ForRent.com® Dominates Social Media in the Multi-Housing Industry
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Wendy Froehlich
Marketing Director
wendy.froehlich@forrent.com
Phone: 757-351-7363
Fax: 757-282-6015
ForRent.com® Dominates Social Media in the Multi-Housing Industry
Leading Internet Listing Service is responsible for 66 percent of apartment industry’s social share of voice according to Vitrue, Inc.
NORFOLK, Va.-(November 19, 2008)-No other Internet listing service in the multi-housing industry has engaged its audience through social media quite like ForRent.com. According to Vitrue, Inc., a social media marketing company, ForRent.com is dominating the multi-housing sector’s social share of voice. As a product of For Rent Media SolutionsTM, a division of Dominion Enterprises, ForRent.com, utilizes tools such as Twitter, MySpace®, Facebook and YouTubeTM, to achieve this accomplishment.
ForRent.com’s ranking was determined by Vitrue’s Social Media IndexTM (SMI), the recently launched free tool that measures a brand’s online conversations. Based on patent-pending technology, scores are comprised of various online conversations ranging from text-dense micro-blogs to multi-dimensional video sites.
“We are thrilled with the results found by Vitrue’s Social Media Index,” said Brock MacLean, vice president of national sales and development, For Rent Media Solutions. “Social media is a very effective way to communicate with our core demographic of 18-34 year old adults. For Rent Media Solutions’ involvement in social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and video sharing sites like YouTube allows us to participate in a true dialogue with consumers, giving us more insight into our audience and their needs. We plan on expanding our social media efforts in the future. The Social Media Index will help us gauge the success of our efforts and how we are resonating with our consumers.”
Generating more than 83 percent of social media activity, video sharing makes up the largest portion of ForRent.com’s SMI score. Apartment property video commercials seen on ForRent.com, called Community TheaterTM, are distributed to an extensive network of channels including major search engines like GoogleTM and Yahoo!®, social networking sites such as MySpace, and video sharing sites including YouTube. During October alone these videos were viewed more than 17,000 times a day.
Generating more than 12 percent of the SMI score, communication through social networking makes up the second largest method of social activity for ForRent.com. MySpace has played a significant role in the success of For Rent Media Solution’s social networking efforts. More than 40 profile pages have been set up, representing more than 40 markets where the company’s anchor publication, For Rent Magazine, can be found. Through these efforts, For Rent Media Solutions communicates with more than 5,300 consumers.
The remainder of the score is comprised of blogging and micro-blogging. This number includes activity from blogs, such as the ForRent.com blog, and key influencers who chat and push content through micro-blogs, such as Twitter. Twitter is a service that allows its users to send updates to their “followers” while trailing other individuals as well. For more details, please view the full Social Media Index report.
“The Vitrue Social Media Index provides invaluable insight for marketers to understand how they are stacking up in the social media space,” said Reggie Bradford, chief executive officer of Vitrue, Inc. “Brands are being talked about in social settings and we are providing the ability to proactively track these conversations. We firmly believe understanding and measuring your performance in these environments is key.”
About For Rent Media SolutionsTM
Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., For Rent Media Solutions is a division of Dominion Enterprises. As the multi-family housing solution for apartment seekers, property/apartment managers and owners, For Rent Media Solutions provides superior products, outstanding customer service, and tangible results. For Rent Media Solutions is a leading resource for choosing your next apartment for rent, townhouse, condo, duplex, efficiency, studio or loft and provides a free customizable apartment search from more than 50,000 apartment listings nationwide. For Rent Media Solutions operates For Rent Magazine®, as well as ForRent.comTM-The Magazine, and publishes 98 magazines covering more than 190 markets nationwide, including After 55TM Housing & Resource Guide and Apartamentos Para Rentar®. For Rent Media Solutions operates five additional Web sites: ForRent.com®, SeniorOutlook.comTM, CorporateHousing.com®, and ParaRentar.comTM. For Rent Media Solutions is a company dedicated to the needs of the apartment industry, bringing prospective residents and apartment communities together.
About Dominion Enterprises
Dominion Enterprises, a division of Landmark Media Enterprises, LLC, is a leading marketing services company serving the automotive, real estate, apartment, recruitment and marine markets. The company operates a variety of businesses that offer Internet marketing, Web site design and hosting, lead generation, CRM, and data capture and distribution services. The company has more than 40 market-leading Web sites reaching more than 16.7 million unique monthly visitors, and more than 450 magazines with a weekly circulation of 4.3 million. Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., the company has 5,400 employees nationwide and annualized revenue of more than $946 million. For more information, visit http://www.dominionenterprises.com/.
About Vitrue, Inc.
Vitrue, Inc. delivers world-class advertising solutions for marketers to connect with consumers in social ways. Vitrue turns traditional advertising into direct, personal relationships by harnessing the authenticity, depth and viral nature of social media, which enables consumers to help build brands through their online actions. Through their industry expertise, technology platform and integrated marketing approach, Vitrue offers the most comprehensive social media marketing solutions built exclusively for Fortune 1000 brands and agencies including P&G, Unilever, Pepsi and Grey Advertising. Vitrue is based in New York City and Atlanta. For more company information, please visit http://vitrue.com/.
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