In the early days of social media, it was like the Wild West—no rules! You could slap an Instagram filter on a photo of your dog, and watch the likes pour in.
Once brands and businesses realized the potential of social media for marketing purposes, things changed. Suddenly, social networks became flooded with advertisements for companies, products, and services.
But here’s the thing: people come to social media to be social, not to be sold to.
If you’re a real estate agent using social media to generate leads and sales for your brand or business, you need a clear social media strategy that defines your target audience and focuses on creating and posting content that your audience wants to see.
Social Media for Real Estate Agents
The reality of using social media in the real estate industry is that most of your target audience isn’t in the market to buy or sell a home this year. So if you’re only posting houses with “just listed” or “just sold” banners to your page, you’re missing out on the opportunity to engage the majority of your audience.
(Plus, your brand is not about houses. It’s about who you are and what kind of experience your clients have when they work with you. But we’ll talk about that another day).
Here are the do’s and don’ts to posting your listings on social media.
DO: Use professional photos or video.
The first time that buyers see the property is often online, so professional photography is crucial. Photos should be well lit and in high resolution. As video plays a larger role on social media than ever, be sure that you are using the right size video for your platform. Video should be shot horizontally if it is going to be posted to your website or YouTube, but vertical video is where it’s at on Instagram and TikTok. Interestingly, even YouTube is now making accommodations for vertical video as vertical videos have a 90% higher completion rate compared to horizontal videos.
DON’T: Only post your listings!
I’m sorry to break it to you, but listings are the least interesting thing about you to your audience.
My friend Chelsea Peitz likes to say, “your brand is not a house.”
Your brand is who you are and what it’s like to work with you. While listings and sold properties are a part of that, make sure you’re following the 80-20 rule: 80% of your content should be informational, educational and entertaining and 20% can be about your business.
Remember that only a very, very small percentage of your social media community is in the market to buy or sell right now. But, everyone knows someone who will move this year. So speak to that audience and share some behind-the-scenes snapshots of what you do for your clients, local events and business you love, and your hobbies and interests.
DO: Tell a story.
Anyone can Google an address and see that the newest property you are representing has 4 bedrooms, 2 ½ baths and is in the best local school district. People aren’t interested in seeing that curb appeal photo every single time and a list of just the essential stats. They would like to know the story behind the home, the history.
People also want to see who you helped, how you helped them, where the sellers are headed and why. They want to know how you helped the buyer. Is this the buyer’s first home? Or are they on their 19th move? Are they moving in from out of town? The more details you can share, the more it shows how invested you are in not just making the sale, but improving the lives of your clients.
Here’s an example: our client Abby posted a short video of the outside of a newly constructed home that she had just put under contract for her buyers. In the caption, she talked about how she’d gotten her clients in for a showing the day before it went on the market because she knew the builder. Someone who had been referred to her checked her out on Instagram, saw that video, and decided to hire her as their agent because they were seeking a similar goal.
If all she had posted was an “under contract” banner and the address, her client might very well have hired a different agent. Instead, she saw the results Abby had gotten for her clients, thought “that’s what I want” and immediately reached out to her.
DON’T: Listen to the experts who say that you shouldn’t post “just listed” or “just closed” posts.
While they’re rarely going to be your most engaging posts and you shouldn’t rely on them entirely, you are selling real estate, right? It’s not going to hurt you to post a ‘just listed’ or a ‘just sold’ graphic.
Here’s the “BUT…” though. If you do post “just listed” or “just closed” images, be sure you’re accompanying those graphics with more substance. You should always include a keyword-rich caption that tells the story of the home, the neighborhood, and your role in the transaction.
Remember: social media is and always has been about connection and storytelling.
DO: Mix up the format of your property posts.
Your social media post about your listing should be a teaser, not a full tour. After all, you want to give people just enough detail to encourage them to contact you for more information or browse your website.
Carousel posts and reels are a great way to give a teaser of a home. You can post a video tour where you change up being in front of and behind the camera. Or take a photo of yourself sitting on the counter, with your laptop, sipping a glass of wine. Use that as the cover photo, followed by more photos of all of the home’s best features.
Show off the LIFESTYLE buyers will have if they purchase this listing, not just the four walls and the roof. Beyond keeping your audience engaged by using different post formats, you’re also endearing yourself to the Instagram algorithm – double win!
Now that you know the do’s and don’ts to posting your listings on social media, make sure you head over to Instagram and follow me @the.social.broker and @mariscallahan for more social media tips for realtors.
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