Social media influencers are being paid to promote real estate

Some real estate agents have had the novel idea of partnering with social media influencers in order to get younger, first-time buyers checking out their listings.

A story in Bloomberg last week revealed that agents are turning to social media influencers to sell the idea of a better lifestyle, with Instagram posts or YouTube videos featuring some of their listings to help prospective buyers picture themselves living there.

Christine Blackburn, a sales director with Compass, told Bloomberg that she believes younger home buyers “trust these influencers – that’s what it comes down to.”

Blackburn has used the tactic herself, teaming up with three well known Instagram influencers to decorate condo units she is selling in Brooklyn, N.Y. One influencer, who’s known for her houseplant tips, helped to outfit the condo with various potted plants and shared the photos on her profile. Some influencers have hundreds of thousands of followers that will see such images.

The National Association of Realtors says its data suggests that younger buyers are more likely to take advice from close friends and relatives when it comes to buying a home. And they’re also more likely to respond to word-of-mouth marketing, and the NAR includes social media influencers in that category.

“We’re seeing that social media has played quite a big role in home shopping,” StreetEasy Economist Nancy Wu told Bloomberg. StreetEasy has taken it onboard, and recently launched its own TikTok account that features home tours.

Bloomberg said the real estate pros it interviews that have used social media influencers declined to say how much they paid to get their listings featured. But they unanimously said that the posts resulted in a big increase in the number of people who viewed their listings.

It’s likely that real estate agents will leverage content creators more often in the coming years, Thomas Fialo, vice president of Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, told Bloomberg.

“People can identify with them,” Fialo said, referring to social media influencers. “It’s about thinking outside the box and bringing a home to life.”