The 7 Best Social Media Platforms for Real Estate Marketing
In real estate, your network dictates your net worth. And no tool helps agents network with clients at scale better than social media. But with so many options, how do you know which are the best social media platforms for real estate?
For starters, read this guide. In it, we’ll show you how data can help you pick where to post. You’ll learn why some social apps are a no-brainer while others should be used with caution. And you’ll get lots of inspiration from some of the best real estate social media campaigns running today.
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What are the best social media platforms for real estate marketing?
There are hundreds of social media platforms in operation. Only a handful have the user base and capabilities to be effective real estate marketing channels. These seven platforms are fit for a real estate-focused social media strategy.
1. Facebook
Facebook still has more users than any other social media network. But it’s the number of ways Facebook marketing helps you find potential clients that make it a top real estate social media platform.
Organically, you can build a profile page, publish posts, create an event, and engage with people through groups. There are also Facebook real estate ads that let you target user by several important factors. So if you’re selling an adorable and affordable 2/2, younger, targeting will help you make sure that first-time homebuyers in a specific income bracket see your ads.
Here are a few tactics to help you get the most from your time on Facebook:
- Use Facebook lead ads to capture contact details from new clients
- Use Facebook Events to invite followers to open houses and community gatherings
- Use Facebook Messanger to connect with clients who aren’t ready for a phone call
Note: As of January 2023, Facebook stopped allowing business pages to post real estate listings on Marketplace — so, unfortunately, you can’t rely on Marketplace listings as a real estate marketing tactic anymore.
Check out this Facebook listing ad that gets so many things right.
Source: Facebook ad library
The agent included all their contact details so viewers don’t have to click away to find her number. There’s a carousel of professional images. Plus the “Learn more” button leads to a form shoppers can use to give their email addresses and phone number.
2. Instagram
While not as big as Facebook, Instagram’s 1.35 billion-person audience is nothing to take lightly. And since 46% of those users are between the ages of 25 and 44, there’s a big pool of people at prime home-buying age.
Instagram is a visual platform, so it’s a great place to help homebuyers picture themselves in the house of their dreams. You can help them do it by:
- Teasing upcoming listings to ignite their sense of curiosity
- Posting walkthrough videos for a “behind the scenes” look ahead of open houses
- Sharing content about the neighborhood so they imagine a stroll to the local coffee shop
Take a look at this video walkthrough tour of a newly built, modern home. You can almost feel the breeze from those ceiling fans.
Notice how the agent placed themself in the video. That taps into the human tendency to feel what we see other people do.
3. YouTube
In the list of real estate social media platforms, YouTube stands out as the only option for long-form videos. That gives you more time to share what makes your listings, and their neighborhoods, amazing.
But listings are just the start. YouTube is also an excellent place to build trust and familiarity by publishing educational posts. Since over 850 million people go to the platform to learn and play, plenty of people are eager to see what you have to say.
It takes more time to create long-form videos. You’ll want to make sure your videos get seen and generate new leads. You can juice those results by:
- Reusing listing videos on your website and third-party sites like Zillow
- Optimize the copy in your title, description, and home page for search (YouTube is owned by Google, after all)
- Cross-promote your videos on other social media channels and your website
Center Coast Realty’s channel is a great example of how to use YouTube to educate, and engage, a target audience.
Source: Center for Coast Realty YouTube
Make sure to pepper your videos, home page, and descriptions with calls to action so viewers know what you want them to do next.
4. TikTok
TikTok prioritizes content discovery over catching up with friends. That gives marketers a chance to get in front of new customers organically. And as TikTok’s user base ages, they’re becoming the perfect audience for your real estate outreach.
The trick to TikTok success is sharing videos that vibe with other content on the site. Your content needs to be engaging and snappy—the average length of a TikTok video is about 30 seconds.
Here are a few ways to make your real estate agency TikTok famous:
- Don’t use a heavy sales pitch, even in paid TikTok ads
- Ride trends on TikTok for a quick organic boost
- Post often, ideally at least once per day
If that last point seems overwhelming, create a batch of posts at one time and schedule them to post throughout the week.
Here’s a great example of how to turn a real estate topic into leads on TikTok.
@texastattooedrealtor When interest rates hit under 6% #realestate #buyingahome #homebuying #interestrates
Don’t forget to write a catchy caption that supports your video’s message.
5. Pinterest
While most other social media websites focus on networking, Pinterest is first and foremost a discovery platform. In fact, 90% of Pinners say they use the app to shop. Since home decor is a popular category on the app, it’s a good place to catch people while they dream about their future homes.
To get found on Pinterest, you need to create boards filled with things others want to pin. That’s typically not your listing (unless you’re selling a super interesting mansion).
Here’s how to get your pins found and shared:
- Create pins for local points of interest like markets, restaurants, and parks
- Make data pins visual with graphics
- Join real estate-related boards like the Pinterest Real Estate Group Board
You can also use Pinterest to generate traffic directly to your blog if you have one. That’s what this agent does.
Pinterest is a long game. Some pins may not gain traction for weeks. So focus on evergreen content that builds connections over time vs. only sharing current listings.
6. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is focused on helping people network. So it makes sense that real estate agents can use the platform to build a network of professionals like mortgage lenders, brokers, and such.
But when you consider that LinkinIn also has a much higher lead conversion rate than either Facebook or Twitter, it starts to look like an attractive place to find new clients, too.
Here’s how to navigate LinkedIn for real estate leads:
- Optimize your LinkedIn profile
- Get recommendations from past clients
- Interact with people who can send you leads (e.g. HR leaders that relocate employees)
It’s all about building credibility on LinkedIn. This real estate agent builds trust by regularly posting client success stories.
How else can you show credibility on LinkedIn? Share the conferences you attend, the certifications you earn, and the opinions you have about real estate.
7. Twitter
Even if you never use Twitter as a real estate lead generation channel, it’s still a benefit to scroll the app for industry news. But working it into your marketing strategy isn’t such a bad idea either.
Twitter has become a millennial digital haven, with its largest user group between the ages of 25 and 34. And its advanced search functions and list feature let you find and follow lots of important real estate accounts.
Here are a few best practices for real estate Tweets to jump-start your success:
- Add GIFs, photos, and videos to Tweets to boost engagement
- Retweet a lot to fill out your feed and build a network
- Ask questions in your Tweets to generate replies (algorithms love replies!)
And in case you were worried about serving up listings on Twitter, here’s how one agent does it well.
Home of The Day * 4/13/23
reshnet * 2158 San Ysidro Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
— Realtor Rogee (@RealtorRogee) April 13, 2023
If you click on the comments, you’ll see details about the home and another link to learn more about the agent.
How to pick the right social media platforms for promoting real estate
There are hundreds of international and niche social media websites. It’s impossible to have a presence on them all. Nor is it necessary.
Here’s how to widdle the list of social media sites to a few that’ll help your real estate business grow.
Know your niche
They say there are riches in niches. That’s certainly true for social media marketing in real estate. Before you pick a platform or post a listing, you’ll need to decide who you’re talking to.
For example, first-time homebuyers skew younger than the overall average. Luxury house shoppers have a different set of criteria. Using an audio trend on Tik Tok may generate interest from one group while leaving the other unengaged.
Gather traits like age, location, and income for the people that’ll be most interested in your listings. Then place that list against the user stats of different social media platforms.
Check user stats
Each social media platform shares its number of users and its demographics publicly. There are a few pieces of data you’ll want to review:
- Total number of users
- User base demographics (age, income)
- Geographic coverage and local engagement
Facebook is a lock for most real estate marketers. The bulk of its huge user base lands right in the center of home-buying age. TikTok is a little less of a sure thing, but if you’re targeting younger homebuyers it may be just the place for you.
Where you’ll need to do a bit of due diligence is for sites like LinkedIn. Is there a significant, active audience in the demographics you want to target? Check that out before investing too much time there.
To make your research easier, we’ve gathered the most important stats for every major social network:
- Facebook statistics
- Instagram statistics
- Twitter statistics
- LinkedIn statistics
- TikTok statistics
- YouTube statistics
- Pinterest statistics
Use a real estate-friendly platform
Even on social media apps with large followings, you’ll waste time and money if the platform isn’t designed to help you sell.
We left sites like Discord off this list. It has a sizable audience. And you can talk about real estate on its forums. But it’s not terribly image friendly, so you won’t spark interest in your listings.
Conversely, Meta’s Facebook and Instagram are tops in this category. They offer lots of training, posting, and advertising advantages for real estate marketers.
Best real estate social media campaigns
Top real estate agents get hundreds of leads each month from their social media accounts. Pull a page from the playbook of these high performers and start closing deals today.
Show social proof: Ross Realty
Buying or selling a house is a huge financial transaction for most people. They need confidence in the person that’ll guide the process. There’s no better way to build that trust with strangers than by sharing previous success.
The Ross Realty Facebook page, for example, is covered with social proof.
Source Ross Realty Group Facebook page
To steal the Ross Realty social media playbook:
- Use your header image for pictures of satisfied clients
- Add “Just sold” copy on pictures in your feed
- Make sure your review score is prominently featured (and mention your star rating often)
- Quote happy buyers in posts
An additional tactic: create a video case study of the selling/buying process. Include the challenges your client faced and how you helped overcome them.
Teach on TikTok: Holly Davis
Sure, your TikToks need to be fun. But the app has also become a platform for education and motivation. Showing up for your real estate clients there means teaching them valuable information.
Real estate agent Holly Davis seamlessly blends humor with valuable lessons on home buying, selling, and saving money.
@hollytherealtor_ #AXERatioChallenge #houstonrealtor #womeninrealestate #GetCrackin #quakerpregrain #readysetlift #homeowner #realestateinvesting #homesearch #preapproved #blackrealtors #houstonrealestate #htown #newhome #housetips #houstonhomes #firsttimehomebuyer #houston #preapproval
To teach like Holly Davis on TikTok:
- Make a list of your clients’ most frequent questions and misunderstandings
- Answer those questions in 15 to 60-second videos
- Use text overlays so people can follow along without sound
- Keep a consistent brand with colors, fonts, and video pacing
Variety is the spice of TikTok, so add some funny real estate-related skits and a few “a day in the life” videos, too.
Be strategic with hashtags: Bri Olson
Hashtags are how social media sites organize content. But you shouldn’t just dump a bunch of #s in every post. That’ll turn off clients and waste space on platforms like Twitter that restrict character use.
Instead, follow agent Bri Olson’s tactic of using a handful of strategic hashtags that are relevant to each post.
Flip through her content and you’ll see a unique collection of tags for each post.
Steal Olson’s playbook by including:
- State, city, and neighborhood tags like #denverhomes
- Agent tags like #coloradorealtor
- Buyer tags like #firsttimehomebuyer or #luxuryrealestate
- Action tags like #movingtoboulder or #backcountryliving
Hashtag placement is key and varies by the site your choose. On Twitter, place them in the text like “Check out this 2bd/2ba #denverhome located…” On Instagram, place tags at the end of your post or in the comments so they don’t get in the way of your content.
Social media tools for real estate marketing
As a real estate professional, you do the jobs of three or four people. There’s little time left for social media marketing. These tools will let you make an outsized impact on social without overwhelming your schedule.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is your all-in-one social media content creation, scheduling, and monitoring tool.
Hootsuite Composer is where you’ll create and schedule posts for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media sites. (And if you don’t love writing social posts, Hootsuite’s built-in OwlyWriter AI will do that for you — based on a text prompt or a listing link.)
With Composer, you can put together a week’s worth of content that’ll publish whenever you want. There are even personalized recommendations for the best times to post based on your audience analytics.
Speaking of analytics, Hootsuite Analytics lets you see how content from your social channels is performing on one dashboard.
You’ll also get industry benchmarks to see how your hilarious TikToks stack up against other real estate creators.
Pixlr
For houses, it’s all about the location. But in social media for real estate, image is everything. Each post you publish needs to be visually engaging while explaining your message fast. Pixlr is a photo editing and image creation tool that’ll help you do it.
On Pixlr, you can quickly crop photos, remove unwanted elements, and add text overlays. Best of all, there are plenty of templates and stock images to make creating content a breeze.
Source: Pixlr stock image library
Pixlr has a free version and its paid plans start at just 75 cents per month.
InVideo
We’ve seen some incredible examples of real estate listing, lifestyle, and educational videos. How can you create your own irresistible Facebook Reels and YouTube clips? With a tool like InVideo.
Invideo is easy-to-use video editing software that comes with dozens of templates designed for real estate marketers.
Source: InVideo template library
Using In-Video, you can also add royalty-free music, overlay voiceovers, and create a brand kit to keep your fonts and colors the same on each video.
Ready to uplevel your social media presence and generate leads on autopilot? Use Hootsuite to schedule, publish, and analyze your content and stay on top of DMs across all your platforms—from one dashboard. Try it free today.
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