How To Generate Leads Real Estate: 12 Social Media Tips

At Paperless Pipeline, we’ve worked with many real estate agents over the years, and we see firsthand how they get their clients. Almost all of them use social media to generate real estate leads. 

It’s not just our experience that reflects this. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), an incredible 90% of realtors use Facebook in their business. Around half use Instagram and LinkedIn. 

People use these channels because they are effective for generating leads. The NAR found that 52% of realtors generated more real estate leads through social media than any other channel—including their customer relationship management (CRM) and multiple listing service (MLS) sites. 

Social media is a great alternative to cold calling and other lead-generation strategies. Done right, it’ll also generate quality leads in the form of sellers and buyers who are ready to take action.

So, there’s no denying that a real estate agent must have a strong social media presence and a strategy for managing it. If they don’t, they risk dropping behind their competitors.

With that in mind, here are some real estate social media tips you can use to make the most of this potentially lucrative source of leads.

12 Top Real Estate Lead Generation Tips for Social Media 

Now that you know just how robust social media can be in attracting qualified leads to your business, here are our top tips for getting real estate lead generation on social media right.

1. Start with a strategy

Social media marketing is one of the best ways to generate leads for your real estate business. However, much like you wouldn’t start a company without a business plan, you shouldn’t embark on the social media process without a plan in place.

Running social media accounts without a strategy can become an aimless activity where you post whatever you can think of and hope it’ll work.

That’s why starting with a clearly defined plan is the best idea. It will help you determine how you’re going to market your business on social media sites and generate quality leads.

Your strategy should include:

🎯 Your target audience

When you started your real estate business, you likely already knew who your ideal client was. 

Establishing the same thing for your social media marketing efforts is crucial before you start. Do some research and consider your target audience’s:

• Age
• Location
• Interests
• Online behavior

For example, you may want to target men and women between the ages of 35 and 45 who live in or near your city or town.

If you know who you’re targeting on social media, you can tailor the content you post accordingly. 

📱 Your chosen platforms

Now that you know who your target audience is, it’s time to choose which social media platforms you’ll be using. You should make this decision based on where your target audience spends most of their time online.

For example, the average age of Facebook users is 25 to 34, whereas the age of most TikTok users is 18 to 34. 

This will take some research, but you should select the platforms you’re going to be active on based on what you know about your target audience.

⬇️ Keep reading to find out more about choosing the right social media platforms for your business!

✍️ Your content pillars

Your content pillars are the categories that your social media posts will fall under. The most common content pillars people use are:

• Informative
• Educational
• Entertaining
• Inspirational
• Promotional

Once you know what your pillars are, you can start creating content that falls into each category.

⬇️ Later in this article, we’ll share the best kinds of content for a real estate professional to post, so stay tuned.

📅 The dates and times that you’ll post

To get your content seen by as many people as possible, you need to determine the best days and times to post. 

Although social media algorithms are constantly changing, the best times and days to post in the real estate industry are:

• Instagram: Saturdays from noon to 21:00.
• Twitter: Wednesdays and Fridays between 9:00 and noon.
• LinkedIn: Mondays from 9:00 to 15:00.
• YouTube: Fridays and Sundays from 6:00 to 9:00.

🤝 How you’re going to nurture leads

The last part of your strategy to consider is what you’ll do once you’ve generated a real estate lead. When a prospective client approaches you on Facebook, for example, where are you going to direct them for more information or to set up a meeting with you?

You could:

• Set up a custom landing page where they can find more details about your business and listings.
• Direct them to a calendar app to book a meeting with you.
• Get their contact details right away and get in touch with them promptly.

⬇️ Keep reading to learn more about lead nurturing beyond social media. 

The following tips will all inform your social media marketing strategy.

2. Choose your social media channels

As mentioned above, the best social media site to choose is the one that your prospective clients use. 

This means that Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube are top choices for realtors looking to build a social media presence.

Each of these sites has a huge number of visitors. More importantly, they have the right audience—they are heavily used by millennials, the generation that the NAR says is currently buying the most houses. 

Here is a rundown of what makes each platform useful:

➡️ Facebook: Best for business profiles and messaging

Facebook is by far the most used social network by realtors. It lets you create an impressive real estate business profile.

You can also use the platform’s communication tools, such as Messenger, to talk directly to prospective clients. 

➡️ Instagram: Best for photos, stories, and reels

You don’t get as many business profile options on Instagram, but it’s a great place to share images and short videos of your properties. 

Instagram is owned by Meta, the same company that owns Facebook. So, you can use their platform, Facebook Business Manager, to create targeted ads on both sites.

➡️ LinkedIn: Best for industry networking

LinkedIn is another platform that can help you expand your network and increase your industry authority. However, it’s not necessarily a great option for connecting with customers. 

But there are huge opportunities for networking with other real estate agents and establishing your authority in your field. 

➡️ YouTube: Best for videos

There are plenty of successful real estate YouTubers. Some of the biggest contributors have hundreds of thousands of followers and get millions of views. 

There’s plenty of room to create a niche YouTube channel to build authority in your area. And it’s also an easy and free way to host and share video listings of your properties.  

➡️ TikTok: Best for new opportunities

There are some opportunities for realtors on TikTok, too. While this app’s user base tends to be younger—which means it may not have a high proportion of home buyers—the platform is growing rapidly, so now is a good time to establish a presence.

3. Publish the best types of content

The content you post is key to a successful real estate social media strategy. And you have plenty of options for the type of content you can publish. 

Here are some social media post ideas based on what popular realtors are posting about.

✔️ Listings

You won’t be surprised to hear that listings are central to most real estate social media strategies. This is the type of post that attracts people looking to buy. This would fall under your promotional content pillar.

Both Facebook and Instagram allow you to upload multiple photos in a single post. Make sure the most eye-catching one is the main photo, and then supplement this with a selection of other images.

Add a description, too. While the photo attracts potential customers, it’s the description that provides the details they need to take the next steps. Include practical elements like rooms, square footage, price, and next steps.

The image from Luxury Living Chicago below is an excellent example of a listing post on Instagram. It includes plenty of high-quality photos and contains all the information a buyer needs:

✔️ Social proof

Social proof posts, like success stories and reviews, show potential clients that you are good at what you do and that people enjoy working with you.

Real estate agent Dusty J Baker shares an image on his feed every time he successfully sells a property. It’s a simple yet powerful sign of success:

Like listings, social proof could fall under your promotional content pillar in your strategy.

✔️ Humorous content

This next type of post isn’t for everyone, but some realtors find success with humorous content. A post like this would fall under your entertaining content pillar.

The example below works because it is relevant to the challenges home buyers face:

✔️ Personal posts

Personal posts are a way to show potential clients your human side. They are appropriate when your social accounts are for your own brand rather than a brokerage. 

The post below from Joy Cerey is a good example. While the majority of her posts are of the luxury homes she sells in L.A., she adds in the occasional personal update: 

Social media users are looking for authenticity now more than ever, so showing off the human aspect answers this demand.

✔️ Tips and guides

Realtors often post real estate tips and guides to help clients with the buying or selling process. This is educational content.

To cover this category, you could create property guides for your area, provide renovation tips, or list things that people should prepare before buying or selling real estate. 

This helpful guide from Bill Gassett is a good example. It tells buyers all they need to know about how to win a bidding war:

✔️ Industry posts

Posting about the real estate industry is unlikely to attract potential clients, so why do it? Well, it can help your real estate business establish authority in the industry. 

And when people see your profile, it will show them that you know what you are doing and that you’re an expert in the industry.  

Here’s an example from Real Estate One with industry-related content that helps them establish authority on LinkedIn:

✔️ Showcase local businesses

An informative kind of post you can share is by spotlighting businesses, interesting attractions, and activities in the area you’re selling in. 

This may just be the final thing that convinces a potential client to make the decision to buy in your area (and use your services to do so).

Here’s an example from David S. Pollack Commercial Real Estate:

✔️ Open houses

If you have an open house or other real estate events on the horizon, posting about them on social media is an excellent idea.

Not only are you attracting more people to your events, but there’s a high potential for landing new clients.

Here’s an example of a post by Los Angeles Real Estate that promotes an open house:

4. Optimize your real estate agent profile

When someone sees your content and is interested in finding out more about you, the first thing they do is click on your profile. 

You must make it as easy as possible for people to contact you once they’ve reached your profile. 

Each social network is slightly different, but the information you should highlight is the same. 

On Facebook, fill out your About section so your website, phone number, and address are visible to all. This will also display your details in search engines like Google. 

Additionally, use a professional profile picture and banner image. 

Add profile calls to action (CTAs) that highlight how people can get in touch. The WhatsApp button in the profile below for London Real Estate Group is a nice touch.

You should also set up Facebook Messenger. This makes it easy for people to contact you via the platform. You can even add FAQs to your profile and set up basic chatbot automation to help people find answers to common queries.

Another useful option on Facebook is the ability to add information about the services you provide. Be sure to fill this in so your customers understand your offerings and you avoid missing out on business opportunities.

Instagram provides fewer options for creating a profile. You get a place to add a short biography and links. 

But this is plenty of room to give your audience all the key information.

Use the bio to add a short introduction to your business. Include your phone number and your email address. 

Ian Grossman’s profile below is a great example for real estate professionals: 

You could add your website to the URL section. But a better option is to add a URL to an Instagram link tree. 

LinkTree is a popular tool that enables this functionality and it offers you a free plan to get started.

With a link tree, when people click on your URL, they are taken to a separate landing page that includes links to all your important content. 

Typically this will include your website, other social channels, and your most recent listings. 

Ian Grossman’s link tree is set up just as well as his profile:

Instagram also lets you highlight video stories at the top of your profile. Consider using these to showcase recent listings or to provide more information about your services.   

5. Respond promptly

Being visible on various social media platforms means you’re going to get people contacting you on them. 

How you respond will impact whether you generate real estate leads or miss an opportunity. 

Speed is perhaps the most important factor. People expect fast answers when they communicate with businesses on social media, and responding quickly means there’s less of a chance that the customer will look for another real estate agent to do business with. 

This can be tough if you have multiple social media accounts set up. Make sure you have app notifications turned on so you know when someone is reaching out. 

When responding, listen to your prospects’ needs. It can also help to have a list of your own questions that you know will nudge prospects down your real estate sales funnel. 

Examples of this include:

• Do you own a home?
• Do you have mortgage preapproval?
• Which neighborhoods are you interested in?

You may also want to use customer relationship management software to manage your incoming messages and respond to them. This would be a more suitable option for you if you’re receiving large volumes of social media messages each day. 

Some of these tools include:

• Zoho Social
• Salesforce Social Studio
• Sprout Social
• Buffer

6. Join social groups and become an active member

Social network groups are good places to communicate with people who may be interested in your services. 

The key is to find the forums, pages, groups, and communities that your target audience uses. These could be groups where people discuss tips and tricks for buying homes, like the one below: 

Or they could be local area groups related to the real estate market you operate in. These groups are typically on Facebook. Your area may also have a community on neighborhood platforms like Nextdoor. 

How you communicate in these groups is key to your success. 

Don’t dive straight in and advertise your service, unless this is something that is explicitly allowed. More often than not, this will not generate real estate leads and may annoy other group members. 

Instead, wait for opportunities to provide value. For example, you can offer advice whenever someone asks a real estate-related question. 

7. Consider the post-click experience

The post-click experience is an essential part of real estate marketing. When you post content on social media, the aim is to get someone to take the next step toward becoming a client. 

Make this easy to do by providing contact information and links in your posts. Add precise instructions and CTAs so people know how to take the next step. 

If you use your posts to direct people to your website, think carefully about where you send them to.

If you just send them to your business home page, you may be missing out on lead generation opportunities. Instead, ensure the page is relevant to the post they’ve clicked on. 

When adding links to posts about listings, make sure the link takes them either to the listings page on your website or—if you don’t have dedicated listings pages—a landing page that clearly outlines the steps the person should take to find out more about the property. 

Here’s an example from Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices of a landing page that tells users exactly what to do next, which is to find an agent:

Likewise, posts related to selling their property should take people to pages that contain more information about how to do this. 

Here’s a great example from Loida Velasquez. She has specific pages for each link in her link tree. 

For example, if you click on “free buying/selling consultation,” you are directed to an easy-to-use calendar page that tells you exactly what to expect and lets you quickly book a meeting.

The idea is that you should make the process as simple as possible for prospective clients. If the page isn’t what they expect, they would have to spend time searching for the information they want, which would most likely make them leave your page and look elsewhere. 

8. Talk about your area as well as your properties

We don’t need to tell real estate agents about the importance of location when selling a home. Make sure you spend significant time selling the property’s location when creating social media content. 

There’s another good reason to create content relating to your area: these posts have a far longer lifespan than posts about a property. 

Think about it. Listing posts are only useful for as long as the property is up for sale. In some cases, this can be a matter of days (or less).

But areas and neighborhoods don’t change, at least not as quickly as individual houses. This means any content you create that sells an area is evergreen: it will keep its value over time. 

There are additional benefits to this. The first is that you can reuse it. Repurpose the content and share it whenever it’s relevant—more on this shortly. 

While your posts may target a smaller audience, they could be the exact people you want to reach.

9. Schedule content

We know that being active on social media can be a major drain on your time. And it’s easy to let your content creation efforts slip as you focus on other parts of your real estate business.

A good way around this is to schedule your social media content in advance. Just dedicate a regular chunk of time to creating all the posts you will share over the following week. 

This way, you’ll keep your social media content pipeline full, and batching your posting efforts into a single time slot can save you time.

Facebook and LinkedIn allow you to schedule posts and have the platform automatically publish them at a time you set. 

Instagram doesn’t have this feature yet, but you can schedule posts with a third-party app such as Hootsuite. Just create the post within the app and decide what time you want it to go live:   

10. Repurpose content

Repurposing content is another effective time-saving strategy. The idea is that instead of creating new content for each social platform, you publish optimized versions of the same content on each one. 

In many cases, you can reuse the content in exactly the same way on each site. For example, Luxury Living Chicago posts the same content to both its Instagram and Facebook accounts:

You can also optimize posts to make them suit the platform you are posting to. 

For example, you could:

• Publish a link to a blog post on Facebook.
• Post a summary of the post to LinkedIn.
• Share the blog post’s key takeaways by displaying them in a series of images on Instagram. 

This strategy works for all types of content. Publish videos on YouTube and Facebook in their regular widescreen aspect ratio, then publish versions cropped to a portrait ratio on your Instagram reels or TikTok. 

11. Use social media ads

The best thing about doing your own social media marketing is that the cost is significantly lower. But if you’re willing to spend a little extra to guarantee more views, then paid social media advertising is a great option.

We’re big advocates of Facebook ads; here’s why: 

• They’re inexpensive: Email marketing tool Constant Contact found Facebook ads for real estate generate 44 leads per ad, with a cost per lead of just $2.44.

• They offer a quick return: Another factor that makes Facebook ads effective is that they are easy to set up and generate results quickly. Even a beginner can create a campaign and start generating leads in days. 

• They have a huge reach: Facebook ads have the potential to reach 62.6% of all Americans aged over 13—that’s a potential audience of over 200 million people.

• They are targeted: Facebook offers a range of targeting options that allow you to hone in on your ideal clients. Most importantly, you can choose which area to target with ads.

Of course, Facebook isn’t the only option for social media advertising. But it has the most users of any social network, so it’s the best place to start. 

Check out our guide to Facebook ads to find out how to use them correctly. 

12. Measure, track, and analyze

Measuring the performance of your posts is the best way to see which type of social media content drives the best results. 

This is crucial if you have limited time and need to get the biggest bang for your buck. 

The good news is that most social platforms provide a ton of data about how your posts perform. 

Here are some things to focus on:

📈 Choose the right metrics

This is key. Lead generation and sales are the most important metrics for real estate businesses, so this is what you should be tracking. Don’t put too much focus on metrics such as likes or organic views, as these won’t always result in clients. 

Posts targeted at a specific buyer may only result in a handful of likes but could generate multiple real estate leads. 

📈 Types of posts

Once you’ve settled on which metrics you will track, you can look for the type of social media posts that are generating these results. Then double down on creating more of this content. 

If listings posts are generating interest, publish more of them. If people like videos talking about tips for selling homes, lean into this type of content.

📈 Platforms

You may find that you have more success on some platforms compared to others. Focusing on the social media sites that are generating results can save you time.

If you’re having a lot of success with Facebook but not TikTok, consider going all-in on the former. You’ll generate better results by posting more on platforms that are working for you rather than those that are taking up your time without getting results.

4 Steps to Get Real Estate Professionals Started on Social Media Now

If you’re not active on social media, you’re missing out on a marketing channel that has proven to be successful in generating real estate leads.

If all the tips in this article leave you feeling overwhelmed, you just need to break it down to the basics. 

The following four steps will help kickstart your social media marketing strategy:

1. Set up an Instagram account and a Facebook page for your business. 

2. Add your contact information, website, and a little about what you do to each profile. 

3. Invite your contacts to like the page. 

4. Create a post whenever you get a new listing and publish it on each platform. 

Follow these steps, and you’ll be ready to start growing your audience. Once you’ve become more familiar with how each platform works, you can start experimenting with other types of posts and tactics. 

Elevate Your Real Estate Business with Software Designed for You

Once the leads start rolling in and you’re making sales, you need a place to manage all your transactions, keep track of your commissions, and ensure compliance.

Paperless Pipeline takes all the hard work out of it for you by automating every aspect of your real estate business.

We’ve helped thousands of businesses automate and streamline their operations to save time and money, which allowed them to focus on generating the leads they deserve—this could easily be you.
Visit our website to learn more about Paperless Pipeline and try our software for free today.