I have frequently contacted sellers about properties that are off market that I feel pretty strongly that my buyer would be interested in or they have contacted me about. 

Take advantage of the need to get new residents more frequently than an LTR by experimenting right after you've filled a listing: change up the description on your platforms, try a new platform, raise the proposed rents, or practice reaching out to those "bad leads" of FF.

the answers to all of your questions are... go find those people in person, which is difficult to do out of state unless you're traveling frequently to your chosen market. 

In my opinion, for medium-term rentals, it really depends on your audience.

If you were a larger user of a particular plumbing service, such as 120 apartment units with older plumbing and frequent issues, or a McDonald's you might expect a little better service.Good Luck!

I'm unsure of what their tool stack consists of but I would presume it to include data associated with an estimate regarding how frequently specific keywords are searched for on these platforms (and potentially broken down by market).

Good point, I guess I am wondering if you frequently see deals that meet the 1% rule? 

I assume that repairs are the usual (windows, Sheetrock, etc.) just more frequent?

My first did well based on selecting an area that we frequent.

You need to make sure you are providing actual relevant value to your ideal user, and thus,  it has to be catered specifically to your business, and your audience!