Estate Agency Marketing: Part 3 of 4.
Positioning, trust & content that actually wins instructions.
Parts 1 and 2 covered expectations and strategy in estate agency marketing. This is the part I’d happily shout from the rooftops, because it’s where most estate agents get it so painfully wrong, and where the ones who fix it see the biggest jump in valuation leads.
1. Estate agency marketing: It was never really about the properties.
If you take one thing from this entire series, make it this.
Yes, some sellers and landlords will scroll your listings to see what you shift and what you achieve. But those savvy analysts are the minority. Your average prospect hasn’t got a clue where to start. They’re nervous, they’ve got a hundred questions, and more than anything they want to feel looked after.
You can do all of that through your content. Reassure them, answer the questions, show them who you are; long before they ever speak to you. Yet most agents treat their marketing like another portal; nothing but their best listings on a loop.
I’m not saying never post a property. I’m saying properties should be a small slice of your content, not the whole pizza. The rest should be you. Your knowledge, your area expertise, your team, the experience of selling with you, the human being a nervous vendor is deciding whether to trust. And this isn’t a nice theory.
The agents we’ve worked with who’ve actually taken this on board have seen, on average, a 20% increase in valuation leads.
Important caveat, because I don’t do vanity claims: that’s not from social media alone. It comes from a joined-up, holistic marketing approach. But the shift away from “just the properties” sits right at the heart of it.
2. Vendors choose people, not portals.
This is the natural sequel to the point above.
An instruction is a trust decision. When someone’s choosing who sells the biggest asset they own, they’re not really comparing listings; they’re deciding who they believe, who they like, and who they trust to look after them. That’s a human choice, every time.
Which means the job of your marketing isn’t just to showcase houses. It’s to make you the agent people already feel they know and trust before the valuation appointment is even booked. Get that right and you’re no longer competing on fee. You’re the obvious choice.
3. Rightmove and Zoopla are not a marketing strategy.
Let me be clear, the portals have their place. But they are rented ground. You’re paying to stand in someone else’s shop window, right next to every competitor in your patch, all shouting the same thing.
Your brand (i.e. your website, your content, your reputation, your audience) is the bit you actually own. Nobody can switch it off, hike the price on it overnight, or list your rival directly beneath you.
If your entire marketing plan is “we’re on the portals,” you don’t have a marketing strategy. You have a subscription. Build something that’s yours.
4. You do not need to be a videographer to make video content.
Video terrifies a lot of agents, and it really shouldn’t.
Phone cameras are genuinely excellent now, and with AI everywhere, the more authentically human you are, the better you’ll do. Film yourself sharing a quick bit of knowledge on the way to a viewing. Talk to the camera in the car. Grab thirty seconds with a colleague in the office. Save the cinematic, glossy stuff for the homes themselves. For you, just get on camera.
Will it feel excruciating at first? Absolutely. It does for everyone. But after a few goes it starts to feel normal, and your confidence builds from there. Nobody’s first video is their best.
Quick side note: even those slick property videos can be shot on a phone. It’s the editing that makes them look epic, not a fancy camera.
Before you go.
If your feed is 90% listings right now, this is your sign to change the mix. Lead with people, expertise and trust; let the properties play a supporting role.
In Part 4, the final part, we cover where to actually show up and how to spend money on ads without setting fire to it.
Want an outside eye on whether your content is winning trust or just listing houses? That’s exactly what our free, human-made mini marketing audit is for.
Frequently asked questions.
Should estate agents post their properties on social media?
Only as a small part of the mix. Most prospective sellers and landlords are choosing an agent they can trust, not comparing listings. Content that answers their questions, shows your expertise and lets them get to know you tends to generate far more valuation leads than listings alone. Agents who rebalance away from “just the properties” as part of a holistic approach have seen around a 20% increase in valuation leads.
Are Rightmove and Zoopla enough for marketing?
No. Property portals are useful but they’re rented space you share with every competitor. They aren’t a marketing strategy on their own. Your website, content, reputation and audience are assets you actually own and control.
Do estate agents need professional video equipment?
No. A modern phone camera is more than enough for talking-to-camera content, and authentic, human video often outperforms polished production. Save the cinematic footage for the homes themselves — and even those can be filmed on a phone, since it’s the editing that makes them look impressive.
