Real estate agents and brokers can win their marketing – and buy or sell homes! – by mastering social media. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again, the majority of the population has their eyes fixed on their phones throughout a large part of the day – scrolling, texting, tweeting – and you need to bring your brand and your message where the attention is. The vast majority of homebuyers today go online for their search, and, according to one study (SproutSocial), 94% of millennials and 84% baby boomers used various sites to search for their future home. With that, social media and real estate marketing is a match made in heaven for agents. Coupled with their traditional marketing tactics, and overall brand (where both personal and business collide for many agents), social media and their digital presence can be the key for many in real estate — taking the ROR (return on relationship) and turning it into the always important ROI (return on investment).
We’ve had clients and agents reach out to us and ask, “What is the best way to apply social media to my upcoming Open House for this home I’m trying to sell?” The best part of our answer? There are a few different tactics to explore, and there is really no right answers. You just need to test different applications to see (1) what resonates most with your audience, and (2) what works best for your business. We’ve created this guideline to help agents and brokers get the most out of social when gearing up for their big open house!
Social Media Before the Open House
— To begin, you will want to post pictures (obviously). You could also record a video of yourself (or another agent) giving an introduction to the Open House — the address, things of note, your excitement in hosting, etc. That would then go up across each of your platforms. Ideally this work would start a few days to a week prior to the Open House date — you want to ‘prime the pump’ and gather excitement and attention!
— Utilize at least two pictures of the exterior (particularly on a day with good weather).
— As you normally would, capture the essentials of the interior of the house (kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, living room) and any other features that make the house look as appealing as possible
— The most important thing to remember while writing the social posts is to consider who would want to buy the particular house you are selling… What kind of people are you looking to attract? Make sure your marketing – and your message – speak to them.
— Think about the features that would be appealing to your targeted buyers. Is there a gym? A game room? A great outdoor space? Various families will see the positives in this information – don’t leave anything out!
— In the detail of the post (especially on Facebook and Instagram) be sure to TAG the town, the realtor, and any other pertinent third parties.
— Consider bringing on a food truck or caterer. For one, food always puts people in a good mood, and two, if you do end up hiring for food, make sure to mention it on your social media post AND make sure that they mention for agency and the Open House as well! This way, you get three pieces of content — your ‘food’ post, their food post, and your sharing of their food post…and they all kick back to the overall attention on the Open House!
— Of course, be sure to mention the date, time and address of the open house online. Also could add square footage, amount of acres and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms.
— When posting on Facebook, you can choose the option of boosting in which you can choose an array of categories to choose to help attract the right audience and demographic to your house. Think about location and demographic — again, who am I really selling this home to?
Social Media During the Open House
— During the Open House, it is of most importance to promote on social media to show people what they are missing! These are some ways that both the overall agency page – as well as the agent – can show the Open House while it is happening:
- Facebook Live (or even Facebook Stories)
- Instagram Live (or, you guessed it, Instagram Stories)
- Snapchat
— During Facebook Live videos, have people at the Open House ask you questions about the home so you can answer them. You can even ‘Interview’ the sellers/developer. There are any number of other creative ways to ‘script’ some content. From there, you can save the video and then edit and keep the important parts of the video to post online later (which is key!)
Social Media After the Open House
— Take as many pictures as you can with people in the house during the Open House to post online after. These can be a mix of both candid and posed photos.
— Make sure to post the videos after with the highlights of the Open House
— Thank as many people as you can for attending. Remind them to share their experiences where they can (post a review? Leave a message on Facebook?)
— Post a few of the really great questions that people asked to your social media pages as well as the listing page on your website. There is a good chance that others are thinking the same thing: make sure to post your answers along with them.
Whew… it’s a good amount to consider, but know that there is really no wrong way to do this. Simply be as creative as possible and look at best ways to promote brand – and the home – prior, during and after the event. Always be considering ways to make the open house as ‘available’ as you can on social.
