When the apartment business thinks of going green, it often means recycling programs, sustainable construction or eco-friendly gimmicks.

Green leasing however, is the simplest shift you can make, and it offers two benefits that having nothing to do with saving the environment… winning residents and saving money.

Tip #1: Find new residents on the cheap

Having a website isn’t enough. Just because print advertising is on the decline, it doesn’t mean that you can stop promoting your business. Especially with a shrinking pool of active, qualified renters, you need to stand out from the crowd.

Online marketing is the key, but online and off, your messaging needs to be consistent and timely – and you need to track results diligently.

Adopting a system for online advertising quantifies its performance. If you can’t track it, don’t do it. Compared to traditional multifamily marketing channels, online offers serious cost benefits, but do not underestimate the work involved for your community staff.

Count all the hours clicking and updating, and Craigslist is most certainly not free. Fortunately, there are services that can manage this type of posting for you.

Coming up: Paperless applications