New to creating digital media or don’t know where to start? Here are 5 sure-fire social media strategies Zillow Showcase agents are using to help build their brand, win more listings and drive their success forward.
Choose the social posts that inspire you, then follow these easy step-by-step directions to start creating your own wow-worthy social content.
To help build your real estate brand and share your unique value proposition with clients, you need to tell your story. Your narrative might center on one truth about yourself, such as how a personal journey helped you find your real estate career path, or it may be playful or funny. Find a core storyline that will have an impact on your audience. By connecting with your audience, you’ll help build trust and kinship with your community.
You don’t have to use videos and reels on social media to start a conversation with sellers. You can also tell a story effectively using still images. For example, Stacy Dragos of Arizona Residential & Commercial Real Estate tells the story of this home in Arrowhead Lakes, AZ, in which Zillow Showcase helped this agent get more eyes on the home, which sold in under 30 days.
Quick, easy social posts are a great way to tell the story of how quickly Showcase can speed up the selling cycle and help generate multiple offers. In this Facebook post, Doug Gardiner of the Maryland Group of Long & Foster, Frederick, MD, shares the story of one home that was listed with another agent for 156 days before Gardiner’s team secured multiple offers within three days!
Regina Kukla and Jennifer Cole of Across the Coast Real Estate Group, Panama City, FL, also use simple, easy-to-create social posts to let their sellers know how Showcase helps their Panama City properties, like this home, which received multiple offers within 24 hours.
Want to create a social video or post but don’t know where to start? Here’s a quick step-by-step how to create a Facebook or Instagram video post or livestream:
How to Post Pictures on Instagram using the mobile app:
Step 1. Open the Instagram app and log in to your account.
Step 2. Click the + button at the bottom of the Instagram app.
Step 3. Select post and choose a reel, GIF or static image from your Library. You can also take a picture with the app, using the Photo button.
Note: Videos cannot exceed 1 minute. Also, short-form reels work best with the algorithm and may help generate results when clients are searching online.
Step 4. Click the blue Next button.
Step 5. Select filter if desired.
Step 6. Add caption and a location, if desired. You can also add hashtags like #showcase #Zillow #showingtime
Step 7. Hit Share.
Step 8. Make sure to interact with all comments to increase your visibility and search results.
How to post a picture or video on Facebook using a mobile device:
Step 1. From your Facebook page, tap “Write Something” at the top of your timeline or feed.
Step 2. Next, you can add Text, Photo or Video or go Live, depending on which type of media you want to share.
Step 3. Select a photo or video from your library if desired and tap Next.
Step 4. Tap Share.
How to post a live video on Instagram:
Step 1. Open the Instagram app and log in.
Step 2. Tap the + icon on your profile or feed.
Step 3. Select Live at the bottom.
Step 4. Add a title.
Step 5. Tap the Live icon at the bottom.
Step 6. Tap Go Live to start your broadcast.
Step 7. Tap End when you’re done.
How to post a live video on Facebook:
Step 1. Go to the page where you want to publish a live stream.
Step 2. Tap the Live button at the bottom of the post composer.
Step 3. Add a description to your video.
Step 4. Tap Start Live Video.
Step 5. Tap Finish when you’re done.
Alex Wick of the Alex Wick Home Selling Team, RE/MAX Precision, Des Moines, IA, opened the doors to one of his Des Moines Showcase homes to take his social media followers on a virtual walkthrough of the property using the Showcase walkthrough feature.
Potential sellers on Facebook can instantly see the impact this unique tool will have on buyers when applied to their own listings, and, as a Showcase agent, Wick is able to differentiate himself from his competition.
Here’s how to create a walkthrough for your Showcase listings using the Interactive Floor Plan:
Step 1. Log in at app.ShowingTimePlus.com
Step 2. Find “All Listings” and select your preferred property.
Step 3. Under Listing Media Services, select “Download Center.”
Step 4. On this page, you’ll find all your media for this listing.
Step 5. Find “Interactive Floor Plan” toward the bottom of the page.
Step 6. You’ll see two links:
Step 7. Copy, view or embed the link to your preferred channel and share with your network.
Want to stand out and really impress your customers with your tech-savvy skills? Chad Dannecker of Dannecker & Associates, San Diego, CA, created this digital eZine flipbook, featuring a market report, 4-color imagery of listings, client testimonials and more.
Dannecker also incorporated QR codes on the individual pages of the eZine, linking to a site with additional information, including this team’s use of professional photography and how a floor plan and virtual tour can help buyers get a better sense of the property’s features while being particularly beneficial to out-of-town luxury buyers searching the coastal San Diego market.
A flipbook such as the one Dannecker created can help grab attention and engagement from both sellers and buyers on your social media channels. Here’s how to turn a PDF into your own digital flipbook, or eZine:
Step 1. Upload a PDF file to a tool like Publuu, Canva, Flipsnack, FlippingBook or Visme. Many of these tools will let you drag and drop your PDF file onto the platform.
Step 2. Customize the flipbook with your branding and add interactivity, if desired.
Step 3. Publish as public or private.
Step 4. Share with your social media audiences.
Showcase makes it easy for agents to leverage ready-made emails, flyers, social posts, videos and more using the Showcase Resource Center, a website dedicated and created exclusively for Showcase customers like you.
Here are three examples of agents using turnkey visuals and content from the Resource Center, plus a step-by-step to help you spread the word to your prospective clients. Be on the lookout for more turnkey social media posts in the Showcase Resource Center coming later this year.
Elmer Morales, founder of eHomes, Chino, CA, posted this Instagram post, featuring the seller-facing video from the Resource Center. The caption, “now exclusively offering Listing Showcase for a handful of sellers!!! Ask me about it today!” provides a powerful FOMO-based call to action.
Lisa Thompson of the Lisa Thompson Group in Lake and Porter Counties, Indiana, also leverages the turnkey assets available on the Showcase Resource Center to help solidify her status as a nationally recognized top agent and team in the U.S. On this page, she uses the ready-made digital flyer, “WOW Prospective Buyers with a Showcase Listing” to help inform her customers how Showcase offers a “listing experience, made available to only a limited number of agents:”
As you scroll down the page, notice how Thompson’s branded script logo is anchored at the top navigation bar, always reinforcing the agent branding at each talking point as the seller travels down the page.
The page leans into the main benefits for sellers, including industry-leading media, prioritized exposure and dedicated, branded new property alert emails followed by a video with the CTA, “Watch to learn about this exciting, limited availability opportunity.”
In addition, you’ll also find a side-by-side comparison of the standard listing and a Showcase listing in the Resource Center. Dave Kapur of All City Real Estate Ltd. Co., Austin, TX, leverages this content in his Facebook post, topped by the headline, “Which Listing Would You Prefer to Sell Your Home? to help his clients see the powerful difference a Showcase listing can make.
To leverage the Agent Resource Center to help create your own turnkey marketing materials, follow these steps:
Step 1. Visit the Zillow Showcase Resource Center at https://showingtimeplus.com/lo/listing-showcase-resources
Step 2. Click on the Marketing Materials tab.
Step 3. Select from the video for sellers, emails, postcards, flyers, social media posts for Facebook and Instagram, and/or the Showcase listing presentation.
Step 4. Download and share the marketing assets you desire:
Video: To download and share the seller-facing video, simply click on the “Watch Now” button and then click on the three dots in the lower righthand corner. Click on “download” and save the video to your device. Once the video is stored in your media library, upload to Instagram or Facebook using the steps above.
Showcase Listing Presentation: To download and share the Showcase presentation, simply click on the Listing Presentation tile, then click on the downward arrow at the upper right corner and follow the prompts to save the presentation to your device. Share in emails or social posts
Postcards & Flyers: These assets can also be copy/pasted, downloaded or edited in Canva. In Canva, you can upload visuals, and download and share the asset directly to your social media. You can also order professional prints.
Seeing is believing and Showcase is a highly visual product that clients need to see to fully understand how this listing experience can help increase their listing’s page views, saves and shares and help them sell their home faster and for more money.²
Tanika Donnell of TD Realty, Mansfield, TX, captures attention with this clever dedicated landing page, which directs the viewer’s attention to a mobile device showing the scrolling hi-res imagery of a Showcase listing next to the large handscripted message, “Watch This!”
Once the viewer is engaged, Donnell lists the many reasons why the seller wants a Showcase listing, including how a Showcase listing is 20% more likely to go under contract within the first 14 days, which translates into a quicker closing date.
Likewise, Joel Horst of Bellabay Realty, Kent County, MI, engages sellers with this Instagram post, which takes the viewer through a Showcase home, visually displaying a tour through the home whlie emphasizing the main selling points in large on-screen type.
50% of Instagram users have visited a website to buy a product/service after seeing it in Stories.³
145 minutes is the amount of time the average person spends on social media every day.⁴
95% videos vs. 10% text: Users retain 95% of a message on videos versus 10% of messages read in text.⁵
Short-form videos perform better than long-form content and deliver the highest ROI compared to other marketing trends.⁶
95% of homebuyers searched online during their homebuying process.⁷
Substantiation: ¹This claim is based on Zillow data analyzed during the year prior to an agent subscribing to Zillow Showcase and the sixty day period after an agent subscribes to Zillow Showcase (“Showcase Period”). These Showcase Agents were compared to all Zillow agent profiles not subscribed to Zillow Showcase (“Non-Showcase Agents”) and matched based on the following attributes: (i) same team role; (ii) operate within the same market area; (iii) have similar average listing prices; (iv) similar listing count prior to Showcase Agents subscribing to Zillow Showcase; and (vi) similar listing trends prior to Showcase Agents subscribing to Zillow Showcase. During the Showcase Period, Showcase Agent listings were then compared to Non-Showcase agent listings at the time the listings went live in the MLS. *The data is from July 20, 2024 and includes analysis on all Showcase agent subscribers that have been subscribers for 60 days. The data excludes Showcase and Non-Showcase agents with significant change in market share.
²Showcase listings on Zillow include an interactive floor plan, a virtual tour, and specialized exposure on Zillow. The average home sales price in the United States is from the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Average Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States (“ASPUS Data”) dated June 27, 2024. Except for claims of selling for more, these claims are based on Zillow data analyzed in markets with at least one Showcase and one For Sale By Agent listing during the initial fourteen day period a listing was active on Zillow, up to pending. Showcase listings were compared to For Sale By Agent listings on Zillow: (i) without Showcase; (ii) of the same home type; (iii) located in the same city and within two miles of the Showcase listings; (iv) on the market during the same time period as the Showcase listings or the immediately prior month; (v) containing a similar list price as the Showcase listings; (vi) having similar square footage as the Showcase listings; and (vii) having a similar bedroom count. For claims of selling for more, the Showcase listings were compared to For Sale by Agent listings on Zillow: (i) without Showcase; (ii) of the same home type; (iii) located in the same MSA as the Showcase listings; (iv) listed in the same month as the Showcase listings or the immediately prior month; and (v) containing a similar list price to the Showcase listings. *The data is from August 20, 2024 and is an average from the immediately preceding six month period. For claims of selling for more and page views, saves, and shares claims, the data excludes the top 5% and bottom 5% lift of sales price and total page views, saves, and shares from each month and the immediately preceding six month average. As of the date of publication, listings on Zillow with Showcase represent less than 1% of listings on Zillow.
³Sprout Social Social Media Video Marketing Statistics ⁴Forbes, Spending Time On Social Media Is Both Good And Bad. ⁵Sprout Social Social Media Video Marketing Statistics
⁶Sprout Social Social Media Video Marketing Statistics Hubspot: The State of Marketing Report ⁷Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report 2023