A trend has emerged in luxury real estate: long before prospective buyers purchase properties, they consume high-end home and lifestyle content as entertainment — and leading agents are leaning in.
“Social media is my social proof,” says Shelton Wilder, Real Estate Associate with Sotheby’s International Realty – Brentwood Brokerage. “The driving force of my business is referrals, and it’s imperative to show an online presence as a real estate professional.”
Roh Habibi, Global Real Estate Portfolio Manager at Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty, has likewise been staying ahead of this trend as it evolves. “I adopted social media as a business strategy in 2012 after watching Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles and Million Dollar Listing New York. I quickly realized Realtors are the new rockstars, and that this would definitely be a central pillar of my ‘content to commerce’ strategy.”
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As Habibi puts it, the reasoning is simple: “As agents, our main focus is to become known by as many people on the face of the planet as possible. If they don’t know me, they will never do business with me.”
So, how can agents raise their game when it comes to real estate as entertainment?
Instagram continues to deliver
For many audiences, Instagram remains peak entertainment — and for agents like Wilder and Habibi, it remains a way to connect with like-minded people and businesses. “A young, successful YouTuber found me on Instagram and within weeks purchased a home with me,” says Wilder. “I had a previous client’s daughter contact me after seeing my social media posts, and she hired me to prep and list her home. I’ve even helped sell other LA agents’ homes by posting them on my feed, and watching as clients rush in with offers as soon as they hit the market.”
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It speaks volumes of the value of maintaining a presence on this platform. “I just closed a $5.5M deal directly from Instagram, and then the seller messaged me about a $12 million home he also owns and intends to sell next year,” says Habibi. “I asked him how he found me and what inspired him to reach out to me rather than the 6,000 other agents in the city. He said he felt like he already knew me and my expertise based on my previous posts.”
Short-form holds huge promise
If you think TikTok is for kids, think again. Short-form video is taking over the world, and while TikTok might be the most prominent example — plenty of real estate professionals are embracing the platform — it competes with other social media such as Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
Habibi and Wilder both have their eyes on YouTube Shorts in particular, as it enables agents to post highly snackable and shareable TikTok-style videos while also connecting viewers back to the substantial, long-form content on their personal channels.
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