CASE STUDIES
| PRODUCTS | COMPANY | INDUSTRY | PORTFOLIO | LOCATIONS |
    |
PLK Communities |
Property Management |
36 Communities |
Ohio, Kentucky, and Florida |
Across 36 multifamily properties, the PLK team focuses on a renting experience that feels personal, from first impression to renewal. But by late 2024, their online presence wasn’t telling that story.
Review responses didn’t reflect the care happening on-site. The support they were relying on felt impersonal. And their reputation partner wasn’t helping them improve.
"Unfortunately, customer service and some of the experiences we were having with our previous reputation management partner and platform weren’t meeting our evolving needs.”
—Brad Slomsky, VP of Marketing and Brand at PLK Communities
Instead of trading one all-in-one platform for another, PLK split its approach to reputation management. Site teams took the lead on social, while review management became centralized to the corporate team. That way, local presence stayed personal, but the brand stayed consistent.
After evaluating several partners, PLK chose Widewail to execute on this strategy.
“Widewail just seemed to fit our business needs best… the approval workflows, the whole setup process, the owning of the reviews—it just made sense for us.”
—Brad Slomsky
Today, Widewail manages the bulk of PLK’s review and comment responses. Engage ensures replies are consistent and on-brand, Invite drives a steady flow of new reviews, Engage Plus keeps social conversations active, and Listings maintains accurate property details. The approval workflow gives PLK visibility and control without adding extra work for site teams.
“Before Widewail, responses tended to feel generic and impersonal. Now, residents feel acknowledged through thoughtful, specific replies that reflect their experiences.”
—Brad Slomsky
PLK rolled out several new tools in 2025. Widewail stood out, for all the right reasons.
“Change is hard, especially when you’re rolling out multiple platforms at once. But of the half-dozen new tools we’ve implemented this year, Widewail was by far the smoothest…
From day one, I’ve felt confident reaching out to the team at Widewail. Unlike many vendor relationships where support can feel impersonal, Widewail’s team has remained consistently accessible and proactive, making it easy to connect directly with the right people when needed.
I’ve been able to contact Joe, Katie, and others directly—and they’ve always encouraged that. Even if they need to loop someone else in, I’ve never been pushed into a robotic support process. It’s been personal, responsive, and consistent the whole way through.”
—Brad Slomsky
(Performance measured from April 1 to April 30, 2025)
At the Portfolio Level:
PLK saw an immediate and significant lift in review activity following launch on April 1, 2025
142% more total reviews in April compared to March
150% increase in average reviews generated per community per month
In April alone, PLK communities averaged 4.5 reviews per month—a massive leap when measured against the multifamily industry average of just 1.8. The volume wasn’t just 2.5 times higher; it was a signal that their new approach was working.
(Performance measured from April 1, 2025, to July 1, 2025)
At the Portfolio Level:
A few weeks after launch, PLK wasn’t just getting more feedback; they were getting better feedback.
Review volume more than doubled: +130% increase
Negative review volume decreased by 58% to 15% total
1/2 of PLK Communities' rooftops saw a lifetime Google star rating increase of 0.1 or more in the first 90 days
Several communities delivered exceptional results, setting the pace for the entire portfolio:
Review volume grew 320%
Negative reviews decreased by 88%, down to a mere 2%
Achieved a 4.8 Google star rating during this time, reflecting a +0.8 increase
Review volume grew 375%
Negative review volume fell by 79%
Lifetime Google star rating increased by 0.1 stars
300% increase in review volume
75% decrease in negative reviews
Lifetime Google star rating increased by 0.1 stars to achieve a 4.0 rating
The PLK team wanted their brand values to carry through every interaction, especially online.
“I think our brand, at its core, is always striving to be people-first—genuine and authentic. Not AI, not robotic, not stock. Those words just go against the grain of what we’re aiming for.
Even though everything around us is moving toward bigger, faster, and more automated, we still see real value in someone feeling like they’re getting a response from a human…
That kind of interaction reinforces what our brand stands for: that every single person matters. You’re not just a renter or a number. You’re entrusting us with a place to call home. It’s an emotional decision to move into one of our communities.
So even if a resident is just saying, ‘Hey, I appreciate what your maintenance team is doing,’ it matters that they took the time, and they deserve more than a generic ‘Thanks for the feedback.’ That kind of thoughtful response helps us stay connected with every resident.”
—Brad Slomsky
Widewail helps PLK deliver that same hospitality and attentiveness online, community by community.
In the past, PLK’s social strategy centered around content volume. Posts were scheduled and published consistently, but resident engagement wasn’t always part of the equation.
“In the past, our focus was primarily on posting consistently, but we’ve since evolved to prioritize meaningful engagement and resident interaction—an area where Widewail has been invaluable.”
—Brad Slomsky
Today, PLK’s approach centers on interaction and acknowledging residents who leave comments, post reviews, or share feedback.
“It’s very obvious to recognize when people are just creating content, posting it, and then going completely deaf on sentiment. Having a partner like Widewail that’s actually looking at comments and saying, ‘We got this,’ has been great.”
—Brad Slomsky
With Widewail, PLK stays responsive in real-time, across all communities, without burdening site teams.
PLK wasn’t just looking for more reviews; they wanted better alignment between their brand and the resident experience. And fast.
With Widewail, they got it.
A smoother rollout. More impactful feedback. Direct access to real people. No support black holes. No wasted time.
“It’s not just about getting more reviews. It’s about showing up for residents in every channel, consistently. Widewail has helped us do that—and do it the right way.”
—Brad Slomsky
When the on-site experience is strong, the online story should be too. PLK made sure of that with Widewail.
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