Persuasive technology: systems and machines designed to influence human belief and behaviors, usually with the intent to bring about positive change.

Wow, when I first read that I thought I was reading the intro to an Aldous Huxley novel. Turns out, persuasive technologies are already all around us —from mobile phone apps to Facebook tags. So, if you think there’s a persuasive technology application to apartment marketing you’d be right on, and if you figured by now those applications would be featured at AIM 2012 you’d be right on again.

AIM conference producers are proud to welcome Stanford University professor and persuasive technology guru BJ Fogg as the AIM 2012 keynote speaker. As the director of research and design at Stanford’s Persuasive Technology Lab, Fogg’s message of how to bring people into the mobile and online experience is sure to resonate with apartment marketers (see, for instance, the video on how Facebook uses persuasive technologies above). More importantly, Fogg’s focus and analysis on “looking at what works and expanding upon it” couldn’t be a better example of the AIM 2012 Customer First theme.

“Convenience and easy access to information on every device are what shoppers care about.  AIM 2012 will deliver best practices in making great online (and offline) renting experiences a reality,” says AIM producer Steve Lefkovits. “BJ Fogg is at the bleeding edge of how we create systems to change human behavior, and his AIM 2012 keynote on mobile persuasion technology couldn’t be better timed for multifamily marketers.”

During the 3 days at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown hotel, AIM 2012 attendees will navigate strategies within the online user experience and across topics including mobile marketing, social media — even ethnography. Challenge yourself to think Customer First at AIM 2012 and register today to access the best Internet marketing education value for multifamily executives.

Register today for AIM 2012 — $595 until February 17, $695 thereafter.

It's confirmed!  AIM 2011 will be held at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa May 2-4.  Please mark your calendars!  Last year 400 apartment industry executives joined in the learning, teaching, sharing and discovery of everything involved in effective web marketing. 2011 promises to be even bigger and more comprehensive.

We're always looking for good ideas about what to present.  If you're an apartment owner/operator and have ideas about areas where you'd like help improving your marketing, please let us know.  Please email or call Steve Lefkovits and share your thoughts (510) 444-2988 or steve [at] jtimedia.com.

Two years ago at AIM, experts from Sitewire, a full-service digital advertising agency, did a usability analysis of a renter’s search experience from start to finish. They recently caught our eye again.  Sitewire just published a fascinating post on juicing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) results that leverages eBay ad listings.

Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising is a popular and effective way to market your company or services. However, those clicks can add up and result in a costly campaign, often times leaving the marketer wondering how to increase SEO without spending thousands.

Danny Stansfield at Sitewire takes a closer look at how to use eBay to get local Google search listings. He theorizes that by listing your item using keywords that a Google searcher would use as well as an eBay buyer, you can take advantage of eBay’s deep pockets to substantially increase your SEO on Google.

Stansfield is in the process of testing his theory one step further by testing how this strategy could affect local listings in Google.  While perhaps not directly applicable to apartment marketers, the theory of placing keywords in a larger site’s ad listings is worth thinking about carefully.  All of the apartment ILS sites can provide this same function.

Read more about Getting Local Google Search Listings with eBay here.