Social Media Marketing for Real Estate: Basic Principles

Real Estate Social Media Marketing Ideas

Within the past few decades, social media marketing has become an invaluable tool for businesses both big and small, allowing them to reach a huge audience of prospective customers instantaneously. For real estate specifically, a strong social media presence attracts buyers and sellers alike, and leaning into social media marketing strategies is a great way to bolster your business, expand into new markets, and attract new clientele.

Lots of information about social media marketing circulates on the web, but to demystify what might feel like a daunting practice, we recommend starting with this guide and then turning to the resources listed at the end of this article. As Cheryl Lawson states in her online book, “Social media is simply another way to market a product or service using traditional theories adapted for new mediums.” Thus, you already know more than you realize about how social media marketing works, but, of course, there’s always more to learn.

Related: Best Social Media Tools for Real Estate Marketing

Why Do Agents Need to Post on Social Media?

Posting on social media is one of the most effective and simple ways to engage with potential customers. And, building a social media presence on various platforms allows you to reach as many eyes as possible, increase brand awareness, generate leads, and position yourself as a leader in the industry. Simply put, social media advertising works. As Hootsuite’s Hannah Macready points out, “While an online listing may get a few dozen views, a strategically managed social media account can reach thousands of potential customers.” Aside from making it easier for people to find you when you showcase your stellar work on these channels, you will connect to and network with local and global markets as well.

Real estate agents who post on social media also humanize themselves for their clients, becoming more approachable as well as visible members of their respective communities. Besides, many audiences now check social media first before reviewing a website, meaning that a strong presence is more vital than ever.

How Often Should an Agent Post on Social Media?

It’s important to find the right balance for posting. Too many posts will overwhelm and alienate your audience. Posting too infrequently will cause you to lose engagement, which undermines your social media strategy’s effectiveness. When determining how frequently to post, it is also crucial to consider the platform you’re using. For example, daily TikTok posts or Instagram reels are acceptable, whereas Instagram grid posts are best limited to 2 to 4 a week. Always keep in mind that quality over quantity is most important when using social media marketing for real estate.

Social Media Tips for Real Estate Agents & Apartment Locators

Use More than One Social Platform

Social media is everywhere, so, unfortunately, you can’t rely on just one or two accounts to drive your business. Gone are the days when one Facebook account would attract all of the clients a real estate agent or apartment locator could handle. Accounts across multiple platforms that highlight different kinds of content – written, photo, and video – are now necessary. Building your brand across multiple platforms compounds the benefits endemic to each, thus expanding your reach and exposure and making your efforts more effective. It’s as simple as: you get out what you put in.

Choose the Social Platforms Where Your Audience Lives

Don’t waste time posting on sites where your audience can’t find you. More obscure or niche platforms won’t yield the results you want despite there being much less competition on them; it’s better to focus on crafting quality content and curating your platform on more popular sites. 

However, among those top platforms, consider which channels your target audience spends the most time on and then focus on those apps. As Hannah Macready indicates, “older clientele might be more active on platforms like Facebook, while young influencers and content creators love YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram” (Hootsuite). In other words, follow your clientele to their online hangout spots, and chances are, they will follow you back.

The Most Common Social Media Outlets for Real Estate

• Instagram – This huge platform is all about visuals, so it is especially helpful for real estate marketing because users can see the properties and envision themselves in them from their screens.

• TikTok – Post casual, short-form videos that are trend-driven and have the potential to get lots of views since the platform is all about content discovery.

• YouTube – Great for long-form videos and has the potential to reach millions since these videos are easily embedded in websites or shared to other platforms such as X (Twitter), Facebook, etc.

• Facebook – Has more users than any other platform and a wealth of customizable marketing tools to fit any business.

Use a Social Media Content Management App

These days it’s much easier to manage, create, and schedule your social posts with a content management system like Hootsuite or Tailwind. Some of these apps contain built-in modules you can use to schedule and manage posts. This system creates an easy way to ensure that you stay active across all accounts and platforms without needing to keep your laptop within reach or your phone in hand at all times.

Should You Pay to Boost Your Ads? How Much?

Whether you should boost your ads depends on your marketing goals, budget, and the platforms you are using. It’s not always necessary or beneficial to pay for elevated advertisements, but it can help you gain traction. Of course, there are no guarantees that added engagement through buying ad boosts will expose your content to the right audience or that it will translate to new customers. 

Making sure your content is fresh, engaging, and targeted towards your audience is more important than boosting content. Consider boosting highly curated content only if that makes sense for your budget and goals. Also, consider hiring professionals in the relevant fields (photography, content writing, cinematography, etc.) to aid in creating quality content. 

Create a Publication Calendar

A good social campaign requires solid organization and that means a carefully thought-out calendar. UC Santa Barbara’s guide to Social Media Best Practices explains, “A social media content calendar is a document that visualizes your content strategy by tracking all posts for the week/month/year. This gives control over publishing and allows you to focus on the big picture rather than day-to-day posting.” A good content strategy supported by a detailed calendar takes time to implement, but the payoff well outweighs that initial investment. 

Likewise, measuring analytics is essential when planning that calendar. Among other metrics, social media platforms allow business users to see when followers are most active in addition to their interests and other habits. Choosing to post based on these statistics means that your target audience is more likely to engage with your content. Programs like Hootsuite help track this data. Measuring and strategically using this information can serve as an effective way to boost engagement, drive traffic, and ultimately attract potential clients.

For more marketing solutions, explore our articles on How to Market Yourself as an Apartment Locator and The Best Tech Tools for Real Estate Marketing.

Get Hands-on Social Media Training as an Apartment Locator

When you work as an apartment locator for AptAmigo, you receive extensive training and mentorship, including support from our designated social media experts. If you want to invest in yourself and your business by learning how to use social media strategically and effectively, consider joining our team of apartment experts. We guarantee that you’ll reap the rewards in no time.

Continue Learning about How to Use Social Media Marketing for Real Estate:

Intro to Social Media by Cheryl Lawson (Oklahoma State University)

Social Media Best Practices (UC Santa Barbara)

10 Real Estate Social Media Marketing Strategies That’ll Bring in New Business by Kipp Bodnar (Hubspot)

25 Low-Effort Real Estate Social Media Content Ideas by Semrush

The Complete Guide to Marketing Real Estate on Social Media by Hannah Macready (Hootsuite)

The 7 Best Social Media Platforms for Real Estate by Rob Glover (Hootsuite)

15 Great Social Media Training Courses and Resources by Sara Nguyen (Hootsuite)

2018 Report by the National Realtor’s Association on “Real Estate in a Digital Age”

How to Effectively Use Social Media for Real Estate by Brent Barnhart (Sprout Social)

Social Media Marketing Course (for members of the National Association of Realtors)

10 Free Online Courses for Learning Social Media Marketing by Kyle Pearce (DIY Genius)