A healthy marketing funnel doesn’t just drive traffic — it builds trust, creates meaningful engagement, and ultimately converts prospects into residents. Today’s renters expect more than a catchy ad or quick follow-up. They want transparency, personalization, and convenience from the first click to the signed lease.

For multifamily operators, that means aligning marketing and leasing teams around shared goals — and the data that supports them. Reliable data reveals what renters value, where prospects drop off, and how teams can improve performance at every stage of the funnel.

Here’s a practical look at how to optimize each phase of the multifamily marketing funnel: awareness, consideration, and decision.

What Is a Multifamily Marketing Funnel?

A multifamily marketing funnel maps the renter journey from discovery to lease signing. Each stage requires different strategies, messaging, and tools to move prospects forward:

• Awareness: Renters discover your community.
• Consideration: Prospects compare options and engage.
• Decision: Tours convert into leases.

Understanding where prospects are in the funnel allows teams to deliver the right experience at the right time — and identify where friction may be stalling conversions. (Get our free multifamily marketing funnel infographic!)

Awareness: Generate Interest With Intentional Outreach

At the top of the funnel, visibility is everything. Prospective renters need to find your community — and feel compelled to click.

An effective awareness strategy starts with meeting renters where they already are. According to Sprout Social’s 2024 Social Content Strategy Report, Gen Z is most active on Instagram and TikTok, while Millennials favor Instagram and Facebook. Content strategies should reflect these behaviors, with video playing a central role in capturing attention.

Boost Visibility Through SEO and Reputation

Search engine optimization remains foundational for organic awareness. Tactics like keyword optimization, structured headers, fast page load times, and embedded video help improve discoverability. But visibility doesn’t stop with search.

Online reputation plays a major role in renter decisions. With 71% of renters unwilling to tour a property with poor reviews, actively managing and responding to feedback is critical. A strong reputation management strategy improves both search rankings and renter trust.

(Get ready-to-use strategies to level up your community’s social media — download the free tool kit.)

Consideration: Convert Interest Into Tours

Once you’ve captured attention, the goal is to turn curiosity into action. At this stage, renters are actively comparing communities, evaluating experiences, and deciding whether to tour.

Success here depends on removing friction and helping prospects envision life at your property.

Four Website Strategies That Drive Engagement

1. Pre-recorded video tours: Video outperforms static images by helping prospects visualize layouts, amenities, and lifestyle — all while providing 24/7 leasing support.
2. Smart pop-ups: Timed, relevant pop-ups can promote limited availability or encourage tour scheduling without disrupting the user experience.
3. AI-powered chatbots: Chatbots act as always-on leasing assistants, answering questions, capturing leads, and booking tours outside business hours.
4. Clear, compelling CTAs: Replace generic buttons with action-oriented prompts like “Book Your Private Tour” or “View Available Floor Plans.”

Video is especially powerful in the consideration phase. Amenity videos, floor plan walkthroughs, and neighborhood spotlights feel authentic and perform well across social platforms. In fact, 93% of marketers report a positive ROI from video marketing.

(Read how JVM Realty boosted leasing performance and engagement with Realync.)

Even at full occupancy, maintaining middle-funnel engagement matters. Pre-recorded tours, social content, and wait lists keep your pipeline warm for future availability.

Decision: Turn Tours Into Leases

At the bottom of the funnel, details make or break the deal. Prospects want speed, clarity, and confidence as they prepare to apply.

Four Ways To Strengthen Conversions

1. Simplify applications: Mobile-friendly, digital applications with e-signatures and real-time updates reduce abandonment.
2. Be transparent: Clearly communicate pricing, availability, and incentives — hidden costs erode trust fast.
3. Leverage social proof: With 84% of renters influenced by online ratings, showcasing reviews and testimonials reinforces confidence.
4. Personalize follow-ups: Thoughtful, tailored follow-ups that recap what mattered most to the prospect help close the loop.

(See how the leasing manager at Vertis Green Hills personalizes follow-ups to close more leases.)

If tours aren’t converting, evaluate the experience. Are leasing teams addressing questions effectively? Are they creating a welcoming environment? Tools like Realync’s Live Video Intelligence provide insights into tour performance, helping teams coach, optimize, and convert more effectively.

Franklin Group saw a 145% increase in conversions after prioritizing video engagement. (Learn how they improved ROI with video.)

Build Trust Beyond the Lease

The funnel doesn’t end at move-in. Smooth onboarding, clear communication, and post-move-in surveys set the stage for renewals, referrals, and positive reviews — fueling the top of the funnel all over again.

By focusing on transparency, convenience, and personalization — and leveraging Grace Hill’s PerformanceHQ solutions like Realync Virtual Leasing, Reputation Management, Training, and Surveys — multifamily operators can convert more tours into leases and more leases into long-term residents.

(Looking for more? Explore “The New Leasing Journey: How To Master Experience-First Multifamily Marketing.”)