Can you believe there are less than 30 days left of 2021?! That’s right… we’ve been thrust into the holiday season. While it may be a slower time for real estate, it’s a prime opportunity for marketing and lead generation. Your past and future clients are getting into the holiday spirit and you have the floor to usher them into the festivities. Ready to sell some ho-ho-homes? We’re here to prepare you with the best real estate marketing ideas to sleigh this winter!
Share a DIY Holiday Decorating Guide
If there’s one thing homeowners love, it’s decorating for the holidays. It’s their chance to put on a show and make their house sparkle for all to see. Take this chance to provide value for your clients with DIY hacks for hanging those lights and trimming that tree. Include safety instructions to avoid damage to themselves and their homes. Share your childhood memories and Christmas traditions with your audience.
You can use social media, email marketing or your blog to share these decorating tips. However you communicate with your audience, get your message out there and get in on the Christmas cheer! Pro tip: add lead capture to your posts by creating an info form for folks to subscribe.
Host a Social Media Giveaway
‘Tis the season for a little friendly competition! Hosting a giveaway on social media is a great way to grow your following and raise awareness about your business. You could make the contest simple, with the rules being to follow your account, share the post or leave a review. Or, you could challenge participants to share their favorite holiday recipe or DIY project and vote on a winner.
For the prize, you could offer a Target or Amazon gift card, team up with your favorite local businesses to increase your reach, or pawn off your own services. There are a variety of options here that integrate networking and brand awareness. Social media apps like Instagram and Facebook offer ad services too, so you can boost your post and reach a larger target audience!
Share Tips for Surviving the Cold
If you live in an area where winter is an actual season, you and your community are probably bracing yourselves for the cold. Offer support by providing helpful tips on how to prepare for the chill and tell buyers and sellers exactly how the frigid temps could affect local homes. You can include suggestions on how to prepare pipes, clean out gutters, and a list of emergency resources.
Get More Active on Social Media
Social media is a great way to connect with your community and add the element of visual storytelling to your marketing strategy. As you collect photos throughout the season, post them to your Instagram feed and stories. You can include new property features, as well as your winter marketing efforts!
Stay at the top of peoples’ minds with frequent posts as you get in the holiday spirit. From cozy hot chocolates to tree lighting ceremonies and twinkling neighborhoods, keep the winter magic levels high!
Build Gingerbread Houses
Not a bad way to bring up the topic of houses… Sure, gingerbread decorating is mainly for the kids, but some of the parents in attendance are bound to be buyers and sellers. Find a suitable venue and host the party and stock up on all the materials. There are opportunities to build relationships with local vendors here, like partnering with a bakery or grocery store to sponsor supplies. You can also give out fun prizes from local business to contest winners, provide snacks and involve worthy charities.
Give Back to the Community
There are so many ways that you can lend a helping hand during the winter months. Whether it’s donating warm clothes to a local shelter, hosting a canned food drive, serving in a soup kitchen, or organizing a toy donation for underprivileged kids, now is the time to give to those in need.
Giving back to your community is a great way to make connections while making a difference. You can bake a batch of cookies and keep some cocoa or eggnog on hand to get conversations going with your area when they come to leave their contributions.
Send out Holiday Cards
Don’t forget to wish your community a happy holiday season! Whether in the form of printed cards, a festive newsletter or email, it’s a great opportunity to put your name out there. You can leave links to your website, Yelp profile and social media at the bottom, subtly encouraging folks to connect and leave a review for their favorite local realtor.
Share Your ‘Year in Review’
The end of the year is a time to reflect on the progress we’ve made, both in life and business. You may choose to partake in this tradition with a ‘year in review email’ or blog post. Touch on all the milestones you’ve achieved in 2021. You can boast about your biggest sales or mention specific families you’ve helped find their dream homes.
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