I am not of the age where social media was ever-present. My generation was an early adopter of Facebook, and I was on LinkedIn because of my first career in finance. That was about it until I started to think that I may be missing something. Was this the thing that would grow our business exponentially?
What we tried
In January 2024, I went all in and registered for an Instagram class offered by a local agent. We learned the mechanics — how to include links in our Reels, batch recording sessions, and even add captions and voice-overs: basic things that now seem to come as second nature to all the 20-somethings.
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But what followed on my Instagram probably looked like a manic episode, if you didn’t know what I was up to. I went from rarely posting to sharing something daily, and I pored over my giant spreadsheet filled with topics and ideas to come up with our next big thing.
After noticing how great a friend’s LinkedIn content was, I signed up for a six-week program with her writing coach. Through that, I gained some process wins that I’ve been able to scale rapidly into the framework we use now.
One of our content pillars was “talking-head” educational content. I knew I wanted more than myself with an iPhone, so I hired a professional videographer and editor. Hair and makeup were done, and there was even an orange spray tan (What can I say? Mistakes were made.)
The topics were all worked out in advance with talking points like data, process, due diligence, executive-level service and economic events. It gave us some really polished content we were proud of, and then we would fill in with “regular” educational posts in between. Then we just started posting.
Turns out, talking to consumers about things that you are passionate about does not get you thousands of followers overnight … surprise!
Accidentally going viral + cat people from Australia
For 10 months, nothing groundbreaking happened, but we kept at it, testing different ideas while noticing how much time social media can consume.
Then, in December 2024, I filmed a remodel project in Lockhart. Without giving it much thought, that night I posted a Reel of my brother (who is a builder) and me discussing a dining room wall while we were removing wallpaper from the shiplap walls.
The next morning, I was blown away. Within the first day, it had 800,000 views. Today, that post has 3.1 million views. Interestingly, the overnight timeline grew the most. So I went back the next week while the carpenters were there and filmed some more.
Finding a cupboard behind the mystery void in the wall, fixing pocket doors and finding an old chimney behind some shiplap got us millions more views. We were definitely gaining momentum. Now what?
Our follower count grew slightly, so I checked out those accounts. I quickly realized there weren’t many potential clients. No Austinites, Chicagoans or New Yorkers. But we did gain a big following of cat-loving Australians, which explained the overnight growth. Unless I was opening a cat café in Sydney, those people didn’t align with our business goals.
The difference between influence and expertise
For better or worse, I am never going to be the agent who walks through a pool at a $10 million listing in a ballgown and posts it on social media. If that’s the agent people want, I am pleased to say they can look elsewhere.
In fact, some of the real estate agent influencers you see aren’t actually Realtors. They just generate the leads and feed them to people who are.
We can only hope that consumers realize that building a social media following is not the same as being a good advisor. These are two completely different skill sets, and viral content doesn’t translate to competent representation when you’re making one of the biggest financial decisions of your life.
What were our biggest lessons?
- Growth for the sake of growth doesn’t mean much. We accidentally won the social media lottery, and it didn’t get us exposed to a new client base.
- Efficiency is key. I spent my 2024 winter vacation in the Northwoods of Minnesota, writing all of our 2025 content. AI had just come out to the masses, and it was fine. But the big gains came from the process we created that winter. Using the framework of an organizational platform (like Notion) made it easy to write a year’s worth of content for LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok in just two very focused weeks. You can also save your photos, B-roll and text so it’s always ready to go.
- Embrace the process. Our framework keeps us organized and enables us to write and collaborate effectively. Building on that framework, 2026 has been a breeze. All of Q1 is already written and scheduled, all without the help of AI.
- Write in big blocks of time. Write in big blocks of time during your slow season. Once you start, it will flow more easily.
- Don’t be afraid to recycle topics. If there is a topic you’re passionate about, write three or four posts and schedule them quarterly.
- Don’t bother customizing your messaging for the different platforms. The videos you create can be used across platforms. No need to come up with new content for each.
So how do the rest of us, who run thriving businesses but have no aspirations to be social media influencers, use these tools to support our businesses without letting them ruin our lives? For us, social media’s highest and best use is to get our message out in a way that shows who we are and how we think while keeping us top of mind.
Our accounts all serve our current (and future) clients where they are. If you’re genuine, people will remember you, and they will see the value you add as a real estate agent.
January is Social Media Month at Inman. Start the year by diving deep into the platforms that matter most, the latest algorithm shifts, the smartest strategies for standing out and more. Plus, we’re rolling out the coveted Inman Power Player Awards and this year’s class of New York Power Brokers and MLS Innovators.
Jen Berbas is the team lead of the Berbas Group in Austin, Texas. Connect with her on Instagram and Linkedin.
The post Social media for the rest of us: A pragmatist’s view for agents appeared first on Inman.
