With one billion active monthly users, TikTok has become one of the most popular social media platforms worldwide. Many people, companies, and brands alike have found success on TikTok, leveraging its popularity and consumers’ preference toward visual media –  especially video –  to grow their business. 

Because social media for real estate can be used in a variety of ways like generating seller leads, promoting your listing videos, and building your brand, you might be wondering if you should bring TikTok into your social media marketing strategy. 

Read on to learn more about TikTok for real estate to help you decide if it’s right for you and your business. 

So, What is TikTok?

TikTok is a video-based platform where users can create videos between fifteen seconds and three minutes long. Users can also use the app’s selection of sounds, special effects, filters, and song snippets to create videos or simply upload videos from their phones. People post a wide variety of videos on TikTok, ranging from life hacks to trending challenges to entertainment.

One of the biggest draws to TikTok is the fact that the app has a strong personal algorithm where each user has tailored content on their “For You” page, based on their interests, what videos they’ve watched on the platform, and what’s trending on the app. Plus, on the “Discover” page you can browse trending hashtags and find new trending videos and creators to follow.

TikTok for Real Estate

Some real estate agents and companies have started to leverage TikTok to connect with a different (and oftentimes, new) audience, get their listings in front of more people, and attract sellers in a more engaging way. A benefit of posting about real estate on TikTok is that — though the platform is extremely popular — not all agents or companies have a profile, as you would usually see with the other social media big platforms like Instagram or Facebook. You may have an easier time standing out online in this more unsaturated space.

The demographics on TikTok tend to skew on the younger side, with 50% of users being between the ages of 18 and 34, which means that many millennials (who are the largest generation in the housing market) and Gen Z (who are the next generation entering the market) are using it. Leveraging TikTok for real estate is one way to market to millennials, who have different consumer behavior than the generations before them. Plus, you’ll also start getting in front of Gen Z and can position yourself as a resource for when they’re ready to start the buying process or maybe consider a career in real estate.  

Similar to blogging for real estate, TikTok also offers the opportunity for your company to showcase its personality a bit more. Users on the app expect people and brands to be less formal and embrace some of the trends and entertainment factors for which TikTok is known.

The key to performing well on TikTok is finding your audience and creating quick, entertaining, and relevant videos. Here’s how real estate agents on TikTok are leveraging the platform:

• Home tours or property highlights. Give a quick property tour and feature some of the best elements of a house. Edit the video with interesting transitions or include a trending song that best reflects the property.
• Go viral with TikTok trends. Trends are constantly changing on TikTok, and they give users the opportunity to make the trend their own and get in front of more people at the same time. You don’t have to jump onto every trend, but wait and see which trends you can make your own that still relate to real estate. To what do you relate personally?
• Gain exposure by including hashtags. Just like on Instagram, hashtags are a way you can identify or categorize your posts so that people who are interested in the topic you’re posting about can easily find your content. On TikTok’s Discover page, you can see what hashtags are trending, meaning what kind of content people are searching for right now. Include that hashtag in your next post or create a new video around that hashtag or trend.
• Go live and interact with your audience. Going live on TikTok is another way to include your audience in the conversation, and let them get to know you and your company better. Host a Q&A or interview an industry expert. This can also be really effective for agent recruiting where you may interview someone on your team or show what “a day in the life” of a successful real estate agent is like.

Why TikTok Might Not Be the Platform for You

Any digital strategy or social media platform takes time and effort to truly leverage all its features and make it work best for you and your business. By taking on another platform, especially one that is fast-paced, you could be cutting into time spent creating other content and growing your business in other ways. Plus, because TikTok is so fast-paced, you need to stay up-to-date about what’s trending in order to remain relevant and potentially go viral. Though there are plenty of opportunities for you to post evergreen videos, videos that include a trending song or filter tend to perform the best, which leaves little time to actually plan out your content.

As with any new digital marketing channel, it’s important to continuously test and evaluate whether it’s right for you and your business. Understanding TikTok insights and social media analytics will help you identify your best-performing content so you can adjust your strategy accordingly. Depending on your needs, it may be best to wait to start using TikTok for real estate until you can commit the time to trying a lot of different things, learning what works best, and then iterating.

What do you think about TikTok? Do you have personal experience with the app? We’d love to hear what you’ve found useful. If you’re wondering which social media platforms make sense for your real estate business, connect with us to chat about social media best practices and get personalized recommendations.