ForRent.com® & Oodle Lead Social Media Adoption in Multi-Family Industry
Adding BETA recommendations application to Marketplace Expert, their social product suite
NORFOLK, VA – June 23, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — ForRent.com®, the anchor website of For Rent Media Solutions™, announced today that it has achieved significant traction bringing apartment communities onto Facebook through its exclusive partnership with Oodle. Customers that have upgraded to Marketplace Expert gain access to exclusive Facebook Page building and management tools, as well as showcase their apartment units in the Marketplace on Facebook. ForRent.com and Oodle are now extending this solution to enable property managers and leasing agents to use Facebook to fuel resident recommendations and referrals with the BETA launch of a recommendations application.
“We’ve made tremendous strides getting communities onto Facebook – establishing the right presence with a Facebook Page and reaching prospective residents in Marketplace. Now we’re ready for phase two,” said Brock MacLean, senior vice president of For Rent Media Solutions. “With the new recommendations application, our clients can now tap the power of their resident community to find high quality residents.”
The new recommendation application makes it easy for property managers or leasing agents to solicit testimonials or receive a thumbs up from their residents. Resident recommendations are shared with their friends in the news feed on Facebook, posted on the community Facebook Page Wall, posted on the Recommendations Tab, and added to their listings when displayed within Marketplace. The application also makes it easy to encourage residents to share information on vacancies and special promotions. A Nielsen study reports that seventy percent of consumers trust consumer opinions posted online, and ninety percent of consumers trust recommendations from people they know.1 Consumers are also 300% more likely to buy a product when recommended by a friend.2
“I’ve been very happy with how Marketplace Expert has amplified our presence on Facebook and anxious to use the new functionality,” said Kim Cory, sales and marketing director of University Village Apartments. “Recommendations are extremely powerful for our exposure online. It’s really about the ‘trust’ factor of the recommendations from people you know.”
1 Source: Nielson April 2009
2 Source: Nielsen (2010)
About For Rent Media Solutions™
Founded in 1982 as For Rent Magazine®, For Rent Media Solutions™ is headquartered in Norfolk, Va., and provides multi-family housing solutions for apartment seekers, property/apartment managers and owners through integrated marketing techniques, including print and Internet, mobile media, custom video, and social media solutions. For Rent Media Solutions operates For Rent Magazine, as well as Apartamentos Para Rentar®, and publishes 99 magazines covering more than 190 markets nationwide, including After 55™ Housing & Resource Guide, and ForRent.com™-The Magazine. For Rent Media Solutions operates four additional websites: ForRent.com®, SeniorOutlook.com®, CorporateHousing.com®, and ParaRentar.com®. Visit ForRent.com for more, or visit us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.
About Oodle
Oodle is reinventing online classifieds through its social Marketplace on Oodle and Facebook. On Marketplace, consumers can easily buy, sell and trade with friends, friends-of-friends and other people in their local community. And because listings and email conversations are tied to a person’s Facebook profile, they always see who is on the other side of the conversation. Marketplace has over 14M monthly unique users and is available on iPhone & Android phones.
About Dominion Enterprises
Dominion Enterprises is a leading marketing services company serving the automotive, enthusiast and commercial vehicle, real estate, apartment rental, and employment industries. The company’s businesses provide a comprehensive suite of technology-based marketing solutions including Internet advertising, lead generation, CRM, Web site design and hosting, and data management services. The company has more than 40 market-leading Web sites reaching more than 17.6 million unique visitors monthly, and more than 280 magazines with a weekly circulation of 2.4 million. Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., the company has 4,900 employees in more than 186 offices nationwide. For more information, visit http://www.dominionenterprises.com/.
Contact:
Wendy Froehlich
Vice President of Marketing
Phone: 757-351-7363
Fax: 757-961-4827
