Tis the season for giving, both gifts and back to causes that matter, for celebration and sharing a little extra joy.
While many may think this is also the time of year for businesses, particularly real estate, to slow down, it doesn’t have to be. Keep the marketing fires stoked with a little extra holiday effort. No matter what the winter holiday being celebrated, now is the time to tap into the holiday spirit to showcase the unique benefits and community created at your multifamily property.
Joining in the holiday cheer will not only serve as a welcome tactic to draw in prospective residents, it can also endear the community staff even more to the current residents. A great way to make that happen is by creating fun holiday-themed videos. Creating videos this time of year is a fantastic way to showcase your community, the leasing team and staff, and even showcase residents or holiday events. These videos can be shared on social media, sent via email, posted on your website, or really anywhere.
We’ll even give you a head start. Check out the below ideas for some festive, fun and impactful holiday video ideas that you can use to showcase your multifamily property and ring in the holidays and the New Year with some added cheer.
Winter How Tos
You may roll your eyes at this first one and, sure, it may not be the MOST festive on the list, but it IS one of the more impactful. Cold winter months, decorating mishaps, fire hazards with lights or space heaters…the risks involved with winter weather at your community can go on and on. Create a short video, or series of videos, to show how to combat these risks or the elements. For example, how to properly use space heaters, how to prepare your pipes to not freeze, or how to safely decorate for the holidays and, of course, have a few resources at the end if residents need to reach out or have questions. Keep it light, fun, and informative, and hopefully make your holidays drama free for once.
Year in Review
Has it been a big year? Of course! Looking back on the year can bring all sorts of warm and fuzzy memories, and there are always things to celebrate. If you’ve been on your video game throughout the year, take clips from other videos you have created for resident events or parties, add some additional footage reflecting on the year, and talk through what you’re excited about for next year. Don’t forget to mention your residents and thank them for making your community what it is. This is a great type of video to promote on social media to promote your community and all of the great things you do to prospective residents that may stumble upon it!
Live / Recorded Contest Videos
A great way to guarantee some joy and participation in an event is by making it a contest and offering a prize at the end. For example, a cookie decorating contest would be a really fun video to share. Or, have residents decorate their door for the holidays and announce the winner through a live video. Having some sort of competition culminate with one live event for people to partake in is a great way to bring people together, whether in person or via live video. People will absolutely tune in to a live video stream to see who wins — and the winner will be surprised as well.
A Video Holiday Card
Holiday cards can be expensive to purchase or make, and if we’re being honest, they’ll likely be tossed alongside leftover holiday treats. If you want to do something special for your residents or social media followers, but don’t want to spend a lot of time or money on it, create a video holiday card! It is an inexpensive, fun way to wish residents a happy holiday, but also have more fun with the message. You can give them a little more insight into who the staff is, how each staff member celebrates their holidays, what they are hopeful for in the new year, etc. Make it personal and people will connect with that. These videos are perfect to then share on social media or on your website as well after sending to residents. It’s a great way to celebrate with everyone, again, help prospective residents connect with your team and community from afar.
Charitable Activities or Gift Drives
This time of year is most certainly the time for giving. Are there organizations that are important to you, your team, your residents or the community at large? Join together as a team and community to give back to a cause, whether that’s collecting gifts or money, or having a toy or coat drive, or adopting a family. Offering a volunteer opportunity and bringing your community together is a great way to create community and holiday cheer this time of your. While doing that, create a video that captures the community spirit and generosity, interview residents about why they are participating, and create a video that can document the memories being had forever. Once again, posting a video like that on social media is an incredible way to showcase your community, what you all stand for, and give prospective residents a great look / feel into what it’d be like to live there.
Today’s renters want to know the real story. They want to know more about a community outside of simply looking at a demo unit online. They want to see the exact unit they could be living in, but also want to know you and your team, want visibility into what it’d be like to live there, insight into what current residents think, and want to be able to picture themselves there. All typically from their smartphone, tablet or computer. There’s no better way to showcase that than having fun this time of year with the festive, holiday videos mentioned above. It’s real, it’s fun and it will bring your community together while also sharing something valuable with those prospective residents watching you online.
Want to get started with video? We’re here to help!
Until next time…keep it real!
