January inspires the best of intentions in all of us. It’s when we decide to make all the personal and business changes we said we’d do last year, but never got around to. But that doesn’t have to happen in 2018! Start by looking at key dates on the calendar for the month. For example, in February, have something ready for Valentine’s Day, in March, St. Patty’s day, and so on. And remember: Just because you are in real estate doesn’t mean you should limit yourself to real estate topics. Have fun, because at the end of the day, it all comes down to engagement.
Aside from looking at key dates on the calendar, be a community expert and source of interesting area information to appeal to a larger local audience. Here are some great examples to get you off on the right track this month:
Holidays and Occasions
Seasonal topics can generate a lot of interest in the days and even weeks surrounding them. Here are some of the things happening in January and possible ways you can create content around them.
New Year’s Day – January 1
- Recipes for traditional New Year’s Day foods
- List of local businesses hosting a countdown
- Apps to track resolutions
Trivia Day – January 4
- Local business trivia
- Local history/celebrity trivia
- Strange laws
Martin Luther King Jr. Day – January 15
- Volunteer opportunities
- History of MLK Day
- Education and tribute
Opposite Day – January 25
- Take a poll
- Best places to grab breakfast after noon
- Post a fun photo/video of your office participating
General Topics
General topics can be reworked and reused over and over again in different formats and on different platforms. Some topics that might be popular in January are:
- Recap of the positive things that happened in your city in 2017
- Great indoor activities
- This day in local history
- Highest-rated gyms/exercise locations
- Where to shop organically
- Request a caption for a winter photo
- Local events/festivals
- City’s best coffee houses
Real Estate
While you don’t want your content to be all about buying and selling real estate, it still plays an important part. People often start thinking about buying or selling a home after the holidays. Here are some topics potential clients might engage with.
- Creating a budget/financial plan
- Frequently asked questions about buying a house
- Home maintenance checklist
- Winter staging ideas
- First-time buyer programs
Having a content strategy is a cost-effective way to generate traffic and leads on your website. Now is the time to start getting in the habit of planning your content early in the month. Start 2018 on the right track with these January topics, and click to download a printable version of these topics here!
Patty McNease is director of Marketing for Homes.com. For more information, please visit connect.homes.com.
For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.
