Huge customer awareness gains during Love to Rent Week

The aim was to raise customer awareness of the many benefits of Build to Rent and with impressive reach and engagement figures, the second Love to Rent Week from 24-28 October, achieved its objectives. The week highlighted the many reasons why potential customers should consider this booming sector, with each day focussing on one area that differentiates Build to Rent from the private rental market.

There was a mix of content including press releases, blogs, videos, and social posts and together they achieved a remarkable social search that was up by 344%. The week covered many of the different aspects of living in a Build to Rent development, many of which are still not known by much of the public.

Topics covered included customer service and creating communities, looking at examples where developments go that one step further in creating exceptional places for people to rent. Pet friendly renting proved extremely popular showcasing how your pampered pooch or feline friend can live their best life including puppy meet ups, pet stations and even social events.   

With the rise in the number of families wanting to rent, family focused developments with some including dedicated play spaces were showcased along with a wide range of choice for different budgets.

With flexible working arrangements continuing for many following the pandemic, co-working spaces and how Build to Rent developers are combatting isolation and loneliness for homeworkers in a range of developments were promoted as well as the benefits of downsizing, giving people greater freedom to enjoy the lifestyle that they want.

Overall, blog views increased by 500% with pet-friendly homes proving to be the most popular and the term ‘What is Build to Rent?’ increased by 36%.

Over on the social channels, there were 75k video impressions and 40k video views. The Love to Rent team were most active on Instagram with 28 published posts resulting in an increase in profile visits by 57%. The engagement on Facebook was excellent too with an increase of 363%, reach was up by 140% and impressions up by 161%.

Increasing customer awareness is the driver behind Love to Rent Week.

“The BTR industry recognises the value of customer service and satisfaction to its success. Love to Rent Week amplifies this message and demonstrates how BTR professionals are nurturing consumer culture in residential real estate as well as helping drive awareness of the BTR quality agenda. Love to Rent Week tells the stories of happy customers living within BTR communities across the UK.” Brendan Geraghty, CEO, UKAA

Ian Fletcher from the British Property Federation believes that the week is an important part of educating the public about this fast-expanding sector. He says: “Socialising what Build to Rent is about is so important at this stage of the sector’s evolution. Love to Rent Week is one excellent way of communicating to prospective customers, often through other customers’ experiences, that there are quality rentals out there and more coming that might suit you.”

In terms of reaching out to the property industry at large, the Love to Rent Week also gave the team a platform to communicate via posts on LinkedIn with some impressive results. Impressions were up by 348%, views by 177% and likes by 289%. Over on Twitter, the most liked post was about co-working spaces.

“We regard the Love to Rent Week as an important part in communicating about the sector’s many benefits,” says Peter Sloane, Chair of Love to Rent. “Build to Rent developments pride themselves on the ability to create more than just spaces to live and this week has helped to highlight the enormous amount Love to Rent is doing to raise awareness.”

An important part of the Love to Rent Week’s communication was the number of ways in which the team could share customers’ stories. There were many different case studies highlighting experiences such as finally being able to find pet-friendly rentals through to families enjoying the freedom and community that come from the Build to Rent sector.

“Build to Rent is growing massively in popularity although there is still much more that we can do to raise awareness for the public, which is the driver behind the Love to Rent Week,” says Anne-Marie Brown, Founder of Love to Rent. “By sharing the lived stories of the Build to Rent customer, we are communicating an authentic, true-life experience for others to learn from.”

Love to Rent offers weekly articles, blogs, and social content to continually raise awareness and showcase the opportunities and lifestyle on offer within the Build to Rent sector. To see what homes are currently available, news from developers and further case studies, visit www.lovetorent.co.uk