Insights

2015 marks the year of the boomers. No, we’re not talking about population trends; we’re talking about the commercial and retail real estate industry in the greater Atlanta area. Atlanta’s retail market alone is booming, reaching peak statistics since the mid-2000s. The city’s retail occupancy is the highest it has been in seven years, and vacancy levels have dropped to 10.8%. These numbers result from a few recent trends:

1. Overall expansion of the metro Atlanta area population
2. Increase in employment base
3. Increase in construction activity primarily in urban locations like Buckhead, Central Perimeter and Midtown

infinitee is currently partnering with Fuqua Development on the largest retail project under construction in Atlanta, the Braves SunTrust Park. As developers realize the rising importance of the “customer experience,” creating a mixed-use environment that establishes a strong consumer base shifts into focus. Equally important is the marketing strategy for generating interest in the new development amongst targeted tenants. infinitee has employed multiple tactics to spark curiosity and interest about the retail component of SunTrust Park, including the creation of a leasing website, SunTrustParkRetailLeasing.com, an email marketing program, leasing brochure and touchpoint package. A unique touchpoint package was developed and sent to targeted tenants that included a Rimowa suitcase filled with memorable collateral material including: travel itinerary information about the development, a guidebook containing information about the project and area, and an offer to visit the development to see the anticipated “customer experience” in person.

Other Atlanta submarkets showing strong occupancy gains include the urban markets of Midtown and Buckhead. In the second quarter of 2015, Buckhead saw just less than 200,000 square feet absorbed. Its vacancy rate is half of what it was in 2010 with Class A vacancy at the lowest rate in seven years. OliverMcMillan engaged infinitee as the local marketing agency for their new mixed-use project, Buckhead Atlanta, encompassing 8 blocks of new development that totals 1.5 million square feet of retail, restaurants, office space, luxury apartments, entertainment and more. Additionally, this development now serves as the new headquarters for the $1 billion dollar company, Spanx, Inc. infinitee launched two separate social media marketing plans to brand both Buckhead Atlanta and The Residence. The results of the digital branding strategy were a significant gain in followers for both platforms as well as high levels of fan engagement. The majority of followers and engagement across both social media profiles stem from upscale Atlanta neighborhoods and wealthy suburban communities aligning with the property’s target retail audience and residential objectives.

Over the past four years, PM Realty Group (PMRG) has retained infinitee’s marketing and design services to secure new management contracts for the commercial real estate firm as well as branded leasing efforts resulting in occupancy rates as high as 98% in some markets. For Tower Place 200, also located in Buckhead, infinitee created a visually appealing marketing center—where potential tenants were invited to experience Tower Place 200—coupled with graphically intriguing sales collateral. PMRG was able to increase occupancy to a level that positioned the building for sale within just two, short years after the launch date of the new marketing strategy. The Buckhead submarket is expected to see continued, positive growth through the end of the year predicting a vacancy rate below 10% by January 2016.

With an anticipated job growth of 200,000 jobs in the next two years and demand for retail space remaining high from corporate relocations, existing tenant expansions and new-to-market leases, it is clear that Atlanta’s real estate market has no signs of slowing down. Now more than ever, it is essential for commercial and retail real estate firms to ensure they are taking the necessary steps to maintain a strong brand image and build meaningful connections with their respective tenants. Employing the right marketing partners is a necessity in today’s “new” development landscape to create your competitive advantage and point of differentiation.

For more information on how to stay ahead of the competition, call Jocelyn Smith at infinitee, 404-231-3481.

Social awesomeness – That’s what! infinitee made history winning the first ever, monthly NUVI award for our Winning Strategy and Implementation of NUVI, a monitoring, analytics, and data visualization platform for social media. We implemented the real-time social media intelligence tool in late February to provide a more in-depth data analysis of our clients’ social media landscapes, allowing us to see what people are saying about each across the Internet in real time, respond to the most important conversations and ultimately influence social behaviors.

infinitee’s social media team established a unique strategy for using NUVI that is unconventional to most major agencies and brands, eliciting the following statement from the NUVI team:

“We cannot share infinitee’s secret sauce and how they’re using NUVI because then you’ll all copy them. But infinitee is proving NUVI is not a cookie cutter solution that fits just one type of industry as they are finding a lot of success with their agency and clients, and are having a great experience using NUVI as their social media platform. Congrats on being awesome.”

Other winners of the inaugural NUVI award include:

1. Jonathon Miami for pitching Donald Trump on his presidential candidacy announcement: “Mr. Trump, I’m a web developer. Let’s talk about that $3 website.” receiving more retweets than Trump’s announcement itself.
2. The Denver Broncos for participating in American Pharoah’s first Triple Crown win since 1978: “We know a thing or two about being the best horse. Way to run. #AmericanPharoah #TripleCrown”
3. Bellator MMA for its wonderful review of NUVI’s ability to monitor real-time conversations via keywords and hashtags during one of their biggest fights to date.
4. Taylor Swift and Apple for their quick conversation and the solutions social media provided to solve the Apple Streaming Music Services in protection of new artists.

We are proud to be recognized for our strategic implementation of the product among thousands of other NUVI users and global brands. infinitee’s social media department is comprised of three dedicated team members who manage all of the social media needs for a notable list of clients with unique tactics developed to capitalize on the intelligence data NUVI provides. Additionally, our team leverages NUVI as a market research tool when applicable across other agency verticals including market research, competitor analysis, consumer demographics, behaviors, interests and lifestyles.

Having the best tools available to date is what keeps infinitee cutting edge among our clients. Having the right team and strategy to use those tools, is what keeps infinitee cutting edge among our competitors. If you work with a retail or commercial real estate company, a global brand or a b2b entity and are looking to optimize your online presence, contact us today. We have the resources and the team to effectively analyze your social landscape and strategize the best plan of action to capitalize on the most effective tactics working for you.

Call our social strategist, Chelsea Smith, directly at (404) 231-3481 Ext.114 for more information on what infinitee and NUVI can do for you.

infinitee, a full-service, strategic marketing agency in Atlanta, GA made history winning the first ever, monthly NUVI award for it’s Winning Strategy and Implementation of NUVI, a monitoring, analytics, and data visualization platform for social media. The agency implemented the real-time social media intelligence tool in late February to provide more in-depth data analysis of its clients’ online presence, allowing the team to see what people are saying about each client across the internet, respond to the most important conversations and ultimately influence social behaviors.

infinitee is proud to be recognized for its strategic implementation of the product among thousands of NUVI users and global brands. infinitee’s social media department is comprised of three dedicated team members who manage all of the social media needs for a notable list of clients with unique tactics developed to capitalize on the intelligence data NUVI provides. Additionally, infinitee leverages NUVI as a market research tool when applicable across other agency verticals including market research, consumer demographics, interests, lifestyles and is also proving beneficial in other areas of infinitee’s marketing and advertising services.

infinitee has established a unique strategy to using NUVI that is unconventional to most major agencies and brands, eliciting the following statement from the NUVI team:

“We cannot share infinitee’s secret sauce and how they’re using NUVI because then you’ll all copy them. But infinitee is proving NUVI is not a cookie cutter solution that fits just one type of industry as they are finding a lot of success with their agency and clients, and are having a great experience using NUVI as their social media platform. Congrats on being awesome.”

Other winners of the inaugural NUVI award include:

1. Jonathon Miami for pitching Donald Trump on his presidential candidacy announcement: “Mr. Trump, I’m a web developer. Let’s talk about that $3 website.” receiving more retweets than Trump’s announcement itself.
2. The Denver Broncos for participating in American Pharoah’s first Triple Crown win since 1978: “We know a thing or two about being the best horse. Way to run. #AmericanPharoah #TripleCrown”
3. Bellator MMA for its wonderful review of NUVI’s ability to monitor real-time conversations via keywords and hashtags during one of their biggest fights to date.
4. Taylor Swift and Apple for their quick conversation and the solutions social media provided to solve the Apple Streaming Music Services in protection of new artists.

Whether a retail or commercial real estate company, a global brand or a b2b entity using traditional or emerging marketing tools, infinitee has the capability to analyze your existing online presence, efforts and resources to effectively strategize the best plan of action to capitalize on the most effective tactics working for you.

Call infinitee today at (404) 231-3481 Ext.114 to speak with our Social Media Strategist, Chelsea Smith, directly for more information regarding the best solutions for online strategies.

About infinitee

infinitee is a full-service real estate marketing and advertising agency based in Atlanta, Georgia with 25+ years of marketing experience. Our services include branding, advertising, digital, social media and more for commercial, mixed-use, multifamily, shopping and outlet center developers and management companies. Infinitee is known for unlimited creativity, strategic marketing and unmatched service.

Some of our clients include: Cousins Properties, PM Realty Group, Gables Residential, Lennar Commercial Investments, Craig Realty Group, Banyan Street Capital, Tanger Outlets, OliverMcMillan, RaCo Real Estate Advisors, Hill Partners, Fuqua Development

Contact: Jocelyn Smith - Founder, CEO infinitee, Inc. 3400 Peachtree Rd., Suite 921 Atlanta, GA 30326 (404) 231-3481

Each year for nearly 25 years, attending the International Council of Shopping Center (ICSC) RECon event has been an opportunity for infinitee to reconnect with our clients while hosting new business meetings with dozens of companies in the retail industry. Held in Las Vegas, Nevada, this annual event brings together more than 30,000 developers, brokers, tenants and owners from all over the world. For retail shopping centers, it is the biggest deal-making event of the year.

For those who have never been, consider the following:

• There are three buildings comprising 3,200,000 square feet (North Hall, Central Hall and South Hall).
• The distance from North Hall to South Hall is nearly one mile (golf cart drivers are provided for convenience).
• Within the halls booth sizes range from 10 square feet to some as large as one city block.
• The average attendee will walk over ten miles a day and consume a gallon of water to compensate for temperatures hovering around 90 degrees.

Now that you have a good picture of the scope of the convention center, imagine planning appointments and meetings with a sufficient amount of time to get to each one (30 minutes between appointments is not unusual). Mapping out a schedule is imperative (Download the program) as well as a good pair of walking shoes. You do not want to be the woman wearing high-heeled shoes putting bandages on her ankles. You can always switch out your flip-flops or tennis shoes before your meeting once you arrive at your destination (you will see plenty of experienced people doing just that).

Keep in mind that the Internet connectivity is iffy in the convention halls. Print out the information you need to reference just to be safe and be prepared with a back up plan if your presentation requires connectivity. It is best to have everything you need loaded on your laptop or Ipad and ready to go. And bring chargers - you don’t want to run out of battery power in the middle of your presentation.

Finally, if entertaining is part of your job, making reservations needs to be done well in advance to get the best selection of restaurants and shows. And one word of caution, especially for the younger exuberant first timers, meeting days last a long time when you are hung over. Drink in moderation. Everything that happens in Vegas does not always stay in Vegas.

#TBT to when MySpace was the only major player on the social media front. With ever changing popular culture come new social platforms for the public to voice its opinions. In order for a business to truly stay relevant, it is vital to maintain a compelling and inviting presence on these innovative mediums, such as Instagram. infinitee provides the best strategies in order to optimize your company’s efforts on this popular platform.

Here are 3 ways to utilize Instagram to its full potential:

1. Lightly Branded Engagement:

Instagram users respond best to posts that seem personal with subtle undertones of branding.

Why it works: Followers feel that they can connect more with the brand on a more personal level through lightly branded pictures and engagement instead of a strictly promotional advertisement. Ben & Jerry’s depicts this perfectly with a photo of their packaging garnering 3,658 less likes than a creative photo of their ice cream. This builds brand loyalty and positive attitudes towards the company.

2. Create an Environment Conducive to Conversation:

Engage with customers and other followers on your account through comments, likes, regrams, etc.

Why it works: Having an open line of communication between customers and a company makes the company appear transparent and likeable. This allows a positive, trusting relationship to develop between the company and follower.

3. Manage Outgoing Messages through Images:

Instagram is an effective platform to disseminate short, light-hearted messages from the company.

Why it works: Studies have shown that people are more drawn to image assets. This means that a company’s messages are more likely to be engaging to consumers if associated with an image - making Instagram an ideal platform.

As shown in the infographic, Instagram has many benefits for companies seeking to employ a B2C social media strategy. By creating transcendent topics and light-hearted, subtly branded content, your company can engage an ever-growing audience directly from their fingertips.

Contact infinitee today to fully customize these tactics to suit the marketing challenges you face in your industry, as well as implement these strategies into your company’s social media management for maximum optimization.

As we move into second quarter 2015, times are good for the real estate industry. After years of cut backs, companies are hiring once again. Nearly 2.5 million new jobs are predicted, according to ADP Research Institute. Mortgage lenders are underwriting loans and pouring money into value-added opportunities.

Commercial real estate investing continues to look stable compared to other parts of the U.S. economy. This fact has not gone unnoticed by foreign investors who view the U.S. as outperforming other Western countries for the best opportunities for capital appreciation. Cross-border-investment totaled about $28.2 billion, according to Real Capital Analytics, a New York City-based research firm. Multifamily ranked as the most attractive asset type followed by industrial, primarily due to online retail growth and increased need for more distribution centers. Other industries desiring more industrial space include: food, medical, construction, and even the growing film industry sector.

A steady demand for commercial space and low levels of development will equal a trend in less vacancy rates according to experts at CBRE’s 2015 national forecast series, “Moving Up the Risk Curve,” which includes forecasts for ten U.S. cities. CBRE reports that the tech and energy sectors will be primary economic drivers for future growth. In our hometown of Atlanta, predictions stated:

• Atlanta is in the middle of an industrial recovery
• Retail has recovered with rising rents and property values
• Multi-housing properties are a preferred choice for investors
• Office space demand and workplace densities will require a greater emphasis on parking capacity

In addition, a dramatic shift over the last year in the development of the “retail experience” is expected to continue. In Atlanta alone, the opening of Avalon in Alpharetta,Buckhead Atlanta and Ponce City Market, all open-airmixed-use developments, are examples of the desire for authentic, street-front shopping that creates an exciting experience for entertainment and dining options for residents and professionals.

Many more great retail developments are on the horizon in Atlanta and across the country and with a steady influx of investor dollars, this trend is expected to continue for years to come.

Follow our blog for the latest information about real estate news or visit our website for more insight into marketing for commercial properties, mixed-use developments, multi-family properties and retail shopping centers.

Recently, Say Daily published an article on the Top 5 Trends in Digital Media for 2015. infinitee breaks these trends down to tell you exactly what those implications mean for your marketing and communications strategy this year. Let’s go.

(1) Mobile Takeover: 3 Implications

According to Ovum, 1 billion people will use mobile as their only form of Internet access in 2015 – no more tablets, desktop, etc. Makes sense given the larger phone screens from Apple, Android and the like lately, right? This means, all that money you recently spent on your fancy website that was so content and image heavy with keyword overflow and endless inbound links has lost significant value.

What You Can Do:

1. Simple is Better. Websites no longer need to be mobile responsive, but mobile designed. This means simple layouts, images that download quickly and minimal copy. Figure how a website can bring the greatest value to your company and design pages around that.
2. Drive Calls. If people are accessing information about your form their mobile device, your phone number should be the biggest CTA you have. All they have to do is literally click the phone number for it to dial you. Be prepared to answer the influx of calls with a designated sales team, person, etc. For more data, implement different variations of phone numbers to track where the leads are coming from.
3. Push Notifications. Whether in b2b or b2c, allow people to sign up for updates either about products, your blogs, website updates, social media networks, etc. to stay top of mind. If more people are using mobile only devices to access the Internet, take advantage of being connected with your audiences through the technology that sits in the palm of their hand and never leaves them.

(2) Read Consumers’ Minds: Pre-Targeting and Eliminating the Guessing Game

It started with retargeting, which everyone hates. We Google something, go to the link one time, and boom – we see it everywhere when we go on the Internet from then on out. Does it stick with us? Yes. Do we remember it? Yes. Are we utterly annoyed by our own behavioral decision? Yes. Instead of retargeting, the new trend is Pre-Targeting. As Say Daily explains, pre-targeting and pre-purchase ads use big data to predict buyers’ preferences with relevant and smart messages while they’re in the buying phase, not after it.

What You Can Do:

1. Take Advantage of Google’s Knowledge. Google knows your customers better than you do because your customers literally tell Google what they’re interested in searches. Partner with them to figure out what your consumers are searching for the most and start predicting how your products or services meet that.
2. Use Social Media Data. Facebook provides some of the greatest social media insights surrounding your customers. Take advantage of platform tools like Core and Custom Audiences to deliver ads. Learn their lifestyles, see their interests and tell them what they want before they know it.

(3) Video and Visual Content: Get Creative

This really isn’t a big shocker. Video and visual content are the most preferred and digested content through the web, especially on social media. However, it’s pretty difficult to create, takes a lot of resources and a creative marketing firm to help. Or does it?

(See our blog: Tips on Producing Successful Corporate Videos)

What You Can Do:

1. Figure Out Your Industry. Determine what visual content even means for your business. Is it construction – building an apartment? Is it digital design – designing a website? Remember, visual and video content will be watched, so make sure it relates back to you and pushes your products or services. Just because you don’t think it’s video worthy, doesn’t mean it’s not. You have a job for a reason and it’s because you are better at it than someone else. A high-speed time lapse of your creative director designing something great or your construction team building a great apartment is way more interesting to other people, especially your clients or future residents, than you think.
2. Use the Right Tools. Here are some great tools to create cool video content: Screenr (record your screen while you work), Powtoon (DIY animated videos for product demos), Wideo (custom logos and messages), Stupeflix (really cool slideshow creation), GoPro (attachable video camera to last in the most extreme conditions), TimeLapse (combines a series of pictures into video) and Raw Shorts (drag and drop video builder)

(4) Wearables: Improving Operations

Wearable technology is here. Before you know it, we’ll have chips in our arms and computers in our contacts. (Too soon?) Smart watches and fitness devices are already worn by half of consumers and smart appliances are next. Imagine walking down the grocery aisle and you receive an alert from your fridge letting you know you need milk as you pass it, pre-heating the oven from the office before you get home or turning off the stove after you forgot on your way out. All this and more is coming.

(See our blog: 10 Shopping Technology Trends To Watch)

What You Can Do:

1. Monitor and Incorporate. These are just starting to come out, and they’re not relevant to every industry. But they are relevant to every consumer. Monitor these wearables as they come out and see how you can incorporate them to better market to your consumers, improve your business operations or utilize their popularity to further your brand identity and business.

(5) Applied Analytics: Jackpot

Anything digital is traceable. As consumers continuously adopt new technologies and digital media, insight into their lifestyle, behavior, interests and patterns becomes available at your fingertips. The trick is applying these insights to make better marketing and advertising decisions.What You Can Do:

1. Target the Right People. Stop guessing who your consumers are and narrow down your prospects. The more specific you can get, the better. Divide your audiences into several targets and sub-segment the larger generational pools. Instead of deciding your target audience is millennials, segment that further into their age, gender, lifestyle, search patterns, complementing interests, etc.
2. Deliver the Right Products. Stop mass marketing your products and services. Now that you know exactly who your audiences are and you have them further segmented into smaller gaps, figure out which product or service is best for them and tell them about it. Depending on your industry, this may change your target segments from consumer characteristics to business verticals, job titles, experience, etc.
3. Get the Right Timing. Digital media insights will tell you exactly when the best time to reach your audiences is. Timing should be innate and it does not have to be a guess. Facebook Insights alone will tell you at what time on what day the majority of your followers are logged in and actively using Facebook. Being able to know exactly who your customers are, their interests and at what time to deliver the message is truly hitting the jackpot.

To discuss your marketing and advertising needs further and how your specific business can benefit from the implications behind these digital media trends, contact infinitee today. (404) 231-3481

The World Health Organization, recently reported that cities will hold 70 percent of the world’s population by 2050 and people will demand quality urban spaces and services. As current cities expand, urban leaders and city planners continue to embrace the live, work, play communities that spur economic growth, social interactions and quality of life.

Connected communities also reduce the need for private vehicles, increasing the viability of public transport, walking, and bicycling as well as more shared community spaces like plazas, parks, and sidewalks all of which foster interaction. A landmark study of San Francisco compared three neighborhoods identical except for the levels of vehicle traffic on their streets revealing that residents of neighborhoods with the lowest level of car traffic had three times as many friends as their more heavily trafficked counterparts. Public transit-friendly neighborhoods benefit local economies. Less time commuting and more walking increases support of local businesses. In fact, Transport for London found that pedestrians spend up to 60 percent more money at businesses each month than those traveling by car.

Underlying this development trend is the universal desire for engaging, meaningful and authentic places, that offer more than a place to live and work, but an exceptional experience that defines a person’s lifestyle. Baby Boomers and their grandchildren alike desire experiences that create lasting memories that define a sense of place where they can dine, shop, be entertained, workout, walk, and bike - just a few vibrant uses desired by residents and visitors of mixed-use town centers.

This demand is spurring new development as well as the repositioning of existing properties. From complete overhauls to adding new uses and density, mixed-use town centers from California to New York are including institutional, cultural and sports facilities with traditional retail lifestyle center concepts. In Austin, TX, a 700-acre redevelopment of a town center includes a children’s hospital, museum and a university research center. And in San Jose, CA a traditional regional center is being converted into a fitness and entertainment community that promotes health and livability.

Integrating all phases of family life and work into coherent communities will continue to be the focus of developers who want to capture market share by emphasizing comfortable, inter-generational environments that encourage relaxation and long stays.

To stay abreast of the latest mixed-use real estate news and trends visit our Atlanta advertising agency today.

In 1996, infinitee won the business of Tanger Outlets, representing a sizeable account for infinitee. What began as a relationship between infinitee and Tanger Outlets to produce traditional shopping center advertising materials has expanded into a long-time, successful partnership to deliver complex, multi-media programs that successfully engage shoppers online, on air and on site. The relationship between infinitee and Tanger is made up of many milestones that make the partnership what it is today.

2005: TangerStyle magazine is introduced to shoppers. It was developed as a seasonal sales direct-to-home savings platform, delivered via traditional media to promote Spring, Fall/Back-to-School and Holiday sales. Its key objective was to educate shoppers on the selection of fashion at unbeatable savings found at Tanger Outlet Centers and included 20% coupons to save even more.

2011: infinitee helped Tanger celebrate its 30-year anniversary. Tanger’s campaign goals were elevated even higher, beyond all previous expectations. With the use of an upscale fashion approach surpassing market competition, infinitee capitalized on the strength of Tanger’s brand recognition to create a high-energy marketing campaign that spoke directly to shoppers. 30-year celebration materials were also developed for signature events and were inclusive of a print and online tabletop milestone anniversary book, TV spots featuring Steve Tanger, online promotional materials and upscale events, such as a Golden celebration party in Las Vegas for the ICSC Leasing Convention. Later that year, Steve Tanger rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange where The Cake Boss delivered special cakes to the trading floor. Tanger Centers across the country took part in the celebration via video to set the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest cake party ever held.

2012: infinitee worked with Tanger to establish the TangerStyle Studio concept, similar to a design showroom, where videos were produced to highlight the emerging retail trends of the season. This provided a perfect setting for popular actress, TV host and Tanger’s fashion authority, Vanessa Lachey, to deliver trendsetting tips and information on how to find the greatest looks and the best savings by shopping Tanger Outlets. infinitee produced seasonal online trend videos and TV spots, each recorded in the TangerStyle Studio. In addition, infinitee branded TangerStyle Online, complete with digital lookbooks for each of the featured trends, where visitors could scroll through a style guide and learn how to create their own fashion-forward look from head to toe. This allowed Tanger to broaden its reach and educate shoppers by embracing today’s digital media technologies and engaging consumers through preferred channels of communication including social media services.

2013: infinitee provided an opportunity to expand the TangerStyle Studio concept even further with interactive media strategies and integrated content formats that allow shoppers to seek the advice of industry experts to discover seasonal trends. infinitee created a schedule to bring TangerStyle Studio into the homes and lives of Tanger shoppers on a monthly basis. These monthly touch points include online trend videos, lookbooks, behind-the-scenes videos and seasonal television spots, featuring Steve Tanger himself.

As part of its trendsetting efforts, Tanger Outlets teamed up with celebrity chef, Curtis Stone to host The Taste & Style Experience. The promotion was an extension of TangerStyle Studio, bringing food trucks, fashion shows, live music and cooking demonstrations to centers nationwide. The “Foodie” events were extremely popular and created an added value experience that generated a win for Tanger and gave shoppers a memorable bonus to the name brand shopping.

2014: Tanger contracted infinitee to introduce and promote the Tanger Style Maker marketing campaign with a goal to create a year-round presence in the social media community, connect with Tanger’s core shopping base and secure new loyal followers through consistent and reliable messaging. Briana Gurley was introduced as the Tanger Style Maker to engage with shoppers at the center level on a year-round basis. Briana serves as the video spokesperson, visits Tanger centers across the country to engage with shoppers and record Haul Videos that deliver quick style stories throughout the year. Briana also maintains Tanger’s social media strategy with a weekly online blog and manages online social outreach and engagement.

The relationship between Tanger Outlets and infinitee continues with a goal to directly engage with shopper lifestyles and enhance the shopper experience. Together infinitee and Tanger Outlets work to create award winning marketing programs.

Today social media is essential for business. It is the number one digital tool to engage customers and prospects and offers measurable analytics for strategic targeted campaign objectives. Businesses must embrace this communication evolution and control what is being said about your business, whether you like it or not. Ignoring it is no longer an option. If you are just getting started, here are a few simple steps to implement effective social media into your business marketing and communications strategy.

1. First things first, social media platforms:

When you set up a social media strategy, you must have a game plan. There are many social media platforms available and selecting the most appropriate social media platform to engage in for your organization is critical. Hire a social media expert to help you decide whether Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Google+ (just to name a few) are the most appropriate platforms for your brand messaging and to reach your target audience. There are an overwhelming amount of channels to select from and not all of them are the right choice for your business.

2. Different channels serve different purposes:

A restaurant offers a menu with options. Social media is very similar: each channel offers its own flavor, style and purpose. By developing a content strategy relevant to each channel, your messaging will be streamlined, engaging and effective.

3. Social media is for socializing:

Social media is inherently communicative. Connecting and interacting with customers is not only good for your business, it lets customers speak on your behalf. Nothing speaks louder than a customer advocate singing your praises. Engage your raving fan base by encouraging an open discussion and dialogue through relevant, thought provoking content.

4. Optimize yourself:

Engagement is important, but so is optimization of your social media content. Posts on social media channels need to include keywords your business wants to rank for. Keywords embedded in posts help search engines find the content that matches queries online. Making the extra effort to invest the time in optimizing every post will help your customers to find your business organically.

5. Consider all social media channels:

When developing your social media strategy it is important to consider all of the available channels and then decide which ones will be primary or secondary ones. One channel in particular is Google+. A moz.com survey found that leading markets believe that Google+ plays the second largest part in determining search engine rankings. Seek help from experts who understand the ever-evolving social media platforms and options available online in order to make the most effective and strategic social media plan for your business.

For more information on ways to execute your social media strategy, contact our Atlanta advertising agency today.

infinitee, a strategic retail real estate marketing agency in Atlanta, GA developed the branding campaign for Tanger Outlets’ KidSTYLE Fashion Camp & Tour. The fashionably fun kids event was hosted at Tanger Outlet Centers across the country and consisted of interactive activities appealing to kids between the ages of 7-12. Select centers welcomed a celebrity appearance and performance by actress, singer and Disney star, Bridgit Mendler.

infinitee concepted and produced a national broadcast TV spot featuring Mendler, inclusive of photography, videography and editing, as well as created promotional web videos which lived on the Tanger Outlets national and center websites and were shared across Tanger’s portfolio of social media platforms. In addition, infinitee designed all digital campaign graphics for the Tanger Outlets website and all nationally distributed direct mailers promoting the event.

Tanger’s KidSTYLE Fashion Camp & Tour coincided with its Fall TangerSTYLE campaign to promote an ultimate shopping experience for back-to-school fashions and drive on-site traffic. infinitee seamlessly and successfully integrated the KidSTYLE Fashion Camp & Tour promotion into Tanger’s seasonal style guides and coupon inserts, leading to superseding coupon redemptions and record setting traffic counts for each Mendler tour event.

infinitee began as a full-service marketing agency dedicated to the shopping center industry in 1989 and has diversified over the last 25 years to include other real estate business verticals, including mixed-use, commercial, multi-family and residential. infinitee has produced many award-winning campaigns for Tanger Outlets for the past 19 years. Their unique retail flair continues to help grow market share for Tanger year after year.

For more information on infinitee, call Managing Partner, Jocelyn Smith, (404) 231-3481, visit www.www.infinitee.com, or find us on Facebook.

About infinitee

infinitee is a strategic real estate marketing and advertising agency that understands how to improve brands, communications and customer experiences. With a focus in real estate, It’s strategic and creative solutions build brand equity and drive sales for companies across the country. infinitee’s expertise has proven invaluable to national and southeast regional brands wishing to strengthen and grow their bottom line, including: OliverMcMillan, Cousins Properties, Parkway Properties, PM Realty Group, Tanger Outlets, Craig Realty Group, Lennar Commercial Investments and Banyan Street Capital. Through all facets of advertising, collateral, digital media, and brand strategy, infinitee creates award-­‐winning marketing and innovative communications.

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Developers of multi-family properties understand the importance of social media strategy to effectively communicate with their tenants while addressing comments and posts regarding customer complaints. Today, it is essential to create a strategic, well thought out social media plan to address both tenant likes and dislikes that are posted daily, if not hourly, on various online platforms. Monitoring and responding to these tweets and posts is a 24/7 job that can grow brand awareness and fan advocates, or have the exact opposite effect.

Real estate review pages have become a primary source for prospective tenants to research and find the perfect community for their needs. With the proliferation of sharing and commenting, both good and bad experiences, rating sites are a source of valuable, honest feedback for potential renters to use when making a decision about which apartment to select. Reviews are the word of mouth marketing tool social media provides. There are numerous rating sites that provide instant, real-time feedback that can and do impact a renter’s selection process.

One commonly used social media site is Yelp. Sites like Yelp not only allow for simple access to other tenants’ experiences but also provide more details about a company’s customer service, maintenance response time and even information about safety issues. It is critical that property managers address bad experiences immediately to position themselves as a hands-on, proactive company that genuinely cares about tenants and is willing to correct any issues that arise as quickly as possible. Review sites require a competent management staff to monitor negative online comments and prevention strategies to avoid low ratings on Yelp and other rating sites.

Additionally, social media’s most used platform, Facebook, has implemented a mandatory star and comment review tool on all business pages essentially centralizing word of mouth marketing effects in one location. This poses a large risk to businesses, especially multi-family communities, as Facebook is already a top search engine harnessing a third of search engine traffic.

“Online reviews, especially across social media, will either make or break your rental and referral rates. Because incidents like unhappy residents are bound to occur, it is imperative multi-family communities have a strategic crisis management plan in place that all social media contributors are properly trained to implement." – Chelsea Smith, Social Media Strategist, infinitee Communications, Inc.

In order to increase customer satisfaction ratings, many property managers have adopted incentive programs to encourage tenants to leave positive reviews on their most referenced social media platforms. Some of these incentives include entering a lottery for a gift card, participating in a raffle to win a trip or a chance to win other desirable items. This interactive marketing tactic of gamification and rewards is a great strategy that many companies are implementing to enhance positive engagement.

For more information on how to promote positive online comments about your multi-family community, contact our Atlanta real estate advertising agency today.