The Art of the Open House

The open house is a long-standing real estate tradition. While agents are divided on its usefulness in closing a home in and of itself, there’s no doubt that more visibility for a home is always of benefit. The more awareness that a home is on the market, the higher its likelihood to sell. Open houses are also a great way to create buyer and seller leads. Even if attendees aren’t ready to work with you just yet, getting some face time and seeing how you market a property means they’ll be more likely to remember you in the future.

In order to have the most success with an open house, early promotion is crucial. People won’t show up if they don’t know about the event, and online marketing is a great way to get the word out -- especially because today’s buyer tends to do their homework before committing. 45% of brick-and-mortar buyers read reviews before making a purchase. The more info you’re able to provide attendees before they show up, the more informed and comfortable they’ll feel to ask additional questions.

For the most impact, combine online strategies with offline marketing to create multiple opportunities to connect with potential buyers and sellers. It’s a good idea to create a standard open house “marketing checklist” that you can refer back to every time you’re hosting an event. Here’s a list to jump start your planning.

• Advertise your open house a week before the event on your agent website, a real estate site like Zillow and your local MLS. Provide high quality photos of the home and add any special features or market information that would be useful to guests.
• Facebook advertising is a great way to reach those who might be interested in your open house. Leading up to the event, advertise to those in your neighborhood that are geographically located near the property. QuantumDigital’s TriggerMarketing Social does all of the work for you, generating geo-targeted Facebook campaigns specifically created for your open house events.
• Real estate postcards serve well in alerting neighbors of properties available for viewing that are located nearby. QuantumDigital’s TriggerMarketing can prepare automatic Open House postcards in seconds, complete with online integration. Through a unique URL featured on the card, prospects are driven to a personalized property page with a free market snapshot. You’ll build trust with research-savvy prospects by providing useful information up front.
• Don’t ignore tried-and-true promotions, like signs. “For sale” as well as “Open House” signs posted a few hours before the event will draw the attention of neighbors.
• Don’t assume you’re finished when your guests walk through the door -- your marketing is just getting started! Give attendees a flyer or brochure when they come in with more details on the home and your contact information.
• If you were able to secure information from a lead, you should initiate personal follow up after the event. Send an email, give them a call, or mail another round of real estate postcards… whatever fits your agent style, as long as you’re keeping up steady contact.

We hope this guide was useful as you’re considering how to market your next open house. It’s important to remember that marketing works best when it’s strategic, and thinking through how you’ll promote an open house before, during and after the event itself will ensure that it’s as successful as can be in attracting new prospects.

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