Feeling like you need to be everywhere online?
TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, podcasts…
The pressure for real estate agents to be on every social media platform is real.
But the truth is you DON’T need to be everywhere.
Think of it this way ⬇️
The best CEOs are the best investors.
They know exactly where to put their time, energy, and money for maximum results.
Trying to spread those resources thin by being on every platform only diminishes your reach, divides your focus, and drains your energy.
Instead, it’s about knowing which platforms actually move the needle for your business.
My suggestion? Focus on just one or two platforms – and really dominate them.
In this post, I’m going to run through data on the major social media platforms.
This way, you can make the best, most informed decision about where YOU need to be spending your time on social media.
TikTok
Let’s start with TikTok, because it’s the newest platform on the scene that everybody is curious about.
I swear I have an agent in my DMs nearly every day asking me:
“Do I need to be on TikTok?”
My answer?
No, you don’t need to be on TikTok to grow your real estate business.
TikTok is great for selling products – especially through influencers who have loyal followings.
But real estate is a service-based business.
TikTok simply doesn’t have the same impact on converting leads into clients for service-based businesses.
Here’s why TikTok isn’t the best fit:
- Income Demographics: Only 27% of TikTok users in North America make over $100k a year. In most markets, people need to be making at least $100k to buy or sell real estate.
- Younger Audience: TikTok has a younger demographic. Only about 30-33% of adults who would be your target audience actively use it.
- Low Attention Span: TikTok viewers have short attention spans. Your content has to be drastically different, exciting, and engaging to even hold their interest. The reality is most real estate agents don’t create that kind of content on a regular basis.
- High Virality, Low Conversions: TikTok makes it easy to go viral if you know what you’re doing. But those views don’t necessarily turn into clients. Conversions on TikTok are lower than any other platform.
So, to sum up, sure, a few agents do well on TikTok.
But don’t make your decision based on that small handful.
Most agents end up draining their resources to create high-production videos that have a low ROI.
Bottom line: It’s not that you can’t use TikTok for your real estate marketing.
But there are more effective social media platforms to spend your time, energy, bandwidth, and money on.
YouTube
YouTube is another big platform that agents get distracted by.
Generally speaking, with YouTube, there’s a lot of opportunity for many businesses to do really well.
But unfortunately, real estate is kind of the exception in this case.
Real estate is not your typical service-based industry. Transactions are larger, more infrequent, and depend on deep trust and relationships built over time.
So, with that being said, let’s break down what YouTube has to offer:
- Audience with Buying Power: 80% of YouTube’s users make over $100K a year, meaning many viewers have the income needed for real estate investments.
- Massive Reach: With 83% of adults in Canada and the US actively using YouTube, your potential audience is huge.
- Easier Growth: If your content is compelling, growing a following on YouTube is often easier than on other platforms.
However, when it comes to conversions, YouTube falls short:
- No Direct Selling: You can’t sell directly on YouTube. So, it’s challenging to convert views into bookings. People rarely watch a video and then immediately book a listing appointment.
- No Direct Message Function: YouTube doesn’t have a DM function which is instrumental to conversions.
- Best for Niche Markets: Agents specializing in relocation thrive on YouTube as people often search for this specific type of content. But for most agents working with local buyers and sellers, YouTube does not yield the best ROI.
In short, YouTube offers huge reach and growth potential.
However, real estate agents will likely find better results on platforms that allow for stronger, more direct connections.
LinkedIn has huge potential when used properly.
With over half of its users making $100k or more, LinkedIn is packed with high-income professionals – 30% of whom are young professionals.
For agents who target young professionals and young working families, this is the platform for you.
And, unlike other platforms, LinkedIn’s conversions are high – if you have the right audience.
But if your audience is diluted with other agents, your content won’t perform, no matter how valuable it is.
To succeed on LinkedIn, focus on building niche-specific, local connections.
So, if you’re thinking about using LinkedIn for your real estate marketing, keep these facts in mind:
- High-income user base: 53% of users make over $100k a year.
- Young professional reach: 30% of U.S. users are young professionals.
- High conversion potential: Strong results when your audience aligns with your target.
- Niche connections matter: Ability to connect with local leads, not just other agents, to boost performance.
With its affluent user base and professional networking tools, LinkedIn offers a unique opportunity to connect with qualified buyers and sellers in your market.
Instagram offers HUGE growth and conversion potential…
If your content is strong.
If you’re not gaining new followers daily despite posting regularly, it’s a content problem.
On Instagram, your growth depends on high-quality reels targeted to your niche.
But most importantly, you NEED strong, attention-grabbing hooks to grow.
Those first 8 seconds of your video are make-or-break.
If they’re too weak, viewers will scroll past.
Contrary to what many believe, it’s not the Instagram algorithm itself that prioritizes reels or videos – its users do.
People using Instagram prefer videos over long-form written content, which is why reels perform so well.
If you’re considering Instagram for your real estate marketing, here are some key stats:
- High-income users: 54% of users make over $100k annually, which is even higher than LinkedIn.
- Large audience base: 47% of adults in the U.S. use Instagram, making a substantial base audience.
- Solid engagement: Average video depth is 12-20 seconds – which is good by today’s social media standards.
The most vital thing to remember about marketing on Instagram?
You DON’T want to be seen as someone who’s constantly selling.
Followers are looking for value, not constant sales pitches.
If your content is too promotional, like “just listed/just sold” posts, followers might tune out.
Instead, you want to be seen as a giver – a source of valuable information.
Then, sell in private in your DMs.
So, remember, if your content is useful and engaging on Instagram, your audience will grow.
Facebook isn’t the most exciting platform.
BUT it’s the all-around winner when it comes to the best social media platform for real estate agents.
Facebook leads the charts as the highest-performing platform.
Here are some key factors for you to think about:
- High-income users: 68% of users make over $100k annually.
- Large Base audience: 68% of U.S. adults in prime buying and selling age groups are on Facebook.
- Best engagement: Facebook videos have an average view depth of 53 seconds – the highest among social media platforms.
- Strong conversions: Medium-to-high conversion rates make it the highest ROI platform across niches.
Just remember:
These stats reflect marketing on personal profiles, not business pages.
Business pages work well for ads.
Personal profiles and Facebook groups are your best bets for organic growth and audience building.
While business pages help with ad performance, they aren’t as effective for organic reach.
READ MORE: Facebook Page vs Profile: Which One Is Better For Real Estate Agents?
Podcasts
Although not technically a social media platform, a lot of agents consider starting a podcast.
But think about this: most listeners only listen to 3-5 different podcasts regularly.
Is your real estate podcast going to make it to that list?
Probably not.
Podcasts tend to do better for investing or broader business topics.
Real estate podcasts? Not so much.
So, do you need to start a podcast?
Not really. It’s not going to give you the highest ROI.
They’re time-, money-, and tech-intensive when you could put those resources toward strategies that deliver more.
A better strategy?
Guest on OTHER people’s podcasts and in their communities. Learn more about that strategy below. 👇🏼
READ MORE: 5 Unique Real Estate Marketing Ideas to Grow Your Audience
Email is the one non-negotiable platform that agents NEED to be on.
Social media audiences can disappear overnight.
But your email list is the only list you own and no one can take it from you.
Because of that, 30% of your business revenue should come from email.
However, it’s very hard to grow an email list without social media ads.
The two feed into each other.
Everything you’re doing online through social media should lead to your email.
Plus, 96% of people who make over $100k a year actively use email, making it the highest-converting platform.
In terms of open rates, think about it from a depth standpoint:
On social media, the algorithm shows your content to 10% of your audience.
If your content does well, it might reach up to 20%.
However, with email, decent open rates average around 40%.
This means if you send regular emails with good, quality content, the consumption of that content is the highest among all platforms.
This blog post teaches you more about how to master email marketing for real estate.
So, what are the best social media platforms for real estate agents?
- And, of course, email
These platforms give you the highest potential reach for engagement and conversion.
But it’s not enough to just show up on these platforms.
You need to know how to strategically use them to build your brand and attract your ideal clients.
At The Listings Lab, we teach agents the marketing foundations they need to succeed on social media.
We’ll even help you implement profile funnels for the top three social media platforms so leads know you’re the right agent for them within 5 seconds.
Are you ready to stop the scroll on social media and attract more ideal clients?
Click here to book a FREE call with our team and learn more about turning social media into your biggest growth tool.
