Real Estate Social Media Marketing in 2024: The Definitive Guide

Social media has completely changed the way we live our day-to-day lives. From viral memes, to instantly connecting with people around the globe in a matter of seconds, social media networks have become a vital component of how we interact as individuals and as a society.

Social media networks have become major sources for new leads and revenue when it comes to real estate. Social media is an incredible way to connect with younger generations of home buyers and expand your presence in the industry. 

Here are a few stats to give you a feel of social media’s broad impact on the real estate market:

• 81% of older millennials, 80% of younger millennials, and 78% of generation X found their home on a mobile device compared to 68% of Younger Boomers.
• Social media was the tool cited as the best source for generating high-quality leads among REALTORS®, followed by multiple listing service (MLS) websites.
• 77% of realtors actively use social media for real estate in some way, shape, or form

Despite the incredibly impressive numbers and success, maximizing your social media marketing can be an overwhelming challenge. It can also be incredibly expensive if you don’t know what you’re doing. 

In this article, we’ve laid out a definitive guide for 2024 that’ll take you from newbie to master when it comes to social media marketing for your real estate business. 

The Power of Real Estate Social Media Marketing

There’s no way around it – if you want to compete in the real estate market today, a healthy social media presence is a must. Although social media is so ubiquitous in our daily lives, we often forget how powerful it can be to create real change in your business. 

Drive Traffic to Your Website or Landing Page

Strategic social media posts can be crafted to drive people to engage more directly with your brand, via your website or a targeted landing page. As a real estate professional, your website should be the foundation of your digital marketing plan.

Social Proof and Client Testimonials 

Before doing business with you, people want to know that you’re credible and reliable. With social media testimonials such as on Facebook, Instagram, and Zillow, you’ll be able to give people a window into what it’s like to work with you and why you are a top producing agent in your hyperlocal area. This is incredibly important for building a strong network of leads.

With your AgentFire website, you can pull testimonials from a variety of platforms (including Google, Zillow, Facebook, and Yelp), then easily add them to any page on your website.  

Show Clients Who You Are 

Unlike other forms of traditional marketing, such as print ads or cold-calling, social media gives us the ability to build an online persona through posts, stories, groups, and more. With the proper strategy in place, you can create a cohesive brand across networks that allows clients to see why you are the right agent for them. 

The Best Social Media Platforms for Real Estate

Let’s take a look at the top social media platforms successful brokers are using to grow their business and stand out in the real estate industry. Keep in mind that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Each platform has different key functions and you should adjust your techniques to make the most out of each one. The key is to first understand how each platform works and then think about applying it to your specific personality and target audience. 

Here we go! 

Real Estate Marketing on Facebook

Facebook is one of the most powerful marketing platforms in the world –  plus,  it has the most ads and highest click-through rate (CTR) of any social media platform.

When it comes to your Facebook real estate marketing strategy, Facebook has developed the Top Providers Initiative just for brokers. This initiative is made to help agents, brokers, property management companies, and other real estate professionals that compose the core of the local property industry. The initiative includes free videos and guides on how to best use Facebook tools for your business. 

Before we jump into how to utilize Facebook’s tools to your advantage, there are a couple of foundational aspects that you should double-check. 

Facebook Best Practices

Create and complete your business page. 

Your Facebook business page should have an updated picture and cover photo, clear links to your website and socials, and a completed bio. 

Share your business page with clients and your personal network. 

When you first start to get active on Facebook, it can feel like you’re shouting into a black hole. There are so many potential clients and collaborators that you may not know where to start. Build your core followers out of people you already know, and who support your real estate business. These people are likely to support your page and share your posts, which will help to expand your network going forward.

Take Advantage of Facebook Ads

Facebook ads are super easy to organize – but to get the most out of your dollar, make sure you have a clear goal and target demographic in mind beforehand.

Luckily, Facebook has constructed a template for real estate ads that is made to generate more leads from your targeted audience. The template includes the property address, number of bedrooms, and other features. 

For example, if you’ve listed a bachelor pad in the center of the financial district in your hyperlocal area, you could target single men in a specific geographic area who make more than $150K per year and don’t yet own a home. This way, you’ll maximize your ad spend on people who are highly likely to engage and become potential clients. 

If you’re still unsure of where to start with Facebook Ads or would prefer that someone else manage it entirely, AgentFire works with some of the top PPC and Social Media management professionals in the space! Click here to view our PPC partners, or click here to book a demo with AgentFire to learn more about how everything works! 

Get Creative with Facebook Live

Facebook Live is another key feature for real estate agents. This is an especially personal and interactive way of engaging with your audience.

Before you hop on Facebook Live, get prepared. This means, let your followers on all of your social media networks know that you will be hosting a Facebook live at a particular time. Additionally, think of a great headline that will pull in viewers who don’t usually view your content. Finally, put your phone or other annoying alerts on silent. 

So, what types of things can you do on Facebook Live to make sure current and new clients keep coming back? 

Virtual Tours/Open houses

Every time you have a new home listing, schedule a Facebook Live event where you’ll walk your audience through the listing, talk about its key points, and engage with the people who come. Start outside and slowly move through the home, similar to how potential buyers would.

Curious about other ways you can integrate virtual tours into your marketing strategy? Take a look at these resources.

Inspections

Most home buyers and sellers don’t have a clear idea of what goes into a home inspection – although it’s key information in the exchange of property. Show that you have their best interest in mind by sharing knowledge that empowers their decisions. 

Q&A

A live Q&A is a fun way for your audience to engage with you, and for you to cut down on those “I was just wondering…” emails. 

A Day in the Life

Over the years, social media has naturally flourished because of our human curiosity to see behind-the-scenes in other people’s lives.

When you’ve finished with your live video, it will be automatically saved and posted to your Facebook page.  Add a comment thanking your viewers and ensure that the description and the tiles of the video are SEO optimized – this way, viewers can go back to it later. 

Join Community Facebook groups

What’s the difference between pages and groups? 

While Facebook Pages were designed to be the official profiles for businesses, Facebook Groups are a must for group communication with the opportunity to share common interests and opinions.

As a broker, it would be beneficial to create groups based on your targeted geographical area. For example, if your property listings are concentrated in Bird Key, Florida, your group will attract interested viewers who know exactly what they are looking for and are likely to engage.

You may also want to create a general group where you can share valuable information about your work and client success. Just remember to resist the temptation to constantly share links to your other socials or content. We like to maintain at least an 80/20 split between user-focused and promotional content. 

As with many of your social media networks, you should remember that posting is about building relationships and planting a seed for future leads – it is not a direct A to B process. 

Finally, ask group members to share your work with their audiences and thank them. 

Curious about Pages? Check out our run-down here.

Marketing Real Estate on Instagram

As a predominantly visual platform, Instagram pairs extremely well with real estate marketing needs. Its photo and video-based content format are perfect for showcasing properties and it has a deeply engaged user base of over 1 billion monthly active users.

Not only that – Instagram is integrated with Facebook’s advertising platform, so you can target your ads to increase marketing success. For the most part, Instagram is a free way to build up a following and expand your brand footprint.

Before we jump into specific techniques, it’s important to consider general rules that will set you leaps and bounds ahead of other agents in your hyperlocal area before even posting.

Instagram Best Practices

• Make sure that your account name is searchable and easy to find.
• Perfect your bio and keep it simple: a clear profile photo, a blurb that explains what you do for your clients, and a link to your real estate website. 
• Use linkinbio to keep multiple networks and pages within the same link.
• Stay on brand, not necessarily on topic; one of the most important parts of being a real estate agent is being personable, so let your personality shine!
• Follow anyone who supports your business. This could include family and friends, but don’t forget about other real estate professionals such as moving and cleaning companies, inspectors etc. 
• Follow local instagram influencers in your hyperlocal area – plus this list of leading realtors here.
• Follow the most popular bars, restaurants, and other businesses in your target area.

What to Post on Your Feed

Feature your current listings

No, we don’t suggest spamming your audience with every angle of your new listing. Choose a stunning photo or quick video of the listing and use the caption of the post to describe its benefits in more detail. To pack as much info into a post without making a mess of your feed, use a gallery of images together in a single post.

Share your business successes

Whenever you close on a great deal, share it with your followers in a unique way! This includes sharing testimonials from your satisfied clients. Share your client’s success, talk a bit about their journey, and show how you established a personal connection with them. There’s no better way to demonstrate credibility than past clients raving about their experience with you.

Show some personality

One of the most common difficulties real estate agents have is differentiating themselves from other agents in their local area. From the crossed arms pose, canned smile, over-reliance on the “corporate blue” color scheme, to the slanted roof logos…you know the drill.

Don’t fall for the same trap. Be willing to stand out and show some personality. One of the best ways to do so is to use humor.

@southfloridaliving101

Get creative with simple graphics like realtor, Bobby T, and make your own memes! If you’re not comfortable being the face of the joke, use familiar pop culture references.

@yackelineleidermanrealtor

Memes are one of the most shareable types of content you can create. We love this original meme by Yackeline Leiderman. Not only is it hilarious, but relatable and easy to understand in a matter of seconds. Plus, it positions her as a humane and humorous person that clients can feel comfortable working with. 

Instagram Ads

If you already know how to create an ad on Facebook, the Instagram process for running an ad will be almost identical, although you don’t have to have an Instagram account to run Instagram ads (but it is highly recommended). Before you put your ads out, clarify your objective, choose your target audience, select your ad budget, and format your ad. 

Instagram Live

Like Facebook Live, Instagram Live is a great way to offer a personalized experience to your followers. You can give virtual house tours and engage with interested people along the way, building new connections and giving them a feel for what it’d be like to work with you in the process. You could even do this on a regular basis and turn it into an impromptu podcast of sorts.

Where Instagram Live takes the crown, is that a notification is pushed out to your followers anytime you go Live. This can be in the form of a pop-up notification or what appears as a highlighted Instagram story on your clients’ newsfeeds. Every time you go Live, it gets bumped up to the first position in stories. 

However, there are few things you’ll want to avoid when it come to Instagram Live:

• If you intend to have as many tuned-in viewers as possible, record your lives during times when your clients are free: during transit or before bed.
• Don’t forget to save it and post it for later! Within your Instagram settings, you can choose to save your video and post it to Facebook
• Don’t ramble. As much as we love the idea of a natural and off-the cuff  Instagram Live, we want to make sure that we are always creating value-packed content. Have a general idea of what you will talk about and for how long. 

TikTok for Real Estate Marketing 

As of July 2020, TikTok had over 800M active monthly users. What makes TikTok unique is that it has a primarily younger audience made up of millennials and Gen Z homebuyers. However, the dynamic of TikTok is constantly evolving as various professionals, including those in the real estate business, have started to use the platform to generate sales and increase lead generation at super speed. 

Similar to Instagram, TikTok is all about building a following and sharing your personality with your audience. It’s a video-focused platform, so you’ll need to get comfortable with the camera.  Luckily, TikTok and Instagram are easily linked, allowing  you to cross-post TikTok posts to Instagram and get coverage on both platforms.

That said, here are some interesting ways you can incorporate TikTok into your real estate social media marketing strategy:

TikTok Best Practices

• Use music and text to grab a viewers attention immediately 
• Get familiar with winning content formulas: Some viewer favorites when it comes to real estate include: What (insert dollar amount) can buy you in (insert location) or Top three hidden/undiscovered/underrated/ most popular places in (insert location)
• Post consistently and often to grab organic views easily 
• Focus on simple and bold real estate content; with only a few seconds to make a serious impact, it’s vital that agents are succinct and intentional.

Leading By Example

If you search #realestate on TikTok in 2024, one of Tat Londono’s posts is guaranteed to pop up. She’s killing it on Tiktok with over 2.4 million followers and loads of engagement on each video. 

There are three key elements that make Tat’s videos stand out: attention-grabbing text, informative content, and tons of personality. While it’s not necessary to have Tat’s level of energy or speed-talking ability, it is important to consider how you can express your personality and build your personal brand.  

@tatlondono 

@tatlondono It’s like showing up to court without a lawyer 😭 (original video @Flip Lab) #realestate #realestateagent #money #millionaire ♬ I Got 5 On It – Tethered Mix from US – Michael Abels & Luniz

Take Advantage of TikTok Partnerships

With the intention of aiding small businesses in getting their ads and message into the world, TikTok developed partnerships with two of straight-forward and dynamic content-building software companies: Vimeo and Canva. This way users can streamline the process of creating winning TikToks and save tons of time. 

With Vimeo Create, use the custom video templates that are optimized for TikTok. Using the Canva collaboration, experiment with over 50 templates to add text and other graphic features. 

Stay Up to Date with Relevant Topics 

Not sure what people want to hear about? Feel like you don’t have anything original to make TikToks about besides your property listings? Websites such as answerthepublic.com will give you an idea of exactly what your target audience is thinking about. Pick a question that is relevant to your audience and make a 10 second TikTok about it. 

Is Snapchat Good for Real Estate Marketing

Although it might not seem like a great real estate marketing platform at first glance, you shouldn’t neglect the power of Snapchat. Snapchat is a great network to reach out to younger audiences in their early 20s with disposable income who may be planning to purchase a home soon. 

Snapchat Best Practices

Build a following

Unlike other networks, it is absolutely necessary to build a following on Snapchat before you start seeing measurable results. As a real estate agent, you’ll want your following to be primarily made up of people who are interested in buying or selling a home.

Leverage your contacts

The first thing you can do to increase your following is to leverage your existing email list. Send out an email to your list to let them know you’ve joined Snapchat and will be sharing more real estate listings and information there. 

Are all of you relevant contacts organized properly in one place? If not, you may need to find a better CRM provider. Our clients love working with LionDesk or FollowUp Boss. Luckily, our websites are built to work smoothly with your CRM provider.

Create Attention-grabbing Snaps & Stories

Since all Snapchat content is relatively short, it’s best to use this platform to showcase more of your process, listing details, and who you are as a person.

For example, if you have a new listing with a stunning in-ground pool, you could take a Snap of you walking around the pool area, talking about how awesome it is.

You could also share quick tips for home buyers or sellers, or offer a tidbit of industry wisdom to your followers. Snapchat is one of the most personal networks on this list, so don’t hesitate to address topics that are specifically made to answer questions from your current client list. 

Take Advantage of Snapchat Ad Audience Targeting 

One of the cool aspects of Snapchat for realtors is the ability to target your exact audience with ads. For example, you can set specific filters for your posts that will only be shared with people within a specific region or demographic. If you have a new listing in a town, you could share Snap Ads about it using a specific filter targeted at people in that town. 

You’ll have to pay a small fee to customize these filters with your brand, so double-check that it’s a worthwhile investment for your business.

Here are a few different targeting options you may consider:

• Interests & Behaviors 
• Demographics (targeting by age, gender, or categories like parental status)
• Location 
• Custom Audiences (retarget Snapchatters who have already seen your ads or engaged with your business)
• Lookalikes (find Snapchatters who are similar to your existing customers)

How to Market Real Estate on Pinterest

It’s important to know that Pinterest isn’t a social media platform that is going to automatically generate dozens of buyer and seller leads – this often leads many real estate professionals to believe that it’s a waste of their time. Pinterest is better described as a search engine that allows people to search for specific topics and find relevant content. So if you know how to optimize your content for their search engine, it can be a fantastic source of web traffic. In fact, 431 million people use Pinterest to find ideas that will inspire their next big purchase – including homes.

Pinterest Best Practices 

A Business Profile

This is a great way to gain credibility on the platform and it allows you to format your bio information specifically for business purposes. 

Add Keywords to Your Profile Name

You don’t need to be an SEO expert to identify keywords that will be beneficial to you. Do you only work in a specific hyperlocal area? Or perhaps you are an expert in commercial real estate? Ensure that the words that define your niche are front and center in your profile. 

A Clear Bio

Your bio should be detailed, but brief. Your audience is here for your specific content, so be sure to introduce yourself in a few friendly and succinct sentences. 

Here’s an example of a realtor who is dominating the Pinterest game, Kyle Hiscock. We talked to Kyle about how he finds success on Pinterest and  some great overall tips about social media marketing for realtors:

Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers

Kyle Hiscock

Kyle’s Advice

Be Consistent

 If you want to be the go-to realtor in your community, you need to provide consistent value on a regular basis. Think of Pinterest boards as a library of posts: the content should be rich and the covers should be attractive. 

When designing your Pinterest feed, you want it to operate as an extension of your brand. Make sure that all the fonts and colors you are using align with your brand. That way, as your followers get used to your content, they’ll start to identify it and associate it with you before they even click.

Haven’t settled on a logo and brand style that you love? Our AgentFire team can work with you to create a fully customized brand design that you can use in every element of your marketing material. This includes everything from your email signature to mail-in flyer.

Be Proactive with Building Connections

Reach out to anyone and everyone you’ve known in the real estate world. Your first followers should include past clients, current clients, local business owners, and mentors. Those who already know you are more likely to share your content.

Use Only High-quality Visuals 

Each post you publish should have a clean, shareable image. With a professional image, your pins are more likely to be shared. 

“ As one of the top real estate agents in Rochester NY, I’ve utilized my social media accounts combined with my website, as an opportunity to become an authority for all things real estate in the Greater Rochester NY area! One of the most important things I always keep in mind when utilizing social media is that you don’t want to use it as a stage to brag about your latest and greatest sale or listing, all the time anyway! It’s certainly OK to share successful closings or your newest listing once in a while, however, I always keep in mind the 10%/90% rule.” 

Wrapping Up

It goes without saying that social media is a vital part of any realtor’s marketing plan in today’s world. What are you doing on your social media networks now, that you know should be improved? Start with the most interactive part of your network, then work your way through the rest. With the tips above, you can make the most out of your networks and watch how your results improve! 

Don’t forget to include links to all your social media accounts on your website and all other marketing material!

If you want more in-depth articles, tactics, strategies, and advice – subscribe to our newsletter. And if you want to dominate your hyperlocal real estate market, check out AgentFire’s websites, #1 rated for several years in a row.

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