5 Ideas for Marketing Your Real Estate Business at the Holidays
Many real estate agents take a break from marketing during the end-of-year holidays. Business is slow. There are so many activities outside of work to keep you busy. And there’s all that holiday shopping, cooking and preparation to do.
But make no mistake: Home buyers are out there; sellers, too. In fact, this is the time of year when the people who are active in the marketplace are serious about doing a deal. So if you aren’t marketing your services at this time of year, you’re missing out on sales – quick sales with motivated clients.
Sending marketing and public relations materials at holiday time is also a great way to sow the seeds for next year’s success: Make a name for yourself now, and people will think of you first when they (or their friends) need an agent for the spring selling season.
5 Holiday Marketing Ideas for Real Estate Agents:
Hold a photo contest
Want to get your Facebook, Twitter and other social media followers excited (and talking about your business)? Hold an online contest for the local home with the best holiday decorations: people can submit their own photos of decorated homes and/or vote for their favorite.
You can do-it-yourself or you can buy a third-party application to pull this off, but when implemented well, a contest like this will not only generate a buzz within your sphere of influence but also increase your followers, as well as provide you with lots of new email addresses for follow-up marketing efforts.
For examples and more information see these third-party app providers:
Offer a recipe idea
With all the cooking going on during the holidays, most people are very interested in new recipe ideas. Xpressdoc’s recipe postcards are a great way to share a delicious new food idea and cost-effectively promote your business – all with just a few clicks.
This is an opportunity to reach out to a whole new group of prospective clients and referral sources with information they truly value at the holidays, so don’t just target your same old sphere of influence. Use Xpressdoc’s geographic targeting tools to send these recipe ideas to residents of specific streets, select demographic groups, even entire neighborhoods.
Host a fund-raiser
Many people want to do good at this time of year. Help them do so (and make a name for yourself in the process) by hosting a holiday fund-raiser for a worthy cause.
For details on how to easily organize such a promotion, turn to the organization you want to benefit. For example, this web page from the American Lung Association offers online tools you can use, explains what to do, and includes all kinds of suggestions.
Send an off-season greeting card
Every sales professional sends “Happy Holidays” cards to their clients, past clients and referral sources at this time of year – which means all the cards get lost in the shuffle and the recipients barely notice you made the effort. If you want more bang for your buck, send a Thanksgiving greeting, or even a “Let’s Celebrate Winter” card. When your card is one of only a few, the impact will be much greater and longer lasting.
Reward your referral sources
If you want more business from your referral sources next year, take time at the holidays to give a thank-you gift to all who referred business your way this year.
For ideas of what to give, see the National Association of Realtors gift guides
Get started today
The weather outside may be gloomy and clients may be few and far between at this time of year, but if you pull back on your marketing now, it only means you’ll have to work that much harder once the spring selling season comes bounding around the corner.
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