All I want for Christmas is the key to a new house.
All I want for Christmas is an open-concept layout.
All I want for Christmas is to win the bidding war.
Well, that’s not how the original jingle goes, but for many real estate agents at this time of year, it’s the jingle you want to hear from your prospective clients.
The holiday season is the perfect time of year for Realtors to market their services, connect with their leads and meet new people.
Don’t go silent night on your marketing strategies. Keep reading for five holiday marketing ideas for Realtors:
1. A guide to your city during the holidays
Does your city light up a massive tree in the centre of the town square? Do you know the best restaurants to get a hot toddy or steamy apple cider? You’re an expert on your city, so who better to write a guide to your city during the holidays than you?
In this downloadable guide, include the best winter nature trails, where to see the best Christmas lights displays and the caterers you recommend to anyone hosting a holiday party.
Mention small businesses you love, annual events and even some of your most exciting listings (wink wink).
2. 12 days of holiday giving
It’s the season of giving and most people are feeling charitable.
For the 12 days leading up to Christmas or for each of the eight days of Hanukkah, pick a different charity to highlight on your social media pages. You could also pick an organization for the whole season to fundraise for and spread awareness about.
Not only does this give you plenty of content to use in your marketing online (do an Instagram Live interviewing the charity’s director, create posts on how people can contribute, share your story of why this charity means so much to you in your email newsletter), but being generous feels good.
3. Staging tips for selling around the holidays
Some people are hesitant to sell in the winter months because they don’t know how to stage their homes during the holidays. Is having a reindeer sleigh on your roof enticing or a turn-off to buyers? Should you decorate with traditional red and white décor, or try something new?
As a Realtor, you know these answers because you guide your clients through them every year.
Create a guide to staging during the holidays that website visitors can download for free. Marketing this guide increases your website traffic, which increases the number of eyes on your listings.
4. Festive greeting cards
Open your CRM and tally up all the leads you have addresses for. You want to connect with these people anyway, so why not send them a festive greeting card (branded won’t hurt either)?
Make sure the card includes a way for them to contact you, as well as a personalized message written by hand. A family holiday photo on the cover makes it even more special.
Do you have some really hot leads? Consider adding a gift card to the local coffee shop in their cards.
5. Host a jolly giveaway
The holiday season can be an expensive time of year. That’s why your social media followers will appreciate you doing a jolly giveaway.
Collaborate with some of the local businesses in your area. Have everyone offer a product or service to include in the giveaway. To enter the contest, people must follow each of the participating vendors on Instagram.
What can a Realtor include in a giveaway basket? A free home evaluation, a staging consultation or even a ticket to your upcoming community workshop on how to sell a house.
Use this time of year to optimize your reach and exposure and have some fun doing it.
Marly Broudie is the founder and CEO of SocialEyes Communications, a digital marketing firm based in Toronto. She works with several top-producing agents helping them with their digital marketing – everything from their brand, to social presence, data base building and lead gen.
