Social media channels change more often than we change our underwear. They certainly keep us all on our toes. Just when you think you’ve cracked the code, algorithmic fine tuning occurs, or the feature you love gets replaced.
The constant battle between social media channels to be the most popular can cause frustration and setbacks for users and businesses alike. One day, your business’s social media works like a charm, bringing in leads and keeping your real estate brand front and centre. The next, a social media update rolls around, and suddenly, your posts are reaching fewer people, your visuals are cropped weirdly, or a feature you used daily has vanished.
Is it a drain on your time to keep dealing with these changes? Yes.
Can you find a way to stay calm when changes occur? Absolutely.
Importantly, however, it serves as a reminder that if your real estate marketing relies heavily on third-party platforms, i.e., websites and apps owned by global media conglomerates, you are only renting this space, and therefore, you will always be at the mercy of their changes.
So, how do you keep your real estate brand marketing on track, no matter what comes your way? Let’s explore ways to stay ahead, protect your fan base, and keep leads flowing.
Caught off guard by Instagram’s grid update?
It’s good to remember that global corporations run leading social media platforms, employing layers of staff to generate new ideas, launch new products and features, and tweak the algorithms to thwart the competition. Their goal is to remain the most popular platform with the most extensive user base. The social media platforms you love have likely been planning changes for months, but we are always the last to know as platform users.
Look at the recent TikTok court case and the resulting overnight shutdown in the US – the perfect example of how the digital world can change in an instant.
Another example is Instagram’s abrupt shift from a 1:1 square grid to a 4:5 aspect ratio, which forced business owners (many of whom had invested significant time and money in carefully curated layouts) to rethink their content marketing strategy overnight.
If the Instagram grid change caught you off guard, you weren’t the only one. We are now several weeks in and some real estate businesses still haven’t resolved the problem. Those with an expert real estate marketing team in their corner, like our clients at Hoole, adapted quickly and kept their brand looking highly professional and polished.
Case study 1: Meridien Realty’s property templates
When Instagram changed its grid layout, our team at Hoole ensured that Meridien Realty’s property listing fit the new skinnier format. The Hoole team quickly redesigned their branded property templates, ensuring vital information stayed legible without disrupting their overarching content strategy.
Case study 2: LJ Hooker Mona Vale’s corporate brand refresh
LJ Hooker Mona Vale faced a double challenge, not only did they need to adapt their content to Instagram’s new grid layout but they also needed to incorporate their network’s frefreshed brand guidelines. The Hoole team was set to work immediately, overhauling their social media templates, adapting them to the newly introduced colour scheme, and switching in the new logo. Both the social platform changes alongside the LJ Hooker branding changes were launched simultaneously.
With Hoole’s expert support, both real estate agencies could pivot, ensuring they didn’t lose marketing momentum or look outdated.
Don’t rely solely on social media sites
Social platforms exist to serve users’ interests, keep them engaged, maximise revenue, and grow their influence. While they offer valuable exposure and networking opportunities, their constant evolution means your real estate business has to continually adapt its marketing.
When the social media platform tweaks its algorithm or introduces pay-to-play models, it’s their bottom line they’re growing, not yours. And it’s not just about algorithms. Accounts can get restricted, suspended, or even shut down without warning. Social media companies enforce ever-changing policies; sometimes posts get flagged for no apparent reason. In 2023 Meta reported that it had removed over 24 million accounts in a quarter alone due to policy violations.
Many real estate agents seek help from me and my team when they lose access to their accounts due to staff changes, policy violations, or hackers. Imagine spending years building your following only to lose it overnight and having no way to get it back.
That’s why you must take control and build a digital marketing strategy that doesn’t rely solely on rented pages across social media sites.
Create a 360-degree marketing strategy
Two decades ago, real estate brand marketing relied on various channels, including television commercials, billboards, newspaper advertising, letterbox drops, and email campaigns. With the digital evolution, many traditional marketing channels lost their effectiveness or disappeared.
Digital marketing hasn’t eliminated the need for a multi-channel approach. It has simply transformed how we reach and engage with potential clients. Remember, a strong real estate brand must remain visible across multiple channels so your business doesn’t suffer if one platform changes the rules.
If your competition constantly beats you to property listings, or your online marketing is a list of ‘just listed’ property posts, it’s time to ask yourself why you are short-changing yourself with brand marketing activities. Leads won’t land in your lap unless you invest in the right marketing tools.
1. Own your real estate website outright
Your real estate website is the modern version of your shop window. Just like bricks and mortar, having a website that you own outright is safer than renting. You need an online space that you control and where you call the shots about how it looks and works.
If you use a templated CRM website or a corporate network page, you still play by someone else’s rules. Just like social media, CRM websites have limitations. The CRM provider controls the design, dictates if and when feature updates are made, and can change their pricing at any time.
Investing in a custom-built real estate website that reflects your brand and caters to your ideal clients ensures long-term stability. It also means you can update it when needed or integrate third-party widgets. This is how you will capture leads. By adding more content pages and property listings on a weekly basis, you’ll remain highly visible in Google search.
2. Social media pages across multiple platforms
Retaining a presence for your property business across a broad range of social media platforms ensures your real estate brand remains visible even when one platform changes. Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, Google Business Profile, and YouTube each serve different audiences and purposes.
LinkedIn is great for networking with investors and white collar business professionals, while Instagram and Facebook help with visibility and property marketing to broader audiences. A Google Business Profile keeps you in local search results when sellers, landlords, or buyers look for an agent.
Don’t neglect the other social media sites, even if you focus on only one or two. Staying active on several social media platforms ensures you always have multiple ways to connect with prospects.
3. Email brand marketing campaigns
Unlike social media, email marketing gives you direct access to your audience without relying on an algorithm. Regular email campaigns let you share insights and market updates with potential sellers and landlords. You can personalise your emails by segmenting your database, increasing engagement and conversion rates. However, be aware that spam filters can affect your deliverability rates, which need constant monitoring.
4. Paid advertising strategy
With organic reach almost non-existent, paid ads help ensure your brand stays in front of the right audience, not just anyone. Google Ads put you at the top of browser search results when prospects are actively looking for an agent, while Facebook and Instagram ads help you deliver highly targeted campaigns to homeowners based on location, demographics, and user behaviour, building awareness for you and your real estate business.
5. Search engine optimisation (SEO)
SEO makes sure your website ranks high in Google searches. It’s also an important factor for achieving the top ad spots through the Google Advertising platform. Optimising your real estate website for keywords such as “best real estate agent in [suburb]” or “[suburb] property manager” helps match you with motivated prospects who are ready to take action.
6. Own your audience and data
One of the most significant downsides of social media is that the profiles and pages you create aren’t yours. You are simply renting space from someone else. You need to think of social media marketing as a way to get people through your front door, i.e. over to your website. You need to stand out, grab attention, spark interest, and start conversations, but always guide prospects towards the online sites that you own outright.
Here’s how:
- Drive website traffic – Post teasers on social media encouraging users to visit your website for the full details.
Build a robust database – Offer gated content (like suburb reports or market updates) in exchange for email sign-ups. - Use strong calls to action – Whether it’s “Download now,” or “Join our mailing list to stay in the know with new information or listings,” make every interaction count.
- Leverage CRM tools – Capture and nurture leads through email automations and personalised SMS follow-ups.
Consistent real estate branding builds trust
Your audience should instantly recognise your real estate brand, whether they find you on Instagram, Google, or in a local property magazine. Maintaining consistent branding across all touchpoints helps build credibility and trust.
This includes:
- Maintaining a clean and straightforward approach when displaying your brand (logo, colours and fonts) across all different media types (both digital and traditional print mediums)
- Keeping your messaging style and voice consistent
- Ensuring high-quality, professional imagery
How to pivot when social media features change
When a platform changes, adaptability is the key to staying ahead. Here’s what to do:
- Stay informed – Follow industry news, digital trends, and marketing experts who monitor platform updates.
- Assess the impact – Stay calm. Not every update will affect your business. Identify which changes matter and adjust accordingly.
- Update your content – If a platform modifies its layout (like Instagram’s shift from a 1:1 grid to 4:5), tweak your visuals and templates immediately to retain your professionalism.
- Streamline your workflow – Marketing automation and design artwork templates can help you make content creation quick and seamless.
- Work with experts – A real estate marketing agency handles platform updates so you don’t have to.
Stay ahead with expert marketing support
Social media platforms will keep changing — that’s a guarantee. But instead of constantly playing catch-up, you can implement a marketing strategy that works no matter what.
At Hoole, we help real estate professionals anticipate digital changes, optimise their marketing, and future-proof their brands.
Want to take your real estate marketing to the next level? Book a free 1-hour consultation with me, Melanie Hoole. I’ll give you personalised recommendations and show you how digital marketing can position you as the local real estate expert.
Written by Melanie Hoole
My team and I specialise in helping real estate and property professionals perfect their personal brand, build a first-class digital profile and implement inbound marketing activities to attract leads. If you are unsure which direction to take with your digital marketing contact me for help.
