This post comes to us from the BoomTown blog:

Do you still do open houses? I've heard mixed reviews lately on their effectiveness. However, if promoted the right way, they are a great source for buyer leads, along with establishing your brand in the neighborhood. It takes more than directional signs and a balloon in the yard to promote an open house.

Have you tried promoting your open houses through your social networks? I've got some great tips for you today.

Facebook Events

People spend nearly seven hours a month on Facebook. Wouldn't it make sense to promote your open house there?

Facebook Events are a good way to get the word out for your open house. I won't waste your time explaining how to create a Facebook Event, as this article at Mashable has already done an excellent job on that. I will, however, give you a few tips to help your event be a success.

When you create your event, make sure you do it from your business page. You can share it to your personal network once it's set up, if you like.

Once your event is created, share it! Caution: people are not on Facebook so you can spam them, so share your event sparingly. A good rule of thumb is to initially share your event and then send out a reminder when it gets closer to the open house.

If you really want to impress your clients, promote your event with a Facebook ad. This is a less spammy way to get more eyeballs on your open house details.

Google+ Events

Don't just stop at Facebook--Google+ has event functionality, too! They even have tools to help you create beautiful invitations to send out, as well.

Good Old Fashioned Check-ins and Updates

Leverage all of your social channels to promote your open house. Send tweets to your followers, send reminders close to the open house on Facebook and Google+ as well.

Pick a central landing page to sent them to. This can be one of your social event pages, Meetup or Eventbrite or the Open House results page on your BoomTown site.

Think outside of the box and try leveraging social media to make your next open house a

To view the original article, visit the BoomTown blog.