Are you posting on social media but struggling to convert followers into actual real estate leads? You’re not alone. Most agents post beautiful property photos and get plenty of likes, but when it comes to generating actual business, their social media efforts fall flat.
The problem isn’t your content marketing strategy—it’s what happens after someone engages with your posts. Most real estate social media fails because agents post pretty pictures without providing followers with a clear next step that offers immediate value. When someone shows interest in a property, where do you send them? To a major portal, where your competitors are advertising? To a generic listing portal where you have no control over the experience?
Search Links work as the perfect complement to your existing lead generation efforts. Whether you’re already running paid ads, nurturing your sphere of influence, or generating leads through another system, Search Links enhances what you’re already doing by giving you a powerful tool to capture and nurture social media engagement that would otherwise slip away.
Instead of losing potential clients to third-party platforms, you can guide them to curated property searches that showcase your expertise while automatically capturing their contact information.
The power of targeted property searches
Think about your last social media post featuring a beautiful home. How many people liked it? Commented? Now ask yourself: how many of those people became leads? The disconnect between social media engagement and lead generation is one of the biggest challenges agents face today.
“RealScout has helped me revive leads that were dead in the dust – people I don’t even reach out to anymore, suddenly coming out of nowhere. I know exactly who to reach out to because I can see when they’ve just interacted with my RealScout content,” explains Mike Smutz, an agent with LPT Realty.
Custom Search Links bridge this gap by letting you create highly targeted, shareable URLs for specific property searches. When someone clicks your Search Link, they’re not just viewing one property—they’re entering a curated search experience that matches their specific needs while automatically capturing their contact information for ongoing nurturing.
Here’s how to turn your social media presence into a consistent lead generation system using Search Links.
Create searches that solve specific problems
Your Search Link headlines determine whether prospects click or scroll past. The key is addressing specific buyer pain points rather than using generic descriptions. When you create a Search Link titled “Luxury Homes with Pools Under $750K,” you’re speaking directly to someone who has been searching for exactly that combination.
Consider the conversations you have with buyers daily. What do first-time buyers always ask about? They’re typically concerned about affordability and finding starter homes under specific price points. What features do luxury clients demand? They want high-end properties with premium amenities like wine cellars or home theaters. What concerns do investors have? They’re focused on rental potential and cash flow opportunities.
Each of these conversations represents an opportunity to create a targeted Search Link that addresses those specific needs. Instead of posting random property photos, consider creating searches around work-from-home properties with dedicated office spaces for remote workers, homes in top-rated school districts for families with children, or investment properties with strong rental potential for your investor clients. The most successful agents make each Search Link feel like they’ve personally curated properties for that exact buyer type.
Share strategically across platforms
Different social platforms require different approaches for maximum Search Link effectiveness. Understanding each platform’s unique audience and format is crucial for success.
Facebook offers multiple opportunities for distribution. You can share them in local community groups and real estate forums, always focusing on being helpful rather than promotional. Consider posting a link to starter homes in first-time homebuyer groups or sharing investment property searches in real estate investor communities. Facebook’s ad platform also enables you to target specific searches to specific demographics based on age, income, and interests.
Instagram works differently due to its visual nature and link limitations. You’ll want to create visually appealing story highlights for different property types. Instagram Stories provide an excellent opportunity to share behind-the-scenes content from showings while directing viewers to relevant Search Links. Partnering with local influencers can also help expand your reach to new audiences.
LinkedIn targets a more professional audience, making it an ideal platform for reaching professionals relocating to your area through executive home searches. You can share investment opportunities with business owners and entrepreneurs, or post luxury property searches in high-income professional groups. The key on LinkedIn is positioning your content as market intelligence rather than direct property promotion.
Timing matters across all platforms. Luxury home searches tend to perform best on Sunday evenings when high earners are planning their week ahead. Starter home searches see more engagement on Wednesday afternoons when first-time buyers browse during work breaks. Investment property searches are most effective on Tuesday mornings, when investors are checking markets before their workday begins.
Automate the follow-up process
The real power of Search Links comes from what happens after someone clicks. Every person who engages with your Search Link automatically enters your RealScout ecosystem, where they can be nurtured through automated alerts and personalized follow-up.
“We had a Buyer that was in our CRM for like 10 months… They’d been really quiet for about eight months, and then RealScout woke them up. From the day that they reached out, within six days, we had them under contract,” says Joey Guest, Founder at Team Real Local.
When someone clicks your Search Link, you can automatically tag them based on their property interests, enroll them in relevant Listing Alerts, trigger Market Activity Alerts for their preferred neighborhoods, and even send Home Value Alerts if they might be potential sellers. This ensures no lead falls through the cracks, even when you’re busy with clients or away from your phone.
Understanding Search Links: Features and Benefits
Want to understand what Search Links are and how they work? Watch our Director of Member Support, Laura Lum, walk you through the basics of Search Links, demonstrate how to share one on Facebook, and show you where to track new lead signups:
Want the complete system for using Search Links to generate leads? Download our comprehensive Search Links Playbook that includes proven headline templates, platform-specific posting strategies, advanced automation setups, and real agent success stories.
Search Links are a perfect complement for Facebook and Instagram ads because they deliver exactly what your ad promises. Here’s how Joe Foxx, Team Leader at Rose District, generated massive results with a targeted approach:
Joe Foxx’s Facebook Ad Success Story
Search Links aren’t just effective for organic social media—they’re perfect for paid advertising because they deliver exactly what your ad promises. “We got 70 leads in 45 days from our Facebook ads for the new construction list. So it’s been performing really, really well,” reports Joe Foxx, Team Leader at Rose District.
The Strategy: Joe’s team partnered with StreetText to manage their Facebook advertising and created a strategic approach targeting multiple buyer segments rather than trying to appeal to everyone.
The Setup:
- Ad Management Partner: StreetText handled campaign optimization and management
- Multiple Campaign Strategy: Five different ad campaigns targeting specific segments:
- Downsizing homeowners looking to move to smaller properties
- Buyers specifically searching for homes with pools
- New construction prospects interested in newly built homes
- Target Audience: Each campaign targeted the corresponding buyer demographic
- Landing Experience: Each ad drove traffic to a corresponding Search Link that delivered exactly what the ad promised
The Results:
- 70 qualified leads in just 45 days
- Lead quality: High engagement rates with multiple property views per lead
- Clear attribution: Leads automatically tagged based on which ad campaign they came from
Why It Worked:
- Segmented targeting: Instead of generic “homes for sale” ads, each campaign promised exactly what a particular buyer segment wanted
- Immediate value delivery: Prospects clicked through to curated collections matching their specific interests—pool searchers found pool properties, new construction prospects saw only newly built homes
- Professional presentation: Each Search Link provided a branded experience positioning Joe as a knowledgeable local expert
- Automated follow-up: New prospects were tagged based on ad source and entered into appropriate nurture sequences
- Partnership leverage: Working with StreetText allowed professional ad management while Joe focused on lead conversion
Key Takeaway: The power of segmentation and partnerships. By working with advertising professionals and creating specific Search Links for each buyer type, Joe captured highly qualified leads while maintaining clear attribution for his marketing spend.
See Search Links in action
Ready to create your first Search Link? Watch our step-by-step tutorial showing you exactly how to build effective Search Links, customize them for your brand, and start generating leads from social media:
Transform your social media into a lead generation system
Social media marketing for real estate doesn’t have to be a shot in the dark. By creating strategic Search Links that provide immediate value, you transform every post into a potential lead source while building your reputation as the local market expert.
The key is consistency and value. Every Search Link should solve a specific problem or fulfill a particular desire for your target audience. When you consistently provide valuable, targeted property searches, your followers will start seeing you as their go-to resource for real estate, and that’s when they’ll call you when they are ready to buy or sell.
If you’re a RealScout user, here’s how to create your first Search Link:
- Navigate to “Extras” in your RealScout dashboard
- Click “Search Link” and select “Create Search Link”
- Set your search criteria (location, price, property type, amenities)
- Create a compelling headline and select a preview image
- Share and track results
Not using RealScout yet? Book a demo to see how Search Links can transform your social media marketing strategy.
