Jimmy Burgess shares real-life social media and referral-based business lessons from Houston, Texas, luxury agent Jana Bruce.
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When agents dream of their ideal business, it’s usually driven by most of the business coming from referrals and their sphere of influence. That is the type of business Jana Bruce, serving the Houston, Texas, market, has built. In this article, she shares a model that you can duplicate in your market and how appreciation, hospitality and relationships are the driving factors behind her success.
Everything starts with appreciation
The foundation of every great referral-based business is showing appreciation and staying top of mind. Many agents are overwhelmed by the thought of large client appreciation businesses and forget that appreciation doesn’t have to be lavish or over the top. Often it is the little things that are most appreciated by clients.
Bruce said, “Letting my clients know how much they are appreciated is always my main focus. For me, it starts with the basics of handwritten notes. These could be thanking someone for a referral, sending a note of condolence when someone suffered a loss in their family, or congratulations on a family or business achievement. These notes only cost a stamp and the time to write them, but those personal notes give me the ability to genuinely communicate how much I appreciate them as friends, not just as clients.”
In luxury, uniqueness and quality matter
When it comes to luxury quality, unique marketing is expected. Bruce maintains this through her unique mailers to her “VIPs” and through her social media posts that define her brand. “I maintain a VIP list of clients and people who have sent me referrals. This list accounts for a large part of my business, so I send them postcards or unique mailers roughly twice a month,” Bruce shared.
This is an example of a mailer to her VIP group she has prepared for St. Patrick’s Day. She will be including a lottery ticket with the following messaging.
When it comes to social media, Bruce focuses on sophisticated photography to turn posts that many agents produce into unique content. This is an example of a typical market update done in her style.
Another example of a unique spin on a typical agent post is the following. Instead of the standard Happy Valentine’s Day post, this post highlights interior design features themed in the tones of the holiday.
Hospitality deepens relationships
Hospitality can take the form of many variations, but the heart of it is in making others feel special. Bruce provides hospitality in a number of different ways.
One monthly way is through a local bakery that provides her with custom cookies made with varying messaging for home anniversary months. Some of the cookies include a picture of the client’s home, others Bruce’s logo, while still others say Happy Anniversary with their home purchase date. These are delivered to all her past clients with home anniversaries for the month. She delivers these personally to her clients’ homes along with a handwritten note.
She also loves hosting people in her home for dinners or special occasions. The dinners involve her inviting three or four other couples into her home to join her and her husband for a dinner party. These dinners include friends, clients and prospective clients. They can be as simple as serving a meal she’s prepared to breaking out her silverware and having a caterer come into her home to serve a fine dining experience for them and their guests. These dinner parties create lifelong friendships and clients.
She and her husband also host themed events in their home for groups as well. From themed Super Bowl parties to a Fat Tuesday event during Mardi Gras, events also play a part in the hospitality she shares. These events involve hiring staff to serve dinner to the guests, a bartender, and even entertainment like a brass band for the Fat Tuesday event. The guests feel welcomed and appreciated. That is the connection and emotion that lead to repeat clients and referrals.
Community involvement matters
Bruce is involved in her community as well. This varies from being present at the local country club she and her husband are members of to giving back to the community that has given so much to her. Her involvement in the country club includes playing tennis, golf, and additional group activities with other ladies in the club. This again leads to deeper and new relationships as she meets and interacts with other ladies.
She also stays involved with giving of her time to community-focused events. The following is a post about her involvement with the Houston Business Journal’s Mentoring Monday event. This is an event where she is able to provide mentoring to others through her experience and successes in the same way mentors have helped her along the way in her career.
Events expand reach
As her business has expanded, so too have the size and scope of the events she puts on for her clients. She recently hosted a client appreciation Valentine’s Mahjong Tournament. This event featured drinks, food, Mahjong, and client giveaways including a Gucci serpentine clutch. The event included a Chinese lion dance performed in between rounds of play, culminating in an event her attendees will not soon forget. To see a video showing some of the highlights, check it out in the Instagram Reel linked below.
If you’re looking to build a referral-based business, don’t get overwhelmed with all that Jana Bruce does. It didn’t start out with the high-end events and dinner parties that she does now. It all started with her heart to connect with and serve others.
Bruce closed by saying, “I genuinely care about all of my clients. Most become friends if they are not already friends before we do business. If you want to grow your business, start by finding a group of people you enjoy being around and serve them at a level where they know how much you care and they feel appreciated. By continually being connected to your clients and sphere of influence, you will have success.”
Jimmy Burgess is a real estate agent and national team builder with Real Brokerage in northwest Florida, servicing the 30A, Destin, and Panama City Beach markets. Connect with him on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Turn up the volume on your real estate success at Inman On Tour: Nashville! Connect with industry trailblazers and top-tier speakers to gain powerful insights, cutting-edge strategies, and invaluable connections. Elevate your business and achieve your boldest goals — all with Music City magic. Register now.
Success is often determined as much by the things we avoid as by the things we do. The best agents are constantly evaluating their businesses and identifying areas they should refine. These are the six habits I see great agents avoiding — and what they do instead.
Trying to do everything
Confucius once famously said, “The man who chases two rabbits catches neither.” Meaning a lack of focus rarely leads to success. Most new agents have a season at the beginning of their careers where they do everything. They handle rentals. They show houses or condos. They drive an hour outside their main market to show a home. But the great agents eventually realize the riches truly are in the niches.
They understand that referring business to experts in other areas or specialty types of business is a better use of their time and is ultimately better for the prospect. Great agents find an area of specialty and become the absolute best in that area. This may be a geographical farm or a specific type of clientele.
The key is that they realize that to be their best, they must specialize. This knowledge leads them to avoid the trap of trying to do everything.
Being reactive instead of proactive
The average agent starts their day without a plan. They react to what happens during the day instead of being proactive. Their lack of a daily plan is a telltale sign of a business that is destined for failure.
The best agents control their schedules and have specific tasks written on their calendars in pen instead of pencil. They time block for prospecting. They block time to call people in their sphere of influence. They take the guesswork out of their schedule, developing a plan of action they trust will lead to their success.
John Maxwell speaks of his rule of five. This rule is based on an analogy he used about having a tree in his backyard that he would like to cut down. He states the best way to know that he will cut the tree down is to pick up an ax and strike the tree five times a day. He goes on to say that if he strikes that tree five times each day, it is not a matter of if, but when the tree will fall.
He suggests our businesses are the same way. If we will simply find 5 things to do daily that we know get us closer to our desired goal, then we will reach that goal. I created my 5-4-3-2-1 daily plan of action based on his rule of five. Every business is different, but developing a daily plan of action for your business will lead to more success.
This is an example of a 5-4-3-2-1 plan for an agent:
The best agents have a daily plan of action, and they are proactive instead of reactive.
Never changing
Change can be hard, and never adjusting or changing anything in your business is a trap many agents fall into. Many agents just keep doing the same things they’ve always done, even if it is no longer productive. They often have a strategy that has done well for them in the past, and they just won’t let it go, hoping the results it gave them in the past will return.
The best agents are constantly evaluating whether the things they are doing are still producing or diminishing in value. They adjust to change quickly, and it positions them to take advantage of trends moving forward and allows them to avoid getting stuck in the past.
These agents are the ones leaning into AI right now. These are the agents that are shooting the most video content right now. These are the agents that are diligently building their personal brand while others are still doing the things that used to work.
How long has it been since you changed something in your business? Become resistant to being stagnant. Find ways to consistently reinvent yourself and your business.
Scrolling without a purpose
According to a study done by The University of Maine, the average person spends two hours and 24 minutes every day on social media. Many agents fall prey to mindlessly scrolling on social media for hours upon hours every single day. Yes, almost everyone is going to spend time on social media, but the best agents spend this time purposefully.
Great agents turn what is negative for most into a positive for them and their business. They understand that social media is a tool for their business, but tools are only effective if used properly. Based on this understanding, the best agents utilize their time on social media for three main purposes.
The first way they use it is to connect with their sphere of influence and prospects. It is called social media because it is built to be a place for social connection. Understanding this, the best agents use their time on the platforms to comment on prospects’ posts. They DM personalized messages to people in their sphere of influence. They use it to connect with the people that are important to their business and to build better relationships.
They also use it to research what is working for agents in other markets. The second word in social media is media. The media side, or posting, is just as important to successful agents as the social side. They study the types of posts agents in other markets are making. They identify what is working for those agents, and they model them on their pages. This leads to more engagement with their audience and more effective results.
Lastly, they use it to evaluate what content their followers are responding to. They evaluate the posts they’ve made and how their followers responded to them. They are constantly refining the posts they make based on their highest-performing content. This leads to better posts, a more engaged following, and deeper connections.
Learning but not taking action
We don’t lack ideas. We lack agents that execute on ideas. Most agents attend training classes or watch videos on how to grow their business, but very few follow through and act on the knowledge they gain.
The best agents are systematic about taking action. They understand they can’t do everything, so they choose one to two ideas to implement in their businesses every month. These could be systems to create efficiencies or a new lead generation strategy. The main difference between average agents and great agents is in their execution.
Being blindly optimistic
Optimism is great, but blind optimism usually ends badly. Blind optimism is based on hope and emotion and typically involves waiting. Great agents may hope things are going to get better, but they don’t wait for them to get better.
If they see their sales in their business down from the same time last year, they don’t hope things get better; they evaluate why their results are different. They question whether their strategies are still effective and search for ways to get back on track. Instead of waiting for things to get better, they take massive action to turn the tide of the results they are receiving.
Please be optimistic about the future of your business, but base it on the actions you are taking and not blind optimism that things will just naturally improve for you.
What are the habits or negative patterns that you’ve fallen victim to? The good news is that you can change. You can recalibrate your business for success. You may not be able to change the results you’ve been getting, but you can change the things you are doing today, which will change the results you receive in the future. Make the changes needed and the best is truly yet to come.
Jimmy Burgess is a real estate agent and national team builder with Real Brokerage in northwest Florida, servicing the 30A, Destin, and Panama City Beach markets. Connect with him on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Building on Inman’s popular newsletter for first-year agents, The Basics, February is New Agent Month. Pick up the tools, tech and tips needed to survive and thrive in 2025 as a rookie real estate agent.
The new generation of agents is doing things differently and the real estate business is evolving. In a recent conversation, Rosalie Warner discussed with me the lessons she’s learning from them and how we are being inspired by this next generation of agents.
Warner has seen a lot in her 38 years of being in the real estate business, from her beginnings as an agent to rising all the way up the ranks to a senior vice president role with the global Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices franchise network. Recently, she decided to get back to her roots and help her daughter build her sales team, The Peters Collective Team, serving the Greater Portland, Oregon, market with Real.
While in her previous role, Warner oversaw a think tank group of agents under 40 years of age who provided amazing insight into the way this new generation of agents thinks about and builds their businesses. This interview shares the traits she sees and how you can apply them in your business.
They build personal brands
The real estate business of the past utilized the term “hanging your license under a company.” But agents that are new to real estate are not looking for a company to hang their license under; they are seeking a company that provides a foundation for growing their businesses.
“One of the first characteristics we see is that this new generation of agents builds their own personal brand instead of depending on a national brand. Yes, association is important, but they lead with themselves instead of their company,” Warner said.
They nurture and build relationships through social media
Years ago, Gary Keller famously proposed the 33-touch model for staying in touch with your database over the course of the year. This was based on the research he did for his book The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, which found the average person needs to hear from you 33 times per year to remember you.
This used to be accomplished by a combination of letters, postcards, email, phone calls, and meetings. The new generation of agents accomplish these touches through social media, direct messaging, text, and video content in addition to some of the more traditional touch points.
“With posts reaching hundreds to thousands of people, social media offers an inexpensive way to nurture a large group of people with one action instead of the traditional way of one-to-one communication. This leads to agents nurturing large groups of people with one video or piece of content. It also deepens relationships as people feel they are connected to the agent based on the video content they share,” Warner shared.
This new way of nurturing through social media builds relationships at scale.
They are driven by client relationships
Warner believes agents today do a much better job of being relationship-focused versus the transactional-focused business embraced in the past.
“Client appreciation is a line item on their business plan. They measure the investment and return on their efforts in this area. Whether it is a pop-by with a small gift or a large-scale client appreciation event, they understand the value of this investment for the future of their business,” Warner stated.
These new agents work to reach the tipping point in their businesses, where most of their business comes from referrals and repeat clients. They understand this is the answer to their sustainability during the times of ebb and flow in our business. They are driven by developing relationships that lead to clients for life.
They embrace collaboration over competition
The old-school belief in cutthroat competition was based on a belief system based on fear that if someone else succeeded, it would somehow result in failure for you. This generation embraces collaboration over competition.
The connectivity of agents from other markets via Zoom masterminds or social media has created a wave of agents that understand the value of sharing ideas with others. “They understand the value of learning from other agents and that by sharing what they’ve learned, referrals from agents in other markets usually follow. They embrace helping other agents and realize we all need each other if we are going to serve our clients at the highest level possible,” Warner said.
They utilize technology to create efficiencies
“Technology has given us the ability to react to customer needs faster and more efficiently. This new generation of agents utilizes the technology available to not only service their clients at a higher level, but they also utilize it to prioritize their schedules, creating a more balanced lifestyle than many agents did in the past,” Warner commented.
The efficiencies technology creates allow these younger agents to be able to be fully present when they are showing property or sitting in listing appointments, understanding that technology is working for them in the background. They embrace autoresponders for social media comments and preset email campaigns. They continuously adapt to new tools that speed up the processes for their businesses.
Ultimately, they utilize technology to provide them with the ability to spend their time on more income-producing activities and one-on-one interaction with their prospects.
What they can learn from the previous generation
Warner also shared that the best younger agents realize they can learn a lot from the generation of agents that came before them.
“I always tell younger agents to not let the technology separate them from the best way we always built our businesses. Texting is not always the best form of communication. It doesn’t allow you to hear the emotion in their voice or to understand what is truly important to them. I suggest picking up the phone and having a conversation with clients instead of always relying on texting. This leads to deeper relationships and clearer communication,” Warner said.
Sometimes the traditional ways of doing certain things never go out of style.
The state of the industry
Warner wrapped our conversation up by sharing her belief that the future of our industry is in good hands. Warner closed with this:
“I’ve watched this next generation come through all the challenges we’ve faced over the past few years in our industry. I continue to be inspired by their level of professionalism and service-minded focus. I’m so impressed with how much they care for and value their clients.
“I’ve never been prouder to be a Realtor, and it’s because of this generation of agents with everything they’ve brought to the industry. I see the collaboration growing and the industry continuing to improve. Yes, the agents benefit, but it is ultimately the buyers and sellers we serve that benefit the most.
“That’s what excites me the most about the future, and I hope I never stop learning from this amazing group of agents.”
Jimmy Burgess is a real estate agent and national team builder with Real Brokerage in northwest Florida, servicing the 30A, Destin, and Panama City Beach markets. Connect with him on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Turn up the volume on your real estate success at Inman On Tour: Nashville! Connect with industry trailblazers and top-tier speakers to gain powerful insights, cutting-edge strategies, and invaluable connections. Elevate your business and achieve your boldest goals — all with Music City magic. Register now.
Real estate strategies have life cycles and all eventually fade away or become less effective. Many agents do not recognize these changes in trends and continue to do the same strategies without realizing it is time to pivot.
Changes in results can be a slow fade, and this leads to a desire to hold on, hoping the trend will reverse back to the results received in the past. I’ll not only share the trends that died or that are dying but also alternatives that are trending up right now, leading to higher conversions and more closed transactions.
1. Door knocking
Door knocking is a strategy that can still yield results, but the effectiveness has greatly diminished, and there are better ways to build your business. We witnessed a case study of the value of going door-to-door diminishing in effectiveness during the presidential election last year.
The losing party doubled down on the strategy that had helped them win elections in the past of going door-to-door in swing states. Meanwhile, the winning party focused on podcast interviews and new media sources. While this may not fully explain the outcome of the election results, it is notable and does offer insight into the effectiveness of the traditional practice of door knocking in real estate.
Just as I mentioned in the previous example, there are alternatives to promotion. Prospective buyers and sellers are spending an increasing amount of time on YouTube, social media and listening to podcasts. The search-driven outlets like YouTube and social media channels do make it possible to position your message in front of your ideal client where they are digitally with much less disruption to their lives than knocking on their door.
The key is to understand your ideal client’s behaviors and desires, then position yourself and your messaging in a way that is not only received but leads to action.
2. Traditional Just Listed and Just Sold cards
Just Listed and Just Sold cards are still effective, but the standard postcard format has become so common that consumers rarely even notice them. I’m a student of real estate marketing, yet I open my mail by my trash so I can easily get rid of the standard marketing postcards most agents send.
There is a better way. Reimagining this marketing to make it stand out and capture the attention of the prospect is much more effective. The key to effective Just Sold campaigns is to make the people or the process the hero. This is an example of the front and back of a Just Sold campaign reimagined by Holly D’Arcy out of Destin, Florida.
By making the process the hero, this type of campaign helps her stand out from other agents while creating a higher likelihood of future listing opportunities in the neighborhood.
3. Unedited listing photos from an iPhone
Listing photos are the first impression potential buyers have of a home that is listed for sale. Professional photos present the home in the most attractive way possible. They have the ability to capture attention and lead to additional showings.
Unedited photos shot from an iPhone not only present the home in a negative manner; they present you, as the listing agent, in a negative manner as well. The way you market your listings is your resume, and homeowners, representing future listings, are watching.
Investing in professional photography, drone shots, and videography for your listings is no longer optional. It is a must for a truly professional agent.
4. The 3 P’s of marketing being enough
The standard marketing plan for listings in the past was the 3 P’s. Put the listing in the MLS, place a sign in the yard, and pray a buyer comes along. Most agents will, and should, continue to do these three things, but a detailed marketing plan that positions the home to be seen by as many prospective buyers as possible is now a necessity.
Gone are the days of passive marketing. We were able to get away with limited marketing when multiple offers on new listings were the norm. As the market continues to normalize and the average days on market continue to rise, our ability to execute on a results-driven marketing plan will separate average agents from great agents.
Whether you’re starting from scratch or building on an existing listing marketing plan, utilizing AI, and specifically ChatGPT, can help you become the expert marketer your clients desire you to be. One way to start the process is by utilizing the following ChatGPT prompt:
Act as an expert real estate marketer specializing in developing creative strategies that help real estate agents market listings. Please provide me with 25 creative ways to market my listing at (address) with the following MLS description: (insert MLS description).
Feel free to ask me as many questions as you need to help you put together the best marketing strategies you can provide.
If you’re preparing for a listing appointment and wondering how to put a marketing plan together that helps you get the listing, check out this article that breaks down how ChatGPT can do the heavy lifting for you.
5. Blog post lead generation
We may be early in the change in this trend, but the effectiveness of SEO-driven, local blog content is declining. This is being driven by the acceleration of users utilizing ChatGPT to create unlimited amounts of SEO-optimized local content for blogs. The sheer amount of content being created is diluting the effectiveness of this strategy for websites.
However, a slight shift in where you share these blog posts can make this strategy more effective. LinkedIn continues to be a great platform for local, blog-style content. We’ve seen accelerated views and engagement for this type of content recently on LinkedIn. Although this strategy may decline on LinkedIn as more creators utilize ChatGPT for LinkedIn, we are seeing a window of opportunity right now on this platform.
We are also seeing a resurgence of VLOG (video blog) content. The value of video content continues to rise, and with the shift to more search-friendly algorithms on social platforms, video content cannot be ignored. We are seeing the use of AI-generated video content rising, but for now, personalized video content is the best alternative for elevated results.
6. Acceptance of unprofessional buyer agents
The changes in buyer agency brought on by the NAR settlement may have been viewed negatively by many, but one positive was that it ushered in the era of the professional buyer’s agent. A buyer’s agent’s ability to communicate the value they bring is no longer optional.
If you’re still struggling with how to communicate what it is that you do as a professional buyer’s agent, check out this article where Andrew Undem shares his step-by-step buyer’s presentation.
7. Waiting for interest rates to come down
Many agents froze this past year, waiting for interest rates to return to the 5 percent range. Although rates remain in the historically average range of 7 percent, the sudden and dramatic increase in rates left many agents wondering what to do. The trend of agents waiting to take action was based on hope and continues to prove a losing strategy.
After being in this business for over 30 years, I’ve found the most successful agents control the things they can control. They control the number of real estate-related conversations they have on a daily basis. They identify and focus on the need-to-buy-or-sell clients instead of the want-to-buy prospects that can postpone buying or selling based on the economic environment.
They understand that spring always comes after winter, and they stay consistent in their efforts despite what the market does. This leads to gains in market share while others pause and wait for things to improve. Interest rates go up and they go down, but homeownership and life changes that lead to the sale of homes are constant. Stay consistent, and you will be rewarded.
Trends come and go, but professional agents adjust their businesses and succeed. Now is a great time to take a hard look at your daily activities and see if there may be adjustments you can make that will lead to more success.
Jimmy Burgess is a real estate agent and national team builder with Real Brokerage in northwest Florida, servicing the 30A, Destin, and Panama City Beach markets. Connect with him on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Turn up the volume on your real estate success at Inman On Tour: Nashville! Connect with industry trailblazers and top-tier speakers to gain powerful insights, cutting-edge strategies, and invaluable connections. Elevate your business and achieve your boldest goals — all with Music City magic. Register now.
Omer Reshid moved to this country from Ethiopia just nine years ago at the age of 13. Now, as a 22-year-old, he’s built a thriving real estate sales business, mostly through social media.
In addition to his sales business, he’s built the social media agency Refitified, which had over $750,000 in revenue in 2024 focusing on helping agents in the Washington, D.C., metro area build their businesses through social media and video content.
In this article, he shares his social media blueprint for agents.
Where to start
Success on social media starts with having the fundamentals in place and just beginning. Reshid shared that your profile page is your resume. When people find your profile, you want it to be attractive and informative enough for people to choose to follow you as quickly as possible.
This starts with a few fundamental pieces, such as having your name include the market you serve. In other words, your name should read something like [Agent Name] — [Your Market Real Estate Agent], or you want the market you serve located right below your name in the bullet points of your profile.
This brings immediate clarity to someone about who you are and what you do. You should also have a clear photo of yourself so people easily recognize you who may have already met you in person. The next step is to have a few bullet points about who you serve, your specialties and maybe a couple of highlights of your achievements. Make your description about the viewer for higher conversion rates.
‘When asked how agents should start building a following, Reshid said, “It sounds basic, but as soon as possible, put yourself on camera and start to post. Once you overcome the fear of what others will think and you begin to consistently post video content, whether on Instagram or TikTok, you will build momentum, and your audience will find you.”
Instagram, TikTok or both
Reshid focuses on Instagram and TikTok for building his personal business and for the clients his agency represents. When asked about whether agents should focus on Instagram, TikTok, or both, he answered by saying both if possible, but start with the platform where your ideal clients are spending the most time.
“Instagram and TikTok are similar, but different types of content perform better on each platform. Instagram is your resume. I’ve never had anyone ask me for a resume; they simply check out my Instagram account, and they know who I am, who I serve, and how I operate.
I’ve literally had a developer call and tell me he has been watching my Instagram and understands how I work. He asked me for my listing side commission rate. He immediately said that rate would work and began telling me about the project he wanted me to list for him. Understanding that Instagram acts as your resume, your content should be more professional and polished on this platform,” Reshid stated.
Reshid shared that less polished and more personal content performs really well on TikTok. Simple videos shot where you are looking into your iPhone are not only acceptable but typically outperform more professionally edited videos on this platform. “Although higher view counts are easier to achieve on TikTok, Instagram often produces more leads even with the lower view counts,” Reshid shared.
Content that is working right now
“Effective content should accomplish one of two goals. It should either educate or entertain your ideal prospect or audience. If you are able to accomplish both educating and entertaining your audience in a video, then you have a piece of content that has the potential to do really well,” Reshid said.
Understanding there are different styles of content that do best on Instagram and others that do well on TikTok, Reshid provided examples that are generating the most opportunities for agents on both platforms right now. For Instagram he provided three specific types of video content including listing tour videos, “day in the life” videos, and testimonial videos.
He said listing tour videos are foundational for agent success on Instagram. If you don’t have listings of your own, ask agents that do have listings if you can post about their listing on your social media and always give credit to the listing agent in the video.
This is an example of one of his recent videos for a listing:
Next he shared a “day in the life” style Reel. He said these give the viewer the ability to share in the process. These videos show the business being done and create a connection with the viewers.
This is an example of one of these videos:
The third type of video he suggested for Instagram is a testimonial video. This unique way of having the client tell the story while using b-roll footage of him interacting with the family creates a powerful combination of authenticity and trust-building content.
This is an example of one of these videos:
We then shifted to effective content on TikTok. As you will notice, there is a different tone and less polished videography for his content on TikTok. His TikTok is a mix of education, entertainment, and inspiration.
This is an example of an educational video. Simple format utilizing a selfie video with his iPhone.
This is a day-in-the-life post that generated over 1.3 million views. Notice the difference in the style and flow versus the Instagram day-in-the-life post shared above.
This is an inspirational post that has over 2.4M views. Another simple format that does extremely well on TikTok.
Click to view
Social media is the new CRM
The CRM has been the go-to way to keep in touch with an agent’s sphere of influence and past clients for decades. Reshid said he accomplishes the touch points and relationship nurturing through Instagram instead of a CRM.
“At every closing, I shoot a video about the closing, and I casually ask the client their Instagram handle (if I don’t already have it), and then I tag them in the post along with following them. I never have to send out an email or nurturing piece because now we are friends. I interact with their posts, and they interact with mine,” Reshid said.
If you’ve been wondering the best way to increase the quality and quantity of touch points for your prospects, social media is the new CRM. The key is to remember that it is social media. Being both social and producing content (media) are important. Interact with people’s posts, share valuable content, and be consistent with your presence in both areas. This is how agents are generating leads and business through social media.
“Just get started. Start posting video content, and your audience will grow over time. Be patient and understand that results come with consistency and time. The sooner you start, the sooner you will see results,” Reshid said.
Jimmy Burgess is a real estate agent and national team builder with Real Brokerage in northwest Florida, servicing the 30A, Destin, and Panama City Beach markets. Connect with him on Instagram and LinkedIn.
