A sophisticated actual property agent model doesn’t begin with fashionable scripts, overproduced reels or bloated newsletters. It begins with one thing less complicated and more durable to faux: authenticity.
That’s the core message from Meriam Mellal, a Montreal-based actual property advertising and marketing strategist with greater than 12 years of expertise who has led advertising and marketing applications and coaching for companies, brokers and actual property networks since 2019, together with Christie’s Worldwide Actual Property.Â
Drawing from years of marketing campaign work with brokers and brokerages, Mellal argues that the advertising and marketing techniques that truly transfer the needle immediately are those that really feel probably the most human. It’s an particularly related argument in an period the place growing quantities of AI-generated slop are flooding social media feeds.
Belief is constructed on persona, not polish
For video, Mellal recommends abandoning the generic formulation which have flooded social media feeds for years.
“What I see performing greatest in branding movies for my purchasers is movies which are on-brand with the dealer’s persona,” Mellal instructed Inman, noting that generic content material like “5 the reason why you must work with me” or “3 causes I really like this space” tends to generate little engagement.
As a substitute, she recommends content material that displays how an agent truly reveals up available in the market. She pointed to at least one luxurious dealer in Westmount, a metropolis on the island of Montreal, identified for deep market data and exact pricing, whose content material works as a result of it mirrors his demeanor: calm, direct and rooted within the locations and conversations that outline his enterprise.Â
Fairly than pressure a social technique constructed on imitation, she mentioned brokers ought to lean into brief, pure clips about their native market, neighborhood developments, notable gross sales or behind-the-scenes moments from each day work.
That sort of content material issues as a result of belief more and more hinges on perceived authenticity, not simply credentials. Mellal cited the Edelman Belief Barometer in arguing that customers are extra possible to reply to folks whose values, communication model and persona really feel real. Video offers brokers a solution to talk these traits in a format {that a} headshot or bio by no means can.
The algorithm nonetheless wants a push
Authenticity alone doesn’t assure attain. Mellal mentioned efficient video distribution nonetheless requires technique, together with Web optimization-minded captions and, in lots of instances, paid promotion.Â
Whereas natural attain might come extra simply to creators and influencers, she mentioned, customers often understand brokers as companies relatively than personalities, making advert help an necessary a part of any severe social media plan.
Her recommendation on video size is equally platform-specific. TikTok, she mentioned, rewards fast, direct movies of 15 seconds or much less. Instagram can stretch a bit longer, however she sees the candy spot at 30 seconds or much less.
“For informative content material, hold it beneath 1 minute, particularly since you may’t increase a Reel longer than 90 seconds, and the purpose is at all times to attenuate drop price,” Mellal mentioned.
Manufacturing model also needs to match the message: a pure phone-shot clip might outperform polished footage when reacting to market information or sharing a fast perception. A extra refined format might help reinforce credibility when presenting a market report, introducing a crew or sharing efficiency outcomes.
The bigger precept, she mentioned, is that audiences resolve nearly instantly whether or not somebody feels real.
“Speak naturally, stand comfortably and be your self,” Mellal mentioned. “Inauthenticity triggers within the mind the identical intuition as mistrust, and in a enterprise constructed completely on private relationships, that affiliation is necessary to keep away from and really onerous to undo.”
E mail nonetheless works — if it’s constructed on permission and worth
That very same logic extends to electronic mail, which Mellal nonetheless sees as a priceless channel for brokers, supplied it’s constructed on permission and relevance. She warned towards the stale behavior of stuffing mailing lists with contacts who by no means opted in, arguing that the higher method is to construction publication signups round helpful content material and real worth.Â
When that occurs, she mentioned, subscribers arrive hotter and extra engaged as a result of they already really feel they’re getting one thing worthwhile in return.
“Do not forget that actual property in 2026, regardless of all of the TV reveals and PR, nonetheless carries a whole lot of stigma round unsolicited and promotional communications,” Mellal mentioned. “Don’t be a type of who add individuals who by no means requested to be on a listing.”
Whereas U.S. regulation beneath the CAN-SPAM Act doesn’t require prior opt-in for advertising and marketing emails, sending newsletters to individuals who didn’t ask for them stays a dangerous technique. Brokers could also be legally compliant in the event that they embrace correct disclosures and unsubscribe choices, however unsolicited outreach usually erodes belief, triggers spam complaints, and in the end undermines long-term shopper relationships. This makes permission-based advertising and marketing the far simpler method.
As for cadence, Mellal recommends restraint: not more than as soon as every week for property-focused newsletters and not more than twice a month for extra instructional or informative sends. Simply as importantly, she believes brokers ought to strip away the company tone that also dominates a lot of the trade’s electronic mail advertising and marketing.Â
Newsletters must be brief, scannable and private, not weighed down by outsized logos, repetitive contact blocks or adjective-heavy property descriptions.Â
Readers, she mentioned, reply higher when the writing appears like an actual individual and contains one thing memorable past listings, whether or not that could be a native advice, a private statement or a collaborator price figuring out.
“My golden rule is to drop the company tone completely,” she mentioned. “Folks work with a dealer as a result of they just like the individual. Each touchpoint both strengthens or weakens that relationship.”
The brokers who stand out aren’t following tendencies
In terms of measuring what works, Mellal once more comes again to authenticity. The entries that generate probably the most response, she mentioned, are often those that really feel most true to the agent behind them.
Nonetheless, she urges brokers to pair that intuition with higher measurement. Which means utilizing UTM parameters to trace what drives clicks and paying shut consideration to extra than simply open charges.Â
Whereas open charges can supply a sign on topic line efficiency, she famous that privateness modifications have made them much less dependable as a standalone metric.Â
Click on-through charges, unsubscribe patterns, scroll depth and browse time can all supply a clearer image of whether or not a publication is definitely resonating with a sphere of affect or merely touchdown in inboxes unnoticed.
For brokers making an attempt to resolve the place to speculate their advertising and marketing power in 2026, Mellal’s argument is easy: Cease chasing formulation. Present up constantly, sound like your self and provides folks one thing price taking note of.
“Copying what others are doing leads nowhere, ever,” Mellal mentioned. “You’ll haven’t any actual differentiator, you’ll second-guess your self each time another person pivots, and folks decide up on that insecurity, even by means of a display.”
