If you’re struggling to market your business on social media, or worse, haven’t even started yet, you might be in for a rude awakening in 2025. While you were pulling your hair out trying to come up with the perfect post idea, other agents in your farm area just…did it. Sure, they made mistakes, but today, their social media marketing is helping them build their personal brands and generate leads — even while they sleep.
Of course, building a social media presence that generates leads while you sleep isn’t easy. It requires strategic planning, the right tools, and maybe most importantly, a mindset shift. To help, we put together our best strategies for real estate social media marketing that still work, common mistakes to avoid, how to choose which platforms to focus on, and our favorite free and paid social media tools that can cut your work in half.
First, let’s dig into why social media is still the best marketing tool for every agent.
The goal of real estate marketing is simple but not easy: Get people who want to buy or sell real estate to know, like and trust you enough to pick up the phone and call you. Leads that call from traditional marketing strategies like pay-per-click (PPC) ads or postcards probably already trust you — they wouldn’t call you if they didn’t — but that’s where the hard work of getting them to know and like you begins. That’s a lot of pressure for one phone call and where most new agents fail.
When leads contact you after following you on social media, the hard work of getting them to know and like you is already done. If you follow my tips below, your social media account will show off not only your real estate expertise so leads trust you — but also your unique personality, sense of humor, day-to-day triumphs and struggles, and even your hobbies and family life. It’s like starting off on third base!
It’s also backed up by science. Studies show that 58% of people would be willing to pay MORE to work with someone who doesn’t work for a big company, but has an established personal brand. Social media gives you the perfect opportunity to build a brand that resonates.
Now that you have a better idea of why social media is so crucial for your business, here’s a quick breakdown of the marketing opportunities and drawbacks for the five biggest platforms.
If you want to get your marketing in front of a buyer or seller who is close to a transaction, Facebook is still the best place to do it. Period. An astonishing 70% of all adults in the United States use Facebook, and more than 54% of those users are over the age of 35. If that number doesn’t ring any bells, it should. It’s the median age for a typical first-time home buyer. Even better, unlike other social media platforms, more than 20% of Facebook’s users are over the age of 60 — the median age for home sellers in 2023!
Facebook Pros & Cons
- Targeted advertising for buyer and seller leads
- Demographics are perfect for reaching property owners
- Popularity is waning compared to other platforms
- Harder to go viral than on Instagram or TikTok
Best marketing strategies for Facebook in 2025:
- Promoting listings
- Engaging with your community
- Lead nurturing
- Advertising for buyer & seller leads
Since Instagram’s users skew a bit younger than Facebook, you’ll be less likely to market to homeowners over 60 on the platform. That said, the percentage of users in the 35 to 44 age range is nearly identical to Facebook, so it’s an ideal platform to reach first-time buyers and younger sellers. It’s also easier to go viral, with higher engagement than Facebook. That means more personal interactions with potential leads — a key marketing metric in 2025.
Instagram Pros and Cons
- Higher engagement than Facebook
- Can reach a younger demographic
- Fewer likely sellers over 60 than on Facebook
- Video focus means text-based ads won’t perform as well
Best marketing strategies for Instagram in 2025:
- Educating buyers and sellers with video
- Promoting listings
- Engaging with potential leads
- Building brand awareness
- Targeted advertising opportunities
I ranked LinkedIn the third best tool for marketing your business for one simple reason. It’s the best place to find high-income professionals relocating to your farm area. Even better, since most of your competition will be focused on Facebook and Instagram, you might be one of the only Realtors they’re talking to.
Linkedin Pros and Cons
- High-income professional audience
- Perfect for finding corporate relocation clients
- Fewer users than other platforms
- Lower engagement than other platforms
- Limited ad targeting options
Best marketing strategies for LinkedIn in 2025:
- Networking with relocation leads
- Lead nurturing
- Market updates
- Market predictions
- Educating buyers and sellers
While YouTube is more of a search engine than a social media platform, it’s still an excellent channel to reach first-time buyers. Why? YouTube uses an algorithm similar to Google’s, which means it prioritizes local content. So if your lead is searching Google for the best neighborhoods in your farm area, your YouTube video covering that topic is not only more likely to show up in their search results, it’s also more likely to be promoted to that lead whenever they log in to YouTube.
YouTube Pros and Cons
- The average time watching one video is 10x longer than Facebook or Instagram
- Local content is prioritized in the algorithm
- Much lower engagement than Facebook or Instagram
- Building an audience takes longer
- Limited ad targeting options
Best marketing strategies for YouTube in 2025:
- Hyper-local content
- Neighborhood guides
- Restaurant reviews
- Educating first-time buyers
- Local market predictions
Unless you’ve been hiding out in a cave with JD Salinger, you’ve probably been curious about marketing your business on TikTok. While a handful of agents have been racking up millions of views on the platform, connecting with leads who want to buy or sell a home can be challenging. There are two reasons why. The first reason is that the average age of a TikTok user is much lower than that of Facebook or Instagram. The second reason is that the platform prioritizes entertainment. It’s the crack cocaine of social media.
That said, the percentage of TikTok users in the 35 to 45 age range is growing every day. That makes TikTok a smart marketing play for the long haul. Only 12% of Realtors used TikTok to market their business in 2023. We expect that number fo grow in 2025.
TikTok Pros and Cons
- Easier to go viral than on other platforms
- Long-form videos from other platforms can be reused on TikTok
- Lower average age than other platforms
- Limited, but growing, ad targeting options
Best marketing strategies for TikTok in 2025:
- Behind-the-scenes videos
- Home tours
- Humorous content
- Skits and memes
- Educating first-time buyers
- Local market predictions
While X has the right demographics to reach buyers and sellers, it’s the least useful platform to market your business. Local targeting is almost non-existent, and most X users use the platform to find breaking news. Skilled marketers can use X’s advertising to reach potential buyers and sellers based on the content they engage with, but it’s tricky. There is one marketing task that X is perfect for — finding breaking real estate news and influencer trends to post on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.
X Pros and Cons
- Massive number of users
- Demographics are ideal for buying and selling real estate
- Lower average age than other platforms
- Limited, but growing, ad targeting options
Best marketing strategies for TikTok in 2025:
- Curating content to post on other platforms
- Networking with real estate influencers
Now that you’re (hopefully) inspired to go all-in on social media this year, let’s go through the best strategies for building your “know, like and trust” factor to start generating motivated leads.
1. Prioritize reputation over reach
The key to successful real estate social media marketing is to build meaningful connections with people in your farm area who want to buy or sell real estate. Creating a viral post that gets 10,000 likes might boost your ego, but it won’t help you sell more houses if none of those people live in your farm area. This is why creating an avatar of your ideal client and creating content for them (and only them) should be your primary goal on social media.
To generate leads from your social media posts, you need to know your ideal client’s needs, fears and desires, and know the problems they need you to solve for them. So before you post anything, take the time to figure out who your ideal client is and what they need and want from you.
Here’s an example of a post that targets empty-nesters with an emotional hook.
2. Write scroll-stopping hooks
Even if you’re THE hyper-local market expert, people will never know it if they don’t click on your posts. That’s where hooks come in. Hooks are short phrases that entice someone to click on your post. Good hooks pique curiosity or answer a burning question your ideal client has at a specific stage of their buying or selling journey.
Scroll-stopping hooks are crucial for building engagement on social media. Not just for getting more views and likes, but for people scanning your profile for the first time to see what you talk about to decide if they want to follow you. Well-crafted hooks will convince them to check out more of your posts and (hopefully) call you. Here’s an excellent example of a scroll-stopping hook to get followers to read educational content. Who doesn’t want to learn mortgage secrets banks don’t want you to know?
If you want scroll-stopping hooks and educational content like this, check out the viral real estate marketing company that wrote it: Coffee & Contracts. They have hundreds of gorgeous, done-for-you templates and scripts for Reels, Stories, carousel posts, and much more. All created by Realtors, for Realtors.
3. Focus on storytelling
A scroll-stopping hook might convince someone to click on your post, but a compelling story will keep them there. So, if you want to generate leads from social media, focus on telling stories that resonate with local buyers and sellers.
Why do stories work so well for generating leads on social media? Studies show that people remember up to 22 times more information from a story than from facts alone. That means people who watch or read your stories will be far more likely to remember that you’re a hyper-local market expert, a hard worker or that you offer concierge-level customer service.
Even better, since social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok rank content based on how long people watch or read, your content will be shown to more people.
Want to tell your story on Instagram but still camera shy? Don’t sweat it. Just post an image carousel post with a scroll-stopping hook and tell your story in the caption:
4. Embrace the cringe
One of the most common excuses we hear from agents who haven’t started on social media is that they don’t want to embarrass themselves. They still think every marketing piece they produce needs to be polished and professional. Guess what? Not only is this no longer true in 2025, but platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels actually reward agents who create informal content.
Agents with hundreds of thousands of followers, like Glennda Baker, just pick up their phones, hit record, and start talking. So get over your fear of being perfect and start creating content that resonates with buyers and sellers. Remember, people want to work with other people, not brands.
Will your first few videos make you want to die of embarrassment? Maybe, but the only way to get over it is to get started.
Here’s an example of an Instagram post with a scroll-stopping hook that tells a compelling story. The agent is just sitting in her car talking into her phone.
5. Optimize your profile for conversions
Pinning your best content and an “about me” post to the top of your profile is one of the best ways to get potential leads to contact you. After all, 100% of the people who are considering hiring you will click on your profile first. An optimized profile page will make it easy for them to take the next step — even if that next step is to follow you.
Your profile bio should offer your contact information, including your phone number and email address, the areas you serve, and ideally, a “link in bio” tool like link.tree that connects them to a landing page on your website, your Zillow profile or a new client intake form.
Of course, not everyone who clicks on your profile will reach out just because you have your contact information listed. To convince the tire kickers to pick up the phone or just give you a follow, pin a quick “about me” post or video, a testimonial, or other content that tells people who you are and what you can offer them to the top of your profile.
6. Create content every single day
Instead of waiting for inspiration to strike, commit to creating content for social media every day. As a Realtor, you have endless opportunities for content creation.
Touring a new listing? Take a quick sneak peek video. Have an open house? Go live on Facebook or show off your snack table or marketing materials. Just helped a client through a tricky closing? Shoot a quick video telling their story and how you saved the day.
Reality shows like Million Dollar Listing are hits for a good reason. Social media gives you a chance to create your own!
7. Only post content that helps people know, like & trust you
If you’re on the fence about whether or not to create content, ask yourself if it will help your target audience know, like or trust you more. If it will, post it! If you won’t, save it for your personal account.
Here are a few examples of content that will help people know, like and trust you.
And here are some that probably won’t.
8. Create a content calendar to schedule your posts
If you create content every day, you might be surprised at how quickly you build enough for a full week (or even a full month) of social media posts. The next step to building a bulletproof social media account is to create a content calendar to schedule your posts.
Your goal is to distribute the content that gets people to know, like, and trust you throughout the month. For example, you might want to schedule market updates on Mondays, educational videos on Thursdays, and open house promotions on Fridays. Once you have created your content calendar for the month, start loading posts using an automated social media tool like Buffer or Hootsuite.
Here’s an example of an effective content calendar from Coffee & Contracts.
9. Grow your brand by helping your local community thrive
Butcher, baker, candlestick maker — Realtor. It’s hard to overstate how much value you add to a local community — even if you got into real estate just for the money. You help promote the area to new homeowners and help locals build generational wealth. You help build communities, one home sale or purchase at a time. In return, you get a thriving business. A win-win.
Pay it forward by helping your community thrive, and your brand will grow. A new coffee shop just opened on Main Street? Interview the owner in an Instagram Reel. A historic local diner fell on hard times? Start a GoFundMe to help them raise money. Even if you don’t get a single new lead, helping your local community thrive will make you more enthusiastic about showing it off to new buyers. There is nothing more contagious than enthusiasm!
Now that you know a bit more about how to approach social media, let’s take a look at some common mistakes agents make.
10. Hiding behind your brokerage
If you’re a new agent, you might be tempted to avoid the spotlight and lean on your brokerage’s reputation on social media. After all, people already know, like, and trust your brokerage.
This approach has two massive problems: First, no one cares that you work for Douglas Elliman. They care if you have the knowledge and expertise to get them what they want. Second, people like following other people on social media, not big brands. Ryan Serhant’s personal Instagram has almost two million followers. His SERHANT. brokerage account has a little under 400,000.
11. Avoiding video
In real estate social media marketing, video is still king. Listing videos give buyers a much better idea of what a property is really like than even the best photos, and studies show that eye contact, even on video, helps build trust with consumers. What better way to give your potential clients a sneak peek of what it’s really like to work with you?
Video is not just about selling properties and building trust. It can also get your content in front of more people. Algorithms on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook heavily favor video, and you won’t be able to post anything on TikTok or YouTube without it.
12. Not posting a variety of content
One of the most common mistakes I see agents and brokers make on social media is posting the same types of content over and over again. Sure, videos are a perfect way to get your followers to know, like, and trust you, but not all of your followers will want to watch them. Instead, focus on variety when you plan out your content calendar. You’ll increase your odds of reaching more followers, and as a bonus, you’ll make your profile more appealing. A good rule of thumb is to post around 80% fun content and 20% promotional content.
13. Only using your headshot
The days of having one hyper-glossy headshot that you plaster everywhere are long gone. Don’t get me wrong, a good headshot is a crucial part of your personal brand. But does it truly reflect who you are as a person? Does it give potential leads a taste of what it might be like to spend four hours in your car with you next Sunday?
Instead, take the time to shoot lifestyle pictures to add a bit of your personality to your market updates, educational content and other non-video content. Here’s an example of an agent using a lifestyle photo instead of a headshot on Instagram:
If you want to save time, money, and effort marketing your brand on social media this year, these three tools are must-haves.
If you want to save time, money, and effort on your social media marketing this year, these three tools are must-haves:
Best for video editing: CapCut
Starting price: Free – $9.99 per month
If you’ve watched a viral video or meme on social media in the last few years, chances are it was edited with Capcut. Capcut offers many of the same tools professional video editors use in a lightweight, easy-to-use platform. Even better? You can use a basic version of Capcut for free.
Best for scheduling & automated posting: Buffer
Starting price: Free – $6 per month for single users
Thankfully, social media posting tools like Buffer have made manually posting your content a thing of the past. With Buffer, you can load a month’s worth of content and it will post it to your account for you — automatically. It even includes an AI assistant and landing page builder. All for free.
Best for social media templates: Coffee & Contracts
Starting price: $54 per month
Founded in 2018 by Realtor Haley Ingram, Coffee & Contracts takes the guesswork out of promoting your personal brand on social media. Focusing primarily on Instagram, Coffee & Contracts has almost everything you need to plan, create, and post a full year of social media content from day one. They’re making real estate social media a prettier place to scroll, and for that, we’re grateful.
Best for Facebook & Instagram advertising: StreetText
Starting price: $59 per month
Streetext is an affordable and easy-to-use platform that provides proven templates and funnels for advertising on Facebook. It’s a must-have if you want to start advertising on Facebook but don’t know where to start. Instead of jumping into the deep end, you can use their plug-and-play ads to start generating leads instantly.
Best for content creation: A flagship smartphone
An easy way to improve your social media marketing is to invest in the best phone you can afford – preferably a flagship from Apple or Samsung. Here’s why: The quality of your phone’s camera, microphone and processing power matters more than you think. The latest and greatest iPhone might not be 10x better than your 3-year-old burner phone, but it WILL be better. Even subtle improvements in photo and video quality can help your brand look more polished and professional on social media. Marketing is a game of inches. If you’re 1% better than your competition, you’ll grow faster and eventually, gain more market share.
Real estate social media marketing: The full picture
Contrary to what many so-called experts claim, social media is still the best place to market your real estate business. Unlike traditional marketing, it gives you the perfect opportunity to get potential buyers and sellers to know, like and trust you over the long haul.
If you focus on building your personal brand, making meaningful connections with your audience, and use the right tools, it can help you generate leads and build a business that survives in any market.
