How To Go Real Estate Viral

Aim to make a video go viral on Facebook today – and you are pretty much destined to fail. Yet, that’s how most people first discovered Bob Tompkins.

His parody, “Old Town Realtor,” went viral in 2019, getting over 1 million views on Facebook. Subsequent videos also took off, making Bob a well-known force in the industry. 

Tune in to this week’s Over Ask Podcast to learn how Bob’s viral videos changed his business and how he is marketing now.

What Going Viral Really Does for Business

Yes, Bob’s business increased when his parodies started getting insane amounts of views. But it wasn’t buyers and sellers calling him. 

“The biggest change that I saw was not necessarily from local business; it was from referral business from agents across the country.”

Consumers who are serious about buying or selling don’t typically look for funny videos. They look for reputable agents who can handle their transactions. As Bob gained more exposure, he saw an increase in leads, but it’s hard to track exactly where that business came from. 

After going viral, there was one shift in business that was hard to ignore: agent referrals. Before “Old Town Realtor,” Bob had very few agent referrals, with just 2-3 referrals in his first three years in the industry. After, referrals became 30-40% of his business.

Marketing for Consumers

For the past year, Bob has gone all-in on a different type of content. Alongside Lindsey Vance, he created a statewide YouTube channel.

Their focus? Consumers.

Bob and Lindsey create videos aimed at buyers and sellers. They create content like: “Best Suburbs,” “Best Bars,” and “Reasons You’ll Hate Living in South Carolina.” This type of niche content may not go viral, but it draws in local business, gaining 2-3 leads per day. 

“When you’re on the outside looking in, you’re like, that content is too easy to make. It feels like a hack. But it works.” 

Many agents get caught up in the idea of going viral or becoming an influencer. Especially in today’s market, when buyer leads are easy to obtain. But when you focus on viral content, the only people who watch are other realtors. Bob learned that type of content is great for agent-to-agent referrals, but it’s the niche content that really drives leads. 

“It’s weird to have existed in the viral world, because that does a lot for your ego, but it does less for your business. The YouTube world and content does almost nothing for your ego…but for your business, it does a shit ton. We’ve completely changed the way we market because of the success on YouTube.”

Tune in to the full episode to learn more about:

• Bob’s creative process.
• The reason Matt has beef with Bob.
• Turning parodies into bite-sized content.
• The Broke Agent’s prediction for where agents will start focusing their marketing efforts.

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