The National Association of Realtors recently studied how its members used social media to drive sales and close deals. Among other things, the study found the following:
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99% of millennials turn to the internet to find homes before they turn to physical listings. Even 90% of baby boomers start their home search online.
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77% of realtors use social media for professional purposes.
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47% of real estate companies agree that leads from social media are of higher quality than leads from other sources.
No matter how you cut it, social media is essential to growing your real estate career. Having a real estate social network to leverage is critical, but with so many different platforms, it can be tough to decide where to promote your business.
If you want to execute a successful social media strategy, step one is knowing which platforms to use. Beyond that, it’s important to know the strengths and weaknesses of each platform. That way, you can maintain a consistent, disciplined social media presence that brings in business. Let’s talk about the top 10 social media platforms for promoting your real estate business.
What Is The Best Social Media For Real Estate?
So, what’s the best social media platform for real estate? This isn’t a trivial question. You’re busy running your business, and you don’t need a bunch of distractions. Perhaps the best way to get a short answer is to look at what other realtors are using. According to the NAR study we already mentioned:
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97% of realtors use Facebook
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59% use LinkedIn
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39% use Instagram
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10 Best Platforms For Real Estate Social Networks
In order to get the best results, you need to share the right content on the right platforms. In other words, establishing a good social media presence is about where you share your content just as much as it’s about the content you’re sharing. Here are the 10 best platforms for real estate in particular:
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Facebook
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Instagram
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LinkedIn
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TikTok
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Twitter
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Pinterest
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Trulia
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Zillow
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Active Rain
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NextDoor
1. Facebook
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 18 years, you’ve heard of Facebook. It’s one of the oldest social media platforms unless you count all-but-defunct sites like MySpace. For many people, getting excited about a platform that’s been around this long can be tough.
But there are some advantages to being this established. For one thing, you get incredible market penetration. 72% of U.S. adults log into Facebook at least once a day. And despite a much-publicized slip in popularity among Generation Z users, Facebook still accounts for over 50% of all U.S. social media activity.
Better yet, Facebook’s demographics fit well with the real estate market. 68% of the site’s users are between the ages of 25 and 65. The demographic also skews more educated; 82% of American college graduates have Facebook accounts, and the more than three quarters of users earn more than $75,000 per year.
Another great thing about Facebook is the ability to hyper-target your ads. Facebook has access to an incredible amount of data on its users, so you can focus on precisely the people you want to advertise to. In addition, Facebook’s review feature lets you garner reviews from satisfied clients, which can help grow your business organically.
2. Instagram
Instagram, which Facebook owns, might seem like an odd platform for a real estate agent. But as a matter of fact, it’s one of the more powerful platforms out there. To begin with, because of its connection with Facebook, it has the same advanced advertising tool and insight into its user base. And as a bonus, if you’re already on Facebook, you can run both accounts from the same place.
Another great reason to use Instagram is the visual nature of the site. If you’re looking for a great place to promote listings, why not turn to a site that’s purpose-built for posting photographs.
Instagram’s user base skews young. The largest user cohort is between the ages of 25 and 34, encompassing 32% of the platform’s users. This makes it great for selling to a younger audience. Engagement is also high, with 59% of the site’s users logging in daily, and 80% using the platform at least once a week.
On the downside, a lot of Instagram’s users are too young to be in the market for real estate; 37% of users are either 13 to 18 or 18 to 25 years old. As for U.S. adults as a whole, only 40% use Instagram at all.
3. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a less-than-ideal platform for advertising. However, as a professional networking site, it’s a perfect platform for connecting with other agents in your area. You can build a personal network to swap leads, and share your listings with agents you know who might be interested.
Networking doesn’t have to be limited to other agents. Broaden your horizon, and connect with real estate professionals like mortgage brokers, home inspectors, and appraisers. It can even be helpful to network with moving companies, so you’ll have someone to refer your clients to.
Another good way to use LinkedIn is if you work in commercial real estate or if you often partner with real estate investors. In those cases, LinkedIn is ideal for connecting with your clients.
4. TikTok
TikTok is one of the newer social media platforms. It’s gotten a lot of attention, mostly for short viral videos filled with quick cuts and filters. The user base skews young – very young. But as it grows in popularity, it’s slowly but surely gaining more professional users.
This isn’t a great place to share listings. But it’s a great place to show off projects and share tricks of the trade. For example, if you’re a house flipper, you can show off before and after videos of your properties. Keep it short and sweet, and you never know; it might just go viral.
5. Twitter
At first glance, Twitter looks like a promising platform for promoting your real estate business. The user base is certainly the right age, with more than 50% of Twitter users falling between the ages of 25 and 49.
The problem with Twitter is that it’s all but impossible to run an effective ad campaign or build any kind of network. This site is all about the latest news and trending hashtags. It’s not a bad place to see what people are talking about in the market, but that’s about it.
6. Pinterest
Pinterest is similar to Instagram in that it’s a visual platform. This makes it a great place to share photographs of your listing. And while it might not have the same panache as Facebook, it has a surprisingly high number of users. Not only that, but they fall into just the right demographic for real estate. Here are some basic facts:
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Pinterest has 86 million monthly U.S. users
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The majority of Pinterest users are under the age of 49
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When planning life events, 85% of women look to Pinterest for inspiration, compared to 53% for Facebook and 44% for Instagram
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43% of users plan on buying their ideal home within five years
That last number is a big deal, and it should be a big, flashing neon sign to any real estate professional. Pinterest might not catch as many eyeballs as some other sites, but it’s catching the right eyeballs.
7. Trulia
First and foremost, Trulia isn’t a social media platform; it’s an MLS listing website. However, it has a page called Trulia Voices, where members can interact with each other.
A lot of this interaction comes in the form of questions and answers. Newer agents often come to Trulia Voices for advice, making it a great place for more experienced agents to build a reputation for expertise.
8. Zillow
Zillow is another listing website, so it’s not a social media platform per se. But much like Trulia, it has a user forum where people can ask and answer questions. So if you’re trying to build a reputation, it makes sense to be active on both sites.
9. Active Rain
Active Rain is a professional networking site that’s similar to LinkedIn but built specifically for real estate professionals. This is a perfect platform for networking with agents, appraisers, mortgage brokers, and other people who are active in your local real estate market. The site also includes a referral system, so you can leverage your networking to grow your real-world business.
10. NextDoor
NextDoor is a unique social media platform that’s meant to build connections within individual neighborhoods. If you’re running a local neighborhood agency, this is a great place to grow relationships with your neighbors.
New Real Estate Social Media Network Platforms
Before we wrap up, there are a couple of up-and-coming social media platforms that are worth mentioning:
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Clubhouse – Clubhouse is an audio streaming service that’s similar to a live podcast. Audience members can provide feedback to the speaker in real time. It’s great for seminars as well as for question-and-answer sessions.
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Twitter Spaces – Twitter Spaces is another audio-sharing service that’s similar to Clubhouse. Because it’s tied in with Twitter, it can be easier to attract an audience than it can with an independent platform.
How To Choose Platforms For Your Real Estate Social Network
Maintaining a presence on as many social media platforms as possible might be tempting. Don’t. There are too many platforms, and you’ll spend so much time on social media that it takes time away from your core business. Not only that, but by spreading out your efforts, it’s harder to grow your audience.
Instead, focus on building two or three strong social media accounts, and using them to promote each-other. When choosing your platform, consider the following factors:
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The number of engaged users
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The average age of users
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Users in your area
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Whether or not users are interested in real estate
Whatever you do, remember that social media engagement itself won’t increase your revenue. Instead, focus on generating leads and attracting new business. This isn’t about getting as many likes as possible. It’s about doing more business.
Summary
As you can see, all 10 of these social media platforms can be useful to an enterprising real estate agent. The important thing is to develop a coherent strategy. Are you trying to reach younger buyers with video content? Think about doing some TikTok videos. Want to network with other professionals? Turn to LinkedIn.
By sharing the right content on the right platforms, you’ll get more than just engagement on your posts and build your real estate social network. You’ll get real-world results that translate into leads, sales, and more business.
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