The most wonderful time of the year is upon us. Holidays are fast approaching, and though it can be easy to get swept away in the excitement, it is important to keep up marketing efforts for your real estate business.
In addition to your routine marketing strategy, adding in some seasonal and holiday-specific content this time of year can boost engagement and help keep you top-of-mind. Not sure what to share? Here are some ideas for both online and in-person, to spread joy and highlight your brand this holiday season.
Share a Holiday Home Decor Guide
With the holidays come merry and bright decorations. Create a home decor guide for the holiday season, from safety tips for hanging lights to color schemes and patterns that work best for the season and even step-by-step DIY decor projects. Share on your website, blog and social media platforms, and be sure to include links and other resources to help your followers. Showcase your local expertise by recommending businesses in the area that specialize in professionally hanging lights, cut-your-own tree farms or small shops that sell unique seasonal or holiday decor.
Provide Seasonal Home Maintenance Tips
As the fall comes to a close and winter creeps in, especially in markets where cold weather and snow are expected, it is the perfect time of year to share maintenance tips for homes. Cleaning gutters, pulling weeds and swapping out seasonal plants, prepping windows, wrapping pipes, and more, are just a few suggestions to get a home ready for the winter. If you work with local businesses, such as landscapers, painters, house cleaners, electricians, plumbers and others, this is a great time of year for cross-promotion and building professional relationships. Your audience will also appreciate your local expertise and professional recommendations.
Post a Holiday Contest or Giveaway
Contest and giveaways offer a chance for you to increase engagement with your followers and keep you top-of-mind during this busy time of year. Ask your audience to share pictures of their seasonal or holiday home decor, themed cookies or holiday dinner spread, or hold a poll about the best holiday gifts. Choose a winner, randomly, and offer a seasonal or holiday-specific prize. A gift certificate for a local restaurant, a gift basket with seasonal food and drinks, or free professional services can be a good draw this time of year. This will not only increase engagement and gain new leads and referrals, but can also help keep your professional relationships strong.
Highlight Seasonal Community Events
Does your community hold an annual winter carnival? Maybe your local opera house presents a Christmas play, a local restaurant hosts an annual Hanukkah feast or the fire department holds a Thanksgiving food drive. No matter what events may be happening in your market, it is your job as the local expert to know about them. Use your social media outreach to promote seasonal community events, and be sure to sponsor these events when you can to increase your brand awareness in the area.
Host a Festive Client Event
Depending on your market’s COVID-19 restrictions, this may be the perfect time to gather some of your most cherished clients together to enjoy an in-person event. After spending the last holiday season stuck at home, a night out can be a great gift that many will be thankful for. Rent out a local restaurant, or hire a caterer and decorate your office for an evening of food, drinks and face-to-face conversations, highlighting your appreciation for their business. If you are looking to offer something a little more unique and holiday-themed, consider renting out an ice skating rink, and complete the experience with a hot cocoa stand, holiday music and, for the children, a visit from Mr. Claus.
This holiday season, adding in a few of these marketing ideas for your real estate business—both on and offline—can help you increase engagement and brand awareness, gain referrals and new leads and spread some much-needed holiday cheer.
Paige Brown is RISMedia’s content editor. Email her your real estate news ideas to pbrown@rismedia.com.
