Even for veterans of the real estate business, an open house can appear dreadful. Home buyers often seem to have difficulty getting out of their own homes during viewings, often wary of inviting strangers into their homes and wanting to gauge interest for themselves. Realtors have it the hardest: trying to get the sellers out and get the potential buyers in can feel like herding cats.

Realtors looking for the best way to entice home buyers must convince sellers that event marketing is the way to go. Event marketing is a gathering that creates engagement with all of the interested parties: clients, potential clients, and home buyers. The idea behind event marketing is to create a gathering that is fun, informative, buzz-worthy, fun, philanthropic (perhaps), and fun.

Event Ideas

There should be a clear value for all of the attendees of your event, apart from selling houses. Event marketing takes many forms: cocktail parties, wine tastings, bowling nights, concerts, etc. Any activity that promotes both conversation and camaraderie fits the bill – anything that doesn’t force your guests to talk about the home all night, that is.

When planning your event, consider what your guests would highly enjoy. Consider the different trends that people are getting into. Maybe you have a great deal of women as clients: a Fashion Swap party might be the right choice for your event. Know of a local band that everyone loves to watch? Invite them to your event to boost the number of attendees.

A great idea when planning your event is to hold it at a local shop or restaurant. For one, you take the pressure off your guests by taking the event out of the home. Fitness centers and boutiques are terrific partners for event marketing because it allows them to showcase their space in addition to the goods and services they offer.

Finally, consider highlighting a greater cause as the centerpiece of your event. By partnering with a charity for awareness or hosting a fundraiser, you show your interest goes beyond the sale of a home. Socially-conscious events are quite popular and are likely to draw in some eager attendees.

Promoting the Event

When finalizing the event, make sure to reach out to your guests through typical marketing channels like social media and email. But don’t overlook the value of an invite sent through the text messaging! And on the day of the event itself, make sure to take plenty of photos and video to post on your social media channels, as well as for use in your future marketing materials.

Wrap Up

Honestly, open houses have their place in the real estate business. There’s no substitute for getting several potential home buyers under one roof to promote a sale. The pressure of such a setting, however, is a turn-off for many buyers (and sellers!), so give event marketing a try for your business. Take advantage of a little diversion with an appropriate event for your realty business, and see how your client list grows.