TikTok has more than 150 million users in the United States, putting the social media app on par with Instagram and Facebook as a tool for businesses to reach customers. That’s especially true in real estate, where agents are using TikTok’s short-form videos to showcase their knowledge and personality, as well as their listings.
Kati Catalogna, a Realtor at Vesta Preferred Realty, has leveraged TikTok to fuel her business, building a subscriber count of nearly 12,000 and, most importantly, picking up new clients along the way.
TikTok’s short videos are well suited for real estate professionals, Catalogna said. “In real estate, you have to be able to connect with people,” she said. “(TikTok is) a perfect platform to be able to translate what we do as agents and get people to like you and trust you … from a 10- or 15-second video.”
Catalogna started posting TikTok videos semi-regularly at the beginning of 2022 with the aim of helping grow her downtown luxury leasing client base. Her follower count grew steadily, and eventually TikTok leads made up 100% of her leasing clients, allowing her to do about 10 to 12 leases per month.
In August, Catalogna joined Vesta and transitioned to residential real estate sales. She adjusted her TikTok content at that time, too, to coincide with her career shift. She’s found three buyer clients via TikTok since August and has leads on several more, she said.
Her content showcases properties she likes, her fashion choices, and personal and professional anecdotes. It’s a mix, but all of it is built around showing people her personality.
“Let people know who you are and what it would be like working with you,” she said.
“Don’t be afraid to show your personality, because that’s going to build a community of people who like you and follow you and eventually will want to work with you … It’s less about going viral and more about building a community.”
A common myth in social media is that a viral post is the key to success. While going viral can’t hurt, Catalogna said she’s had posts go viral that produce few new followers or client leads. In fact, she said, most of her business connections come from people who have followed her content for a long time, allowing Catalogna to build up a trust with people even before she’s met them.
“It’s quality over quantity,” she said. “Don’t get discouraged if your videos aren’t going viral. If the people who are seeing it are responding well to it, that’s just as good.”
Consistency, Catalogna said, is the other key to building a TikTok following. It’s something she’s grappled with, because she goes “through waves where I’m not feeling creative and don’t post for a while,” she said.
“The best thing that you can do is being as consistent as possible. Trying to post more often than not. Posting daily or whatever schedule you want to stick to … Just be at some level of consistency.”