MHInsider Special Edition Hits the Stands March 20-22 in Tunica, Miss., for Largest Outdoor Manufactured Housing Show
The MHInsider magazine, the go-to resource for manufactured housing professionals, on March 20 will unveil a special edition. The MHInsider special edition will be circulated at The 2018 Tunica Manufactured Housing Show.
The Tunica Show will drawn thousands of retailers, community owner/operators, builder/developers and installers. Attendees look to Tunica for the latest trends in factory-built home design and innovation.
MH professionals will discover products from the industry’s leading suppliers. The show provides professionals the opportunity to gain valuable insights from impactful seminars and take advantage of abundant opportunities to network with their peers.
MHVillage launched its new magazine to rave reviews at The 2018 Louisville Show in January. This Spring’s MHInsider special edition includes topical columns from industry players in the areas of management and finance, an in-depth industry profile from the head of an Alabama-based lender, Q&A pieces with regional retailers and insights on how to market homes and communities.
The Hollywood and Resorts Casinos will be the venue for more than 100 exhibiting manufacturers, suppliers and sponsors. The South Central Manufactured Housing Institute and Show Ways Unlimited organize the show.
So, The Tunica Show captures the attention of the entire manufactured housing industry like few events can. It is the largest outdoor manufactured housing show in the U.S.
MHVillage and the Magazine
MHVillage assists in selling, purchasing and renting manufactured housing.
Each year, MHVillage registers approximately 25 million unique visitors. In 2017, MHVillage boasted 148 million page views and more than $3 billion in home sales and rentals. MHVillage also provides services to consumers and professionals in the areas of home building, retail, community management, brokerage, investment and finance.
The MHInsider magazine is an industry-positive and informative medium that strikes a balance between feature profiles, industry trends and the latest news.
If unable to pick up a print copy, an electronic version of the 50-page MHInsider Special Edition Magazine for Tunica is available on our professional blog of the same name.
Call for MHInsider Magazine Content, Advertising
Finally, for advertising opportunities with the MHInsider magazine and blog, please contact an MHInsider account executive at (877) 406-0232. For editorial feedback and contributions, please contact MHInsider Publisher Patrick Revere at (616) 888-6994.
As a professional on MHVillage, you already know most of the benefits we offer. When it comes to advertising tools, traffic and account management, we are continuing to add new features all the time!
However, one area within your account I want to focus on today is the “Leads” section. We will do this by going through the different lead types we offer. Understanding what each lead does will help you to better utilize the service.
For professionals selling homes on the site, the most common lead you will gain through MHVillage is going to be a customer contacting you about a home.
Though, we also generate quite a few additional lead types you might want to be aware of, so you can best respond to them and manage them as you see fit.
MHVillage Lead Types:
(The following lead types are all included with the Pro+ Sales Center on MHVillage)
Contact Seller -This lead is generated when a customer on MHVillage comes to your home listing and then requests to contact the home seller.
Contact Community – If you have communities on MHVillage you will gain these leads when a customer is on your Community page and selects the “Contact Community” option from the listing.
Find a Broker – MHVillage not only offers tools to the sellers/professionals on our site, we also offer some great search tools for buyers and renters. One of them is the option to request contact from a professional seller in their area.
The “Find A Broker” lead is generated via a buyer/renter requesting you to contact them. They are typically looking for assistance from a professional to find their next home. When a customer requests this we also only send this to three professionals in that area at a time, on a rotating basis. This also keeps the quality of the lead high.
FSBO – This lead type is a “For Sale By Owner” lead. This is an individual on MHVillage who has listed their home and is within your market area. This lead is specifically helpful for real estate agents who might want to make contact and offer their services. You might also be interested if you are a professional who is looking to purchase homes for re-sale.
MHLX – The MHLX is a lead that will include a listing from the MHVillage Listing Exchange. Similar to the MLS, home sellers on our site are able to include their home and their terms in this exchange. We send the listing and terms to professionals in the area. This is great lead if you are interested in assisting another home seller with their sale for a commission.
MHVillage Lead Management
Depending on the type of professional you are, you may want to opt out of some of the above leads. We have a section within your account where you can adjust these settings.
Simply select the “Lead Options” tab from the page where your leads are located within your account. This will give you several options to work with:
If you have any additional questions about the different lead type MHVillage offers, please contact us!
What Are Manufacturers Bringing to Market This Year?
The manufactured home buyer is becoming more discerning with each new year, and the top home builders and retailers in the business are taking notice and responding in their new home trends.
Customers want the latest offerings with their home; the architecture, designs, and color schemes they see on their favorite HGTV show.
Industry leaders this spring are showing homes that were built to surprise and inspire.
What Drives New Home Trends?
A new home from Fleetwood.
Design, Color, Material Choices
Tammie Davidson, national interior designer for Champion Homes, said the mid-century modern look has remained a strong customer preference, but has extended from the décor to other areas of the home as well.
“That mid-century look is back, but in the cabinetry and finishes as well as how a home is furnished,” she said. “In our southern markets we’ve introduced a lot of contemporary looking materials.
Our dealers feel we’ve done a good job with that, but have asked to also include some of the rustic elements that have been popular. So, we are implementing more of those natural colors.”
Black, white, grey and brushed wood are mainstays, but some of the latest colors can add “pop” to the room. Some of the demand for this, she said, has been the millennial buyer.
“Finally, navy blue has made an impression in the market,” Davidson said. “That’s been a real statement. I also use some soft blue and greens, but there is no implementation of a dominant color. That’s because you have to leave to the homeowner the ability to put their feel in the place.
“You have that contemporary residential look with flashes of color so that if the customer wants to change or implement something you can do that without changing everything.
Shiplap panel and flooring in a brushed white or natural wood tones have stayed strong, but Davidson says she’s been working with suppliers to gain a layered effect with that same product.
“We’re creating patterns for a layered effect on panel or vinyl flooring that gives that wood grain more of a visual depth,” she said. “The wood is staying but you need to keep it fresh.”
Energy Efficient Systems Among New Home Trends
Lindsay Ellis is the director of property marketing for Equity Lifestyle Properties. She works with community managers to ensure homebuyers see the amenities they desire when touring a home. Ellis said among the top requests from customers are upgraded appliances and flooring. “These features go beyond what’s offered in the standard home. So, we help put these packages together, whether that means specifying product so the home comes with these amenities or ensuring the availability to be added on.”
With the push for upgraded finishings is the desire of homebuyers to have an ensuite bathroom and added storage. “That’s a master bedroom with an attached bathroom that likely has a double vanity and would include plenty storage space,” Ellis said. “There’s a much higher demand than ever for walk-in closets, as well. This is one of those things that people get excited about when they’re walking through a home.” Other attributes homebuyers comment on is an open floor plan and an abundance of natural light. “Whether that means more windows or bigger windows, it’s something that nearly every homebuyer appreciates. And energy efficiency is in high demand, from appliances to windows and doors, as well as HVAC system.” As for built-in features, the kitchen island continues to be held in high regard. “It’s one of the top two things that people ask for, because it’s an area of functionality, especially for entertaining,” Ellis said. “It makes the kitchen look very nice, and adds counter space and storage.”
New Home Trends – Size and Functionality
Mike O’Steen is a regional vice president for Cavco.
“Our objective is to bring contemporary original floor plans to the market,” O’Steen said.
“We also need to keep in mind, along with getting the customer what they want, that keeping things simple and ready to go is essential,” he said. “The biggest thing we’re hearing right now is that you can’t get a home fast enough. And that’s new. In years and even months previous that’s not been the case.
“We want to be delivering on an order in six weeks or less. That’s helping the customer and homeowner, creating an efficient delivery of homes,” he added.
With that in mind, Cavco has instituted foundational processes that allow the company stay efficient during times of heavy demand.
To meet new home trends, the company offers use of vinyl on gypsum wallboard as opposed to a drywall product. This simple measure means builders have any entire systemic component to the process they no longer need to consider; allowing added time and attention to the finer options customers seek.
One of the homes that debuted at The Louisville Show is a multi-section home intended for private land, which is a large portion of the sales Cavco and Fleetwood’s dealers see in Tennessee.
“This is a mid-level home that has a living room and den layout, ceramic tile walk-in shower and a free-standing tub. There are four bedrooms, and two bathrooms,” O’Steen said. “In terms of trends, the shower is very popular. It’s a 48×72” shower with no door, and you just walk in and straight to the shower head.”
New Home Trends – A Question of Floor Plans
The home is bigger – at 32×76’ – than any house Cavco has brought to Louisville in more than a decade. Cavco’s other multi-section home, a 28×62’ home from the Canyon Lake series, is a “packaged up” house with a lot of options.
“You come into a foyer and have a formal dining area,” said Wade Wells, the general manager for Fleetwood in Lafayette, Tenn. “The master bath is a new set up with the walk-in tile show and free standing tub. We have a large kitchen with a lot of storage, and a gathering center in the middle of the kitchen.
“This is a spin on the traditional island, but it has a thicker bar surface and is surrounded by bar stools for people to gather,” he said. “It complements the formal dining area as a less formal gathering space.”
Walk-in Closets and Storage
The home also has spacious bedrooms with walk-in closets and built-in cabinet storage, as well as a nice utility closet and designed coat racks.
Another of Fleetwood’s latest product offering to address new home trends also is from the Canyon Lake series. However, it is a 16×76’ single-section floor plan that can meet size restriction of many manufactured home communities.
“This has a foyer entrance too, which is rare in a single wide,” Wells said. “One of the things that’s been good for us in the last couple years has been the rustic looking ceiling beam, with a fluted finish and accent grooves that adds to the look from the entry way.”
Another leading manufacturer with new product is Champion Home Builders, which sells Redman, Dutch Housing and Fortune Home brands.
“We’re showing four new homes, including a pair of Champion Community Series Homes, one single-section and one-multi section,” Champion Home Builders General Manager Jay Ciokajlo.
“Specifically, the single-section home is a new, unique floor plan. We’re really excited for attendees to see this,” he said. “It has 4-inch canned lighting, new colors and a new kitchen butcher block island.
“The floorplan has an entertainment center, which is a fixed architectural piece that most single-section home would not have.”
The bathroom has an Agile shower, which is a brand many consumers ask about, he said.
A Home For Any Setting
Jim Lashbrook is the sales manager in Topeka, Kan., for the Redman brand. He said a primary trend in 2018 will be finding ways to abide by community size restrictions with homes that will surprise.
“When we go into a show with a floorplan we want to discuss the precise market we’re looking to attract,” Lashbrook said.
“A lot of the communities we look at have older, smaller spaces. And we don’t want to build a bigger house for the sake of building a bigger house,” he said. “We want to be able to satisfy space restrictions with as much value as we can pack in. It’s small, well thought out and useful.
“You don’t feel cramped,” he said. “There’s a nice living room with plenty of storage space. It’s airy and inviting.”
Lashbrook said most of the customers who walk into a new Champion Home Builders model have one initial comment. “Wow, I didn’t know you could do this.”
“We want to drive awareness and surprise people with what we can do with a manufactured or modular home,” he said. “Even if you were in the market, or even bought a new manufactured home five years ago, the models that are being made today will really astonish the buyer.
“It’s what they see on HGTV or House Hunters and they fall in love,” Lashbrook said.
Comprehensive National Data Has Occupancy, Rents on the Rise
Grand Rapids, Mich. (Feb. 27, 2018) – Datacomp, publisher of JLT Market Reports and the nation’s #1 provider of market data for the manufactured housing industry, today announced the publication of its February 2018 manufactured home community rent and occupancy reports for Michigan.
Recognized as the industry standard for manufactured home community market analysis for more than 20 years, JLT Market Reports provide detailed research and information on communities located in 135 major housing markets throughout the United States, including the latest rent trends and statistics, marketing programs and a variety of other useful management insights.
About the JLT Market Reports for Michigan
Datacomp’s manufactured housing market data published in the February 2018 JLT Market Reports includes information on 408 “All ages” and “55+” manufactured home communities located throughout Michigan. Altogether, the reports include data representations for 122,012 homesites.
“The 2018 Michigan report has information from all major metro population centers in the state as well as many lower density markets, and includes information on five more retirement communities than the previous year’s report,” Datacomp Co-President and Chief Business Development Officer Darren Krolewski said. “We believe our latest reports will help improve business decision making for managers, investor, owners and other manufactured housing professionals with specific interests in Michigan markets.”
Each JLT manufactured home community rent and occupancy report published by Datacomp includes detailed information about investment grade communities in the major markets, including number of homesites, occupancy rates, average mobile home community rents and increases, community amenities, vacant sites, and repossessed and inventory homes.
JLT Market Reports also include management insights that rank communities by number of homesites, occupancy rates and highest to lowest rents. Established reports show trends in each market with a comparison of February 2018 rents and occupancy rates to February 2017, as well as a historical recap of rents and occupancy from 1996 to present date in most markets.
The February 2018 JLT Market Reports for Michigan are available for purchase and immediate download online at the Datacomp JLT Market Report website at www.datacompusa.com/JLT, or they may be ordered by phone in electronic or printed editions at (800) 588-5426. Each fully updated report for mobile home communities is a comprehensive look at investment grade properties within a market, enabling owners and managers, lenders, appraisers, brokers and other organizations to effectively benchmark those communities and make informed decisions.
Comprehensive National Data Trend Shows Occupancy, Rents on the Rise
The JLT Report Summary that covers 2017 shows annual increases in adjusted rent and occupancy rates across the board, for all ages and 55+ communities in nearly every region of the country.
Only in the southwest United States did occupancy rates dip, and by just 0.2 percent in retirement communities, while all ages communities in the region experienced a 1.7 percent increase.
Occupancy rates nationwide rose 1.1 percent from 2016, with all ages communities bumping up 1.4 percent to 90 percent and retirement communities increasing 0.7 percent to 95 percent nationwide year over year.
Adjusted rents increased nationwide year over year by 3 percent for all communities to $533 per month. The same rents at all ages communities rose 3.1 percent to $477 monthly as of Jan. 3.
About JLT Market Reports
For more than 20 years, countless professionals have trusted JLT Market Reports for timely and accurate management reports on land lease manufactured home communities. JLT Market Reports are currently published for 131 markets nationwide and are recognized as the industry standard for manufactured housing industry data. In 2014, JLT & Associates merged its resources, skills and expertise with Datacomp, the industry’s oldest and largest national manufactured home appraisal company and number one provider of market data for the manufactured housing industry, and MHVillage, the premier website for advertising mobile homes for rent and sale nationwide. For more information, or to purchase complete JLT Market Reports, call (800) 588-5426 or visit www.datacompusa.com/JLT.
Greenbriar, an iconic manufactured home community near Indianapolis.
A Community Profile from Central Indiana, Greenbriar Has Been Characterized as an ‘Icon’ to the Industry
Greenbriar, a manufactured home community east of Indianapolis, seems to have found the proverbial fountain of youth.
“It’s really coming into its own,” said Jacob Cohron, sales manager for Greenbriar and the third generation in his family to operate communities owned by Cohron’s Homes.
When talking about the 300-pad all-ages community, the latest generation of MH professionals is only part of the current youth movement. Jacob and his father Brad Cohron have been busy infilling the 1960s-vintage property with new homes as well.
“Financing is a touch easier in the last couple years to be able to do that,” Jacob said. “We buy somewhat dependent on lot size, but we don’t have a fixed program. We buy the best of what’s available and what makes sense for the space. Recently it’s been more about what can we get in a timely manner, because factories are so busy right now.”
Cohron’s owns seven communities all within a couple miles of each other, which allows the owners and residents to benefit from efficiencies that come from roaming management, maintenance and service teams.
Lot rents are $340 with water, sewer and trash pickup included. In the spring, residents from all 1,800 spots are invited to Cohron’s Annual Strawberry Festival.
“We show them the latest homes, offer them some strawberry shortcake and have a good time,” Brad said. “We make a big day of it.”
Greenbriar Community Quick Facts
Greenbriar is an iconic central Indiana manufactured home community.
9901 Pendleton Pike Indianapolis, IN
All ages community 300 Homesites Built in 1968 Home Prices: $25,000-60,000 Monthly Lot Rent: $340
When financing tightened up more than a decade ago, Cohron’s started its own finance company and were able to keep occupancy rates high enough to avoid entering the rental market. In the last four years the finance company’s business has doubled.
“We’re selling life here,” Brad said. “We’re between the apartment and the larger neighborhood homes, and when people get a look at our properties it all seems to make sense.”
And it may seem like a minor affair, but the maintenance team makes certain to keep sidewalks and access points in good shape, as well as shoring up foundations and pouring new driveways.
“We make a point of providing an affordable place to live that is both safe and clean. We have storage available for residents who have boats, campers or RVs,” Jacob said. “Also, we’re very close to Fort Harrison State Park, which is a good draw and helps accentuate the healthy outdoor lifestyle our residents love.”
The community is about a six-minute car ride from the links at Winding Ridge Golf Club, is very close to a variety of shopping centers, and has easy access to the 465 loop that winds its way around the Indianapolis metro area.
“At Greenbriar it’s all ages, but it tends to have a bit smaller homes than some of our other communities,” Jacob said. “So, there’s about 60 percent retiree residents, and younger families in first homes too. It’s a good mix.
“There are a lot of people in Greenbriar who have lived there for 30-plus years,” he said.
The Transaction with Meritus Adds 2,100 Homesites in Michigan
YES! Communities, one of the nation’s largest owners and operators of manufactured home communities, announced today that it had acquired a portfolio of nine manufactured home communities comprising over 2,100 residential home sites, all in the state of Michigan, from Meritus Communities of Bloomfield Hills. As a result of the acquisition, the YES! portfolio now includes 188 communities across 17 states, containing over 47,000 home sites. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Steve Schaub, Chief Executive Officer of YES!, said, “We are very pleased to complete this strategic acquisition, which not only adds nine communities to our growing portfolio but also significantly increases our footprint in Michigan, one of the nation’s best markets for manufactured home communities.”
Schaub said the company is committed to growing the business through both portfolio and single property acquisitions that meet the all-age, family-oriented community model.
About YES! Communities
YES! Communities is one of the nation’s largest owners and operators of manufactured home communities, with 188 communities across 17 states containing over 47,000 residential home sites. Based in Denver, YES! has been recognized as the Manufactured Housing Institute’s “Community Operator of the Year” award for the last eight consecutive years. For more information, please visit www.yescommunities.com.
Tiny House Jamboree Launches First Trade Event, Expands Consumer Experience
Reed Exhibitions, the world’s leading event organizer, announced today that the Tiny House & Simple Living Jamboree will move to Austin, Texas, Aug. 23-26.
Another exciting change is the first-of-its-kind, two-day trade event for tiny house industry professionals. The new format will be complete with robust education opportunities and the largest-ever collection of commercially built living structures.
The 2018 Tiny House & Simple Living Jamboree will be held at the Travis County Exposition Center with the weekend dates to conclude the show being open to the public.
The event, acquired by Reed Exhibitions in June 2017, was held as a consumer-only event at the Arlington County Convention Center in Arlington, Texas last October.
More than 70 tiny living structures and 50 product and service exhibitors were on hand. There also was a stellar lineup of the industry luminaries to educate and entertain. The highlight of the 2017 Jamboree was the partnership with Operation Tiny Home, which included the building of a tiny house that was donated to a Dallas area veterans outreach organization.
What to Expect at the Tiny House & Simple Living Jamboree in Austin
At the 2018 edition, The Tiny House & Simple Living Jamboree will introduce the first industry-specific trade event. With increasing acceptance at the state and local government levels, and steady growth in tiny community developments, there is a need for increased education and a central networking event. The Jamboree also will touch on key issues facing today’s housing market, such as affordability and attainability.
The Tiny House & Simple Living Jamboree will feature an indoor/outdoor show floor with a variety of small living structures all less than 800 square feet. Builders will showcase tiny houses on wheels, park models, yurts, modular and manufactured homes. The indoor show floor will highlight all related products and services including construction materials, furniture and appliances.
“The timing is right for the expansion of the Jamboree to not only educate our consumers but also to provide more education, insights and relationship building for the professionals in the industry,” said Tiny House & Simple Living Jamboree Event Director Jon Fontane. “As tiny living continues to grow, it is critical for the different components of the industry to come together – builders, product suppliers, real estate developers and regulators.
“In addition, Austin, Texas is one of the most progressive markets for tiny living and a city that has needs for more attainable and affordable housing,” he said. “Two new large-scale residential developments are underway and it’s clear there are more to come as the city grows.”
Tickets for the consumer weekend of the Tiny House & Simple Living Jamboree will go on sale in March. Interested professionals interested in attending can contact Jon Fontane at jfontane@reedexpo.com.
About Reed Exhibitions:
Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events organizer, with over 500 events in 43 countries. In 2016 Reed brought together over seven million active event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars. Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa. We serve 43 industry sectors with trade and consumer events and are part of RELX Group, a world-leading provider of professional information solutions.
If you access your Professional Account on MHVillage through your phone, you might have noticed something new. We have a whole new account look for MHVillage users on mobile!
Right now, it is still in “Beta”, which means we are still testing it and making sure it’s running smoothly. But we would love for you to give it a test drive and tell us what you think!
How to Access the New Account Look
First, go to mhvillage.com on your smartphone. You will see a new way to access your account.
Click the Account (Beta) link and then sign in with your normal username and password.
That will take you to the new, redesigned account look.
We’re really proud of how this came out, and we plan on taking it to the desktop very soon. However, it was a big change, with a lot of programming, so we definitely wanted to make sure it is as perfect as we can make it before we released it everywhere.
You’ll notice that we added quick links to help you get to the things you use all the time, like your listings, communities, leads and your billing information. We’ve also added links to our social media and this newsletter, so you can keep track of what is going on, right from your new account page.
Here’s another screenshot so you can see what is in store:
But, Wait – There’s More!
As you go through our new account design, you might notice that not everything has been given the new look. It’s all in process, but we wanted to get this into your hands as soon as possible. In fact, we have lots of new and exciting thing in the works for 2018, keep an eye on this newsletter to see what’s coming up next!
According to Facebook, as of Sept. 30, 2017, the platform has 2.07 billion monthly active users with average daily users numbering 1.37 billion. These large numbers make it hard to ignore Facebook in your marketing strategy.
Facebook has changed during the years, and with the recent update on Jan. 12, it’s becoming more and more likely that, to reach your target audience, you will have to invest in Facebook Advertising.
Advertising on Facebook offers multiple layers of audience targeting and campaign types to help you reach the preferred audience as well as maximize your return on investment (ROI).
Here are five steps to help you get started with Facebook Advertising.
Step #1: Define Your Goals
Before starting a campaign Advertising on Facebook make sure you have defined your campaign goals, budget and key performance indicators (KPIs). This will help with measuring your success against some pre-defined metrics.
Some example goals for advertising on Facebook are:
Increase traffic to your website from Facebook
Increase attendance to an open house
Generate mobile home listing leads
Boost engagement for your Facebook page
Increase the reach of your content on Facebook
Install Facebook Pixel
Before setting up your campaign make sure that you have the Facebook pixel installed along with event tracking. The Facebook pixel allows you to track events and create audiences for ad targeting and dynamic ads.
Locate the Facebook pixel code in the Business Manager in section the under “Events Manager”. Facebook offers documentation to help you get the pixel and events installed.
Step #2: Create Your Campaign
Begin creating a campaign by opening Facebook’s Power Editor and clicking the “create campaign” button. Click “Use Guided Creation”. Facebook has campaign objectives broken into three categories:
Awareness
Consideration
Conversion
For example, if we wanted to promote a mobile home listing, we would define the campaign objective as a conversion because we would want to generate leads for that listing.
Step #3: Choose Your Target Audience
Once you have saved a draft of your campaign, you will need to go to the ad set section of your campaign.
In this section you define the following:
Audience
Daily Budget
Campaign Schedule
Ad Placement
There five different custom audience types to choose in advertising on Facebook:
Audience from email addresses: In the audience tab in the Facebook Business Manager console you can create an audience by uploading your email addresses. The minimum amount needed is 200. However, if you are just targeting email addresses, 1,000 is recommended for better reach. Sometimes Facebook will not serve your ads if the audience is too low.
Website Traffic: Create an audience that has visited specific pages of your website. This will need the Facebook pixel installed and will need some time to populate. You can find this in audience tab.
Engagement: Create an audience based on people who engage with your posts on Facebook or Instagram.
App Activity: If you have an app and want to target people who have used or took specific actions.
Offline Activity (Just Added):Create an audience that interacted with your business through in-store, by phone or through offline channels. You will need to define your offline events, such as phone calls in the offline event sets tab.
Advertising on Facebook offers not only the custom audiences, but you also can choose your audience by location, age, gender, language, Facebook interests and connections.
For example, if wewere promoting a mobile home listing, the audience could be customized from website traffic that visited the listing, similar listings or similar communities.
If your audience is more at the top of the funnel, meaning they are researching the area or researching your business, you could offer some free content after they fill out a lead form. These freebies may include a mobile home buyers guide, neighborhood market report or new listing updates.
Ad Placement
Facebook gives you the option to select where your ads are shown. You can choose “Automatic Placement”. But, to begin, go with “Edit Placements” and simply choose Facebook feed ads and Facebook right column ads.
If later you want to add Instagram ads, you will need to connect your Instagram account to Facebook.
Step #4: Create Your Ads
Once you have set a daily budget, defined your audience and selected ad placements, you now go to the Ad tab of your campaign and edit your ad.
Choose a Facebook page, if you manage more than one, as well as the type of advertising on Facebook you want to create. Then ad content, such as written descriptions, photos and links.
Startwith the multiple image carousel ad or the collection ad type, fill in the text, headline text and destination url.
The destination url needs to have UTM codes codes on the end of the link to track your campaign results. UTM code is a simple code that goes on the end of your URL so you can track source, medium and campaign name.
Google offers a great tool called Campaign URL Builder that helps you add UTM codes to any URL.
If images, language and the link look good, you can click the “Review Draft Items”. When this button is clicked the campaign will be uploaded to Facebook Ads Manager. If no start date was selected the campaign will start once Facebook approves your ad.
Step #5: Analyze Your Campaign Results
Make sure you give the campaign seven to 14 days to allow for Facebook to optimize the campaign. This window of time also will ensure there is a big enough sample of data for you to analyze.
Once the campaign has had significant time to run, you want to look at the following:
Relevance Score of Your Ads: Relevance score lets you know how relevant your ads are to the target audience. It is on a scale of 1-10 and the ideal relevance score is 8 to 10; by having a higher relevance score the cost per click will be lower.
Conversions: Is the campaign generating leads?
Cost per Conversion: Is the campaign within your budget?
Adjust the campaign according to your pre-defined metrics to improve the results.
Facebook has many different advertising options that will help you reach your target audiences. If you want to reach more people, be sure to experiment with the different custom audiences and ad options to see what gets your business the best results!
Our industry continues to grow, and as it does there is a similar growing need for more professionals to take part in managing manufactured home communities.
With every new community that is built, expanded or re-modeled, owners and current managers face an increasing shortage of qualified talent.
If you are new to the industry, this article will help you with some basic tips on managing manufactured home communities.
Often times managers will come from other industries like real estate, residential rent management, or even commercial property management. While the work force in our industry benefits from these new perspectives, it also can mean a bit of a learning curve when it comes to manufactured housing terms, specs and regulations.
To be honest simply learning the language can be a feat all of its own!
Here we have a great article that breaks down some of the Manufactured Housing Terms that might be foreign to a professional who is new to this industry.
While we don’t manage communities, we do work with quite a few companies that do. These folks have been in the business for a long time. Over the years we have picked up some great info on the benefits and the challenges that might come from managing a community.
Managing A Community – More than just the homes
Unlike traditional residential management, manufactured home communities often do not own the homes within the community. Most often, the resident owns and maintains the home they live in. The community provides amenities like lawn care, pool services, an activity center and other lifestyle offerings.
However, similar to managing a traditional rental property, there is going to be the detail of maintenance. So, depending on whether your community owns or rents homes and land will dictate the extent of your responsibility.
DIY?
Hired help can be your saving grace
Too often we hear of stories of managers who are entirely worn out by the end of the first year managing manufactured home communities. It’s almost always due to the manager stretching themselves too thin.
We all know the saying “good help is hard to find”. However, it’s possible. If you are new to the industry there is going to be a great deal of knowledge you need right away. Hiring selling agents, maintenance crew and even an assistant can make a world of difference when managing manufactured home communities.
Marketing a Community – Know Your Audience.
Marketing available homes or spaces within your community can be one of the more challenging aspects of the job.
The first step is going to be to establish the home owners/renters you are hoping to have within your community. Then comes gearing your advertising to that crowd.
We have a super helpful article on “The Benefits of Knowing Your Audience” that goes further into the details of different types of manufactured home buyers and renters.
Once you have established your audience, the next step is getting the community out there! MHVillage offers a FREE advertisement option for communities. The “Basic Community” advertisement includes two community photos, all of the community details, and you get free sales leads via email too!
Here is a video on how you can use our website to advertise your community:
More than 1,500 manufactured housing professionals are expected in Las Vegas April 7-9 as the Manufactured Housing Institute’s Congress and Expo returns to the...
The Tunica Show will drawn thousands of retailers, community owner/operators, builder/developers and installers. Attendees look to Tunica for the latest trends in factory-built home design and innovation.
“We make a point of providing an affordable place to live that is both safe and clean. We have storage available for residents who have boats, campers or RVs,” Jacob said. “Also, we’re very close to Fort Harrison State Park, which is a good draw and helps accentuate the healthy outdoor lifestyle our residents love.”
The 2018 Tiny House & Simple Living Jamboree will be held at the Travis County Exposition Center 
Begin creating a campaign by opening Facebook’s Power Editor and clicking the “create campaign” button. Click “Use Guided Creation”. Facebook has 
Once you have saved a draft of your campaign, you will need to go to the ad set section of your campaign. 
Facebook gives you the option to select where your ads are shown. You can choose “Automatic Placement”. But, to begin, go with “Edit Placements” and simply choose Facebook feed ads and Facebook right column ads.
