We’ve already discussed how you can leverage Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook to build your social media presence. But what about TikTok for real estate agents?
If you have children, work with young people, or keep up with social media trends, you’re probably quite familiar with TikTok. The social media platform is closely associated with choreographed dances, lots of lip-syncing, and the occasional personal story. However, what many real estate professionals overlook is the fact that TikTok can work in your favor as a powerful marketing tool.
Recently, TikTok has faced scrutiny regarding privacy concerns and potential bans, making the platform’s future somewhat uncertain. Despite this, its current popularity cannot be denied.
Assessing your target demographic is crucial when deciding whether TikTok is right for your marketing strategy. Because TikTok’s user base primarily consists of Gen Z and millennials, it might not be the most effective platform for real estate professionals looking to attract luxury buyers or a more mature audience.
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Why use TikTok for real estate marketing?
TikTok’s user base has seen explosive growth, and the platform is expected to reach more than 2 billion users in 2024, according to recent statistics from DataReportal. This massive audience, combined with the app’s For You page algorithm, makes TikTok a helpful element in many agents’ real estate marketing strategies.
Lead generation
When you create content for Facebook and Instagram, it mainly reaches current followers (unless you deploy paid ads). That’s why Meta platforms are better suited to building trust and authority with existing leads unless you have a significant paid campaign budget. TikTok, on the other hand, focuses less on your existing followers.
The For You page shows users videos based on their activity, allowing you to reach new viewers without ads. And as Sprout Social puts it, TikTok has created viral potential that has never been seen before. It’s also quite sticky; users spend an average of 52 minutes per day on the app, offering ample opportunity for your content to be seen.
Property marketing
To be a successful agent, you need to showcase properties to as many people as possible. TikTok’s ability to surface video content to new viewers is excellent for creating buzz around listings.
Posting video tours on TikTok has helped some agents get hundreds of inquiries. For example, a video by Beverly Hills real estate agent Rochelle Maize showcasing the kitchen of a luxury mansion garnered more than 9 million views and a lot of engagement. Another viral success story is Josh Altman’s video showcasing the incredibly long pool in one of his listings, which racked up 4 million views in just a few days.
These success stories show that strategies around TikTok for real estate agents can make a big splash. The platform’s emphasis on short, engaging videos allows real estate agents to present properties in a dynamic way that resonates with today’s buyers.
Deploy your TikTok for real estate strategy
If you’re ready to dive into TikTok for real estate, here are six easy steps to get started.
1. Set up your account
It may take some experimentation to see what lands with your audience and what types of videos you can dedicate time to. But even if you’re a bit unsure of exactly what you’ll share over time, creating your account using assets that mirror the branding on your real estate website and other social platforms is a great start.
2. Create a content calendar
Real estate agents can leverage a TikTok content calendar to plan engaging posts in advance using tools like Hootsuite. This approach helps avoid last-minute stress, ensures consistency, and maximizes audience reach. Use templates or create a custom calendar, including details like dates, descriptions, and topics, to streamline your workflow.
3. Create your content in batches
Making time to record and edit videos is no easy task. Instead of trying to squeeze it in every day, sit down once every week or couple of weeks and film a batch of videos using the latest trending audio. This way, you’ll have a enough content to fill a regular schedule and keep showing up on your audience’s For You page without becoming too bogged down in your daily schedule.
4. Share
Once you’ve created your first batch of content, start sharing. Set a posting schedule for yourself from the beginning. Daily posts can help you gain momentum and followers, but you need to make sure that’s realistic given your ongoing capacity. Consistency and quality matter more than posting every day.
5. Get the timing right
Finding the right time to post on TikTok is crucial for real estate agents to maximize engagement. Use TikTok’s built-in analytics to determine when your audience is most active, considering various time zones. Posting during these peak times ensures your content reaches the largest number of viewers, driving higher interaction and potentially more leads.
6. Cross promote
Strategies around TikTok for real estate agents can be highly specific, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only place you can share the videos you create. You can repurpose your videos as Instagram Reels and share them on your other profiles as appropriate. It’s also a good idea to post about your TikTok presence on other platforms so that your existing followers can join you there.
Free social media templates
Ready to execute on these strategies but need a little design help? Our expert social media team put together three sets of engaging, on-brand post templates you can customize and deploy today.
TikTok for real estate agents: Best practices
Now that you’re set up on TikTok, here are some techniques that will help you succeed in the long term.
Determine your target audience
As with all marketing efforts, you need to narrow down your target audience and niche. Your target audience will depend on your location, your ideal client, and your career goals. While some agents gain visibility by sharing advice about real estate investing and other profitable side hustles, others (like Ontario agent Steevie Soucie) focus on educational videos about real estate processes and avoiding common mistakes.
Let your personality shine through
One of the biggest advantages of creating a TikTok for real estate agents strategy is that it gives you the chance to show your authentic self on camera. On TikTok, videos with faces often outperform those without. When watching educational videos or a helpful tidbit, people want to connect with the person they’re hearing advice from. Plus, when users find your personality compelling, they’ll be more likely to follow you and decide to work with you.
Use trends to your advantage
An important aspect of finding success on TikTok for real estate agents is staying on top of trends. The phrase “TikTok trends” might call to mind complex dance choreography or silly pranks, but don’t worry — you don’t have to dance to be successful on TikTok.
Use trending audio to engage potential clients. Set aside a few minutes each week to scroll through your For You page and save any sounds you hear coming up repeatedly. This could be a sound bite you’ll lip sync to or a popular song you’ll layer a video on top of to showcase a property. Just make sure they resonate with your overall brand.
Utilize cover images
Creating a polished and professional appearance is key to attracting viewers. To achieve this, pair each of your videos with a compelling cover image. Successful cover images often include text that informs viewers about the video’s content, enticing them to watch more once they visit your profile.
For example, a trending format in the luxury real estate space is to write headlines like “Tour this $5M NYC apartment” on cover images. Once someone has watched one video, you want them to click around your profile and watch more of your content. Telling them what to expect of each video is a great way to encourage that engagement.
Grab attention fast
Attention spans are short, and on social media, users expect to be entertained or invested in the first few seconds of viewing a new piece of content. In order to grab attention quickly, start all your videos with a compelling hook.
This might be a question, such as, “What do I do if I’m under contract for a home and my inspector finds a huge issue?” In this case, your video would go on to explain a few key considerations and steps a client might need to think through in this situation. Make sure your content always lives up to the promise suggested in the hook.
Incorporate captions
Many smartphone users scroll through video content without turning on the sound. Using captions helps keep your content engaging even for those who can’t hear you. It also makes your content accessible for those with hearing issues.
Create a series
When it comes to accumulating followers, TikTok can be tricky for real estate agents. With a never-ending stream of entertaining videos specially curated for them, it’s difficult to pull users away from the For You page and onto your profile. One way to motivate viewers to check out your profile — and, ideally, follow you — is to create a series.
You can use a series to break up a complex process, creating a new post for each step. For example, Steevie Soucie put this strategy to work with a series breaking down three top mistakes to avoid as a homeowner.
Use a mix of organic and paid posts
As with any social media strategy, incorporating an ad budget can turbocharge your growth. Here’s how to do it: First, create organic content that highlights your expertise, such as video tours and case studies. Then, complement this with paid posts to enhance visibility. For instance, if an eye-catching video of your latest listing garners substantial views, turn it into a paid ad to maximize its impact.
Run your social strategy by our experts
From developing a calendar to posting content, our team can grow your following, increase engagement, and establish you as a market and lifestyle expert.
Top 8 TikTok real estate accounts to follow
Real-life inspiration may be the best way to discover the power of TikTok for real estate agents. Watch these influencers engage audiences, showcase properties, and elevate their brands to learn how to apply these strategies in your own business.
Ryan Serhant
Ryan Serhant, the dynamic leader of luxury brokerage SERHANT, regularly captivates his more than 800,000 followers on TikTok. We love Ryan’s exceptionally high-quality videos and audio, use of captivating storytelling, ability to showcase properties in an eye-catching fashion, and overall charisma and charm. This video is a perfect example of all the above.
Tat Londono
A notable real estate coach on TikTok, Tat Londono boasts more than 2.8 million followers thanks to her flair for business and marketing. She applies this skill set to her own videos, displaying a mastery of hooks, captivating scripts, and storytelling while also giving plenty of valuable advice to her audience. When combined, the result is an incredibly well-polished personal brand, on display in this video about AI in real estate.
Daniel Heider
With more than 3.7 million followers on TikTok, Daniel Heider creates videos that are optimized to go viral with a balance of catchiness and high energy. For example, when the song “Hard Knock Life” was trending, Daniel cleverly layered the sound over a listing video and added a caption that tied the audio and video together, which brought in millions of views.
Glennda Baker
One of the original powerhouses when it comes to social video strategies for real estate, Glennda Baker has amassed more than 800,000 followers on TikTok. Known for sharing entertaining stories about past clients and closed deals as well as educational videos targeting agents, buyers, and sellers, Glennda’s success hinges on her authenticity. Her ability to genuinely engage with her community is a key takeaway for anyone looking to boost their social media presence.
Antonio Cucciniello
Antonio Cucciniello has garnered a substantial TikTok following of more than 700,000 by sharing insights into first-time real estate investing in a Q&A format. Not only does he produce informative content, but he also offers mentorship programs, tools, and books for budding investors. One key takeaway from Antonio’s strategy is his focus on education, which is helpful for anyone looking to build credibility in real estate.
Tyler Hassman
A dynamic real estate agent in the Calgary area, Tyler Hassman has attracted more than 250,000 TikTok followers. In his youthful, TV-host style, he offers TikTok lessons from his profile that any real estate agent can benefit from. He tackles the importance of staying on trend, creating videos optimized for the platform with catchy thumbnail images and headlines, and editing techniques that draw viewers in.
Eli Jones
While not an agent or investor, Eli Jones is worth watching. As a prominent real estate photographer, he has a following of more than 200,000 on TikTok. Some strategies worth noting on his account include great editing skills and the use of graphics, music, quality lighting, and engaging scene transitions. He pairs this with valuable information about how to run a successful photography business that is often translatable to the agent experience.
Callan Edick
Callan Edick creates fun real estate videos with a family-friendly twist. Her 100,000 followers get a true glimpse into her life when she shares content like her “Adventures in Real Estate” series, where she films the most outrageous things that come to pass at her showings, like being chased by a chicken. These videos allow her to showcase her listings in an engaging way.
Let us help you leverage your TikTok for real estate strategy
Want help getting started on TikTok? As one of the fastest-growing digital platforms for real estate professionals, Luxury Presence can help build your brand, close more deals, and expand your network. Get in touch to learn more about our bespoke social media strategies.
