Agents chasing viral videos could be undermining their own listing pipelines, with an industry expert warning that reaching millions of viewers can confuse social media algorithms and weaken their exposure to local vendors.
Real estate agents may be reaching more people than ever on social media, but an industry expert has warned that chasing bigger audiences could come at the expense of winning local listings.
The Real Estate Voice founder Richard Lindley said that while agents often chase a big viral video to boost their presence, they're better served by prioritising content that targets a much more local audience.
He said focusing on vanity metrics like total views and likes was less valuable than targeting content toward potential vendors in their area.
“You don’t need to go viral. You want the people in your area who are potentially going to sell,” Lindley said.
“When you start to go outside of that area, the algorithm stops knowing where to show your content.”
He said a viral video could actually confuse the algorithm about an agent's intended audience, leading to less cut-through in their local market, where they could generate sales leads.
According to Lindley, agents were better off focusing on their local market and identifying vendors rather than chasing buyers.
Creating the right type of content
He said around 50 per cent of agents had a social media account, and many were inactive, with only half of that group having posted in the last 90 days.
Similarly, just 20 per cent had posted in the last week.
When an agent got busy, Lindley said their social media presence was typically the first thing to go.
He said that agents needed to be wary of prioritising things that could deliver them an actual return when building their social media presence.
According to Lindley, agent-led content made up just five per cent of posts, but it typically gained more traction, with up to three times as many interactions.
“You really want to cultivate that local audience and have them engaged so that you are top of mind,” Lindley said
He said the strongest content came when agents shared their knowledge or experiences, rather than overly edited listing videos, with the best performing videos taking an “if it were me” angle, sharing personal insights or advice on a situation.
“All of a sudden, that’s changed the framing of that piece of knowledge, and by reframing you get a much better engagement rate.”
Conversely, Lindley said that listing videos made up around 60 per cent of posts, but generated significantly less engagement.
Followers are just a number
When building a social media presence, Lindley said follower counts matter less than many expect, and that understanding how to target the right audience is the most important part.
To reach new viewers and grow their following, Lindley said agents could experiment with tools such as trial reels on Instagram
“It doesn’t matter that you don’t have any followers, because the algorithm will get you new followers.”
“You really just want an engaged, smaller audience rather than everyone all over the world looking at your content.”
How organic content can turn into a gold mine
Lindley said it was important for an agent to develop organic content alongside paid advertisements, rather than putting all their eggs in one basket.
While paid content was designed to generate leads, Lindley said organic posts would both grow the agent's personal profile and serve as a permanent record that would grow over time.
He said that a consistently updated profile made the agent appear more active and familiar to the audience, strengthening their presence in the area.
“It doesn’t cost you anything, so why wouldn’t you post? If someone sees it and something happens, then the return on investment is massive. The economics are absurd.”
“It could be a month, a year or three years down the track that someone sees that organic post of yours, picks up the phone and calls you, and that leads to a sale. There’s $10,000 or $20,000 that you’ve made back from zero investment.”
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