Real Estate Promotional Items & Giveaway Ideas

What is the most exciting thing in the world as a real estate agent? Hint: it’s not closing a deal.

What about having a steady influx of qualified leads?

Sounds like the ultimate dream, right? Clients are oxygen for your real estate business. Therefore, it’s important to find effective ways to reach new audiences and introduce them to your real estate services.

Other real estate agents are generating leads by running online ads, sending out newsletters and building up their online presence… just like you! You don’t want to be like every other real estate agent, so what can you do to stand out?

Posting on social media, sharing educational information and promoting your listings are tried and true marketing strategies. However, to reach beyond your existing network you’ll need to do something that stands out.

It’s no secret that real estate is a saturated and competitive industry (some cities more than others). You want to differentiate yourself from other agents, but you’re struggling to expand your reach and engage with new audiences.

This is where giveaways come in handy! An old industry staple that’s making a comeback.

Why Giveaways Work

They help spread the word

Real estate promotional items are a great way to advertise your business for months or years. Take a look around you – how many items in your vicinity are branded? For the sake of this point, hopefully it’s a lot!

Giveaway items are another form of “word of mouth” publicity. People carry around items like tote bags and travel mugs on a daily basis, so their friends, colleagues, and even strangers they pass on the street will see your name and become familiar with it.

They create community relationships

Real estate giveaways present a great opportunity to work with other businesses by creating a complete prize package. Cultivate relationships with the local businesses vs a one-off request; together you can work to promote each other’s businesses in the neighborhood.

They boost motivation for referrals

Loyal clients will undoubtedly share their experience working with you if someone asks about the logo on their mug. Strengthen existing client relationships by giving them an advantage, such as extra entries into a giveaway.

Best Promotional Items For Realtors 

Real estate open house gift ideas

Who doesn’t love free prizes? Build excitement for your open house by advertising a raffle item and share details through your paid ads or organic promotion on your social channels.

Visitors don’t need to purchase raffle tickets as they would a traditional raffle, but instead can be entered automatically when they arrive. Be sure to have raffle tickets on hand so they can leave their contact information (bam! That’s a new lead). Let them know the winner will be contacted by phone or email once the open house has ended.

Expensive gifts, such as spa packages or concert tickets, are always a success and are sure to get tons of entries but they’re, well, expensive and can add up if you have multiple open houses. That being said, they are sure to generate buzz and the winner will surely brag to their friends about where they got such an awesome prize.

Here are some ideas if you’re looking for big ticket items:

Smart home devices

The demand for smart devices has grown substantially in recent years. Give your raffle ticket holders the opportunity to get connected with a collection of smart home devices to make their everyday routines a little bit easier and smarter.

Home services

Let’s be honest, how many people enjoy fixing a problem in their home? Answer: very few. Help solve this by giving away home services as raffle prizes, such as window cleanings, landscaping, repainting, or fixing electrical and plumbing problems.

Weekend trips

Even if it’s just for one or two nights at a nearby hotel, a little R&R is always a welcome break from the grind. Throw in a spa treatment, a bottle of bubbly or theater tickets to make it a weekend to remember.

If it’s not in the budget to do a large giveaway, no sweat! Customized promotional items can help make a good impression, keep your name in front of clients, as well as reach new customers. Here are some ideas:

Tote bags

People can use them at the grocery store, commuting to work, and while running errands. This all adds up to quality and repeated brand awareness.

Pop sockets and phone holders

An expanding piece of magic! PopSockets become a convenient stand for reading email, video chatting and surfing the web. 

Water bottles

This branded gift is a popular promotional item as more and more people are turning to reusable water bottles.

Koozies

Similar to water bottles, Koozies are normally taken on the go which can keep your brand in sight for additional visibility.

Tape measures

They’re used more than you think! And everytime someone uses one, they’ll see your logo.

Home closing gift ideas

Finding the perfect real estate closing gift for every buyer and seller you work with isn’t easy. You have to do more than figuring out what your client wants. You need a gift that reminds your clients not only that you care, but that you’re THE local expert they can rely on for years to come. Check out our picks for the best real estate closing gifts:

Closing gifts for sellers

Personalized artwork

A lot of memories are based around homes. Although your sellers were ready to move on, it doesn’t mean they won’t miss their old place. If you’re looking for a sentimental closing gift, commission a painting or drawing by a local artist. Your clients will see the picture hung up in their new home every day and instantly remember you. 

Charcuterie and wine set

It’s time to celebrate once all the paperwork is signed and done! Giving them a charcuterie set, complete with gourmet cheese and crackers, to make closing more special and add to the celebratory mood. Take it one step further and have your client’s name and your company logo engraved on the wooden board.

Engraved sets

It can be as simple as getting a few lines engraved on a spatula spreader, pizza cutter or ice cream scoop. Engravings are the icing on the cake, they’re the perfect finish to a great gift. Did we say PERFECT? Yes, perfect! 

Closing gift ideas for buyers

Home organizer or cleaning services

One of the most tedious parts about moving is unpacking and finding a spot to put everything. It’s stressful enough moving into a new home, so gifting three hours of service from a professional organizer, house cleaner or handyman can take a huge load off of your clients.

Gift baskets

Sending a gift box filled with local products is a simple, yet thoughtful way to show your appreciation to your buyers. A gift basket filled with goodies from local businesses will also give them an introduction to their new neighborhood.  You can easily curate a basket based on your client’s needs as well!

Housewarming gifts

Rather than giving a gift that says “thanks for working with me,” give a gift that says “welcome to your new home.” You’ve learned a lot about your client throughout your time working together, so use that information to find them a gift they’ll love. Ideas include:

• Personalized cutting board or glasses
• Kitchen appliance
• Smart home tech

Real Estate Agent Marketing Giveaways

Social Media Giveaways

Social media contests are a great way to attract a wider and more engaged audience on any of your online platforms. It’s important to note that for all of these contests, the success of your contest is highly reliant on the value of your prize.

High value prize = lots of entries. Low value prize = fewer entries.

Here are 5 giveaways that will grow your overall Instagram audience from the plain-and-average 200…. to thousands and thousands (after a reasonable period of time and consistent effort.) 

1) Tag-a-Friend

With this type of contest, you are asking people to @tag one of their Instagram friends in the comments of your post for the chance to win a prize. Super simple!

2) Entries

Here you’re asking your audience to partake in one or more specific actions in exchange for entry tokens into the contest.

Whenever they complete one of the actions, they receive one entry.  You may choose to limit the number of total entries per user — or not! Up to you and the scale of your contest.

3) Tag a photo

There are a few ways to “Tag” a photo on Instagram:

• Tag an account IN the post itself
• Tag an account in the comments of the post
• Use a specified Hashtag in the comments/description of the post

As a real estate agent, you might be wondering “What kind of photo would someone tag me in to win?” Here are a couple of idea starters for you:

1. Post a photo of your favourite local neighbourhood in #Vancouver, and tag @RealtyNinja for a chance to win 2 tickets to the big concert next week!
2. Show us your best REALTOR® pose! Take a real estate agent photo in #Toronto and tag @RealtyNinja for a chance to win a 2 night stay at the Fairmont.

4) Guessing game

In a guessing game contest, you ask users to comment with their guess at an answer. The closest guess to the correct answer without going over (“One dollar, Bob!”) would win the prize.

For example “Guess the price of this beautiful waterfront home in West Vancouver”

5) Like to win

The simplicity of liking the photo makes the entry process for this contest style as EASY as possible for users. This contest style limits the number of hoops people need to jump through in order to enter.

Bottom Line

The best advice we can leave you with is to always make an effort to connect on a personal level with your clients. Just because your working relationship with your buyer or seller has come to an end doesn’t mean they won’t need your real estate services again down the road. Find gifts or giveaway items that are relevant and can help you stay top of their mind. You never know who in your network is going to need a stellar real estate agent, and your giveaway may just be the thing that gets you to stand out!