When you go to the grocery store, you can predict what the visit will be like because it rarely changes. But when you go to Costco, you have more of an experience. You can pick up free food samples and see new items regularly. You didn’t even know you needed new patio furniture until you saw them displayed at Costco! Open houses aren’t much different than your shopping experience. It’s time to do more for your open house visitors so you and the house for sale won’t soon be forgotten. 

• Do something for the open house you’ve never done before
• Get creative in promoting your open house on social media 
• Invite the neighbors
• Before the open house, set a goal to connect with X number of visitors
• Go into the open house with high energy and a positive attitude

Don’t be vanilla when it comes to marketing your open houses.  

1. Giveaways & Goody Bags

Offer a giveaway at your open house, and you’ll most likely generate more leads. Give away a gift certificate for a massage, six car washes, car detailing, or dinner at a nearby restaurant.  Put together goody bags and give them to each open house guest as they leave (include your business card or house flyer).

• Giveaway gift certificates
• Pińata: whoever breaks it open wins a duct cleaning for a local business
• Goody bags from a local bakery (include your business card or house flyer)
  
  
  

2. Livestream the Open House

Do you want more people to see your open house? In addition to holding an in-person open house, please get permission from the homeowners to present their house live on Facebook. If the homeowner has a great personality, why not include him or her in the live online open house? The homeowners can provide insights on what attracted them to the home in the first place, quality materials used in the kitchen remodel, etc. The homeowners could make the live open house video very entertaining! 

• Viewers can ask questions in real-time on Facebook
• Video can be broken down and shared on Instagram Stories, TikTok, via email
• Include a quick peek of the neighborhood in your open house video

Go above and beyond and DM viewers who ask questions during the Livestream on Facebook. Reach out to commenters through DM and include a unique photo of the house, something they wouldn’t have seen in the Livestream or open house flyer. Your effort to connect with open house social media followers and go live online will increase your chances of engaging with more potential buyers and increasing foot traffic at the in-person open house.

Boost your chance of gaining more clients by direct message (DM) Facebook viewers who comment on your live open house.

3. Stimulate 4 Body Senses

Incorporate all five senses into your open houses, and you’ll provide a more memorable experience for visitors and a possible signed contract. Visually you want to make the home stand out by decluttering and staging it, including professional photos of the house, striking flyers and mailers, and videos. All visual elements can be used across a variety of social media platforms.  

Instead of posting your listing flyer on social media (have you seen how they look on a smartphone?), break it down into 5-6 social media posts to promote the open house. Start by creating a social media graphic highlighting a spectacular room or feature in the house. For example, focus on the main bedroom and ensuite and mention why they’re unique and how you wish you could live there (get personal to engage your audience). Create another social media graphic highlighting the open living space with tall ceilings. Then create a short video of walking from the kitchen into the outdoor living space and pool area. These visual marketing ideas only take a few minutes but increase engagement from social media viewers and the chance of receiving an offer on the house. 

Other senses you can target at your open house include the following:

• Sense of hearing:  a soothing fountain or soft music

• Sense of smell:  bake cookies or boil water with cinnamon & cloves

• Sense of feeling (kinesthetic):  a fire in the fireplace

4. Ask the Right Questions to Get to Know Open House Visitors

Getting to know open house visitors is an obvious tip, but there are ways to engage that will bring you closer to a transaction.  Welcoming visitors to the open house, introducing yourself, and asking them to let you know if they have any questions are all part of an in-person open house.  Going beyond those questions is when you start pushing your open house success to a new level.  

Go beyond the digital sign-in sheet and start talking with your visitors.  Set a goal before the open house.  “I want to connect with and get contact information from a minimum of 15 people.”  Goals like this and projecting high energy will increase your chances of getting an offer on the house.

Make a game out of getting to know the wants and needs of your open house visitors.  Be straightforward with guests by asking open-ended questions like what they like and dislike about the house.  Ask them about other properties they’ve looked at.  Ask if any of their friends purchased a home recently (you could have been the agent.  Instant connection!).  The house you’re representing may not be the house for them, but you may have another house that is a good fit.  Mention more fitting houses to them and then ask for their contact information so you can send them more information.  Being strategic about the questions you ask open house guests will give you more of an opportunity to set up a follow-up appointment that could lead to a transaction.

Conclusion

Finding ways to engage with more home buyers starts with an open house and creative marketing.  Show off your personality in videos, add personal comments to graphics, and add a wow factor to your open house.  Record a walkthrough of the house and post it on social media.  Go live on Facebook and ask for feedback from the viewers.  Be strategic when you question in-person open house visitors.  Your open house creativity will help connect with more home buyers and grow your sales funnel.

As you generate real estate leads from your open houses, refer to our comprehensive lead nurturing guide to slide them into your sales funnel: