THE ULTIMATE HOME SELLERS GUIDE PRESENTS:
what does it take to sell a house
(it might surprise you)Selling a house in the current real estate market has kept up with modern trends, and what I mean by that is the visual marketing that captures your everyday life. It’s easy to think that all you have to do is call your realtor and tell her to just “throw it on the market.” How hard could it possibly be right?
pictures
These are the first and foremost of every home sale. Nothing will attract a potential buyer more than clear vivid photos. So for this, I will always recommend getting a professional photographer in to get pictures. Cell phones are great but they were not designed with professional interior photography in mind. Little pro-tip, the best photos are always the ones with the cleanest houses.
videos
Videos have made their way into all of our lives through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and so on. Videos are a great tool to be used as marketing material or as a “walk through” tour. There’s many ways to shoot these types of videos and there probably isn’t one best way to do it, but just having one can open potential buyers to the idea of living in your house.
360-degree cameras
This is the newest and possibly the coolest way to tour a house now. 360-degree cameras have brought a whole new experience to the home buying process. From you laptop or mobile device you can “walk” from room to room, turn around, look up and down, left and right, a full 360-degrees. Photos and videos are great but sometimes you want a little more in-depth of the tour and a 360-degree virtual tour can do that for you.
open house signs
The good ole open house sign, still the home seller’s best friend. Personally, I don’t think you can ever have too many open house signs. I even take it a step further and think there is no bad time to put out an open house sign. If I’m hosting an open house on Saturday and/or Sunday my signs (many many of them) hit the streets on Friday morning and do not get collected until Sunday evening. If you do an open house sign right there’s no way it can be avoided. You put these on every important corner or high traffic doorstep in the neighborhood. If you’re having an open house, this is the very best way to attract attention.
social media
You already took all the photos and promotion videos, you might as well put it out there for everyone to see. Social media is a cheap and easy attention grab. It’s not only a great way to promote your listing but an even better way to say you’re having an open house. The great part about social media versus mailers and open house signs is that you can attach a clickable link to a landing page for your very own home. Which is a great time to mentions…
landing pages
If you don’t know, now you know. Landing pages are all about your property. It says a lot when someone visits your very own landing page because what they are really telling you is that the only home they are interested in is yours. Landing pages focus on 1 specific property and are there for one specific reason, to market your home. This page is all about you.
Love it or hate it google advertising is here to stay. What Google can do for your home is reach out to people who didn’t even know they were looking for you. Say someone goes to Google and types in “Chicago homes for sale” and what pops up but your house for sale. All they have to do from here is click on the link that takes them to, you guess it, your landing page.
mailers
This is an old-school advertising technique right here. Mailers are a very hit or miss thing, you need to have an agent that knows how to market them properly and timing is key as well. People still have to get their mail, so a property advertised a postcard saying your having an open house and be a big deal if it hits the right person’s mailbox at the right time.
Email like snail mail is a part of our everyday lives. The good part about email it is significantly cheaper than snail mail, it’s free! A well-placed email in a few hundred dozen mailboxes can stir up the right amount or attention. Whether it be from an email blast or an open house alert email is a great way to get in front of potential home buyers.
Syndicate it
If you’re already working with a Realtor then you are covered, but if your not then you need to get online quickly. By syndicating your listing to places like chicagodoorstep, Zillow, Redfin, etc you are also advertising your open house date(s) and hours. Once this is submitted to these websites an Open house alert gets sent to anyone signed up to receive updates. By sending your listing to these sites your advertising on the main page, open house page, app notifications, and email blasts. Besides, where else are all these photos, videos, and 3D tours going to go?
