Realtors: Reach Your Targeted Local Audience without Paying for Ads
In this brief blog post, I’ll share examples of content for realtors that is designed to reach local eyes on social media without paying for ads.
Real estate agents trying to reach local eyes on social media often look to paid advertising as the key source for lead generation. Tik tok, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Google, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube all boast a hyper-targeted way to reach your target audience. And unfortunately, too many real estate agents and brokerages view paid advertising as the ‘be-all and end-all’ form of sophisticated social media marketing.
Well what if I told you that there was a way to source more potential buyers and listings without tapping into a complicated ads strategy. And even better - one that doesn’t cost anything, freeing up your marketing budget and time to be used on more effective levers to build your business and service your clients. What I’m about to share with you is working right now for agents in markets all over the world to reach their ideal client audience without paying for ads on Instagram, sourcing them real buyer clients and winning them incredible listings:
Idea #1
Create a Neighborhood Spotlight Reel
Feature an idyllic short clip of a local property with charming curb appeal, and include the text “If I was moving to [CITY], [STATE] and wanted tree-lined streets, a big backyard, and room to grow, this is where I’d move.” In your caption, showcase your local knowledge by speaking about the neighborhood and it’s unique character and appeal. Don’t forget to tag your location so the algorithm knows what kind of users to push out your content to. I’ve had agents do a post like this every week or so and repeatedly go viral with the right type of viewers - one recent example had 514K plays, 16.7K likes, and 3,891 shares on Instagram.
Idea #2
Romanticize & Showcase the Mundane
Pick an unglamorous video, or clip together several, of some ‘average’ views in your target area. Show your viewers that the normal sites around town are actually quite pleasant. When someone has their heart set on moving into a specific area, they have an aspirational idea of what their life will be like if and when they move there. So validate that for them and bring it to life. Add the text ‘pov: you live in [NEIGHBORHOOD NAME] so your drive home looks like this:’ Pick a trending audio clip that will make them swoon over sweetness of your area.
Idea #3
Provide Valuable Recommendations
So many realtors shy away from any ‘influencer type’ content because it makes them feel uncomfortable. The reality is that your ideal clients choose you for the most important transaction of their life (buying or selling a home) because they trust you as the local expert that will help them to secure a buyer/seller in record time at the best possible price. You earn that trust not by sharing some generic national or regional real estate stats, but by showing that you know your immediate area better than anyone else.
So: try a reel that says “Places I take friends when they visit [CITY], [STATE]”. Include the best restaurants and cafés, shopping, or sights to see and tag the local businesses whenever possible in your caption. Pro-tips when posting this type of reel: tell your viewer so ‘Save this for later’ or ‘Share this with a friend that you want to join you’ so the algorithm quickly learns how valuable and engaging your content is.
Idea #4
Share Local Data
This is perhaps the most surprising of these post ideas because believe it or not, a simple text-wall reel with the median home prices by neighborhood in your area could be the most engaging (and controversial) thing you post. Viewers in and around the cities listed can’t help themselves but comment and share with others, saying things like, “I can’t believe it’s so [high/low] - what about XYZ”. In any case, frequently sharing local real estate data overlaid on beautiful images from around town attracts local eyeballs to your content.