Street Digital Media Gains International Presence with Expansion into Canada

Street Digital Media is proud to announce its international expansion into Canada. The Atlanta-based multifamily digital marketing agency has partnered with Class-A lease-up, Element Apartments, to serve as the property’s main driver of online and onsite traffic. Located in the coveted Westboro Village neighborhood of Ottawa, Element has quickly exceeded pre-leasing and lease-up expectations as a result of its digital marketing presence.

"Street Digital Media has been a game-changer for our lease up in Ottawa. Their expertise in running Google PPC campaigns is evident in the quality of leads and resulting in leases. Thanks to their strategic approach and skillful optimization we have yielded exceptional results beyond our expectations.”

- Malcolm Mo | National Director of Marketing at Rhapsody Property Management Services.

Nestled in the Canadian capital, Rhapsody’s brand new lease-up is aptly in its element amongst the established surrounding streetscapes and active modern-village lifestyle. Balanced living is embodied throughout this 252-unit property, which boasts a mix of studio, one, and two-bedroom apartments as well as townhome options. Residents are able to choose from two designer color palettes and finish packages while embracing expansive skyline views of Ottawa from their living room. The brand new community also offers a seemingly endless list of resort-style amenities including a rooftop terrace with stunning city views, an outdoor rooftop theater, demonstration kitchen, Nest Lounge, a state-of-the-art fitness center & yoga studio, and concierge services. Combining elegance with convenience, Element Apartments sets the standard for sophisticated urban living in the heart of the city. Outside its doors, Element provides immediate access to Westboro Village, a vibrant and trendy neighborhood known for its eclectic charm and dynamic atmosphere. Situated along the scenic Ottawa River, this bustling community offers a unique blend of modern urban convenience and a touch of small-town charm. With its tree-lined streets, boutique shops, and a diverse range of restaurants and cafes, Westboro Village is a popular destination for locals and visitors alike. Element adds a new flair to the area with its rooftop amenities and designer finishes.

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Street Digital Media is a multifamily marketing agency and Google Premier Partner specializing in digital marketing solutions for multifamily properties across North America. If you would like a walk-through of services with Street Digital Media please email Curtis Cardoza at cc@streetdigitalmedia.com to schedule a time.

An Intro Guide to Google Analytics 4

Whether you like it or not, Google Analytics 4 is here and here to stay for multifamily marketers. Google's latest version of its website analytics tracking platform officially took over on July 1st, 2023, sunsetting the previous version of Universal Analytics. Along with a new user interface, comes new KPIs and different ways of measuring those metrics. With all of the change, multifamily marketers are now

in a position to get familiar with all things GA4 and to do so quickly. In an effort to help multifamily marketing teams get acquainted with Google Analytics 4, Street Digital Media has included a few helpful tips to explain the differences between UA and GA4.

Bounce Rate vs Engagement Rate

Bounce Rate was a frequently referenced KPI in Universal Analytics as it provided a percentage of sessions in which there was no interaction or engagement with your website. For example, if a prospective resident visited your property website, but left without clicking on any links or triggering any events, then the session would count as a bounce. Multifamily's industry standard was to attain a bounce rate of 40% or less, suggesting that 60% or more traffic to their property websites were engaged sessions from prospective renters.

As multifamily marketing representatives may have noticed, bounce rate is not as prominent in GA4's interface. GA4 focuses more heavily on a new KPI called Engagement Rate. Engagement Rate measures the percentage of sessions to your property website that last 10 seconds or longer, has 1 or more conversion events, or has 2 or more page or screen views. If a user doesn't have an engaged session (that is, they don't meet any of the criteria for an engaged session), then Google Analytics counts the session as a bounce.

So, what is a good Engagement Rate? A helpful way of thinking of Engagement Rate is that it is the inverse of Bounce Rate. With multifamily industry standard for bounce rate being 40% historically, multifamily marketers should look for a 60% or higher Engagement Rate.

Active Users

In Universal Analytics, there were two User metrics: Total Users and New Users. In Google Analytics 4, Google has introduced a third User metric in addition to Total and New Users. Introducing Active Users, the primary user metrics in GA4.

Active Users: Number of distinct individuals who visit your property website and who have an engaged session, a session that lasts longer than 10 seconds, has a conversion event, or has at least 2 pageviews.

Total Users: Total number of unique individuals who logged an event on your website

New Users: Number of unique individuals who interacted with your site for the first time. The metric is measured by the number of new unique user IDs that logged the first_open or first_visit event.

Active users is a helpful metric for multifamily marketers to focus on as it gauges quality traffic to the property website that is taking action. Look at Primary Users as a great way to track the referral sources that are bringing engaged individuals to your property website.

Street Digital Media, a multifamily-specific digital marketing agency, will continue to provide helpful tips for multifamily marketers to get acquainted with Google Analytics 4. If you would like to schedule a one-on-one walk through of GA4 or if you are interested in Street Digital providing a Google Analytics 4 training session for your team, please email Donald Kleckner at dk@streetdigitalmedia.com to schedule a time.

2023: The Year of Google Analytics 4

2023 is officially upon us. If there is one area of focus for digital marketers in the new year it has to be Google's shift away from Google Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4. Scheduled to officially transition on July 1, 2023, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the latest version of Google Analytics. Our team at Street Digital Media will continue to provide tips and tricks leading up to the official rollout to help guide multifamily marketers through the transition. For starters, here are some key differences between the two versions of Google Analytics. These can be very helpful when explaining to owners and/or asset management teams the reason behind the shift to GA4.

1. Data Collection: GA4 uses machine learning to collect and process data, while UA relies on traditional tracking code.

2. User-Level Data: GA4 collects user-level data by default, while UA requires additional configuration to do so.

3. Data Privacy: GA4 offers more robust data privacy controls, including the ability to automatically mask IP addresses and the option to disable data collection for certain events.

4. Event Tracking: GA4 uses events as the primary method of data collection, while UA relies on pageviews.

5. Custom Dimensions and Metrics: GA4 allows you to create custom dimensions and metrics in the property settings, while UA requires you to define them in the tracking code.

6. Cross-Device Tracking: GA4 offers native cross-device tracking, while UA requires the use of additional tracking code or third-party solutions.

7. Platform Support: GA4 is available for web, Android, and iOS, while UA is only available for web.

8. Integration with Google Ads: GA4 has a more seamless integration with Google Ads, allowing you to view data from both platforms in a single place.

Overall, GA4 offers a number of enhancements and new features compared to Universal Analytics, including more advanced data collection and processing, better data privacy controls, and improved integration with other Google products. As a reminder, Universal Analytics is scheduled to sunset on July 1st, 2023. It's best to use the first half of the new year familiarizing yourself with GA4 and the differences it brings. We'll continue to provide details regarding the transition and expectations leading up to the official transition date. If you have any questions or need assistance with the transition, please feel free to contact our team at dk@streetdigitalmedia.com.