The end of summer is one of the best times of the year to reevaluate your content strategy with the best months of the year just around the corner. If you think about it, it’s really an advertiser’s dream. Back to school is in full swing, then we start the transition to all things fall and pumpkin spice related, and before you know it it’s 1-2-3 Halloween, Thanksgiving, and winter holidays. By taking advantage of the splendors of the season, you have a built-in content strategy ready to make your business social sites a thriving (and fun) place of engagement. Think of this as a play-by-play or tutorial for what and how to post for the rest of the year, as well as what to look forward to each month to help you close out 2017 as strong as ever.
September
Ahhhh September. The air starts to get cooler, it gets darker just a little earlier every day, school is back, and football season is kicking off. All of these things help carry your content strategy through September. Utilize this month to shine a local spotlight on your local high school teams or even pee-wee leagues. Share content on your social channels spotlighting local athletes in certain high schools to help advance their athletic careers to college and beyond. Remember, your business’ social media sites shouldn’t be all about marketing listings; brief status updates that take time to honor the great communities you serve show that you care.
With all the fun football talk aside, a real-estate-centric holiday is National Good Neighbor Day on September 28. Dedicate this day of your content to celebrating just that. Share business success stories of past clients who absolutely love where they live, the sense of community, and the neighbors they were lucky to inherit. Sure, it will take a bit of legwork, but to prospective clients, it will be huge knowing that you can help them find both their dream home and a great community for their families to call home.
October
October. Everyone’s favorite month. It really should be renamed to Pumpkin Spice Month. But October is so much more than delicious lattes; it’s a great time to let your local flare shine. There are so many events and fundraisers happening that your content essentially writes itself. October is also widely known as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and this could be a great opportunity to showcase what you or your office are doing to help support this great cause. Whether you are pulling together a team to run in a race to find the cure, or eating a lot of yogurt and saving the lids, post about it.
You can also utilize October to educate your online audience about the fall real estate market such as, what it takes to help get your home sold in 2018 (besides working with you!), or even curb appeal best practices. With so much changing, October is a great time to start forecasting ideas about the 2018 markets and what’s in store. Everyone loves a good mystery, especially during Halloween!
Also, we can’t talk about October without discussing an all-time fun holiday, Halloween. Halloween may not be for everyone, but there can still be an aspect of good-hearted fun associated with your content. Post events in the community about trunk or treat events and Fall carnivals. This is your chance to assert yourself as the expert who knows what’s happening in your community.
November
November is where you can really take your charitable awareness to a new level to start inspiring members of your online community to plan holiday giving. After all, many charitable agencies need physical and monetary donations to be complete by the second week of December, so now is the time to start planting that seed and creating awareness around charitable agencies’ needs.
Another great strategy for November is to share how thankful you are for your community. Use this month to highlight the great vendors you work with to make each real estate transaction a success. From your home inspectors and preferred lenders, to your painters, everyone deserves a place at the table in your November content strategy.
December
December in real estate is a tricky thing, isn’t it? On one hand, no one wants to list their home during the holidays and try to uproot their families during a season synonymous with home. On the other hand, buyers are scrambling to find and close on a home before the holidays. Allow your content strategy to speak to both spectrums of this business. Seek out content geared towards sellers to help motivate them to start preparing their homes to sell at the beginning of 2018, while also publishing content to help put stressed out buyers at ease during a frantic house hunt!
Also take time this holiday season to talk about past business successes. Get testimonials from past clients about how happy they are to be in their home for the holidays and what their home means to them. Creating a mini-series about this is impactful and again, shows your prospective clients how you go above and beyond for your customers season after season.
Don’t forget it is the holidays, be in the know and spread good tidings and cheer. Posting about light shows, special concerts, and opportunities for folks to give back to the community is one of your safest bets for the holiday season, and will generate great engagement in the form of likes, comments, and shares from your online community!
So there you have it—your complete content strategy road map for the remainder of 2017. If you’re looking to rebrand or are trying to take your social media strategy more seriously, now is the time. If you’re currently feeling overwhelmed by the social media landscape, and need a partner to help you navigate it, Homes.com is here to help with our friendly social media account management team. Or call us at 866-236-0313 to learn more about our Social Media services.
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