Buying or selling a home is an important financial (and emotional) decision, and your clients want an agent they trust to protect their interests and help them navigate the complexities of the process.
That’s where real estate social media marketing comes in. When applied correctly, it can be a great way to start conversations, share advice, and grow an ongoing relationship with buyers, sellers, and renters.
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So, I’m diving into the value of using social media as a real estate agent, a list of tips and trends, and examples of social media posts you can incorporate into your real estate marketing strategy.
Table of Contents
The Power of Real Estate Social Media Marketing
A social media presence helps you build brand awareness and generate trust with your audience.
They may not be ready to make a purchase yet or even reach out to begin a conversion. But if they see you’re consistently active on your platforms or they come across one of your advertisements, they may make a mental note of what you offer and come back to you when they’re prepared to begin their process.
Not convinced? Here are a few stats to help you understand the power of social media marketing to grow your real estate business:
- 87% of realtors use Facebook, 62% use Instagram, 25% use YouTube, and 15% use TikTok.
- Real estate agents say social media is the best source of high-quality leads (CRMs and local MLS rank #2 and #3).
- 100% of homebuyers use the internet in their home search, and 76% use a phone or tablet.
- 41% of buyers looked online as the first step.
- 60% of Instagram’s 2+ billion monthly active users are between 18 and 60.
- 56% of adults aged 18 to 34 use TikTok.
- 27% of buyers say they would use social media to find their next real estate agent, including 32% of first-time buyers and 22% of repeat buyers.
- There are more than 5.17 billion social media users globally.
- The average person spends close to 2 ½ hours using social media every single day.
So, statistically speaking, your audience is already on social media — why not meet them where they are? What’s more, outside of the organic strategies I’m sharing here, social media also offers targeted advertising options tailored to audiences in specific locations.
Ready to put it into action? Let’s dive into some of the top strategies to build your real estate social network.
1. Promote the town, not just the house.
Homebuyers want to know the good, bad, and ugly of each town to which they’re considering a move. Yet, most real estate blogs simply give buyers basic demographic statistics and perhaps some flowery language about the area.
Instead, use your social media channels to provide potential clients a far richer understanding of the markets you serve, letting them know the pros and cons of each neighborhood.
Many cities have a “@CityOf …” social media handle, which you can mention directly in your posts. Use these handles to promote properties you have listed in that city. City accounts tend to be receptive to these shout-outs and might repost you — increasing your post’s reach to their followers.
Instagram Business accounts are also prime real estate (pun absolutely intended) for you to post beautiful photos of the town in which your properties are listed.
2. Be yourself.
I‘ve heard of many realtors who pay a ghostwriter to write their marketing copy, yet this approach has its shortcomings. The copy simply doesn’t ring true; it fails to give clients a sense of who you really are.
Studies show that consumers want to make a personal connection with those whom they do business with, and there’s no shortcut to writing your own authentic social media content that resembles who you are as a real estate agency.
Let your personality shine through across each social network you‘re on. It’s a great way to open a dialogue with a client before they ever pick up the phone. I love this TikTok example of two realtors showing off their personalities.
@indianahomegirls Our newest listing in Fishers has space for all the things! Comment STEP CLASS for more info 😂 #stepbrothers #funnyvideos #realestatetiktok #listingvideo #indianarealtor #fishersindiana #lipsync ♬ original sound – Amazon Prime Video Australia – Prime Video AU & NZ
3. Educate your buyers.
Some of the most trying days as a real estate agent prove to be great lessons we can share with our clients.
Talking about common real estate pitfalls makes your buyers smarter, giving them a smoother browsing experience and qualifying them to work with you.
Social media is the perfect outlet for this. If you have a blog, consider writing articles about home-buying tips. You can then use social media to promote them.
Perhaps you can tweet a “Real Estate Fact of the Day,” hashtagging #realestate while you’re at it.
4. Chat with your followers.
Home buyers today expect instant responses to their questions, but where they ask those questions has changed.
Home buyers are calling real estate agents much less than they used to with questions about a property or neighborhood.
They’re going online, using Facebook’s Recommendations feature, and tweeting at real estate offices on Twitter.
Be ready for this outreach, answer them, and use these questions as an opportunity to start dialogue with followers who might be in the early stages of the buying process.
5. Respond to comments, good and bad.
Respond promptly and courteously to engage readers who post comments on your social media sites. One caveat: Don’t feel compelled to respond to those who post abusive comments.
Social media does lure its share of online bullies, and not every remark aimed at you is worth your breath.
Resist the temptation to get into battle with your harshest critics, and acknowledge those who praise your service.
A lot of people who reach out to you are simply looking for more information about a listing — or a listing they might’ve thought was still available, but has been sold or rented.
Absorb their frustration and use their comment as an opportunity to pivot their interest to other properties.
6. Capture attention with hooks.
People’s attention spans are shorter than ever, which means to catch the attention of your target audience, you need to get them to stop scrolling for long enough to consume your content and (hopefully) take action.
The key here is to hook your audience with something that makes them stand up and say, “Heck, yeah, I want to know more about that.”
This video does a great job of sharing some great hooks (especially in video format):
@onbrandbysarah Hook examples for Realtors! This was hughly requested and there are tons of ways to make your videos more personal and compelling!!! Try it out ❤️ #hookexamples #videohooks #socialmediamarketing #realtors #realtoroftiktok #contentstrategy #businessmentor ♬ original sound – Sarah | Business Mentor 🪩
7. Be playful.
What’s something other real estate agents do that makes you giggle or roll your eyes? Play with it. This video is real and fun:
@stevenkimhomes ✨magic✨ real estate hack! #realtor #realtoroftiktok #realtorhumor #funny #forsale #magic #toronto #richmondhill #realestate ♬ The Reason – Hoobastank
8. Don’t just shout about your home listings.
It‘s fine to let people know about the homes you’re marketing, but don‘t make the house itself the primary topic of your conversation.
Think about common questions home buyers and sellers ask you, and turn these into posts. Provide valuable content and you’ll keep people coming back.
9. Be sure to use video.
There are more than 1 billion daily video views on TikTok.
It’s tempting to skip the expense of shooting and editing a video, but online video is an important element of home marketing.
Think about it: Home buyers are visual buyers, and if done well, a video creates an emotional connection with them that they might not have from just a photo-based listing.
YouTube videos also improve your website’s ranking in search engines like Google — a common place where home buyers and renters start their search for a new home.
10. Remember, you’re not only connecting with first-time buyers.
According to a recent report by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 24% of home buyers in America are 41-50 years old or younger.
Just 26% of them are first-time buyers. If you think you’re only talking to first-time home buyers on social media, think again.
Social networks like Facebook are great places to engage “fans” and learn what they‘re looking for from their agent, but keep in mind, they’re not all new to the buying process.
Have content suited for all levels of home-buying experience ready to serve up to your fans and followers — you never know whom you’ll be connecting with.
11. Focus on your audience.
A post, link, photo, or tweet on your profile might look nice to you, but it means very little if it doesn’t resonate with the people who are following your page.
Social media is more about listening than about talking. Pay attention to what people are saying about you and your brand.
Solicit and gather feedback through informal polls to your audience or via free survey services like Survey Monkey or Google Forms.
This will ensure each and every piece of content you share on social media reflects the interests of your customers.
12. Remember your existing clients.
Invite your previous buyers and sellers to join you on social media — they’re one of the most important parts of your real estate social networks.
That way, your sites become richer communities of shared experiences and objective advice from those who recently completed the home buying/selling journey.
13. Prioritize connections and relationships over going viral.
While going viral can feel good, it doesn’t mean you’re connecting with people who are actually potential clients.
After all, going viral likely means you’re getting views from people with little to no local interests, and in real estate, local is everything.
Instead, focus on creating meaningful connections with people who live in your area and help them get to know you. Sure, you can share your listings, but focus on why they’d hire you.
This could mean creating content that empathizes with their pain points and sharing behind-the-scenes photos and videos.
However, it also means going into forums and engaging with posts, responding to comments and questions, and being generally helpful.
14. Don’t go all in on one type of post.
Variety is the spice of life and of your real estate social media marketing plan. Or it should be.
Play around with different types of content and change things up periodically to continue building your audience and connecting with what they want. One way to do this is to pay attention to big trends and find ways to capitalize on them.
Test video, still images, humor, and different ways to highlight what your audience can expect when working with you.
15. Repurpose your content.
Shooting a video? Think about whether you can post clips to other platforms.
You may not want to share the same content exactly since different platforms have different audiences (and expectations), but you don’t have to create something new every single day.
You may be able to get a lot of mileage out of a single video or conversation and create dozens of posts from one original recording.
Post-Pandemic Social Media Real-Estate Trends
While social media has always been a valuable tool for realtors to leverage, COVID-19 restrictions led to trends that have continued to take center stage years after the pandemic ended.
Virtual Showings
Some agencies reserved virtual viewings for specific circumstances or luxury homes, but it has now become a common practice: “We used to keep our virtual tours for our luxury homes, but we’ve found it adds to the home buying experience for our clients,” says Lisa Alexander, president of Del-Co Realty.
Video Walkthroughs
When I sold a house in 2020 and bought one in a new city, beautiful photography and videography was a must for understanding the layout.
After that experience, I wouldn’t consider working with a realtor who wasn’t actively planning to use those resources to sell my home.
While these existed pre-pandemic, they’re now elevated to a must. After all, in addition to helping buyers get a sense of the home, video performs really well on social media.
3D House Tours
My favorite feature as a buyer was when realtors created 3D home tours on Zillow that could be shared everywhere, including other listing sites and social media. It gets 60% more views and 79% more saves, which means that many more interested eyes are on your listing.
While the pandemic is in the rear-view mirror (thank goodness!), it had a lasting impact on real estate social media marketing — which comes in incredibly handy for buyers who need to move quickly in highly competitive markets and potentially buy homes sight-unseen and for sellers who want their homes to sell for top dollar.
Social Media Marketing Platforms for Realtors
Not sure what platform you should use?
The short answer is to go where your buyers are — and the longer answer is to also use a platform you’re comfortable with.
With that said, here’s a quick rundown of the top platforms for real estate social networking.
Facebook is an excellent tool for real estate professionals, especially when it comes to advertising.
It offers various high-quality options: targeted ads for local listings, Facebook Messenger for conversations with clients, and the ability to share multiple forms of multimedia: images, videos, and even live video.
On Instagram, Realtors can create a business account and include contact CTA buttons so those who land on your profile can send you a message on the platform, an email about a property image they saw that intrigued them, or other personalized options.
The platform is great for sharing high-quality image and video content, and the image below is an example of a new property announcement.
TikTok
I fully admit to being obsessed with TikTok. I’ve shared several examples of how you can use it to connect with your audience.
One of the best reasons is that you can build a following by being real without investing in high-quality or professional-grade content.
This is especially true considering that TikTokers favor behind-the-scenes type content, which is exactly what house walkthroughs are (the video below is an example).
Real Estate Social Media Content Ideas
Now that you’ve got your platform, what should you share? Here are a few ideas.
Go live for open houses and virtual showings.
Realtors can do this on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, and a benefit to going live is that the videos can be saved and later shared to your profile, acting as an additional form of content.
Answer audience questions.
All social media platforms are a great place to answer audience questions, as you can engage with your audience and develop a rapport that leads to a working relationship.
Another benefit to answering questions publicly is that it’s public, and everyone can see your responses. This can help interested buyers approach you with qualified, further-down-the-funnel questions.
Share customer testimonials and success stories.
All platforms are a great place to share customer testimonials, helping you use user-generated content to establish legitimacy and credibility with your audience. The Facebook post below is an example of a client testimonial.
Share property photos, videos, and tours.
I touched on the virtual tours and videos above, but don’t forget to share them to social!
Property photos are a must for realtors on social media, especially on Instagram and Facebook. You can give clients a sneak peek of what to expect from the property and entice them to reach out to you to learn more through a virtual or in-person tour.
Here’s an example of high-quality property photos on Instagram:
You can share property photos on TikTok as still images, but the platform is better suited for video. Check out this example:
@the608angelica Girly has so much potenial💕 @Dom Murray . . . #housetour #realestate #oldhouse #victorianhome #wisconsin #historichome #hgtv #homedecor #home ♬ Sunshine – WIRA
And here’s an example from Instagram:
Share your realtor bio.
Relationships between agents and clients are important, as they trust you to take to heart the things that they care about and point them in the right direction.
As a result, using social media to share realtor bios is worth considering. Your audience can learn more about what you offer and reach out if it feels like a good match.
Have fun!
There’s a place for polished content, but you can also have fun with it, like this video that always makes me smile:
@nmccaslin I cant believe this home hasn’t sold… but I’m not giving up yet 😝 #realbroker #dancingrealtor #27goingon65 #sobertok #soberfun #realestate #owensboroky #realtortok #givemethemusic #persistant #treatyoself #marketyourself #workout ♬ everybody dance now танцуют все – 💫РЕТРОЛЁТ💫
Social media is (part of) the future of real estate.
One thing is clear to me — unless there’s a major change in our future, social media is a big piece of the puzzle for real estate marketing.
If you take the time to create a social media presence that includes high-quality photos of the properties you sell, you interact with clients, and you follow a consistent schedule, you’ll likely find yourself generating new clients and closing on more homes.
What’s more, at the end of the day, your followers may prove themselves to be your strongest property advocates.
This guest post was written by Leslie Mann, a real estate agent with Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty of Weston, MA.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in September 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
