How to Turn Your Client Appreciation Event Into a Marketing Goldmine
Of course, when you’re hosting a client appreciation party, doing something extra-special for your wonderful clients is the top priority. But there are also some *big* opportunities for creating stellar marketing from your event. And if you’re putting so much energy, time, and money into hosting a fabulous event, why not make the most of it?
Here are my best tips for turning your real estate client appreciation party into a marketing goldmine:
1. Splash your event everywhere beforehand.
The marketing for the event itself needs to be PRIMO. You need to make sure there is something that’s going to make your event irresistible. And you need to splash it everywhere, all the time.
There’s an old marketing rule that says people have to see a message 7x before they’ll take action. You don’t need to take the 7x literally, necessarily—I’m just trying to emphasize that you might need to be very, very persistent in letting people know they are invited.
This is not just to get people to come. You want everyone in your sphere (and people who are not clients yet but might be one day) to see what it’s like to be in your orbit. What it’s like to be part of your community. It also never hurts to stay top of mind!
Even if your event is not going to be shared with the public, there are still plenty of ways to market your event privately. Email + text invites, print mailers, and personal phone calls + texts from you never hurt. Plus, a personal invite is a great “excuse” to have a conversation with someone you haven’t caught up with in awhile.
2. Create a photo-friendly event.
The setting, decor, refreshments, and goodie bags should all be impressive and memorable. You want people to show up and think “wow!”
This is in part because your event needs to look *AMAZING* in photos and videos. Also consider creating a FUN photobooth, and make it unique whether that means props that people get excited about, photos that print on the spot for clients to take home, a 360 photo booth for cool video clips, etc.
Gather all of these photos/videos to post on social media later. Do it for the ‘gram!
3. Hire a professional photographer + videographer for the event.
You want to get as much media as possible from your client appreciation event. Photos of the swanky setting and incredible catered food, photos and videos of your clients having fun, photos of you with your clients together (the most important one!), videos that show you interacting with your clients, activities, etc.
If hiring pros is out of budget for you, then you need to assign one person to get photos + video on their phone. This might be your admin or marketing assistant, or a friend who is happy to help out. Don’t task yourself or a team member with this—you should focus on being present and visiting with clients.
Phone cameras have come a long way, and you can still get the benefits of a great event recap with phone pics/videos!
Tip: Whether you are hiring a pro or getting help from a friend, be sure to have a discussion beforehand about the type of photos you want.
4. Share photos + videos everywhere on social media + online afterwards.
Post your photos on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Share a Reel and your professional horizontal video on all of your socials, too. And make sure you tag as many of the people as possible! This will not only ensure that your party attendees see the pics, but it makes it more likely that they will hit “share,” like, and comment.
You can also create a blog post that is a recap of the event. Give your vendors a shoutout, and include a ton of pics!
If you don’t get photos/video back for awhile, or you simply let a few weeks slip by without posting, that is ok. It is almost never too late to share!
5. Share photos + videos personally with each individual.
This is going to take a lot of time, not gonna lie. But I think it is so worth it. If you have a pic of you with your clients, or a cute pic of just them, etc., email it or text it to your clients with a personal note along with thanking them for coming. You could even consider printing out the photos and mailing it to the folks pictured along with a thoughtful note.
Again, this is a lot of extra work, but remember that your client appreciation party is all about nurturing your sphere and showing your gratitude. Not just checking a box on your marketing plan!
One more thing:
Keep in mind that if you plan to promote/recap your event publicly, you’ll need to make sure that ALL of your past clients are invited.
You don’t want a client to see the event recap splashed all over social media and feel bummed that they weren’t invited. (I’ve seen this happen, and yes people do get bummed out.)
However, if you do a smaller group, I think it’s ok to share a public recap—you don’t have to say it was for clients, just say you got together with a small group of friends.
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I hope these marketing ideas are useful!