Mastering TikTok for Real Estate and Property Marketing

Compared to Facebook or Twitter (now X), TikTok was a latecomer when it launched in 2016, but it has quickly become one of the most widely used social media platforms worldwide. Rapidly closing in on 3 billion users, TikTok regularly vies with Google as the world’s most popular website.

Thanks to its phenomenal reach, TikTok has emerged as a powerful platform for content creators, influencers, and businesses, particularly within the real estate sector. From housebuilders to industrial logistics developers, TikTok is proving to be a valuable tool for showcasing products and boosting brand reputations.

As one of the UK’s leading property marketing agencies, Reach Marketing has kept ahead of this explosive trend. In this blog, we'll explore how you can use TikTok for real estate and offer some top tips to elevate your engagement metrics.

Why Use TikTok for Real Estate and Property Marketing?

TikTok is perfect for real estate and property marketing for several reasons:

Massive Reach

Thanks to the platform’s highly effective recommendation algorithm, your TikTok videos can reach millions of potential customers and stakeholders – not just buyers and renters, but occupiers, investors, political figures, and the public too.

TikTok is also particularly good at matching their large user pool with the specific content they want, making targeting a breeze. When posting on TikTok, you don’t only get quantity, you get quality as well.

Bite-Sized Content

TikTok thrives on easy to produce short-form videos. This bite-sized content, usually between one and two minutes long, can showcase a property or real estate brand in a format appealing to an attention-poor audience.

For longer messages, you can also opt to split your content in multiple, linked TikToks (part 1, part 2 etc.). This is a great way to keep the momentum going on successful posts and trends. You may want to consider this when marketing a new residential development, or to show the different features of a new industrial scheme.

The New Alternative to Google

TikToks recommendation algorithms consistently outperform other platforms in linking new users to the freshest content. As a result, users are increasingly using TikTok as a search engine, bringing it into competition with the likes of Google and Bing.

The major difference between TikTok and other social media platforms is the algorithm that delivers your content. Traditionally, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or X favour network-based content, showing you what the people you have connected with are posting and interacting with. TikTok moves away from this, basing the core of the content delivery on individual interests. TikTok serves you the content it thinks you are interested in, even if the content creator is new to you.

This targeted delivery is what makes TikTok ideal for real estate marketing. Its algorithms can find users interested in different aspects of real estate (e.g. buying a house, or warehousing) and then serve your content to these users, even if they have not previously interacted with your TikTok channel or brand.

To make this as effective as possible, make sure you stay on top of hashtags and sounds, two massive content classification tools in the TikTok algorithm.

An Engagement Engine

With its short-form content, unique editing features and interactive elements, TikTok keeps viewers engaged, increasing the likelihood of conversions.

A 2024 study shows that TikTok’s engagement rate (by followers) stands at a whopping 2.65%. Although this might not seem a lot, it is miles ahead of competitors, with Instagram’s engagement rate being 0.7%, Facebook’s 0.15% and X’s 0.05%. Therefore, posting your content on TikTok can yield more enquiries, viewings, and sales for your real estate business.

Building a Positive Reputation

TikTok isn't just for selling a specific product, it's also a great way to build your brand.

TikTok is often used as an awareness generation platform. A great example of this is RyanAir. Their TikTok content isn’t always aimed at getting you to book a flight, but rather to be visible and relatable. They attempt to improve their brand reputation by heavily employing memes and trends to stay relevant and fun.

Whilst a more jocular tone might not be the best for all brands, the key take away is that the informality of TikTok is useful for creating a relationship with your audience, presenting your brand on a more personal level, and improving your reputation.

These are important factors, especially for industrial real estate marketing efforts. Some developments may not always enjoy community support, so using a social media tool like TikTok can provide the necessary platform to connect with the community to build trust and a positive image.

Creating Content with TikTok for Real Estate and Property

Using TikTok for real estate and property marketing is easier than you might think.

Here are a few tips to help you get started:

Be Authentic

While quality is important, authenticity should be the main point of your content. Make sure to not turn your available property into a movie set, as that might make your content unappealing. Find the sweet spot between highlighting your property’s features without being misleading.

In the same note, heavy editing is not advised on TikTok. Using the apps native editing tools is highly encouraged, but you will find them limited compared to professional editing software such as Adobe Premiere. Don’t be tempted to over edit your videos for the sake of movie magic, as this might hurt your overall engagement. The quality of your videos should come from your content, not the editing.

Brevity = Virtue

Keep your videos short and to the point. Remember that 2.75% engagement rate? To make sure your viewers watch your videos, pay close attention to their structure. We recommend presenting the key message of your video in the first 3 seconds.

For example, when marketing a new residential property for sale, you can mention the number of bedrooms, the location, and the price (or any other key features) at the beginning of the video. Users that are interested in your offer will stay and engage with the rest of the video.

Below is a chart showing an optimal way to structure your video to maximise engagement.

Keep It Fresh

Keep your content fresh by using different video styles, such as virtual tours, property highlights, and behind-the-scenes footage. For more on this, see below.

TikTok favours fresh content, so make sure to upload at regular intervals. The time of posting is also important. The best advice here is to keep testing different posting days and times, then compare the results.

Presentation Styles for Real Estate and Property TikToks

There are three general presentation approaches you can consider:

Presenter

An estate agent can be featured in the video talking about the property. This is a great way to create authenticity and can help your engagement, especially if the presenter is comfortable being in front of the camera.

Voice over

For those that are a little camera shy, the next best option is voiceovers. You can record yourself talking over the video and discuss the features of each room as the camera goes around the property. TikTok makes this very easy in their editing tool.

Text Overlay

If you can’t find the right voice for your video tour, you can just add text over your video to showcase the property features. When doing this, ensure you use an appropriate sound for your video to create an engaging experience.

What Videos to Create

Content is key on TikTok, and to that end you might be wondering what types of videos to create. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Virtual Tours

Keep your tours simple and to the point. Start off with the property’s best features, the ones that are going to keep viewers hooked wanting more.

For residential tours, entrances, lounges, and kitchens are always good areas to consider for the beginning of the tour.

For industrial tours, start with the main entrance, before moving through the atrium, offices, and into the main warehouse space. Finally, remember to show the external areas, including the goods yard and car park.

In either case, make sure to cover all areas of the property, but don’t spend more time than needed in each space.

Property Highlights

A ‘sizzle-reel’ highlights the best features of a property in a short, punchy form. Drive up the excitement levels with a pacey soundtrack.

Behind-the-Scenes

When doing TikTok for real estate, showcasing the development process allows you to show features of your property that would otherwise be hidden in the finished product.

Whether it’s building materials, construction methods, or the finishing process, highlighting these in a video stimulates demand for the finished product.

Client Testimonials

Share testimonials from satisfied clients to build trust and credibility with potential customers. A video tour of a happy client’s property will further show the features, while also adding inspiration.

TikTok Tips & Tricks for Real Estate and Property Marketing

Now that you're familiar with the basics of using TikTok for real estate and property marketing, let's explore some tips and tricks.

Use Trending Sounds and Hashtags

One of the easiest ways to increase the visibility of your TikTok videos is by using popular sounds and hashtags related to real estate and property.

Pay attention to trends and incorporate them into your videos to increase their reach. When selecting your sound, make sure to select one that is fit for commercial use to avoid any copyright issues.

Below is a list of hashtags we at Reach sometimes use in our real estate TikToks:

• #houseforsale
• #housetour
• #propertytour
• #estateagentuk
• #onthemarket
• #property
• #forsale
• #3bedroomhouseforsale
• #3bedroomhouse
• #semidetachedhouse

This list is not definitive, but it could help you find the ones that work best for you.

Create Engaging Captions

The most engaging captions serve as a call to action, such as visiting your website or contacting you for more information. Remember that captions can be overlooked in your real estate TikTok post, so make sure that all the important information is also found in the video.

Take Advantage of Editing Features

TikTok offers a wide range of editing features that you can use to make your videos more engaging. Experiment with filters, effects, and text overlays to make your videos stand out from the crowd.

Engage with Your Audience

Building a strong presence on TikTok requires active participation and engagement with your audience. Regularly respond to comments on your videos and engage with other users.

Take TikTok To The Next Level

While it's easy to create your own videos, working with a professional marketing team will boost the impact of your real estate and property marketing TikToks.

Here’s where Reach Marketing comes in. As an experienced marketing agency specialising in real estate and property marketing, we have the experience, expertise, and resources to help you leverage TikTok to its full potential.

Social Media Strategy Integration

TikTok is a great platform, but ideally your activities should be part of a comprehensive social media strategy. We can help dovetail your outputs with other platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.

Content Plans

As a creative marketing agency specialising in real estate and property marketing, we understand the key waypoints in a property development. Reflecting this, we can create bespoke content plans that will maximise your posting schedule.

Creative Support

We can advise on the content that will drive engagement within TikTok, and suggest new ways to keep things fresh. We can also help with scripting and supply creative assets, such as additional footage, or motion graphics.

Talk to the property marketing professionals

TikTok is just one way you can elevate your real estate and property marketing. For more ideas and channels, talk to Reach Marketing today.