algorithms.) Kristi Fickert, VP of Enterprise Growth at Realync, stopped by the pod to obsess with us over all things video, from the latest trends in video content to how to use video to streamline the sales process and close more leases. Plus, Sydney shares an exciting announcement about the Multifamily Social Media Summit (and it might involve a discount on conference passes…).

Stop thinking of the renter journey as a funnel, and start thinking of it as a flywheel. With a funnel model, everything falls out at the bottom, so you need to continuously search out new leads. But with a flywheel, you engage your current customers to both retain them and attract new residents. In this episode, we talk about how you can put renters at the center of your marketing strategy to spin that flywheel out of control (and cut marketing costs in the process). Plus, Sydney shares the “secret sauce” for good marketing.

Integrations have always been in Knock's DNA and this year we're making it official with the launch of KnockNetwork, a technology partner program built to create a better experience for our customers. In this episode, we talk to Knock's head of Partnerships Dorota Firek and Rentgrata Co-Founder Sam McArtor. We talk about how we are better together and the impact it has on our mutual customers. 

Valentine's Day may be over, but to really create an excellent resident experience we need to spread the love year-round. Renter Obsessed regular and Knockstar trainer Courtney Lynn kicks off this lighting-speed brainstorming session, where some of the most creative minds in multifamily get together to do what we do best: bounce ideas and get inspired! The goal? Come up with 101 ways to spread the love to customers. Do you think we can do it?     ZUMtSOTxak3cknmbOK1p

In this bonus episode we talk to Windell Mollenido the Director of Marketing and Henry Wong the Director of Training from The REMM Group about their experience implementing Knock across their portfolio. Streamlining marketing spend, motivating their teams through gamification, plus Henry's new love for looking at reporting. 

In this follow up to our first episode about influencer marketing in multifamily, special guest and real-life influencer Nnenna B. stopped by Renter Obsessed to answer all our questions about working with influencers (and tell us the one thing missing from our social media channels).

This week we get down and nerdy with SEO (search engine optimization). Mike Whaling, the founder of 30 Lines, joined us to drop some knowledge on the topic, including the most beneficial things you can do to improve your SEO in 2022 that *aren't* on your property website.

In honor of employee review season, the RO Crew discusses how to advocate for yourself as an employee and drive your career growth. Plus the most effective ways to give and receive feedback.

In this special holiday episode of Renter Obsessed, Tyrone Poole joined us to talk about why he founded OneApp Guarantee, which helps families across the U.S. get access to housing by acting as a co-signer on rental applications. He shared what OneApp and Knock® have done so far to get more renters into homes, and (in the spirit of the holidays) how the entire multifamily industry can get involved to help overturn 10,000 application denials in 2022.

When the pandemic put a pause on in-person work and guided tours, Security Properties Group knew they had to act fast. Under the direction of Laurel Zacher, Vice President of Marketing & Talent Development, in just two weeks, SPG put together Your Tour, Your Way™ — a fully functional self-guided tour program. Zacher stopped by Renter Obsessed to share the background on the program, its incredible results, and why SPG plans to keep it going even after the pandemic ends.

This week, HR and marketing professionals came together to discuss how we can work together to recruit and retain talented onsite staff, from what to look for during the hiring process, to how to add branding to recruiting materials, to how to help guide leasing agents toward a fulfilling career in the multifamily industry.

This week we were joined by special guest Sarah Wieman, Senior Manager of Branding and Marketing for PRG Real Estate. Sarah discussed how she empowers her onsite teams to become social media content creators as well as the tools and guidelines she gives them to succeed.

How apartment managers can leverage influencer marketing to create authentic content and drive traffic to their community. Plus how putting your residents at the center of your marketing strategy can impact your bottom line.