Q: How has social and viral networking impacted multifamily Internet marketing?
A: There is still a hump that we have to get over that allows us to leverage Web 2.0 and social networking but still keep our brands intact. The way people are getting their information now is not just through standard Web search results; it is also through images and through video. We want to stay within the brand message but not be sales pitchy.
Q: How do you engage an entire organization in ‘Net thinking?
A: When I first came to Kettler, the first thing I did was set up a training class, a specialized Internet marketing class that all new hires go through. Thinking in a Web 2.0 way is an ongoing effort to recognize that the person coming in through the e-mail account is the same person who is calling or walking through the door. You are not going to let someone stand there for two days before you turn and look at them.
Q: Where do you look for great Internet marketing ideas?
A: We like to look to how well our competitors are responding to Internet leads, but we’ve also looked at the automobile industry and requested some information from them. One of our strategies that has come from that effort was to focus on a two-hour response window. And that’s a personal response, not an automated one.
Q: What’s the next big thing?
A: E-mail advertising is still very strong, and our industry does not do it particularly well. Mobile marketing will break soon, too. There are so many gadgets and tools on today’s phones, and we want to focus on those opportunities. We’ve gotten a good response from some text messaging ads, and we are looking to expand those opportunities.
Q: What’s playing on your iPod?
A: I just went to an ’80s cover show here in Washington, D.C., so I have been listening to a lot of Cyndi Lauper lately.
[FAVE FOUR]
Howell’s favorite Web sites:
- M&Ms (www.m-ms.com): “It’s fun, viral, and downloadable to many applications.”
- TV Guide (www.tvguide.com): “It is one of the first Web sites to jump into social marketing with blogs and videos and commentary.”
- USA Today (www.usatoday.com): “I love [their use of] user identities for interacting and commenting on the news.”
- Google (www.google.com): “I’m always trying to figure out how we can make [their new tools] work for us.”
