‘They don’t like agents’: Why you should rethink your social media strategy

Bresic’s comments followed his own experience of receiving criticism last year, after posting a video about the difficulties of working in real estate.

According to Bresic, agents should avoid posting about personal matters, opinions, and content that could be deemed in bad taste.

He said social media was increasingly becoming a “resume” as agents’ personal lives became more relevant to employers and their clients.

Bresic, who lives in Texas, said every agent in the US had a public Instagram account, and projected Australian agents would eventually have the same level of online presence.

“It’s really an extension of who they are professionally, and the way it’s changed is, I’m advising [agents] to really think about how they want to be presented in the public,” he told REB.

Because of the increasing importance of social media profiles, he said it was imperative for agents to present an image of themselves that prospective clients would see.

“Things like partying, even holidays, agents don’t do that. Any purchases of material items, anything that’s really not got anything to do with their job, then I would say keep it private, “ he said.

In addition, he warned against posting content that takes a hard line on politics or global issues, urging them to be considerate of their audiences.

“They could offend someone or a client very easily, and that’s just how it is.”

Bresic also said agents should avoid boasting about themselves as it would fuel further scepticism, and instead opt to post only about property-related matters.

“The best agents in the country don’t promote themselves wearing flashy watches or Louis Vuitton stuff, they keep it really professional. And that’s what I would recommend for the whole real estate audience.”

“They’re smart. They don’t say how much money they make. You don’t see them in their fast cars. You don’t see them doing stupid walkthroughs as if they’re some movie superstar.”

Further, when it came to creating engaging content to attract views and boost business, Bresic advised agents to think carefully about whether something might land poorly with the audience.

For example, last year, two property managers sparked backlash when they created a video boasting about a property that had been rented out for $1450 a week, as it was “in the middle of nowhere”.

The video was deemed tone deaf by social media critics, despite the agency saying it was meant to be sarcasm in response to comments on a previous video about the home.

Bresic said that even when trying to be light-hearted, agents needed to be wary about what reels they posted and what their message was, always considering how the public might react.

“The first thing that would go through my mind, if I was a real estate agent, is: if I post this, will I get backlash from the public here knowing that they don’t like real estate agents?”, he said.

“Unless it’s really reasonable, the public will always take the non-real estate agent’s side,” Bresic concluded.

You may also like: [Top social media strategy to turn posts into profits]