Marketing Associate (Private Label)

Cardinal Group Companies; Elmwood Park (NJ); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Vision insurance

Dental insurance

Pet insurance

401(k) retirement plan

Student loan assistance

Licensing reimbursement

Continuing education reimbursement

Parental leave

Housing allowance

Job summary

Cardinal Group Companies seeks a Marketing Associate to drive lead generation and manage vibrant, high-performing social and digital presences across multiple properties. You will optimize the digital funnel, campaigns, and designs to support occupancy goals and ensure brand-consistent experiences.

The role involves overseeing website updates, SEO health, ILS performance, and coordination with agencies for paid media. A strong grasp of analytics and cross-functional collaboration is essential.

Qualifications

• 4–6+ years of digital marketing experience, ideally within multifamily, student housing, real estate, or high-volume B2C environments.
• Demonstrated experience analyzing paid media, SEO, and ILS performance and providing data-driven optimization recommendations.
• Proven hands-on experience managing and updating websites in WordPress and understanding of UX fundamentals.
• Familiarity with Fair Housing laws, digital accessibility considerations, and industry regulations.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary digital performance strategist for the portfolio, aligning campaigns with leasing and occupancy goals.
• Manage website updates, SEO audits, and content refreshes to ensure accurate, fast-loading sites.
• Optimize ILS platforms (e.g., Apartments.com, Rent., Zumper, Zillow) and monitor performance for CPL improvements.
• Coordinate with agencies and vendors to oversee paid search, social, retargeting, and display campaigns.
• Lead Canva-based brand governance and develop monthly content themes for the student housing lifecycle.

Skills

Digital marketing

SEO

GA4

WordPress

Analytics

Content strategy

Brand governance

Project management

Tools

GA4

GTM

Canva

Job description

POSITION: Marketing Associate

COMPENSATION: Pursuant to Colorado regulations, if this job is performed in Colorado, the salary range is $70,000 - $90,000 plus bonus potential. Eligible to participate in the company benefits plan. We offer health, vision, dental, and pet insurance. We offer a 401(k) retirement plan, student loan assistance, licensing and continuing education reimbursement, parental leave, and housing allowances or gifts.

Reports To: Portfolio Sales & Marketing Manager, III

Summary

The Marketing Associate is a hands-on technical expert and systemic creative, responsible for driving quality lead generation and ensuring every community has a vibrant, high-performing social and digital presence. By optimizing the digital funnel, designs, and campaigns, you will ensure every prospect touchpoint contributes to high-quality leads that support the portfolio's occupancy goals

Responsibilities

Digital Strategy & Portfolio Optimization

• Serve as the primary digital performance strategist for the assigned portfolio, ensuring campaigns, spend, and optimizations directly support leasing and occupancy goals.
• Gather digital marketing recommendations, spend options, and digital channel proposals from Agency Fifty3, ILS partners, and additional marketing vendors.
• Analyze community-specific data (historical leads, GA4 data, market velocity, current occupancy, seasonality) to determine the ideal digital marketing mix per property.
• Present digital strategy recommendations, expected impact, and budget allocation guidance to Portfolio Sales & Marketing Managers and Portfolio Managers.
• Continuously monitor monthly performance reports to identify trends, assess ROI, validate lead quality, and recommend optimizations.
• Prioritize high-impact digital actions across the portfolio by understanding community goals, risk levels, and marketing constraints.

Website & Online Presence Management

• Ensure the accuracy, functionality, and visual quality of all community websites, including WordPress updates, content refreshes, new photos, specials, floor plan updates, and troubleshooting issues.
• Conduct monthly website audits to assess SEO health, user experience, compliance, page speed, broken links, content accuracy, and form functionality.
• Manage and maintain all vanity numbers ensuring routing, tracking, and call attribution are functioning as intended.
• Partner with marketing agency and internal stakeholders to ensure new websites or redesigns follow brand standards and operational needs.

SEO & Listings Optimization

• Manage and optimize Internet Listing Service (ILS) platforms (e.g., Apartments.com, Rent., Zumper, Zillow), ensuring compelling content, competitive pricing display, accurate amenities, and optimized tracking.
• Monitor ILS performance monthly and recommend spend shifts, package adjustments, or strategic changes to improve lead quality and CPL.
• Maintain consistent and accurate property profiles across directory sites including:
• Google Business Profile
• Yelp
• Yext (ensuring listings syndication, accuracy, review tracking, and SEO strength)
• Ensure all directory profiles are optimized for local search visibility, reputation management, and conversion.

Media Performance Coordination

• Partner with marketing agency and other digital vendors to oversee paid search, social, retargeting, display, geofencing, and remarketing campaigns.
• Evaluate media performance monthly and provide strategic insights such as:
• Spend reallocation
• Updated keyword strategy
• Audience refinements
• Creative recommendations
• Ensure vendor performance aligns with contractual expectations, KPIs, and community needs.
• Maintain a strong understanding of lead quality indicators and downstream leasing metrics to advise on the true value of generated leads.

Social Media & Designs

• Canva Brand Governance: Act as the primary "Brand Approver" within Canva. Design, organize, and maintain a library of high-impact, customizable templates that allow on-site teams to create "on-brand" content in minutes.
• Content Resource Development: Build "Plug-and-Play" social kits for major student housing milestones (Move-in, Renewal, Pre-leasing 100%, and "Red Light" recovery).
• Visual Standards: Set the bar for "High Quality." You aren't just looking for pretty pictures; you are looking for visuals that stop the scroll and drive engagement.
• On-Site Empowerment: Conduct regular "Creative Clinics" to teach on-site teams how to capture better iPhone content, write punchier captions, and use the latest social trends to tell their local story.
• Content Mapping: Develop monthly content "themes" that align with the Student Housing lifecycle, ensuring we are speaking to the student's needs at the exact right time.
• Data-Driven Strategy: Use Sprout Social to monitor portfolio-wide and property-specific metrics. You don’t just report numbers; you provide the "Why" and the "Next Step."
• Conversion Optimization: Partner with the digital team to ensure social content is driving traffic that converts.
• Oversee all digital output. This position will have final approval on 100% of posts sent by the onsite teams.

Qualifications

• 4–6+ years of experience in digital marketing, ideally within multifamily, student housing, real estate, or high-volume B2C environments.
• Intermediate to advanced working knowledge of AI tools including Gemini (or equivalents).
• Demonstrated experience analyzing paid media, SEO, and ILS performance and providing data-driven optimization recommendations.
• Proven hands-on experience managing and updating websites in WordPress and understanding of UX fundamentals.
• Deep understanding of lead funnels, digital attribution, conversion paths, and performance metrics.
• Proficiency with Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Google Tag Manager (GTM), and tracking ecosystem best practices is required.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple projects across dozens of communities simultaneously.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to translate technical data to actionable business recommendations.
• Familiarity with Fair Housing laws, digital accessibility considerations, and industry regulations.
• Ability to embody and model the Cardinal Culture and Core Values daily.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those a Team Member encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Incumbents work in an office environment and also have frequent exposure to outside of apartment buildings and in all areas of the property including amenities and have frequent exposure to outside elements where temperature, weather, odors, and/or landscape may be unpleasant and/or hazardous.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a Team Member to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the Team Member is regularly required to use hands to finger, type, handle, or feel and talk or hear. The Team Member regularly required to stand; walk; reach with hands and arms, and climb, stoop, or squat. Incumbents must be able to physically access all exterior and interior parts of the property and amenities and must be able to work inside and outside in all weather conditions including, but not limited to rain, snow, heat, hail, wind and sleet.

The Team Member must be able to push, pull, lift, carry, or maneuver office products and supplies of up to twenty (20) pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

Equal Opportunity Employer

This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the notice from the Department of Labor.