Whether you realize it or not, you draw hasty conclusions about brands every day based on their visual appeal. Think about it this way: how often do you find yourself enticed by a brand after stumbling upon their user-friendly website or well-curated Instagram grid? Similar to your own experience, it only takes mere seconds for consumers to form a first impression of your company, and many of these perceptions are based upon the strength of your visual branding. In fact, visual content is strongly linked to memory, as visuals help consumers remember 65 percent of new information for up to three days. This explains why 80 percent of marketers use visual assets in their social media marketing campaigns.
While visually appealing design is a major component of any reputable brand, mastering the basics of graphic design itself can be difficult for teams without the resources to employ a graphic designer or marketing specialist skilled in this arena. For multifamily companies, who want to exude professionalism and appeal to target audiences, however, it’s a necessary skill to attain.
Luckily, any multifamily community can now harness the power of design with web-based design platforms, like Canva, which are known for their easy-to-use interface, simple photo editing abilities, and extensive selection of templates, illustrations, and stock images. Canva, specifically, welcomes over 15 million monthly active users looking for a simple way to create social media graphics, posters, flyers, and other business-friendly visual assets. This design program — and others like it — are also much more affordable than high-end tools, including Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, which require a moderate level of industry knowledge in order to use them effectively.
If you’d like to maximize your online presence without spending hours learning an extremely complex program, web-based graphic design platforms are the perfect all-in-one solution. This rings especially true if your team is interested in bolstering your marketing strategy with social media-ready content, including branded imagery, interactive posts, and informational graphics.
After all, establishing a firm foothold within the social media sphere requires that potential residents become familiar with your brand, which can increase revenue by as much as 33 percent! Fortunately, simple-to-use design programs make it easy to create memorable branded content. Simply upload your property’s logo, colors, and fonts to your design account. When you're ready to insert your logo, you can navigate to the platform’s Brand Kit and select what you need. Upload your brand colors and fonts, and you’ll never have to keep track of confusing color codes and font names again.
Once your Brand Kit is complete, focus on generating social media content. Take your pick of templates sized to every major social media platform under the sun, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube. Create graphics from pre-sized selections, or size your own projects with customizable dimensions. You’ll also be able to take advantage of free stock images and videos, a wide variety of professionally designed illustrations and graphics, and even interactive “stickers” that move across your screen.
The uses of these online design programs extend far beyond creating striking social media posts, too. If you need to get the word out about any announcements, recommendations, or specials, you can turn to these platforms to create an infographic, newsletter, or flyer. Home to countless templates for these business-minded projects, you’ll find all the elements that you need to solidify your brand identity. Export your work as a graphic, video, or GIF, or use various API integrations to share the final product straight to your social media channels. Interested in obtaining a hard copy of your file? Certain programs even allow you to order prints of your design project with the click of a button.
Yet, our favorite part of design platforms is the least expected. Most of these programs tend to offer an ever-growing informational library, perfect for those who’d like to expand upon their knowledge of both the platform itself and the larger digital marketing industry. Create an account, and you’ll be able to access a comprehensive blog and free, video-based courses that cover topics, like social media best practices and graphic design principles. Considering that similar tutorials can cost hundreds of dollars elsewhere, these resources only add value for your business.
Social media platforms offer multifamily communities another avenue to cultivate relationships with prospects and residents, while publicizing important information concerning floor plans, amenities, neighborhood perks, and more. If your small to mid-sized multifamily team is interested in maximizing your leasing and retention opportunities by incorporating high-quality visual assets into your marketing strategy, web-based design programs, such as Canva, are a useful, cost-effective option for knocking these goals out of the park. Great for creating everything from infographics and digital brochures to logos and print collateral, these online design programs are the “one stop shop” that your marketing department has been searching for.
AUTHOR
Kerry W. Kirby is a renowned entrepreneur, technology innovator, and philanthropist. He is the founder and CEO of 365 Connect, a company that specializes in automated marketing, leasing, and resident engagement platforms for multifamily communities worldwide. Executing on a progressive vision of creating leading-edge products and services, Kerry has won more technology awards than any other company in his home state of Louisiana, as well as the industry he serves. Prior to founding 365 Connect, Kerry worked in the multifamily housing industry developing communities across the Southeastern United States. Kerry’s eye for finding buildable sites with incredible locations was his formula to creating an array of successful ventures.
Kerry W. Kirby has earned widespread recognition and numerous prestigious awards throughout his career. His accolades include the Louisiana Governor’s Technology Award and Titan Entrepreneur Award, both highlighting his outstanding contributions to the tech industry. For nine consecutive years, he has been listed on the Silicon Bayou 100 as one of Louisiana's most influential entrepreneurs. Most notably, Kerry became the first in the multifamily housing sector to receive the Bootstrapper Award, underscoring his remarkable journey of turning a scrappy startup into a leading proptech powerhouse without external funding.
Kerry W. Kirby serves on the Board of Advisors of Rainbow, a national nonprofit organization that provides service-enriched housing programs for over 32,000 affordable housing units across the country, and general-partner services to an additional 12,300 units. He is Chair of Technology Initiatives for the Multifamily Innovation Advisory Council, an executive membership level organization with over three million multifamily units represented, focused on assisting owners and operators explore innovative solutions that will drive change across the industry.
Kerry W. Kirby and his wife Melinda M. Kirby are actively involved in supporting communities and causes, with an unwavering dedication to humanitarian, educational, healthcare, and equality programs. Through the Kerry & Melinda Kirby Foundation, they provide resources to nonprofit organizations that accelerate progress by championing causes that give a voice to those that are often not heard. They have been highly recognized for their philanthropic commitment, being honored with a Communitas International Award for their significant impact in making a difference in people’s lives.