Top 21 Tips to Crush Your Real Estate Social Media Marketing

1. Use Instagram Stories and Polls

Valerie Weber, Real Estate Agent, The Shahid Team at The Boulevard Company

I get engagement by doing polls in my insta-stories (very effective) and asking a question in the last line in my caption. Getting users to engage on your account is one of the best ways to grow and connect with your audience.

2. Pay for a Primed Audience with Zillow Premier Agent Direct

Marc Prosser, Co-founder, Fit Small Business

By targeting people in your area actively shopping for homes on Zillow, and then following them to Facebook with ads, you can have your social presence place you directly in front of people ready to buy.

3. Keep It Classy

Sarah Findel, Real estate agent, The Lifestyle Group at RE/MAX

My biggest advice is to keep it classy. No need for cursing or nudity. No need for PDA with a significant other. Be authentic but not over the top offensive. My two favorite platforms are Facebook Business Page and Instagram.

With my postings, I have had people believe that I am the expert in my field. I have become, as many say, the “Town Expert.” I have had job offers from other companies. I have had people recognize me in restaurants and ask me to list their homes. I have been asked to be part of a marketing platform that requires only one of a particular profession, and I was top of mind before other realtors.

4. Use Different Platforms for What They’re Best At

Ines Hegedus-Garcia, Real estate agent, RelatedISG International Realty

We use Facebook and Instagram the most but also use Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr and Pinterest. It’s key to analyze the different types of audiences by going back to past business, where that came from, and going straight to the source of the business. Remember all platforms are different and the voice and message should match that.

• We include news, events and happenings about Miami in our Facebook Business Page for our lifestyle brand, Miamism. We also do market report ads for different neighborhoods around Miami where we offer a free download.
• On Instagram, we are getting great results with our stories, where we highlight the best ones in different categories and include direct links to properties and our website. We connect with them immediately to either sell their properties or help them with a purchase.
• We use Twitter more as a news syndication source and it helps us stay top of mind with our audience.
• YouTube has a library of our property videos and “on-location” informal videos that get great traction for the rest of our social media channels.
• We use Flickr and Pinterest as a library of properties, features, wants and needs for our clients, and can send an immediate link to answer any question on different properties or communities.

5. Use Video, Even When It’s Not Perfect

Marty Remo, Real Estate Agent, Hudson Valley Home Team at RE/MAX

Video tops our list. Use a variety of sources and content to engage. Just like many others, I don’t find it all that easy to turn the camera on myself….but I have to get over it! The reality is that no one cares that your video isn’t professional grade all the time, your hair isn’t perfect or that you stumble over your words occasionally. I think being yourself is the key. People will respect your effort and want to do business with you if you are authentic. Establishing that you are likable, good at your job, and can be trusted are the keys to winning!

6. Use Facebook to Keep in Touch with Former Clients

Colleen Collier, Associate Broker, RE/MAX North

I use Facebook as a way to stay in touch with my past clients. With both buyers and sellers, I will send a friend request after we are under contract or pending on a transaction. My goal is to post two to three times a week, but have engagement daily with clients. If a past client has a small business, I make sure to like their page and have constant interaction. This helps the other small business with the Facebook EdgeRank and keeps me in mind for when they hear about possible referrals. With other friends and clients, I like have genuine interaction on the happy moments in their lives.

7. Outsource Your Social Media Posting with Hibu

Gavin Graham, Editor, Fit Small Business

Outsourcing social media postings with a service like Hibu lets you have more time for the things you do best, like closing deals and working with clients directly.

8. Grab Client Attention with Personality

Sal Carola, Broker/Owner, RE/MAX Elite Brooklyn & Staten Island

My biggest fear is that my posts become routine and will be passed up. I believe that with a good combination of humor posts, the real marketing materials are not overlooked.

A big success I have is engagements in debate topics on social media. For example, I recently had a picture of Ring Dings, Yodels, Devil Dogs and Coffee Cakes and asked what would be their choice with a tall glass of cold milk (that post has received 205 comments as of today). These funny posts receive great engagements from realtors I’m trying to recruit and past clients.

9. Show “Behind-the-Scenes” Footage

John & Melissa Steele, Realtors, Steele San Diego Homes

Our current favorite platform is Instagram, Stories, Instagram TV and, of course, Facebook. We use these tools to offer a behind-the-scenes look into our day-to-day as real estate agents, to share our personality and love of San Diego, and also to provide information to those interested in real estate. We frequently tour properties that we view in the field on Instagram and get great feedback and interaction from followers. We also have a regular series called “Fixer Friday,” where we tour homes that need renovations.

10. Have the Experts at Cityblast Build Your Social Brand for You

Jeremy Marsan, Technology writer, Fit Small Business

If you’re starting from zero, that’s okay. Cityblast can take you from zero to hero on social media by literally building your presence and then managing it online. All they do is real estate social media marketing, so they know the business and they know what potential clients respond to. They offer 100 percent human support and allow you to review all postings and what they are doing, so you are always in control, just not strapped with the hard or tedious tasks. Cityblast offers a free 14-day trial, and then services start at only $99 per month.

We rated Cityblast as the best social media marketing company for realtors. To read more about them and what they can offer, read our review and the competitors we looked at.

11. Be a “Marketer First, a Realtor Second”

Josh Ruse, The Ruse Brothers Group, Top Notch Properties

The three platforms I recommend for social media are YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. You also have to pay for people to see your content. Everyone asks how you get seen, and the answer is to pay to get your content seen on those platforms. You need to be a content king or queen and know how to run ads on Facebook, YouTube, Google AdWords, and Instagram. So I leave you with this quote, “You’re a marketer first and a realtor second!”

13. Focus on the Three Things You’re All About

Shawn Kunkler, Realtor, Compass

Be you, and pick three things you are all about. Mine is San Francisco, (donating) socks, and real estate. The reason I lead with San Francisco is that I want friends, clients, and fellow realtors from around the globe to remember that when they hear of someone ready to move to the Bay Area, I get that call.

14. Know Your Audience and Speak to Them

Brian Fairweather, VP of Operations & Realtor, Sutter & Nugent Real Estate

My advice to anyone out there who is trying to amp up their social media marketing is to learn your audience.

Over the years, I’ve learned that sharing the luxury side of real estate, and making my followers aspire to live in these properties, is what has kept my engagement high. It’s also important to keep a personal side to your social media accounts so you’re not inundating your followers with only real estate-related material.

15. Make Postings Across Multiple Platforms Easy with Hootsuite

Maggie Aland, Editor, Fit Small Business

Hootsuite allows you to set up your posts in advance, and posts to all your social media accounts automatically on a schedule you set, without having to log in to each and every one and post individually. It saves so much time, I can’t imagine not using it.

While you can post to up to three social media accounts using Hootsuite absolutely free, paid pricing to include others starts at $19 per month. To read more, here is our article on Hootsuite user reviews, pricing, and popular alternatives.

17. Keep Your Posts Hyperlocal

Victoria Carter, Real Estate Agent, Weichart

For a real estate social media news feed to be successful, it’s focus must be hyperlocal and offer lots of informative posts and articles for residents or prospective homebuyers. My Facebook page has over 7,000 followers because we seek to constantly inform the broader community with curated articles, blogs, local calendar links, and homebuying and selling tips.

18. Actively Engage with Your Audience

Serjik Markarian, Licensed Associate Broker, Halstead Realty

Post content that is visually stimulating and try to keep the caption to a minimum. Engage with others by responding to likes and comments. This often results in further engagement, a possible “follow,” and greater visibility of the actual post in the news feed, as they tend to resurface in the feed as more people comment.

19. Build a Socially Optimized Website with Real Geeks

Real Geeks has a Facebook marketing tool built in to help you optimize your social presence. With this tool, they make it easy to create and post Facebook ads and track them. Also, Real Geeks has an in-house marketing team that will do the ad management for you if you just don’t have the time but want high quality leads from a white glove service that deals specifically in real estate social media marketing.

If it’s time to upgrade your website, and you’re considering playing with the big boys, Real Geeks offers an incredible array of features starting at $199 per month. With over 15 third-party integrations available and email marketing features, it should definitely be a contender.

20. Highlight Past Successes

Evan Roberts, Real Estate Agent, Dependable Homebuyers

We found that the best way to attract clients on Facebook is to promote past success stories. After each closing, we get a photo of us with our clients at the title company. We’ll then post this photo along with a congratulations message where we tag our clients. This shares the post with our clients’ friend network, gaining us an impressive amount of free brand exposure. Since this is a major life event, these posts receive a ton of interaction by potential clients.

21. Remember That You’re the Brand

Delroy Gill, Real Estate Agent, LIV Southeby’s Realty

Branding, branding, branding!!! You must create a brand for yourself that leaves an impression and something people tell their friends about. This starts on social media but must carry through the entire experience you are offering to a client! This should be a complete lifestyle! Social media is the new “website”—people Google you and go straight to your Facebook or Instagram before your actual website. They decide if they connect with your “brand” instantly by what your overall page looks like, the content you post and the messages you’re sending out to the universe! You attract what you put out!