One of the biggest questions I hear from agents is simple: “What should I be posting on social media?” Most agents are looking in the wrong places; they’re watching influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers and trying to replicate content that was never designed to generate real estate business. The answer is actually easier than you think.

 The best social media content in real estate isn’t always coming from people with massive audiences. It’s coming from agents who have figured out how to create content that resonates with the people they actually want to serve.

Recently, I took a deep dive into agents across the country who are generating real referrals and real listings through social media. They serve different markets, different demographics and different price points, but they all have one thing in common: They’re creating content with purpose. Here are 10 agents and the lessons we can learn from each of them.

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Colby Anderson: Become the neighborhood expert

Colby Anderson serves the 30A market in Florida and has experienced tremendous growth by creating content around specific communities. Rather than trying to talk about every neighborhood, he focuses on one neighborhood at a time. The result is evergreen content that continues showing up whenever people search for those communities.

Here’s an example of a recent community overview is this one showcasing Naturewalk at Seagrove:

The lesson: Don’t create content about your market. Create content about specific neighborhoods inside your market.

Get connected on Instagram and on TikTok.

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Taley Hunt: Build community around your audience

Taley Hunt has done an incredible job connecting with mothers in real estate and creating a sense of community around shared experiences. Her content isn’t just about houses. It’s about people. She shares lessons learned, business insights and personal experiences that resonate with her ideal audience.

One of her most recent best-performing posts was sharing about being three-and-a-half weeks postpartum and how she is prioritizing what is important to her family on this pregnancy versus what she did postpartum a few years back. This post resonated with other moms in real estate:

The lesson: Sometimes the most valuable content isn’t about real estate. It’s about the people you serve or the people you can encourage.

Get connected on Instagram and on TikTok.

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Dusty Ballard: Own your small town

Dusty Ballard proves you don’t need a major metro market to build a significant presence. By documenting his journey, showcasing listings and partnering with local businesses, he’s become a trusted voice in his community. 

One of the most impactful and creative videos he has done was a video shot with a song about his community titled “That’s Them Jackson County Ways.” He wrote the song about his area and had AI put it to music. He then shot the video, along with the help of a few of his friends, showcasing the rural lifestyle of his community. 

Don’t be overwhelmed by writing a song; AI can help you put one together if you aren’t sure you could write one yourself. Here’s that video:

The lesson: If you’re in a small town, lean into it. Community content creates community trust.

Get connected on Facebook and on Instagram.

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Rachel Kilmer: Document relationships

Rachel Kilmer has built an impressive business in just a few years, and what stands out most is her focus on relationships. While many people assume younger agents are winning because of technology, Rachel’s success is rooted in connection. Social media simply amplifies those relationships by documenting her journey as an agent.

She shows up authentically on social media and showcases how she makes it fun for her sphere of influence and past clients to be a part of her tribe. An example of this is her social post documenting her adult Easter egg hunt party. Here’s that video:

The lesson: Social media should be fun, and it should enhance relationships, not replace them.

Get connected on Instagram and TikTok.

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Eugene Gonzalez: Become the local news source

Eugene Gonzalez has positioned himself as a trusted source for local information. New development? He’s talking about it. Infrastructure improvements? He’s covering them. Business announcements? He’s sharing them.

Gonzalez uses green screen video formats to report on new developments and infrastructure. This is an example of these videos that perform well for him:

The lesson: When people want information about your community, they should think of you first.

Get connected on Instagram and TikTok.

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Holly D’Arcy: Authenticity is a power move

Holly D’Arcy creates content showcasing the area she serves, along with sharing personal insights as a mom, real estate agent and military spouse. She shows up in an authentic way that attracts her ideal clients to follow her along her journey as an agent.

Many of her posts perform well, but one where she related to a topic that resonated with her ideal audience went viral with over 347,000 views compared to her following of just over 2,000 followers on Instagram. Here’s that post:

 

The lesson: Be yourself. Showcase your community and your life. Authenticity is undefeated.

Get connected on Instagram and Facebook.

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Omer Reshid: Document the journey

Omer Reshid has built attention by documenting his day-to-day experiences and sharing lessons he’s learned along the way. His content feels authentic because it is authentic. He inspires other young agents and young entrepreneurs, leading to explosive growth in his career.

He provides his insights on the market and being a young, successful agent. Some of his best-performing content are his day-in-the-life posts. This is an example of this type of post:

 

@omerreshid_ realtor day in the life📲 #dayinthelife#realestate#realestateagent#realtor#realtoroftiktok#sales#fyp#viral#lifestyle#realtorofinstagram#youngentrepreneur ♬ original sound – Aideen

The lesson: You don’t always need a script. Sometimes people simply want your perspective and a behind-the-scenes view of your life as an agent.

Get connected on TikTok and Instagram.

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Megan Sullivan: Showcase your marketing

Megan Sullivan demonstrates the power of consistently marketing listings through video. Every listing becomes an opportunity to showcase not only the property but also her expertise. She does additional content that answers common buyer and seller questions and personal details. 

This is an example of a listing video that generates leads and is marketing seen by future listing customers.

The lesson: Every listing is marketing for the next listing.

Get connected on Instagram and Facebook.

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Catherine Osborne: Tell your story

Catherine Osborne does a great job sharing her story, her background and her journey. Focusing on the luxury market in Dallas, her posts include elegant home tours, market updates and community overview videos. People connect with people before they connect with properties. A great example of this is her introduction video pinned to the top of her profile. This is a link to that video:

The lesson: Your story is often your most underutilized marketing asset.

Get connected on Instagram.

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Alyssa Curnutt: Become the local resource

If I had to pick one agent who has mastered local content, it would be Alyssa Curnutt. She consistently highlights new businesses, local developments and community news. Real estate content becomes part of a larger strategy rather than the entire strategy. This is an example of a video she did announcing a new zipline company coming to downtown Spokane:

The lesson: People follow local resources long before they need a real estate agent, and she is a great example to follow.

Get connected on Instagram.

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The bottom line

The biggest takeaway from studying these agents is simple: You don’t need a massive following. You need a clear purpose and an ability to model after agents having success in other markets. The agents winning on social media today aren’t necessarily creating the most polished content. They’re creating the most relevant content.

They’re answering questions. They’re showcasing communities. They’re telling stories. They’re documenting relationships. And most importantly, they’re creating content that serves the people they want to attract. That’s a strategy every agent can copy.

As the battle between Zillow, Compass and MRED plays out in court, both sides have launched an all-out marketing blitz aimed at convincing agents, brokers and consumers who is to blame for the disappearance of Chicagoland listings from Zillow.

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The fight since MRED pulled the plug on Zillow’s listing feed early Wednesday morning has spilled over into paid Instagram ads, LinkedIn comment threads and brokerage marketing channels. And now, Compass says it’s preparing to take its message to physical billboards in Chicago.

In a post unveiling the effort, Compass CEO Robert Reffkin revealed a handful of billboard renderings with the message “Zillow doesn’t have all the listings” and asked agents where the company should place them. A Compass spokesperson confirmed to Inman that the company is preparing to run billboards in Chicago, though they did not provide specifics on placement.

In the comments, Compass allies suggested locations ranging from Chicago expressways and major sports arenas to the National Association of Realtors’ front door on Michigan Avenue.

Meanwhile, Zillow has been running paid ads on Instagram, telling agents that “MRED cut our access to your listings” while promoting its “BeOnZillow” direct-feed program for brokers who want to send listings directly to Zillow. Compass has launched its own paid-ad blitz arguing that “Zillow can’t show you what it doesn’t have,” while promoting its website.

Compass-controlled brands @properties | Christie’s International Real Estate, Coldwell Banker Realty and Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty have joined the messaging push, with each posting variations of the message that consumers may not find all available Chicago-area homes on Zillow.

The dispute has also made its way onto LinkedIn, where Zillow and Compass executives and corporate communications staff have been responding directly to posts and pushing the issue to an audience outside of the real estate industry.

Errol Samuelson, Zillow’s chief industry development officer, has responded directly to posts, arguing that Zillow had “not suppressed a single listing in Chicagoland,” and adding that the whole debacle was over Zillow’s decision not to show nine Compass listings in Florida, Georgia and California.

Reffkin, meanwhile, has argued that Zillow’s feed was pulled because the portal filtered listings by agent or brokerage name, pointing to NAR’s non-filtering policy, while also sharing screenshots of national mainstream media coverage and arguing that “the consumer everywhere will know they can’t find all the home listings on Zillow anymore.”

Redfin has also confirmed to Inman that it plans to launch a targeted marketing blitz in Chicago as well, highlighting that consumers can search and find all available listings on its platform. Rocket-owned Redfin began a listing partnership with Compass earlier this year.

“This fully integrated marketing campaign invites buyers to compare Redfin against any other site,” Rocket CMO Jonathan Mildenhall said over email. “With complete MLS inventory, plus the exclusive launch of ‘Redfin Early Access’ listings that buyers cannot find on any other major site, we are confident that Redfin will become the preferred site for homebuyers in Chicago.”

Zillow sought emergency relief in court Friday morning, asking a judge to intervene after MRED shut off the portal’s access to Chicagoland listings. The court fight could still change the facts on the ground quickly, particularly if Zillow wins emergency relief requiring MRED to restore its feed.

But regardless of the outcome in court, the advertising blitz has heightened the stakes and pushed what might otherwise have been an industry dispute into the court of public opinion and consumer trust.

Update: After publishing this story, a Zillow spokesperson confirmed to Inman that a federal judge ordered MRED to restore Zillow’s access to listings that originate in the MLS.

Reporter Taylor Anderson contributed to this report.

Email AJ LaTrace

Victims of the January 2025 wildfires unhappy with how insurers have handled their claims have filed lawsuits, protested and complained to local and state officials.

This week, they got support from an unexpected ally: President Trump.

“It was brought to my attention that the Insurance Companies, in particular, State Farm, have been absolutely horrible to people that have been paying them large Premiums for years, only to find that when tragedy struck, these horrendous Companies were not there to help!” Trump posted on Truth Social.

He also asked U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin to give him a list of insurers that “acted swiftly, courageously, and bravely” to fulfill their legal obligation and another list of those that were “particularly bad.”

State Farm, California’s largest home insurer, is under investigation for how it has handled January 2025 wildfire claims. In a statement responding to the president’s post, it said it has received 13,700 claims, paid out $5.7 billion and expects total payments could reach $7 billion.

“Our leadership position in the California homeowners insurance marketplace means State Farm General Insurance Company — the State Farm company that provides homeowners insurance in California — insured more people impacted by this disaster than anyone else,” its statement read.

Tuesday’s post had its origins in a Feb. 4 visit that Zeldin and Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler made to the Los Angeles area, where they met with L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger and Pacific Palisades fire victims, among others.

The visit was prompted by Trump’s criticism of the slow rebuilding process and by a Trump executive order allowing victims of the Los Angeles wildfires to rebuild without having to deal with “unnecessary, duplicative, or obstructive” permitting requirements.

At the time of the order, Bass dismissed it as a “meaningless political stunt,” saying the president has no authority over local permitting but could assist by speeding up Federal Emergency Management Agency funding.

The American Property Casualty Insurance Assn. industry trade group, in its response to Trump’s post, continued to point fingers at local government. It noted the fires were the third-worst natural disaster in American history in terms of insured losses, at $40 billion.

“Permitting can be a frustrating process, and it can always be improved,” it said in a statement. “Los Angeles has been approving permits three times faster than it was before the fire. However, permit issuance continues to lag.”

Barger, whose district includes the Eaton fire zone in and around Altadena, said this week that she defended the local permitting process to Zeldin. But said she also pointed out complaints about how insurers, and State Farm in particular, have handled claims.

“Many people feel that the insurance industry has let them down, and the number one company that we hear about is State Farm,” she said. “Obviously, Administrator Zeldin met with the president and outlined what I told him.”

Bass, who also spoke on the phone with Trump last month, issued a statement saying she “recently requested that the President intervene with the insurance companies to ensure they pay claims so that survivors can afford to rebuild.”

“I want to thank President Trump and EPA Administrator Zeldin for taking action and working alongside us to help survivors get the support they need and deserve,” she said.

A White House official said Friday that the EPA was working to produce the list of insurers “as quickly as possible for the president” and the “best way for insurance companies to help is to immediately pay out what they owe so victims can rebuild their lives.”

“Administrator Zeldin, on behalf of the president, is going to hold insurance companies accountable to the great people of California,” the official said.

The federal government has played a large role in the recovery, including leading the debris cleanup and, as of February, approving 12,600 Small Business Administration loans to fire victims totaling $3.2 billion.

However, a 1945 federal law, the McCarran-Ferguson Act, delegates authority to regulate the insurance industry primarily to individual states.

Joy Chen, executive director of Eaton Fire Survivor’s Network, which represents thousands of fire victims across Los Angeles, said her group believes the federal government has a larger role to play.

“President Trump has the opportunity to restore accountability to this broken system. Federal agencies have the tools to act,” said Chen, who has been sharply critical of State Farm’s claims practices and how California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has handled complaints against the company.

She specifically called for the Federal Trade Commission to examine “deceptive sales practices” that have left Americans underinsured and for the Department of Justice to investigate “industrywide claims practices that delay, deny or underpay payments owed to policyholders.”

Lara has defended his treatment of the company, noting regulators opened a probe of State Farm’s claims practices last year.

Martin Grace, a University of Iowa business professor and expert on insurance regulation, said that aside from the “bully pulpit” Trump exercised in his social media post, the federal government’s hands are largely tied.

“He can browbeat people, and Trump’s good at that. And I think the federal government, at one level, only has that. Now, Congress and the president together could say, ‘Listen, we don’t like what the states are allowing insurers to do, and we’re going to change the regulatory system,’” he said.

Grace noted that there was an insurance industry solvency crisis in the 1970s and 1980s that led to a 1990 Congressional report and federal pressure for improved state-level regulation, which was undertaken.

“Congress basically said, ‘Get your act together, or we’re going to take [regulation] back.’” And so the states got together and did a much better job on that,” he said.

Los Angeles attorney Richard Giller, who represents plaintiffs in lawsuits against insurers, said that the federal government could still take steps to improve the market.

Those might include establishing a federal reinsurance program that shares natural disaster risks with insurers, or covering the risk itself similarly to how the National Flood Insurance Program works.

“The catastrophe insurance industry in California is incredibly broken and needs some serious repair,” he said.

A lot of agents still confuse being seen on social media with being effective. They’re not the same. Recently, I sat down with Jimmy Mackin, co-founder of Listing Leads, to talk about what’s actually working right now, not for views but for real conversations and closings.

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His take was simple: “You’ve got to focus on cheap and fast,” Mackin said. “What can you do right now that doesn’t cost much and gives you feedback quickly?”

That feedback loop is what makes social media so powerful. You can test, adjust and improve in real time. And the agents who lean into that are the ones turning content into clients. Here are a few of the frameworks he says are working right now.

Real estate social media posts that generate real leads

Challenge what people believe to create curiosity

One of the fastest ways to generate engagement is to challenge a belief your audience already has. For example, online home valuation estimates. Most agents know they’re off. Most consumers think they’re accurate. That gap creates opportunity.

“You have to create a curiosity gap,” Mackin said. “You’re not just giving information, you’re making someone wonder, ‘How wrong is mine?’” Posts that highlight a recent home value being significantly off, paired with an offer to check theirs, consistently drive responses. The key is what happens next.

“The handoff is where people fumble,” Mackin said. “When someone responds, you’ve got to move quickly and make it easy to continue the conversation.”

This is an example of this type of post:

Sell your insight, not just listings

Many agents hesitate to post because they don’t have a listing. That’s the wrong mindset. One of the most effective strategies right now is the “deal of the week,” which highlights the best opportunity an agent sees in the market based on their analysis.

“Consumers don’t want more options. They want a plan,” Mackin said. Instead of posting properties, you’re positioning yourself as the one doing the work for them, reviewing listings, identifying value and surfacing opportunities.

“You’re not selling the house,” he said. “You’re selling your analysis.” And that’s what creates conversations.

This is an example of this type of post:

Turn your buyers into lead generators

Most agents wait for inventory. Top agents create it. That’s where the “magic buyer” strategy comes in. Instead of waiting for the right home to hit the market, you promote your buyer’s needs, price range, location, and criteria and ask your audience to share.

“The top 3 percent don’t wait for inventory,” Mackin said. “They create it.” This works because it turns your audience into your distribution channel. It also reinforces your identity as someone actively doing business.

This is an example of this type of post:

Build interest before you deliver value

Another high-performing strategy is creating anticipation before sharing information. Instead of posting a list of price reductions, position it first. You’re reviewing the market. You’re looking for the best deal. Do they want it when you find it?

“I like to do the work before I do the work,” Mackin said. That simple shift turns ordinary market updates into engaging content. It invites people into the process and makes them more likely to respond.

This is an example of this type of post:

Reduce friction to increase conversations

At the core of everything is one principle: Reduce friction. Most agents struggle with one thing: not closing, but getting into conversations. “The bottleneck for most agents isn’t conversion,” Mackin said. “It’s conversations.”

The solution is to make the first step easier. Instead of asking, “Do you want to sell?” ask something smaller. More conversational. Less pressure. “If you want more conversations, shift from asking them to make big decisions,” he said. That’s how you get people to engage.

The goal isn’t attention. It’s action

Social media isn’t about looking busy. It’s about creating opportunities. That means posts should do more than get views. They should get responses.

“You’ve got to detach from your feelings and let the market tell you what works,” Mackin said. “And the only way to do that is to produce more.”

Because in the end, the agents who win on social media aren’t the ones who post perfectly. They’re the ones who post consistently and make it easy for people to say yes.

March is Marketing and Branding Month at Inman. As the spring selling season kicks in, we’ll examine the proven tactics and new innovations driving results in today’s market — and celebrate the industry’s top marketing and branding leaders with Inman’s Marketing All-Star Awards.

Jimmy Burgess is the Chief Coaching Officer for HomeServices of America and President of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. Connect with him on Instagram and LinkedIn.

If the Super Bowl proved anything this year, it’s that culture no longer unfolds in neat, contained moments. It compounds. A halftime show becomes a geopolitical debate. A privacy policy update becomes a product launch. A Valentine’s Day promotion becomes a referendum on relationships, budgets and identity. The broadcast ends, but the conversation accelerates.

Social listening is no longer optional. Hyperlocal discovery is being engineered into feeds. Algorithms are becoming adjustable in real time. Campaigns that win aren’t the loudest, they’re the ones that feel participatory, specific and emotionally fluent.

What’s diverging is how brands and professionals respond. Some chase attention while others pause and observe. The ones building a durable presence are doing something quieter and more strategic: They’re entering conversations with intention, aligning content to place and moment and recognizing that visibility without relevance is increasingly fragile.

In a landscape defined by speed, personalization, and fragmentation, the advantage belongs to those who understand not just what is happening but also how their audience is reacting as it unfolds.

Super Bowl halftime becomes a live listening test

Super Bowl LX’s halftime show didn’t just dominate the stadium — it dominated feeds. Bad Bunny delivered the first all-Spanish headlining performance in Super Bowl history, celebrating Latin heritage while sending messages about unity, identity and belonging.

The result was immediate and polarized. Supporters amplified the show’s message of love and cultural pride. Critics called it divisive. Politicians and commentators piled on.

While overall TV viewership came in just below last year, social media told a different story. The halftime show generated a record 4 billion views across platforms in the first 24 hours, with more than half coming from international audiences. The cultural impact extended far beyond the broadcast itself.

Moments like this aren’t just entertainment. They’re real-time case studies in audience sentiment. The conversation wasn’t happening on stage. It was unfolding across Facebook, Threads, Instagram, TikTok and group texts.

What this means for real estate professionals

Shared cultural moments are opportunities to connect — not only to broadcast your opinions, but also to listen and engage. When something captures your audience’s attention, acknowledge it thoughtfully. Ask questions. Invite perspective. Be human.

The agents who build durable brands aren’t talking at their followers, but rather with them, showing they understand the moment and the people experiencing it.

TikTok pushes deeper into local discovery

TikTok has officially launched its Local feed in the U.S., adding a new tab designed to surface nearby creators, restaurants, events and small businesses based on location and timeliness. The feature has been tested internationally for years, but its American debut comes just weeks after backlash over updates to TikTok’s privacy policy tied to its U.S. ownership restructuring.

The company says posts in the Local feed are ranked by proximity, topic and recency, making it easier for users to discover what’s happening in their immediate community. Critics have questioned whether the rollout is meant to calm concerns about expanded location data usage.

TikTok maintains that the policy updates were not about increased surveillance, and the Local feed is positioned as a discovery tool, not a tracking mechanism.

For agents and local brands, the bigger takeaway is platform intent. TikTok is signaling that hyperlocal discovery is a priority. That aligns directly with real estate’s core value proposition: neighborhood knowledge.

What this means for real estate professionals

If your content isn’t clearly tied to place, you may not show up where it matters most. This is a reminder to optimize profiles, captions and video topics around neighborhoods, landmarks, schools and local events. Platforms are increasingly rewarding specificity. Agents who treat social as a local search engine — not just a highlight reel — will be better positioned as discovery tools evolve.

Threads lets users steer the algorithm

Threads is giving users a new way to influence what they see with “Dear Algo,” an AI-powered feature that allows people to request more or less of specific topics in their feed. By posting “Dear Algo” followed by a preference — such as wanting more NBA coverage during a live game or fewer posts about a show they haven’t watched — users can temporarily adjust their feed for three days.

The move reflects a broader shift across social platforms: audiences want personalization on demand, not just passive algorithmic curation. Instead of guessing what matters, Threads is inviting users to say it directly.

For professionals who rely on social visibility, that matters. If users can tune their feeds in real time, content that feels generic or loosely relevant may disappear faster. At the same time, high-interest topics and timely conversations could gain even more momentum as users actively opt in.

What this means for real estate professionals

Relevance is becoming explicit. When major events, rate shifts or local news break, create content that clearly names the topic so audiences can “dial you in.” The more precisely you align your posts with what people are actively asking to see, the more likely you are to stay in their customized feeds.

Angry Orchard turns breakups into a brand moment

Angry Orchard found a way to tap into Valentine’s Day angst with its “Ex-Change” program, inviting consumers to ship their ex’s leftover belongings to the brand in exchange for cash toward hard cider. The kits — complete with prepaid shipping labels — quickly sold out after going viral on Instagram, where posts racked up tens of thousands of likes and shares.

The hook wasn’t just free product. It was emotional relevance. By framing the campaign around a shared, slightly messy cultural moment — post-breakup clutter and Valentine’s Day frustration — the brand gave people a participatory outlet.

Users weren’t just watching an ad. They were joking, tagging friends and asking if “emotional damage” qualified for return.

The promotion also leaned into sustainability, promising to donate or recycle all items received. That added a values layer without dulling the humor.

What this means for real estate professionals

Campaigns that work often start with a relatable truth. Think about the life transitions your clients experience — breakups, downsizing, fresh starts, empty nests. Instead of only promoting listings, consider how you can create content that acknowledges those emotional chapters. When marketing reflects real human moments, audiences are more likely to engage — and invite others into the conversation with you.

Valentine’s Day becomes a cultural remix

Valentine’s Day marketing is no longer just about roses and romance. In 2026, brands are treating the holiday as a flexible cultural canvas — part love story, part breakup therapy, part budget reality check. From updated candy-heart slogans about splitting rent to cheese “bouquets,” engagement-ring claw machines and pet-first promotions, marketers leaned into how relationships actually look right now.

Legacy names like Sweethearts and Brach’s modernized their messaging with humor and affordability in mind, while brands such as DoorDash and Instacart reframed Valentine’s Day around convenience and low-risk gifting.

Even unexpected players — including JCPenney with its jewelry “Ex-Change” and Natural Light with a tongue-in-cheek lingerie-style lawnmower cover — tapped into post-breakup humor and cultural irony.

The through line wasn’t sentimentality. It was specificity. Brands recognized that Valentine’s Day now means different things to different audiences: couples, singles, friends, pet owners, budget-conscious renters and people happily opting out. Instead of pushing one narrative, they met consumers where they are.

What this means for real estate professionals

Seasonal moments only work when you acknowledge their complexity. Valentine’s Day isn’t just about couples buying dream homes. It’s about roommates renewing leases, newly single clients downsizing, families nesting and friends buying first properties together. The agents who build connection are the ones who reflect real life — not a postcard version of it — and invite their audience to see themselves in the conversation.

TL;DR (Too Long, Didn’t Read)

• Super Bowl halftime proved that cultural moments now unfold on social first, making active listening and thoughtful participation more valuable than hot takes.
• TikTok’s new Local feed reinforces that hyperlocal, place-based content is becoming central to discovery.
• Threads’ Dear Algo feature signals that audiences can now explicitly tune their feeds, raising the bar for timely, clearly framed posts.
• Angry Orchard’s viral breakup campaign shows that emotional relevance and participation outperform straightforward product promotion.
• Valentine’s Day marketing is fragmenting, rewarding brands that reflect real-life complexity instead of pushing a single, polished narrative.

Platforms are rewarding specificity. Audiences are demanding participation. Cultural moments are becoming stress tests for how well brands understand the people they serve.

This isn’t about reacting to every headline or turning your feed into a commentary channel. It’s about discipline. Listening before speaking. Naming the moment clearly. Tying content to place, to timing and to real human transitions.

In a fragmented digital ecosystem, attention is fleeting. Relevance is earned. The professionals who will stand out aren’t the ones posting the most. They’re the ones who show up with context, clarity and a genuine read on what their audience is experiencing in real time.

Each week on Trending, digital marketer Jessi Healey dives into what’s buzzing in social media and why it matters for real estate professionals. From viral trends to platform changes, she’ll break it all down so you know what’s worth your time — and what’s not.

Jessi Healey is a freelance writer and social media manager specializing in real estate. Find her on Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, or Bluesky.

Rather than leading with product, Drapala urged reverse mortgage originators to start with education, specifically around Social Security claiming strategies, to build trust and uncover housing stability goals.

“Social Security is a universal topic,” Drapala said. “Almost everyone is going to claim it. Not everyone will get a reverse mortgage, but many of the same clients qualify for both conversations.”

The webinar drew roughly 160 registrants from 47 companies across 35 states, according to NRMLA President Steve Irwin, who spoke at the start of the webinar.

Drapala, who brought up the lack of education around Social Security, said during the webinar that the confusion creates a natural opening for advisers to engage retirees who may otherwise be resistant to reverse mortgage discussions.

He claimed that 51% of Americans don’t know how much of their retirement income will come from Social Security, while 42% don’t know their expected monthly benefit and 33% are unsure of their full retirement age. Online Social Security estimates can be unreliable and vary depending on the scenario, creating distress for seniors.

Drapala, who isn’t a reverse mortgage professional, said that when speaking with clients about their Social Security, homeownership naturally comes into play.

“When I help my clients with Social Security, aside from Social Security itself as their main retirement income, a lot of times the other main asset that they have is their home,” he said. “And I think it’s all of our jobs as professionals, whether you’re a reverse mortgage agent or whether you deal with Social Security as I do, we’re there to educate clients so that they can live the secure retirement that they’re looking for.”

Chris Downey, senior vice president at Federal Savings Bank and co-chair of NRMLA’s education committee, said the approach aligns with the reverse mortgage industry’s broader value proposition.

“The general theme is enabling someone, at least from a financial standpoint, to stay in their home indefinitely,” Downey said. “You’ve got to do what is best for the client, not for your sales numbers.”

Drapala framed Social Security as a tool for covering fixed retirement expenses with guaranteed income. “The goal is to offset fixed expenses with dependable income,” he said. “Social Security is stable. It doesn’t drop if the market drops.”

He added that reverse mortgage proceeds can also function as a bridge strategy for borrowers who delay claiming benefits to maximize lifetime income.

While emphasizing that reverse mortgages are not suitable for every homeowner, Drapala said Social Security planning provides a less transactional way to identify clients whose primary goal is aging in place.

Agents can follow other agents, track listings and share properties with clients from their mobile devices. The app is intended to simplify how users interact with MLS information while staying focused on active market data, leaders said.

“Learning a whole new way of doing things just to use one app is always a pressure point for adoption, but Tuesday is an MLS app that’s user-friendly and feels easy to pick up,” CRMLS CEO Art Carter said. “The feeds, profiles, and overall user experience on Tuesday will feel right at home for anyone who’s used social media, which means our brokerage community can get to work fast and deliver thorough results to their clients.”

Tuesday’s designers said the app is built to surface relevant MLS information quickly while reducing complications often associated with traditional MLS tools.

“Tuesday will be the first thing CRMLS agents reach for in the morning,” said Coleton Boyer, co-founder and CEO of Tuesday. “We’re thrilled to have CRMLS data powering the app. Agents can scroll their personal hot sheet, share listings with clients, and stay ahead of the market and their competition, without the friction of legacy MLS tools.”

The app is available now for CRMLS users on iOS devices.