January Content Ideas for Agents

New Year, NEW ME.

I thought about having ChatGPT write this thing for me, but I think I’ll wait a few months before I relinquish my entire life to Artificial Intelligence. I’m going to start off the year a little differently with our monthly ideas and give some DOs and DON’Ts for 2023 real estate content.

My Thoughts on 2023

2020 through the first half of 2022 was an electric real estate market and what I like to call the “Golden Age” of Realtor content. Agents were lip-syncing, pointing at disappearing captions, and hammering “humor” to grow their audiences. It worked for a lot of agents and sparked the birth of the “real estate influencer.” 

This content worked for the last two years, but I do not think it will play in 2023. As the “suggested” algorithms developed on TikTok and Reels, we were all incentivized to use these features to create unoriginal, duplicate content with trending audios and styles. 

Also, the real estate market was hot, the stock market was hot, the crypto market was hot, and the overall economy was in relatively good shape. Now, it’s quite the opposite. We are in a period of economic and housing uncertainty. People probably don’t want to see their agent lip-syncing to some Taylor Swift lyrics pointing at captions that say, “date the rate, marry the house.” Those days are thankfully over, and good agents with content of value will be the ones who thrive.

So, here is what to leave behind:

1. Lip sync videos
2. TikTok dances
3. Making fun of clients
4. Trending audios

This doesn’t mean abandoning these altogether. It just means shifting your content strategy to what your clients want to see more of in 2023:

1. Actual listing videos: I feel like nobody wanted to post these last year because they might not get good engagement. These will make a comeback in 2023.
2. Actual real estate activities: More behind the scene content on your stories about what you’re actually doing: inspections, setting up for open houses, showing plots of land and houses coming to the market. REAL real estate shit.
3. Edutainment: As we mentioned in the Trend Report article, there is a huge appetite right now for educational content. Financial literacy, market updates, etc.
4. Green screen videos: take a national article or local news story and talk about its impact on your community or the housing market.

The overall tone of content will shift from “this market is crazy; look at my dystopian dance” to “here’s what you need to know, and here’s how I can help.” Clients want comfort and knowledge about their investments in 2023. 

Having said all of that, one of the best ways to give your content a BOOST is to post stuff around what’s relevant and trending. That will not change in 2023.

So, let’s get into the holidays, events, and what’s to come this January.

HOLIDAYS

January 1st: New Year’s Day

 I’m usually a contrarian about everything, but I actually like when people post their resolutions or goals. I think putting it out on social helps hold the poster accountable. 

If done in a non-preachy way, it’s fun to see what people want to improve about themselves. I certainly like this content more than the cringe-inducing recap Reels that cursed our feeds on New Year’s Eve.

January 2nd: The Day AFTER New Year’s Day.  

The Monday after New Year’s Day is also a holiday for some reason. Not for Realtors, of course…but for your clients and everyone else. 

My only suggestion content-wise for the first couple days of the year is to hold off on anything major until Tuesday when people are back in their routines. People will be hungover, traveling, and out of it until January 3rd, so it’s best to wait for the release of anything major on social media or email.

January 16th: Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This is celebrated on the third Monday of January every year, close to Dr. King’s birthday on January 15th. It remembers and honors the life and legacy of Dr. King. Can squeeze in a motivational quote in his memory that also applies to your goals and motivation.

NOTABLE SPORTING EVENTS in January

From a sports perspective, January is for football. 

January 9th: College Football National Championship 

January 14th: NFL Playoffs begin.

The NFL playoffs start on Saturday, January 14th. Nothing more painful than having to sit an open house on Championship Sunday, but you can always tie that into your content. The “life of a real estate agent/football fan” could be a fun series. Show your open house setup and how you manage to root for your team while hosting guests… or just maybe how you check the score. 

January 16th-29th: Australian Open

The least interesting major in tennis starts in mid-January. Not sure how you can relate to this real estate. But, now you know.

THE REAL ESTATE MARKET

Compare the market in January 2022 to January 2023. What are inventory levels like, what are offer situations like, and how have things changed? 

Showing charts in green screen mode of your local market or with KCM always makes great content.

POP CULTURE/MOVIES

Nepo Baby Discourse: An article from New York Magazine prompted lots of discussion surrounding “nepo babies.” A “Nepo baby” refers to a child of successful adults who have benefited from nepotism in industries like entertainment or adjacent fields. Not sure how to tie this into real estate, but you should be aware of it.

M3GAN Movie: Hitting theaters January 6th, this horror thriller chronicles a life-like doll programmed to be a child’s greatest companion and a parent’s greatest ally. This movie has generated a ton of buzz and will definitely have some viral moments & memes. You can tie something in here about NOT HAVING DOLLS in listing pics or showings. 

Glass Onion: Another Knives Out Mystery was just released on Netflix and already has great reviews from critics. As more people watch this movie, there will probably be a ton of memes and reactions. We’ve already seen some pretty funny discourse on Twitter. 

TIKTOK SOUNDS & TRENDS

#1— Blind

There are some things in this business that you just have to ignore.

#2— Zoolander Trend

Plenty of opportunity here to joke about the many rivalries that exist in this industry.

#3—I Fucked Up

Many users have joined in to lament over how a harmless dumb decision resulted in huge consequences. Ever had one of your mistakes blow up a deal? This sound may be perfect for you.

#4 – The Boat Trend

This trend, which can be made using the in-app TikTok editor Capcut, has tons of viral potential and can be used to joke about fleeing an unfortunate situation.