How to Promote an Open House on Social Media (2026)

To promote an open house on social media, you need more than one post. You need a short sequence: an invitation about a week out, a few posts that give people a reason to come, reminders when they're making weekend plans, and follow-up posts for everyone who couldn't make it. This guide gives you that sequence as a day-by-day plan for Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Threads, with example captions, ideas that make better posts, and how to post during the open house without putting yourself at risk.

The examples use a fictional listing, 27 Birch Lane, open Saturday from 11 to 1. For where open houses fit in your wider content plan, see our real estate social media marketing guide.

The open house social media plan at a glance

Seven posts over nine days sounds like a lot. Most of them are Stories and short posts, and you can schedule all of them in one sitting once you have the photos.

A week before: the invitation

The invitation post

The invitation does one job: gets the open house into people's weekend plans. It needs five things:

1. The date and time, written out: "Saturday, October 3, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m."
2. The address, or the street and neighborhood if your broker prefers.
3. One reason to come in person: the view, the kitchen, the garden you have to stand in.
4. The basics: beds, baths and price.
5. What to do: save the post, tap "interested" on the event, or message you for details.

Use a carousel on Instagram with the invitation graphic first and the best three photos after it, and a single image with the same details on Facebook and Threads. Three captions to adapt:

• "Open house this Saturday, 11 to 1, at 27 Birch Lane. Three bedrooms, two baths and a kitchen with a 10-foot island. Come see it in person. Save this post so you don't forget."
• "You're invited: 27 Birch Lane, Saturday from 11 to 1. Start in the backyard: 60 feet of lawn and a cedar deck. $489,000. Details in bio."
• "First open house at 27 Birch Lane is this Saturday, 11 to 1. Three beds, two baths, 0.3 miles to Birch Park. See you there."

For more wording, including reminders and "missed it?" posts, use our just listed and just sold captions.

Create a Facebook event

Facebook Pages can still create events, and Page events are public. Create one for the open house from your business Page, with the address, the start and end time, the best photo and a short description, then share it on the day you post the invitation. People who tap "interested" get Facebook's own reminders, which does part of your reminder work for you.

If your brokerage has its own Facebook Page, add it as a co-host so the event shows there too. Only a Page can add another Page as a co-host, so create the event from your business Page rather than your personal profile. The Facebook Help Center walks through the steps.

Add it to your Google Business Profile

If you have a Google Business Profile, which Google allows for individual real estate agents, add an Event post with the title, date, time, photo and a button to the listing. It can show on your profile in Google Search and Maps, where people searching for agents in your area will see it.

TikTok and Threads

On TikTok, post a 15-second teaser: the walk from the front door to the best room, with the date and time as on-screen text. On Threads, keep it text-first, with one photo: the date, the time, the one reason to come, and the address.

Two to three days before: build interest

Now give people a reason to put it in the calendar.

• The feature Reel. One room or one feature, filmed in 10 to 20 seconds, with the open house date on screen at the end. Our guide to Instagram Reels for listings covers the shot order.
• The Story poll. Two photos and one question: "Which room would you see first?" or "Guess the price?" Answer it on the day of the open house.
• The neighborhood post. A carousel of what's close by, each with a distance: "0.3 miles to Birch Park", "8 minutes to the train". It helps buyers from outside the area decide whether to make the trip.

Describe places, not people. "0.4 miles to Lincoln Elementary" is a fact about the location; "great for families" describes who you think should come, and in the US that's a Fair Housing problem.

The day before and the morning of: reminders

Most people decide their weekend on Friday evening and Saturday morning. Post into those windows:

• The day before, around 5 p.m.: a Story with Instagram's countdown sticker set to the start time, plus an update on the Facebook event ("See you tomorrow at 11").
• The morning of, an hour or two before: "Doors open at 11 at 27 Birch Lane." A Story, a Facebook post and a short Threads post.

Schedule both the day before. On the morning of an open house you'll be setting up, not writing captions.

During the open house: post without putting yourself at risk

An open house invites strangers into a property where you may be on your own, and real-time posts tell everyone exactly where you are and for how long. September is REALTOR® Safety Month for this reason. How you post is part of staying safe:

• Don't post in real time that you're alone. "Here until 1, come say hi!" tells anyone reading that you're alone in a house.
• Film now, post later. Take your clips and photos during the open house, and post them after you've left.
• Don't show what the seller wouldn't want seen: personal photos, security systems, keys, mail, or anything that shows the home is empty or when the owners are away.
• Tell your office, not your followers, where you are and when you expect to finish.

NAR's open house guidance says to work with a buddy and check in with your office, and its safety tips add: "Always let someone know where you are going and when you will be back." If you want to go Live, do it with a colleague in the house, and end the broadcast before they leave.

After the open house: follow-up posts

The open house isn't over at 1 p.m. The posts after it reach everyone who saw the invitation and didn't come.

• The thank-you, the same day or the next: "Thank you to everyone who came to 27 Birch Lane today. Missed it? Message me for a private showing this week."
• What buyers asked, a day or two later: a carousel or Threads post answering the three questions you heard most. HOA fees, the age of the roof and the school boundary come up at almost every open house.
• The neighbor post: for homeowners nearby, a short note on the turnout and an offer to talk about their own home's value.
• The status post, when it comes: under contract, a price change or a second open house. Our captions post has wording for each.

Open house ideas that make better posts

Some open house ideas are better for the event. These are better for the posts around it, because each one gives you something worth photographing or filming:

1. A local partner. Coffee from the bakery down the street, tagged in your posts. They may share it with their own followers.
2. A floor plan handout that doubles as a carousel slide.
3. A "guess the price" poll in Stories before the open house, with the answer on the day.
4. A neighborhood map with three places to walk to, as a carousel or a printout.
5. A twilight open house, from 5 to 7 p.m., for photos with the lights on.
6. A seasonal theme: fall cider, a summer lemonade stand. Keep it about the home, not a party.
7. A broker open first, with a behind-the-scenes Story from the agent preview.
8. A virtual open house for buyers who can't come in person.

Broker opens and virtual open houses

A broker open is for other agents, not buyers, so the posts are different: professional, short and aimed at agents who might have a buyer. Post it where agents see it, in your Facebook agent groups and on your professional profiles, and skip the countdown stickers.

A virtual open house is a scheduled walkthrough on video. Go Live at a set time, or post a pre-recorded tour at the advertised hour and answer questions in the comments. Promote it with the same plan above, and give the start time with its time zone.

Check you can go Live before you promise it. As of September 2026, Instagram Live needs a public account with at least 1,000 followers, and you can bring in up to three guests with Live Rooms. TikTok LIVE needs 1,000 followers, and you must be 18 or older. If you don't qualify, a pre-recorded walkthrough posted at the advertised time works on every platform.

Sign-ins and follow-up that respect privacy

A sign-in sheet is how an open house turns into follow-up, and it's personal information, so treat it that way.

• Use a QR code sign-in on a tablet or printed card. It's faster than a clipboard, and nobody reads the names above theirs.
• Say what you'll do with the details in one line: "I'll send you the listing details and similar homes. I won't share your information."
• Ask before you text marketing messages. In the US, marketing texts sent with automated tools need the person's prior written consent. Add an unchecked box to the sign-in form that names you and says the texts are marketing, keep the record, include "Reply STOP to opt out" in your texts, and honor opt-outs quickly. Some states, including Florida and Oklahoma, have stricter rules. This is general information, not legal advice, so check your brokerage's policy.
• Follow up within 24 hours with exactly what you promised: the disclosures, the HOA details or the three similar listings.

US rules for open house posts

If you work in the US, three sets of rules apply to open house marketing. They're covered in full in our guide to US real estate social media compliance.

• Clear Cooperation. Under NAR's policy, marketing a listing to the public, including an open house and a public social post, means the listing must be submitted to the MLS within one business day. Check how the listing is filed before you post.
• Housing ads. A boosted open house post is a housing ad. Facebook and Instagram require their housing Special Ad Category, which means a minimum 15-mile radius around a city or pin, all ages 18 to 65+, all genders and no ZIP code targeting or exclusions. Advice to boost "within 10 miles" of the property doesn't work under these rules.
• Fair Housing. The invitation describes the home. It doesn't say who the open house is for.

Hashtags and boosting

Hashtags. Instagram allows up to five per post or Reel since December 2025. Use two local tags, one property-type tag and, if people in your area search it, one open house tag: #[City]OpenHouse, #[Neighborhood]Homes, #[City]RealEstate.

Boosting. Boost the invitation only, not every post. Start two to three days before the event, when people are planning their weekend, with a small daily budget and the county or city as the location. A boost that ends after the open house is wasted, so set the end date to the morning of.

How to measure an open house campaign

Likes are the least useful number. Track, in this order:

1. Visitors, and how many mentioned seeing it online.
2. Sign-ins with contact details.
3. Follow-up conversations in the week after.
4. Private showings booked from the posts.
5. Reach and saves on the invitation, to compare with your next open house.

A QR code on the invitation graphic, or a tagged link in each platform's bio, shows which platform sent people.

Promote open houses faster with Velisto

In Velisto, you add the open house to the listing once: the date, the start and end times, notes, and whether it's a virtual tour. The listing's campaign then includes an open house invitation for Instagram, Facebook and Threads, alongside the showcase post, Story and Reel.

The invitation is scheduled after the rest of the campaign, and never more than a week ahead of the open house, so it lands when people are planning. It always goes out before the doors open. Design Studio has Open House templates for the invitation graphic, and the Open House angle builds a whole campaign around the event. The Facebook event itself you create in Facebook. The help center explains how to promote an open house, and the same real estate social media scheduler handles the reminders.

Open house social media FAQ

When should I start promoting an open house on social media? About a week before. Earlier than that, people forget; later, their weekend is already planned. Follow the invitation with a teaser two to three days out and reminders the day before and the morning of.

Should I create a Facebook event for an open house? Yes, if you post from a Facebook Page. Page events are public, and people who tap "interested" get Facebook's reminders. Share the event on the day you post the invitation.

How many hashtags should I use for an open house post? Up to five on Instagram, which is the cap. Two local tags, one property-type tag and one open house tag is plenty.

Is it safe to go Live during an open house? Only with a colleague there. On your own, film clips and post them after you've left, and never post that you're alone at the property.

Do I need to boost an open house post? No, but a small boost on the invitation two to three days before can reach local buyers who don't follow you. In the US it must run under Meta's housing ad category.

For the rest of the listing's campaign, from coming soon to sold, read how to promote a real estate listing on social media.

Add the open house to your listing once, and the invitation is scheduled to land before the doors open. Get started.