with Luke Saville from The Agency
When it comes to selling real estate, marketing is always key – after all, you can’t sell a secret.
The way property is marketed has changed drastically over the past 25 years. We’ve gone from a time when print advertising dominated, to a mix of print and online, and now, almost entirely to digital.
These days, social media has become an emerging force in real estate sales. Particularly as younger generations, who have grown up online, move into the property market.
With platforms like Instagram and TikTok shaping buyer behavior, understanding how to leverage social media effectively is more important than ever.
And there’s no one better to discuss this shift than Luke Saville from The Agency, who has built a strong presence in Melbourne’s Boroondara and Stonnington unit and apartment market.
From Hesitation to a Million Views: How One TikTok Video Changed Everything
Jarrod: Luke, there’s been a real surge in social media marketing for real estate, especially in your space. A lot of your buyers are highly active on these platforms. Luke, you’ve really embraced this shift. Would you say social media has now become a key pillar of your sales strategy? Has that been a deliberate focus for you?
Luke: It has, but in a way, it kind of fell into my lap. I’d been holding off for a while, even though a few people had been telling me, “You need to get on TikTok.” At the time, I wasn’t even on the platform, but I figured I’d give it a go.
The first one was quick. I just did a simple walkthrough of an apartment, sped it up a little, and added some music. There wasn’t much editing involved, just a few tweaks, and the whole thing took maybe five or ten minutes.
It was a house in Collingwood, and I titled it something like ‘What $1 Million Buys You in Melbourne.’ The way it was framed helped it reach beyond Melbourne, with plenty of interstate and even international viewers.
That video nearly hit a million views, and that’s when I thought, okay, maybe I’m onto something here. This actually works.
From Add-On to Essential: Why Sellers Are Choosing Social-First Marketing
Jarrod: Has it shifted from just being an add-on to becoming a key part of your marketing strategy when pitching to vendors?
Luke: Yeah, it absolutely is. I was actually talking to someone about this the other day. Take an apartment in Hawthorn as an example – if you list it on realestate.com and Domain combined, you might get around 6,000 to 8,000 views over a four-week period.
But the other night I posted a property in Hawthorn East on Instagram around 5 or 6 p.m., and by the next morning, it had already hit 10,000 views. TikTok had another five or six thousand.
So in less than a day, social media generated more exposure than traditional listings do in a month.
Jarrod: Is it getting to the point where people are coming to you and saying, “I only want to sell through social media”?
Luke: Yes, I’ve had quite a few of those calls more recently. I always make sure to explain that while social media is a great tool, I can’t guarantee a sale purely through Instagram or TikTok.
However, it’s an excellent way to warm into the campaign. It doesn’t cost the vendor anything, and at the very least, it provides valuable buyer feedback.
We’ll typically get 15 to 25 people through the door, and from there, the vendor can decide: Do we feel confident going to market based on the interest? Or is there something we should adjust about the property first?
Many sellers are eager to try it because it’s an approach that stands out, and with no upfront investment, there’s no downside.
Breaking Down the Costs: Traditional vs. Social-First Marketing
Jarrod: I was going to ask if it was hard to convince the first vendor to go down this path, but as you said, it’s not costing them anything. So it’s not really an extra for them to worry about. Are you just including it as part of your marketing pitch?
Luke: Yes, and it’s such a strong sales pitch. Imagine you’re getting ready to sell your apartment in Hawthorn, and instead of telling you to spend $10,000 or more on staging and marketing, your agent says, “Skip the cost, let’s just get buyers through.”
On average, a full marketing campaign costs around $12,000 to $15,000. Many of these properties are investment properties, and once a renter moves out, you’re looking at $3,000 to $4,000 just for staging. Then, listing on realestate.com, Domain, signage, and brochures adds another $7,000 to $10,000. On top of that, running a full campaign means a longer vacancy period, which costs the owner as well. So, all up, it’s close to $15,000
Jarrod: How does the cost compare to a TikTok and Instagram campaign?
Luke: The only real cost in a social media campaign would be styling – probably around $3,000. But even then, I recently posted a property with no staging at all. It was a “What $400,000 buys you in Hawthorn” video, and the property was completely vacant. That weekend, seven people came through, and we had an offer on it – so essentially, zero marketing cost to the vendor.
At another property, the owner lived there and had nice furniture, so it was already well presented. Again, there was no marketing cost to her. That one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment on Riversdale Road sold off Instagram for $485,000. And when you think about it, that’s nearly $500,000 in her pocket with no marketing spend.
There’s no way I could confidently say she would have gotten that result if we had gone down the traditional real estate listing route.
The Market for Social Media: Which Property Types Benefit the Most?
Jarrod: Do you see other real estate agents – maybe those dealing with different types of properties, like family homes – starting to push more into the social media space? Or is it still mostly a first-home buyer and apartment market trend?
Luke: It’s hard to say because I specialise in apartments and units, and most of those tend to be under a million dollars. I have seen a few agents try a similar hook – like ‘What $2 million buys you in Hawthorn’ – but those don’t seem to get the same level of views or traction. I’m not sure if that’s down to the algorithm or something else.
A couple of weeks ago, we met with TikTok in Sydney, and I sat down with them to get some insights into what works and what doesn’t. They were pretty clear: because I’ve consistently posted so many of these walkthrough videos, TikTok now understands my profile and audience.
For a new agent jumping on, you can’t just expect to post one video and have it take off. Even though we got lucky with that one in Collingwood, you really need to keep posting consistently so the platform learns what you’re targeting.
Speaking the Buyer’s Language: The Story Behind #Slay
Jarrod: One thing I’ve given you a hard time about a few times is the hashtag ‘slay’ – that one’s my favourite. I keep seeing it on your boards, and every time I do, I send you a message saying, “What are you doing?” You might look 20, but you’re not, you’ve got two kids! So what’s the story behind that? How did it come into play?
Luke: I have to say, it was the team I work with. The two girls in our admin team are 21 and 22, and they’ve played a big role in ‘Gen Z-ing’ the way we communicate.
It’s that TikTok-style language, and while it might seem a bit out there, it really resonates with the buyers. Most of the people purchasing these apartments are under 30, and they get it.
A Physical Board for a Social World
Jarrod: Your sales boards have really stood out. There’s been a couple now, like the ‘tick tok, tick tok, sold’ board and another with an explosion emoji.
I love them, and clearly, your market does too, given the responses they get online. What’s next in store that we should watch out for?
Luke: I just put one up recently. It’s probably my favourite so far.
The last few boards we’ve done have been really eye-catching, but for a lot of people, the messaging wasn’t immediately clear.
With this one, I wanted to emphasise exactly why we’re putting these boards up and the impact they’re having. And how they’re actually making a difference for sellers by saving them on marketing costs.
The board is at Riversdale Road, Hawthorn – right in a high-exposure spot.
It’s really simple: it just says ‘Reels, Deals and then Marketing Bills’, but ‘marketing bills’ has a line through it, as though crossed out.
Down the bottom, in brackets, it says, ‘Sold from Instagram.’
Hopefully, that delivers the key message and benefits of the approach quite strongly.
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