Stop Blending In: How Top Agents Are Using Social Media to Lead the Market

Social media is no longer optional for agents who want to lead in their market. But most still treat it like a digital flyer – sporadic, surface-level, and purely promotional. The agents who win? They treat it like infrastructure.

They understand that their media presence is their brand presence. That every listing is an opportunity to build reputation, create leverage, and drive future instructions.

Forget “hacks” or “viral moments”. You’re positioning yourself as the agent buyers recognise, sellers trust, and competitors watch, and that’s part of a long term plan.

Here’s how the best are doing it, and where most others fall short.

 1. Real estate media isn’t just content, it’s your authority

The biggest mistake agents make on social media? They treat their listing visuals as disposable. A few photos on Instagram. A walkthrough reel if they remember. Then… nothing.

Top agents think differently. They know that real estate media isn’t just a way to showcase a property, it’s how you prove expertise at scale.

That means using your content to:

• Show how you present a listing, not just the listing itself.
• Demonstrate your eye for layout, detail, lighting, staging.
• Visibly differentiate from lower-effort agents still posting dark, uneven, phone-shot images.

When every post builds confidence in your process, you’re reinforcing your value while highlighting your services.

Challenge: Look at your last five social media posts. Do you see evidence of expertise – or just a parade of listings? 

2. You don’t need to be everywhere. You need to be intentional. 

Stop chasing every platform. Start matching your media to the mindset of the audience.

Instagram & TikTok 

These platforms prioritise speed, emotion, and personality. Listing photos alone won’t cut it.

Agents who win here shoot twice – once with high-end gear, and again with their phone. Why? Because raw, social-first content gives people a sense of you. And when you narrate a tour, point out unique features, or show how you prep a home, you’re not just showing a property, you’re showing value.

Facebook

This is still the most underused platform for local dominance. Not just your page – Groups.

Top performing agents run buyer/seller groups and treat them like VIP clubs: early access to listings, tips, local guides. It creates repeat traffic, community engagement, and an excuse to post regularly without feeling like you’re always selling.

LinkedIn

Most agents ignore it. The best use it to frame themselves as market operators.

Don’t just post listings – share why they sold fast. Talk about the marketing strategy behind the success. Share your philosophy on pricing, staging, negotiation. This builds trust with professionals, not just consumers, and those professionals know people who need an agent.

Challenge: Find a post that you thought would do well. With the guidance above, rewrite it, make a video on it and reshare it. 

3. Every piece of content should lead somewhere 

Attention is worthless without direction. If your best post gets 10,000 views but no one clicks, calls, or remembers you next week – it failed.

Great agents build paths, not just posts:

Each listing post links to a high-quality branded page with a tour, floor plan, and clear CTAs. Each behind-the-scenes video includes a caption that reinforces your process or invites the viewer to DM. Each story links out to a longer video, testimonial, or group.

Your real estate media should compound. Every listing should generate 3–5 pieces of content across multiple platforms, all designed to deepen trust or start conversations.

Challenge: Look at a listing post. Can someone go from seeing a post to booking a call in under 60 seconds? 

4. Don’t just sell homes, build demand

Most agents view social media as a way to sell their current listings. But the best use it to attract the next one.

That’s a mindset shift. One that changes:

• What you post (less “just listed,” more insight and value)
• How you engage (less broadcasting, more conversation)
• What success looks like (less likes, more instructions)

This is where social proof comes in. Every thank-you video from a client, every behind-the-scenes moment, every post that shows what it’s like to work with you – it all compounds.

Agents who post consistently, show their process, and document results are the ones that get tagged in comments like “This is who I was telling you about.”

And that’s the game: being the name that comes to mind, before someone even starts searching.

Challenge: Reach out to your last 10 clients and ask them to write a review for you that you can share on your social media channels. 

5. Stop measuring vanity, start tracking value

Metrics matter. But not all metrics matter equally.

Here’s what to watch:

Content engagement: Forget about likes. Did your post spark DMs, questions, clicks, or shares?

Listing page traffic: Are people spending time on your branded pages or bouncing? Are they enquiring after viewing?

Ad effectiveness: What are you paying per lead, per click, per minute of attention?

If something’s underperforming, iterate. Don’t just post more, test new hooks, new lengths and new formats.

The best content strategy is one that learns. Most agents never get there, because they’re stuck in output mode. But you? You’re building a machine.

Challenge: Are you measuring likes, or learning what actually grows your business? 

Final thought: Your marketing is your brand. 

This is the real shift. Not “how do I use social media to sell this listing?”. But “how do I use this listing to sell myself for the next 12 months?”

Because here’s the truth: every scroll is a decision. Every piece of content is a signal.

And in a competitive market, agents who understand media and show up with strategy are the ones who win the instructions before the pitch.

If you’re ready to be that agent, start treating social as a growth engine. Because when the content’s good, the results aren’t far behind.

How agents turn scrolls into showings with Listing Spotlight

When your social media starts generating attention, the last thing you want is to lose it to a clunky link or a messy portal page.

That’s where Giraffe360’s Listing Spotlight comes in.

Every time you capture a property, you can automatically generate a beautifully branded property website, complete with high-res photos, a 3D tour, floor plan, video, and contact info, all pulled automatically from your media.

No website builder. No time wasted. Just a clean, high-impact destination you can link to from every post, ad, or story.

It gives your social content a clear next step, positions you as a premium agent, and keeps your listings, and your brand, in the spotlight.

Build your plan today and unlock a full suite of real estate media for every listing.