The 6 Best Real Estate Social Networks

Why we chose it: Facebook is an oldie but a goodie. While there is always the threat of it losing its appeal due to newer platforms that come along, it has outlasted them all. 72% of American adults log in each day. It accounts for 50% of all social media activity, plus it is used by 97% of realtors. It’s also a great place to get free referrals. There are dozens of local and national groups out there offering free referrals every single day. It’s a great way to grow your business while networking with other successful agents.

While Facebook may not be as cool with the kids as some other platforms, it appeals to the 25 to 64 crowd. This means it targets people that are likely to be buying or selling their homes. 72% of Facebook users are college graduates and three quarters make an income of $75,000 or more annually.

But what makes Facebook stand out the most may be its features. It allows you to post pictures and links and create business pages. You can also join groups to connect with people in the real estate community and provide advice that establishes you as a thought leader in your field.

You can use Facebook Live to connect with your followers in real time. You can also create paid ads which allow you to target a specific demographic. It provides an analysis of data so you can update accordingly.

Why we chose it: Instagram is owned by Facebook so many of its tools, including its paid advertising tools, can be simultaneously run on both platforms. So, if you are on Facebook, there’s really no reason you shouldn’t be working Instagram as well.

The focus of your Instagram posts will be images so be sure to make them shine. You can show houses you have on the market. You can also go outside the box by sharing advice in the form or brief pieces of text or memes.

Be sure to hashtag everything you post. Users can follow hashtag pages as well as other users. If you hashtag your posts, they will appear on hashtag pages getting your content more exposure.

Instagram is also terrific for posting videos and live videos so it’s an excellent choice for hosting webinars and other online or hybrid events.

The platform sees its share of activity with 59% of users logging in daily and 80% logging in at least once a week.

The only downside of Instagram is, it tends to target a younger audience. A good percentage of its users are 13 to 25. Only 40% of adults use Instagram. Therefore, may not be the best platform for targeting the home buying and selling crowd.

Why we chose it: Unlike other real estate social network options, LinkedIn isn’t so much about advertising your business. It’s more about networking. It offers opportunities for connecting with other agents as well as appraisers, property management companies, inspectors and more.

The best way to connect with locals may be the Advanced Search tool. It is typically used by job-hunters and companies looking to hire, but it can also be used by agents. Once you find someone you are interested in connecting with, send them a personalized message. Ask them something about their business so you don’t come across as overly salesy.

Like Facebook, LinkedIn provides you with the option to create and join groups. This is an excellent way to connect with others in your industry as well as those looking to buy and sell. Engage by asking and answering questions to increase your chances of being hired the next time someone in your group is making a real estate transaction.

You will also stand out if you create an attractive profile page, post engaging content, and use a showcase page to relay even more information about your business.

Why we chose it: TikTok is a video only platform. Like Instagram, it caters to a younger audience, so you won’t hit a huge homebuying and selling crowd. However, it is a good way to connect as the videos add a personal touch.

You can use the platform to share listings and tips and tricks of the trade. If you do something unique, you may just go viral.

Your profile will stand out if you include lots of information in your bio. You can also use paid ads to reach to a wider, targeted audience.

Hashtags are clickable. If a user clicks on them, they will see all posts with that hashtag. This makes them an effective marketing tool.

Why we chose it: YouTube may seem like more of a place to watch and post videos than a social media site, but it can be a very effective real estate social network. Real estate agents can use the platform to start a channel and post all kinds of real estate related videos. They can host educational webinars, post live and pre-filmed clips, and use it to show footage of the homes they have on the market.

As a bonus, YouTube offers easy integration with other social media platforms. The videos you create can be shared on Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler and more with a click of a button. You can also take the footage and convert it into shorter clips for Instagram or use it in blogs and newsletters.

Why we chose it: Pinterest is a visual platform so you will be successful if you post stand out graphics. These include images of your listings as well as those that are related to the content you are writing about. It’s best to use multiple graphics per post.

Local boards are also a great Pinterest resource. They are effective in connecting realtors to their community. Realtors can use them to post their local listings as well as information on the best dog parks and restaurants in the area, etc., to establish themselves as neighborhood experts.

Another effective strategy is to join group boards that are relevant to your industry. Joining a group board means your post is likely to be seen by the members of the group. This will give you the potential to increase your reach.

It’s advisable to follow real estate professionals that are successful on the platform. You can see what they are doing and learn from their example.

Twitter may seem like a good real estate social network. It targets professionals. Most users fall between the age of 25 and 49 so the demographic is right.

The fact that it’s mostly about the latest news and trends makes it difficult to run any sort of ad campaign. But it’s still a good place to find out about market updates.

Despite initial setbacks, there are a few ways to use Twitter to your marketing advantage. For example, you can use Sprout Social, a social media tool that helps businesses find new customers and grow their social media presence. And if you post newsworthy real estate advice, it will establish you as a leader in your field.

Trulia is not a real estate social network. Rather it’s an MLS listing platform. However, it has a page called Trulia Voices where members can interact with each other.

The page provides a forum where anyone can ask a question about a particular neighborhood or zip code to get an answer. The idea is for real estate agents to answer them and establish themselves as local experts. You can even subscribe for email alerts that notify you when someone asks a question so you can be the first to hop on it.

The platform has also created a Top Voices leaderboard in each city which adds a competitive edge.

ActiveRain is similar to LinkedIn as it’s a networking site for professionals. It allows you to connect with other agents, inspectors, appraisers, mortgage brokers, and more. It also has a referral system that helps you find the connections you need.

The site is not nearly as big as some of the heavy hitters we mentioned here, but with 302,000 members, it’s considered one of the biggest social media platforms for real estate in the United States. It allows you to blog, comment, share listings, submit a product, and review products.

And while it may not have the largest user base, 99% of users are active in the real estate industry. Its organic audience and content make it come up in Google searches. It allows people to link back to their websites making it an effective backlink resource.

The platform is focused exclusively in the United States and Canada providing a more targeted reach.

Meetup is a social networking platform that allows you to form and join groups based on your professional and personal interests. However, more than just having virtual discussions, the aim is to organize both online and in-person meetings concerning specific topics and goals.

There are meetups for just about everything including real estate. You can join groups or run your own group. However, running your own group requires a fee between $9.99 and $14.99 a month.

You can use it to set up meetings like webinars, fundraising events, and to get more people to your open houses.

NextDoor is kind of like Facebook but instead of your newsfeed being filled with posts created by your family and friends, the posts are made by people living in your neighborhood. People may post about missing or lost pets, items they have for sale, and alerts about local dangerous activity.

They may also ask for recommendations regarding home repair, maintenance, and real estate. Answering these types of inquiries can greatly help your business.

Reddit is a social media platform with a unique format. It allows users to create and manage their own communities and participate in other user’s communities. These communities are similar to forums or message boards. Users can comment, ask, questions, and upvote and downvote content.

The platform may not be as much of a name as say Facebook or Instagram, but don’t underestimate its value. It is the 19^th most visited website in the world seeing more than 330 million active users a month. Real estate agents can use it to build relationships, share advice, generate leads, build brand awareness, and drive people to their website.

You can use to platform to create your own content, engage with others, and find opportunities to share your advice on the platform. You can also host an AMA (Ask Me Anything) that allows you to answer random questions from the community. This is a great way to show your expertise in the industry.

Tumblr lies somewhere between a social network platform and a blog. People can use it to share just about anything… text, photos, quotes, links, and so on. It is often described as a ‘microblog’ as it is used to share short snippets of text as opposed to long form content.

Agents can use to the site to post a variety of real estate related content. However, the platform tends to attract a younger demographic.

Quora is a forum-like platform commonly used to ask and answer questions. It’s a good resource for real estate agents looking to generate leads.

The site is most popular in India. However, it is gaining popularity in the United States. In February of 2022, it ranked #276 for traffic in the United States and #3232 globally.

The nice thing about Quora is, it tends to come up in search engines providing the ultimate in visibility. However, users are discouraged from sharing links on the site as it’s considered overly salesy and could get your post flagged.