How Social Media Is Changing Real Estate and Why It Could Mean More Money for You

When I started in real estate 18 years ago, marketing a property meant a sign on the front lawn, an ad in the local paper, and a listing on realestate.com.au. That was it. Today the game has changed completely, and the agents who understand social media are consistently getting their vendors more money at auction.

Here is what social media actually means for your property sale, why it matters more than most vendors realise, and how I use it to drive competitive outcomes for my clients across Brisbane's south side.

What social media actually does in a property campaign

Social media does something that traditional property portals cannot. It finds buyers who are not actively looking yet.

Think about it. On realestate.com.au, you are only reaching people who have already decided to search for a property. They are already in the market. Social media reaches people who have not started searching yet but will. The couple who have been talking about upsizing for six months, the investor scrolling through their feed on a Sunday morning, the family in Sydney who has been thinking about relocating to Brisbane.

That expanded reach creates a larger pool of potential buyers. A larger pool of potential buyers creates more competition at auction. More competition at auction creates a higher sale price.

It really is that direct.

The three platforms that matter for property in 2026

Not all social media is created equal when it comes to property marketing. Here are the three that move the needle.

Instagram

Instagram is where property marketing lives in 2026. High quality photography, short video reels of the property walkthrough, lifestyle content showing the suburb and surrounding amenity. All of this performs exceptionally well on Instagram. The platform's visual nature makes it perfectly suited to property.

My Instagram account @junaidallyproperties reaches buyers actively following local real estate content. When a new listing goes up, it hits an audience that is already warm and engaged. That is fundamentally different from a cold listing on a portal.

Instagram Stories and Reels in particular have become a powerful tool for showing a property's lifestyle appeal. The morning light in the kitchen, the entertaining space on a Saturday afternoon, the street at dusk. These moments are what buyers buy. They do not buy floor plans and specifications. They buy a feeling. Instagram delivers that feeling at scale.

Facebook

Facebook's targeting capability is unmatched for property marketing. Meta's advertising platform allows me to target potential buyers by suburb, age, household income, life stage (recently engaged, new parents, empty nesters), and dozens of other parameters.

When I run a targeted Facebook campaign for a Rochedale property, I can specifically reach 35 to 55 year olds within a 15 kilometre radius who own a home, have a household income above a certain threshold, and have shown interest in property content. That is precision marketing that simply did not exist a decade ago.

The Meta Pixel on my website junaidally.com also allows me to retarget people who have already visited the site, so buyers who looked at comparable properties are served ads for your listing specifically. These warm retargeted audiences convert at a significantly higher rate than cold audiences.

YouTube

YouTube is the world's second largest search engine. Property walkthrough videos hosted on YouTube get indexed by Google and appear in search results when buyers search for properties in your suburb.

My YouTube channel @JunaidAllyProperties hosts full property walkthrough videos, suburb market updates, and auction result videos. These videos serve two purposes. They market individual properties to active buyers, and they build long-term authority as the go-to agent for Brisbane's south side.

A well-produced property video on YouTube can generate views for months after a campaign has ended. I have had buyers contact me about properties they found through a YouTube video weeks after the auction. That kind of organic reach is impossible to buy on a property portal.

Why social media means more money at auction

The connection between social media reach and sale price is not theoretical, it is mathematical.

Auction results are driven by competition. The more qualified buyers you have in the room (or registered online) on auction day, the higher the bidding goes. Social media expands the pool of potential buyers beyond what any property portal can reach alone.

In markets like Rochedale, Kuraby, and Eight Mile Plains where properties regularly sell above $1.5m, even one additional motivated buyer in the room can be worth $50,000 to $150,000 to the vendor. That is the real value of social media reach. Not likes and comments, but dollars in your pocket at settlement.

What this means if you are thinking of selling

If you are considering selling your home in Rochedale, Kuraby, Runcorn, Eight Mile Plains, Logan Reserve, Rochedale South, or Underwood, the agent you choose needs to have a genuine social media presence and a structured approach to digital marketing. Not just a realestate.com.au listing.

Ask your agent how many followers they have. Ask to see examples of their property content. Ask what their Facebook ad spend is per campaign and how they target buyers. Ask whether they use video and whether it gets indexed on YouTube.

The answers will tell you a great deal about whether their marketing will reach the widest possible pool of buyers for your property, and whether that will translate into more money in your pocket at auction.

If you would like to see what a full social media campaign looks like for a property in your suburb, call me on 0410 218 499 or visit junaidally.com for a free appraisal.

Market data sourced from Pricefinder, prepared June 2026.