Do you ever feel like you need to build a massive following and turn into a real estate influencer if you want to sign clients online?
If so, I want to share a new perspective.
What if I told you that acting like an influencer might actually be HURTING your real estate business?
People often put influencers and entrepreneurs in the same bucket.
But in reality, they have vastly different business models. While agents can borrow certain strategies from influencers, they need to know how to operate like a true CEO – not just a content creator.
In this post, I’ll cover:
- The biggest differences between influencers and entrepreneurs
- The top ways agents sabotage their business by acting like a real estate influencer
- And the #1 thing agents can actually learn from influencers
After reading this blog, you’ll learn how to effectively market yourself online so you don’t just get likes and followers – but instead, get real, paying clients from social media.
Influencers Vs. Entrepreneurs
To break down the top differences between influencers and entrepreneurs, let’s look at the goal of each type of business model.
What Is The Main Goal Of An Influencer?
As an influencer, your first and only objective is always going to be audience growth.
Most influencers are trying to grow their following to a point where they can begin promoting other people’s products and get paid for it.
For influencers, money is a byproduct of their audience, so they make money because their audience is a certain size and hits certain metrics.
What Is The Main Goal Of An Entrepreneur?
An entrepreneur has opposite goals.
An entrepreneur’s primary motivation is to make a profit.
Their audience growth is a byproduct of whatever the entrepreneur is doing to make money.
Their influence isn’t attributed to their audience size, but the value they offer through their product or service.
The Biggest Drawbacks Of Acting Like An Influencer
Now that we have those definitions out of the way, let’s get into the biggest ways agents sabotage their business by trying to act like real estate influencers.
Getting Too Caught Up In Vanity Metrics
One of the most common questions I get from members getting started in The Listings Lab is, “Should I buy followers?” and my answer is always a resounding NO.
This question stems from the belief that having a larger following or getting a lot of likes equates to a more successful real estate business.
But it doesn’t.
We’ve had members who come into The Listings Lab with massive social media followings who are barely making any money from it. And I also know agents who have 7-figure businesses with less than 2,000 followers.
It’s not about how MANY people you have in your audience. It’s about the quality of your audience.
Buying bots will seriously harm your potential to build a successful business on Instagram. By buying a ton of irrelevant followers who aren’t actually interested in your posts, your engagement rate will drop. In turn, this will prevent Instagram from showing your posts to real, potential ideal clients.
The bottom line?
Stop focusing on vanity metrics like your follower count and start focusing on cultivating authentic relationships with your ideal clients via social media.
Potential To Dilute Your Message
As we mentioned before, the main goal of influencers is to grow their audience to the point where they can begin promoting other people’s products and get paid for it.
Many agents can be intrigued by this kind of business model, thinking it might be a good side hustle or a good way to add on another revenue stream.
But before you go ahead and start promoting a shampoo brand or some fitness supplements for extra cash, think again.
Promoting another type of product will only dilute your message.
You want to keep your page entirely focused on your real estate services. Become known for one thing and one thing only. The last thing you want is to confuse your audience.
A confused mind never buys.
Falling Into The “Inspo Account” Category
This is another mistake I see so many agents make on social media. They try to build a large following by posting beautiful, aesthetically pleasing home content.
But you have to remember:
A pretty picture of a kitchen won’t help sell your real estate services.
Sure, your aesthetic content might get engagement – some “love this! 😍” comments or even people saving your post to refer back to. But they’re not engaging for the right reasons.
Similarly, if you build your account focusing too much on your lifestyle…your outfits, your travel destinations, your fancy car – you might get people who follow you because they want to be like you. Not because they want to work with you.
Are There Any Similarities Between A Real Estate Influencer And An Entrepreneur?
Now that I’ve covered the biggest ways agents undermine their marketing efforts by acting like an influencer, let’s consider the other side of the coin.
Despite everything I’ve just discussed, there actually IS a thing or two that real estate agents can learn from influencers.
Here’s how agents can take a page from the influencer’s playbook.
The Need For Personal Content
Unlike an influencer, you might not want to share a 20-part Instagram story on your latest 7-course meal.
But that DOESN’T mean you shouldn’t be showing up and sharing your personal life on social media.
Just like influencers, entrepreneurs still need to share the behind-the-scenes and give their audience a peek into their life and business.
Posting personal content is the key to building that know, like, and trust factor with your audience.
If your audience doesn’t even feel like they know…how could they possibly even begin to like you and trust you?
Here are some ways to show more personal content on social media:
- Share your personal background: your family, hobbies, travels, backstory, etc
- Share your personal beliefs and philosophy: what do you believe about life and business?
- Share your stories: share stories from your life that will resonate with your audience. Stories are 22x more memorable than facts, and help you connect with your audience on a deeper level.
Remember, in the world of real estate, personal connections matter. By sharing personal content on social media, you’ll create authentic relationships with your audience online. People will feel like they know you – even if you’ve never met them in real life!
It’s time to shift your focus from trying to be a real estate influencer and instead embrace the role of a true real estate CEO.
Building a massive following and chasing vanity metrics won’t bring you the success you’re looking for.
That’s why I encourage you to download The Listings Lab Method guide.
This guide will show you how to grow an audience full of qualified leads – not just random followers.
Using our signature method, you’ll learn how to build rapport, establish authority, and become “top of mind” with your leads, making you the only choice for their needs.
Get the guide here to start booking more clients off social media.
