As the built-to-rent (BTR) industry continues to grow, BB Living engaged Proof Publicity to introduce and demystify the evolving house option through an authentic, market-specific influencer marketing campaign. Executed across Arizona, Florida, and Texas, the influencer program was designed to build awareness, spark engagement, and educate renters on what makes BTR communities distinct from traditional apartments or homeownership.
The campaign ultimately generated more than 400,000 views across three markets, reinforcing influencer marketing as an effective awareness and education tool for emerging real estate categories.
The Challenge: Explaining Built-to-Rent, Without Sounding Salesy
Influencer marketing isn’t often associated with real estate education, so Proof’s biggest challenge was identifying influencers in three distinct markets who could organically introduce a BTR product to their audiences in a way that felt authentic and informative, and not transactional.
Additional challenges included:
- Balancing influencer reach and engagement with a fixed budget
- Identifying creators whose audiences aligned with BB Living’s renter profiles
- Educating audiences unfamiliar with the BTR concept without overwhelming them
To address these hurdles, the Proof team conducted in-depth vetting of influencers’ metrics, past branded content performance, and audience demographics, prioritizing trust, relatability, and storytelling over follower count alone.
A Thoughtful Approach to Influencer Strategy
From the start, the goal was twofold: increase awareness for BB Living across Arizona, Texas, and Florida, while helping renters understand what BTR actually means. Rather than pushing a hard sell, Proof focused on education, meeting audiences where they already were and letting trusted creators do the storytelling.
The campaign was designed to reach renters at various life stages, including young professionals seeking flexibility, families who want the space and privacy of a home without the commitment of ownership, and individuals relocating or navigating major transitions, Millennials and Gen Z renters, in particular, were a key audience, as many already turn to Instagram and TikTok for housing inspiration and neighborhood recommendations.
Beyond renters themselves, the strategy also accounted for the wider circle of influencers who often shape housing decisions; parents, real estate and relocation pros, and community tastemakers who help guide conversations and recommendations.
Bringing BTR to Life
Proof quickly identified a small group of highly aligned influencers in Arizona, Florida, and Texas – primarily mom and lifestyle creators using Instagram as their primary platform. Each influencer was selected not just for reach, but for their ability to speak authentically to their audience about home, lifestyle, and community.
The influencers were given the creative freedom to showcase BB Living communities in a way that felt natural to their following, highlighting the benefits of BTR living through real-life experiences rather than scripted messaging. The resulting content felt approachable and relatable, helping audiences better understand how BTR fits into everyday life.
In addition to driving awareness through influencer channels, the content created throughout the campaign also provided BB Living with a library of market-specific assets that could be repurposed across owned social and digital platforms.
Results that Extended Beyond Impressions
Over the course of 3 months and across 3 markets, the campaign generated more than 400,000 views, signaling strong awareness and interest across regions. BB Living also saw an increase in website traffic during campaign periods, along with consistent engagement in the form of likes, comments, and shares.
While the campaign wasn’t designed to drive immediate lease signings, it successfully achieved its core objective: introducing BTR living to new audiences and sparking curiosity around a housing option many renters were encountering for the first time.
Ultimately, the campaign demonstrated how influencer marketing can play a powerful role in explaining nuanced real estate concepts, especially when delivered through trusted voices and authentic storytelling.
