There are many real estate agents who treat the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day like an extended holiday. Sure, it’s a slower time, but it offers rich opportunities to grow your business now and in the months ahead. This makes Thanksgiving and real estate a match as perfect as turkey and stuffing. Here are some Happy Thanksgiving real estate marketing ideas to help you refill your pipeline after the busy summer rush.
Benefits of Thanksgiving Marketing
Before delving into strategies, consider some of the benefits of doubling down on your Thanksgiving real estate marketing:
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Less competition:
Those agents who scale back their marketing during the holidays leave a gap that you can readily fill. By maintaining a presence, you’ll stand out in a less crowded market.
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Referrals and repeat business:
Holiday gatherings often spark conversations about life changes, including moving plans. Encourage referrals by sending holiday-themed marketing materials or gifts that make it easy for clients to pass along your contact information.
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End-of-year homebuyers:
Some buyers are motivated to purchase a home before the end of the year to take advantage of tax benefits or meet financial goals. Thanksgiving marketing will capture their attention and make clients jump to work with you in their eagerness to close.
So before the gravy gets cold, check out these 12 Thanksgiving real estate marketing ideas to kick-start your holiday season!
1. Throw a Fall Firepit Event
Who doesn’t enjoy a good campfire? Hosting a fireside chat is a great way to get people together in a comfortable and fun setting to discuss their fears about the homebuying and selling process and answer their questions. Consider doing separate events for homebuyers and sellers to facilitate deeper conversations with each. Bring takeaway materials for your guests to help reinforce your message after the event. And don’t forget to bring fixings for s’mores!
2. Use Festive Door Hangers
If you want to boost your visibility on your farm, there’s almost no easier way to connect with tons of people in a short time than with door hangers featuring your business card or contact info. Create some fall-themed ones with Canva, or order them preprinted. Include a fun recipe on the backside or share some great insight for homeowners interested in selling soon. Either way, your farm will love them.
3. Send Postcards Featuring Holiday Recipes
For those who could use some inspiration for the Thanksgiving holiday meal or simply want to shake it up a bit this year, help them by mailing postcards featuring festive recipes. Choose ones that reflect your personality or taste and send them to your sphere, farm, or both. You might even send one every one or two weeks leading up to the holiday, helping to plan the entire dinner! Every real estate marketing company offers them, including PostcardMania, ReminderMedia, and ProspectsPLUS!
4. Offer Free Thanksgiving Pies
Partner with a local bakery to organize a pie giveaway. Set up a coffee station to encourage people to stay for a moment, giving you the chance to wish them Happy Holidays and direct them to your laptops, where they can easily leave reviews on Google and Facebook. This simple gesture taps into people’s sense of reciprocity, making it easy for them to show appreciation.
5. Design a Thanksgiving-themed Contest With a Grocery Giveaway
Conduct a “guess the amount” contest at any holiday vendor event that puts you in front of your community. After all, everyone loves a good guessing game, and with this one, the winner walks away with a $100 grocery gift card to help fund their holiday dinner. Here are the steps:
- Step 1: Fill a large, clear jar with any item small enough to fit a large quantity, such as candy corn, miniature chocolate turkeys, or holiday ornaments.
- Step 2: Encourage people walking by to enter by filling out a form with their contact information along with their guess.
- Step 3: Don’t miss the opportunity to chat—ask contestants about their neighborhood and see if you can uncover some questions they may have about the market.
6. Host a Gobble-up Open House
Get creative with your open houses with a happy Thanksgiving real estate style! Use fall decorations like pumpkins and colorful leaves, and serve seasonally-inspired hors d’oeuvre and drinks. If you want to go all out, get together with other agents and plan a multicourse meal spread out over several homes.
For example, serve a salad at the first house on the tour, an entrée at the second, and dessert at the third, and give away door prizes at each one. Even for a solo event, an enticement like a $100 Amazon gift card could help get people through the door, where they’re sure to be wowed by the seasonal excitement.
7. Coordinate a Cooking Demonstration
I’m not the cook in my family (hard-boiled eggs are a challenge), which is why I love the idea of partnering with someone who is and hosting a small cooking class to teach people how to make a classic Thanksgiving dish. You don’t have to go crazy—pick one dish, like dessert, and go from there.
A classic pecan or pumpkin pie is an easy choice, or go with a must-have side dish (it’s all about the sides) such as baked macaroni and cheese, candied yams, green bean casserole, or cornbread stuffing. It’s a great opportunity to create conversations about real estate while working together to achieve your cooking goals.
8. Organize a Food Drive
Put together a food drive to gather donations from your community. My brother, the founder and team lead of Acree Brothers Realty Team in Lynchburg, Virginia, promotes his drive using postcards, social media, and local church bulletins, and each year he gets a tremendous outpouring of support and his brand racks up tons of goodwill.
Pro Tip: If you want to help a specific group (e.g., homeless veterans, elderly in assisted living, military families of deployed members), contact organizations in your area to learn about specific needs.
9. Invite the Community to Serve
Being grateful for what we have is the theme of Thanksgiving, and helping those who are less fortunate can remind us of that. Invite your sphere to help you and your team serve a Thanksgiving meal at a shelter, church, or other location, providing a hot holiday meal and compassion to those in need.
Shannon Gillette, a Top 12 agent in Phoenix, Arizona, does something similar at Christmas. She invites her community to be personal shoppers for foster children. It generates a ton of goodwill, and everyone feels great, resulting in a win-win for all. You can hear her describe the event during a Stay Paid podcast interview.
10. Organize a Thanksgiving Fun Run
Encourage clients to burn a few calories before their big meal with a 5k run. Many neighborhoods hold Turkey Trots and similar events on Thanksgiving morning, with proceeds typically going to local nonprofits. Build a team of real estate clients to tackle a Thanksgiving jog together, and if you have a team of agents, have them join in too. You might even include a mini-run for the kids led by an enthusiastic volunteer in a turkey costume to capture tons of endearing photos to post to your social media page.
11. Support a Turkey Bowl
In many communities, people gather on or around Thanksgiving to watch football games between rival high schools. These games are known as Turkey Bowls. If there’s one in your area, find out what you can do to contribute. If the event requires some kind of financial backing, find out if you can be a sponsor and get your brand image on a banner or program. Are there refreshments being sold? If not, offer to provide refreshments for free. Also hand out useful promotional items like drink koozies.
12. Plan a Holiday Craft Workshop
While I’m a good musician, I have zero talent when it comes to crafting—glue and glitter are just not my thing. But if you can’t get enough, teach a workshop on how to do a project like holiday wreaths, ornaments, home decor, knitting, or crocheting. (Or if you’re like me, find someone crafty to take the reins). Should you need inspiration, Pinterest is filled with ideas you can borrow. Broadcast your workshop across your multiple marketing channels, and specify if you’re providing the supplies or if they will need to bring their own.
Best Practices for Thanksgiving Real Estate Marketing
It’s great to have fun, but don’t forget that these are Thanksgiving real estate marketing ideas. To optimize their lead-generating power, follow these best practices:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the slowest month of the year for real estate?
The real estate market really starts slowing down in November and December but hits its slowest point in January. With the holidays and not many people desiring a move in the cold months, this three- to four-month window is typically slow. It begins to pick up in March as people start thinking about buying and selling. However, real estate agents should use the slow months to get new listings since there will be less housing competition and they can get their sellers a better price.
What should a realtor write on a Thanksgiving card?
Since Thanksgiving is all about showing gratitude and appreciation, realtors should send out Thanksgiving cards expressing their appreciation for their clients, friends, and family. Consider your real estate words carefully and make it personal. A handwritten note and signature are better than something that appears typed and generic.
What is the best thank you message for real estate clients?
Action often speaks louder than words, so the best thank you message is one that can be delivered in person or over the phone. Recall the last time someone thanked you to your face. How did it make you feel? Add a personal touch by bringing a pop-by gift to your face-to-face gratitude meeting.
Your Take
These are just a few of the many Thanksgiving real estate ideas you can use right now to market your business. Try any of them to tap into the generosity and festive nature of the season and connect with your sphere.
If you have a unique and fun holiday marketing tactic you’ve tried in the past or are planning on doing this year, other agents would love to hear about them, so add them in the comment section below!