Creating a Complete Holiday Marketing Plan for Realtors

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For many agents, the holidays are a time of year when they purposefully reach out to the sphere and engage. For some, it might be a "seasons greetings" card in the mail. Others do pop-bys with pumpkin pies. While I'm all for proactively focusing on your marketing, a card in the mail or a one-off idea just isn't enough.

And while we're busy getting into the holiday spirit, it can be easy to forget that we're also in Q4. This is your last chance to reach your goals, and this is when you'll start creating momentum for the new year. You need a complete strategy that will engage your sphere and attract new home buyers and sellers. So, in today's episode, I'm sharing where you should focus when creating a complete holiday marketing plan for Realtors!

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It's no surprise that holiday marketing for real estate is one of my favorite times of year. This is when people take special notice of the role their home plays in their memories and life. Whether it's carving pumpkins on the kitchen counter or hosting holiday parties, it all centers around home. Drive down my street and you'll see all my neighbors, including myself, have decked out our front porches and will continue to change it up as fall becomes winter. And the holiday spirit doesn't end at home. This is the time of festivals and a special highlight on local shopping and dining.

As a Realtor, this is your time to leverage the extra focus on home & community! Holiday content engages your sphere and the people you want to stay in touch with. It also shows off what makes your local area a great place to live this time of year.

However, many agents miss out on strategic marketing to generate new business during this time of the year. Your holiday marketing should still work to attract new home buyers and sellers and brand you in real estate. To accomplish this, you need a well-rounded marketing strategy. You can't expect one action, like a card in the mail, to launch your business and lead to sustained growth.

Your business and marketing deserve more! So here are three areas to focus on this holiday season:

1) Double-Down On Your Social Media Strategy 

Now is not the time to post generic "Happy Holidays" posts that everyone else is sharing. Everyone (in & out of real estate) is sharing content like this, and it doesn't do anything to make you stand out and truly engage your sphere and potential customers. Instead, I want you to be focused on sharing a variety of content that engages, brands you locally, and is geared towards your ideal customer. Posts that highlight the season at home are wonderful for continuing to stay top of mind.

However, we're also in a real estate market where people have questions and concerns. Don't shy away from being a trusted source of info when it comes to real estate. Because if somebody has a real estate need and they see you authentically sharing content that helps, they'll be more inclined to reach out to you! And it doesn't have to be stuffy or boring - keep it interesting by leveraging short-form videos like Instagram Reels.

This is exactly what we're doing inside The Marketing Suite. Our members' posts have variety! Some are purely meant to get engagement and might be about seasonal home decor. Other posts address concerns and are backed by local market data, like "Is the hot real estate marketing cooling off?" It's a mixture of scroll-stopping images, carousels, personalized graphics, and short-form video, and I suggest you do the same!

If you want a complete social media plan for the holidays and beyond, join The Marketing Suite! Inside you'll get daily posts, ready-to-share Instagram Reels, and a strategy for success.

{Learn more and Join The Marketing Suite}
& use code JOIN25 for 25% off your first month of the membership

2) Strengthen Relationships with Email Marketing

As much as I find value in social media marketing, I don't want you to forget about email marketing. Email is a direct connection to the people who you want to engage. Whether it's past customers, friends and family, or even new leads, email sparks conversations while keeping you top of mind.

However, a basic email blast that says "Happy Thanksgiving" or "Happy Holidays" isn't going to do much for your marketing. It's going to look like you didn't put a lot of time or thought into it, and it will end up in the delete folder among the rest of their junk email. We want people to feel special and that you care about them. And to do this, you need to include the right type of content in your email.

I'd recommend you check out Episode 101 where I cover exactly what type of content you include in a monthly newsletter. To be most effective, your email should be jam-packed with info that's worth reading and not deleting! So, think about what content you can include that not only ties into the holidays in your local area but also brands you in real estate. A mixture that focuses on your community, HGTV-style content, and local real estate is sure to be a winner!

Email can be a personal form of marketing that works to strengthen relationships. In fact, my number one email metric to determine success is if people simply respond back! That's how you begin conversations that can lead to future opportunities.

Now, if you want a shortcut to email marketing that works, take advantage of our templates in The Marketing Suite! Each month, your content is done for you and designed to engage. Plus, we make it easy to personalize for your branding and local market.

{Learn more and Join The Marketing Suite}
& use code JOIN25 for 25% off your first month of the membership

3) Try In-person Marketing & Enhance with a Digital Plan 

Don't forget about the marketing strategies that pre-date social, because they can still work! Get out there and deliver seasonal pop-bys, host customer appreciation parties, and pick up the phone to talk to somebody you haven't spoken to in a while.

There's nothing that replaces a true face-to-face conversation! However, I'd recommend that if you make any in-person marketing efforts, you further promote it with a digital marketing plan.

For example, if you're delivering pies to past customers, make sure you're promoting your efforts on social as well! You can build excitement by announcing that you'll be delivering the pies and asking if people want one. You could go behind the scenes in Instagram Stories, and share you getting it all ready to go. Then, when you make your deliveries, share posts and create Reels and short-form videos highlighting your drop-off day. Finally, don't forget to include your in-person activity in your email marketing! You can invite people to participate leading up to the event. Then in the next email, share a recap.

Get more out of your in-person marketing by incorporating it into your digital strategy! 

BONUS* Start Your New Year Marketing Plan 

While you're working on your holiday marketing strategy for real estate, I don't want you to lose focus of the new year. Now's the time to start working on your 2023 marketing plan and get into good habits.

If you want to break into a new market or take action on a new strategy, there's no reason why you can't start planning or even trying it out now!

In fact, I'm hosting a 2023 Marketing Planning Session in November in The Marketing Suite to help agents do just that! Inside you'll learn how to create a marketing plan that supports your business goals and exactly what you should be focused on. So, if you'd like to attend this live session, be sure to join The Marketing Suite!

Inside you'll get daily social posts (designed for the holidays and beyond), a monthly training and strategy to level up with, live coaching sessions to tackle your unique challenges, complete email newsletters (that don't need tedious copy and pasting), and pro support along the way.

So click here to learn more and join The Marketing Suite!
& use code JOIN25 for 25% off your first month of the membership

And to recap this episode, take time this holiday season to be smarter and more purposeful with your marketing. Don't waste this valuable time to make connections and to grow your business with generic content and basic strategies. Show up on social, take advantage of email marketing, and tie your in-person marketing back to digital. If you do this, you'll reach more potential customers this holiday season while building a brand you can be proud of.

Looking for more? Don't miss these top related episodes:

• Six Real Estate Content Ideas for the Holidays

• Realtor Newsletters 101: Engaging Your Sphere & Leads with Email

• How to Engage your Realtor Sphere with Social Media Marketing

Plus, here are some featured resources you might enjoy!

• Monthly Social Media Calendar + Content {& Holiday Content} in The Marketing Suite

• Monthly Email Marketing Templates in The Marketing

• Monthly Training Events in The Marketing Suite

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I’m Heather Colby, host of the “Ideas for Real Estate Podcast.”

If you like what you read here today, I’d encourage you to take a listen to the episodes. :