When Harrison Peers, 24, was licensed as a Realtor in 2020, “everyone” told him to knock on doors to drum up business. But as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, the B.C. government advised people not to leave their homes, forcing Peers to adapt.
He decided to make short-form videos about real estate for social media.
“Immediately I doubled down on it, I went hard and I posted five times a day for about a year on TikTok just to try and build my clientele out,” Peers said.
Now a luxury specialist with Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, Peers focuses on upscale home tours and averages more than one million views per month across his social channels, according to his bio on Sotheby’s website. He estimates that half of his business derives from social media.
“It’s just sheer numbers. If enough people see you, someone’s going to call you,” he said.
Realtors in B.C. may increasingly be using social media to build their businesses and brands, though some say the platforms have key differences and monetization is difficult. There is also regulatory risk, with four recent administrative penalties issued by BC Financial Services Authority for false or misleading listings or credentials on social media, according to an April 2 news release.
For each property Peers films, he first gets approval from the seller and listing agent. Then, armed with an iPhone, gimbal, drone, microphone and other equipment, he films himself without the need for a separate videographer.
Peers said editing each video and adding voiceover takes anywhere from 15 minutes to two hours. He said TikTok is less valuable to him than YouTube or Meta Platforms Inc. (Nasdaq:META). That’s because generally, people turn to TikTok for entertainment, unlike YouTube for learning and Instagram for their friends, he said.
Peers singled out YouTube as a great way for Realtors to post long-form videos and demonstrate their knowledge to regular viewers to the point where prospective clients see them as “the expert in the area.”
“Why would you take a risk on someone who has 20 road signs, when you can use this person who you’ve seen talk about [real estate] for the last year?’” he said.
Tyler Burrows, 38, worked as a film actor and writer for 20 years before becoming a Realtor with Oakwyn Realty Ltd., and said home tour videos are a great way to blend his professional experiences.
He said he’s been posting to social media for about 3.5 years, and that his videos now yield over 90 per cent of his business.
“Originally, it was me going [to listed homes], and begging and pleading if I could do a video,” he said.
“Luckily, now it’s gotten to the point where people phone me and say, ‘Hey, I’ve got an amazing property, you should come do one of your videos.’”
Scanning new listings daily for “unique, hidden gems,” Burrows makes his tour videos stand out through various flourishes, including scenes of him “catching himself in the mirror” as he shows viewers a unit’s bathrooms—and his brief reflection in the mirror.
“It just kind of stuck. People now call me out if I don’t catch myself in the mirror, if they don’t hear the ding when I smile,” he said.
While Burrows sometimes gets paid to make marketing videos for others, he said monetization is difficult without sponsorship, and that TikTok does not have a “creator fund” available to Canadian content creators with high view counts, unlike in the U.S.
Kate Choi, a Realtor with Macdonald Realty Ltd. who has 7,390 followers on TikTok and 3,837 followers on Instagram, gave some advice for Realtors starting their social media journey.
“I would say just to keep … social media very professional and simple. When things are complicated on social media, people just find it hard to watch,” she said.
“Also, you just need to know how to grab people’s attention in three seconds.”
To prevent people from just scrolling past, she said to deliver a strong introduction. She also said posting consistently is key.
But the work doesn’t end there. Any “cold” leads, such as messages from strangers, then need to be turned into “warm” and “hot” leads, Choi said.
“That’s the time when you need to know what to say to those clients,” she said.
