5 ideas to kick-start your marketing this spring

It can be easy to fall into the habit of using the same old marketing strategies month after month. But when it comes to the busiest time of year in the property market you cannot afford to become complacent with your marketing efforts, as you run the risk of missing out on lots of extra business.

Here are five fresh ideas that’ll kick-start your marketing this spring selling season.  

Seasonal competitions

Competitions are a great way to re-engage and reward your database and social media followers during spring. Competitions are a good opportunity to get creative and have fun interacting with people through your marketing.

Kudos to O’Brien Real Estate Chelsea for their inventive Father’s Day Competition (image below) where sharing your best dad joke was part of the entry requirements on social media.

Other seasonal competitions could involve an AFL grand final double pass, spring garden photography contest, Oktoberfest, family passes to the Royal Melbourne Show, Movember fundraising, spring cleaning product bundles, the sky’s the limit!

Letterbox drops

In the age of digital marketing, direct mail can seem old-fashioned, but I believe it is one of the most effective ways for agents to communicate with potential sellers.

Letterbox drop a market report flyer or postcard outlining the 12-month growth in unit and house prices, record sales, recent sales and upcoming auctions in the area. This data might just be the push someone sitting on the fence about selling needs to take action and contact you for an appraisal.

Alternatively, letterbox drop a magnetic monthly calendar of upcoming local events this spring. This is something people will hold onto, especially mums and dads who are always in need of school holiday activities. Don’t forget to include a call to action down the bottom!

New social strategy

Seeing as 83 per cent of Australian millennials intend to buy a home in the next five years it’s important to explore new ways to reach and connect with this burgeoning audience of buyers and sellers.

Get in the habit of posting personalised video property tours of your listings to Snapchat. Consider live streaming auctions to Facebook. Create Instagram TV customer testimonial videos and post Instagram stories linking to your blogs, behind the scenes pics at the office and listing sneak peeks. All these ideas will allow you to connect with your audience on several platforms more frequently on a more personal level.

How to become an Instagram caption pro

Content is key

‘Tis the season where more people are buying, selling and seeking real estate advice online than any other time of year. Therefore, September through November is the best time to ramp up your online content production and promotion.

Start drafting a number of resources to share weekly with your email database and put bit of paid promotion behind on social media to grow your following.

Potential blog ideas-

• 18 reasons to sell your home in spring 2018

• Home staging checklist for a springtime sale

• Essential spring cleaning tips for vendors

• 8 things to do this school holidays in [your suburb]

• The best value-add renos before selling in [your suburb]

• [Your suburb] house prices & property trend report

Give back

A great way to raise your profile around the neighbourhood, at the same as doing something altruistic for the local community, is to give back this spring. Run a fundraiser for a worthy cause, sponsor a community event or sports club, hold a free first home buyer seminar or get involved in volunteering at the RSL or a charity shop.

For example, McGrath Croydon has an innovative fundraising idea (see image below) giving a vendor the chance to donate the commision from the sale of their home to the local footy club.

Joining events and fundraising for causes close to your heart will help locals get to know you and illustrate that your business truly cares for the community it services. This will make locals much more amenable to future marketing messages and knowledgeable about the go-to real estate brand when it comes time to sell.

Hopefully these ideas inspire you to try something new and creative for your marketing campaigns this spring. For more ways to get ahead take a look at our guide to effectively prep vendors for a spring sale.