What if someone has been thinking about buying a home, but hasn’t started seriously looking, and your property gives them a reason to begin?
Maybe they’re considering selling their current home before buying another. They’ve talked about moving but haven’t made plans. Then they see a property video that gets their attention.
They might watch it, ask a question, or share it with someone else who’s considering a move.
That initial interest could be the beginning of a conversation, an inquiry, or a showing.
That’s one reason I include social media, custom video, and other online marketing when representing home sellers in Irvine, Newport Beach, and surrounding Orange County communities.
Written by Tony Babarino, Irvine Real Estate Broker and REALTOR® with REAL Broker. California DRE#01717758.
Do you shop online? 🙂
1. Reach Beyond People Already Searching
The MLS and major real estate websites are important. Buyers use them to compare prices, photographs, floor plans, and property information.
But what about people who have been contemplating a move without actively searching?
Social media provides another opportunity to reach them.
I’ve spent years building my online presence, social audience, and name recognition through real estate videos and community content.
That gives me an existing audience to introduce listings to, rather than starting from scratch every time I represent a new seller.
My video work has also attracted attention outside my own social channels, including an Authority Magazine interview featured in my Newsroom about using video to build familiarity and trust.
That recognition doesn’t guarantee listing results. It does reflect the time I’ve invested in becoming visible and recognizable online.
2. Why Certain Property Videos Catch Our Attention
Have you ever seen a beautiful outdoor living space and briefly pictured yourself enjoying it?
That’s a natural response.
Consumer psychology research suggests that visual presentations can sometimes encourage people to mentally picture themselves using something.
Researchers have examined this behavior in the Journal of Consumer Research.
For real estate, a video showing how the living room connects to the backyard may help someone understand the space differently than individual photographs would.
But interest also needs information.
Buyers want to know about pricing, condition, location, and whether the property fits their plans.
Good visual marketing should help people appreciate a home while giving them enough information to decide whether to investigate further.
3. Give People Different Reasons to Notice a Home
A property may not register with someone the first time they see it. Another post about the outdoor space, layout, or neighborhood might catch their attention later.
Psychologists call one part of this the mere exposure effect: familiarity can sometimes affect liking.
A research review covering 81 studies found that repeated exposure has limits. Seeing the same material endlessly isn’t automatically more effective.
That’s why I prefer creating varied, useful property content rather than continually repeating the original listing announcement.
Each presentation should give someone another reason to consider the home.
4. Why Use Different Types of Visual Media?
Do you really need photographs, videos, floor plans, and virtual tours to market a home?
Not necessarily every format for every property.
The better question is which materials will help potential buyers evaluate that particular home.
Different formats answer different questions:
- Photographs let buyers study individual rooms, finishes, and architectural details.
- Video tours show movement through the home and how different spaces connect.
- Floor plans help buyers understand room sizes, relationships, and overall layout.
- 3D and 360-degree tours, when appropriate, let viewers explore spaces at their own pace.
The 2025 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers found that, among buyers searching online, 81% rated photographs very useful, 57% gave that rating to floor plans, and 38% to virtual tours.
Those findings support providing useful information in different formats, rather than assuming every buyer wants to experience a property the same way.
I’ve worked with video for over 30 years and in real estate for more than 21 years.
I personally plan, film, edit, and present much of my listing video content. That involvement lets me decide which features deserve attention and produce additional material as the marketing progresses.
Other agents may work with outside production professionals, which can also be effective. My approach keeps me directly involved in both the real estate information and how that information is presented.
5. How Someone Might Go From Watching to Asking About a Home
Social media can be the first introduction someone has to a property. But a single view rarely tells us how interested that person might be.
Consider one possible sequence:
- Discovery: Someone considering a move sees a video featuring an attractive property in Irvine or Newport Beach.
- Curiosity: They watch more, read comments, save the post, or share it with a spouse, friend, or family member.
- Closer look: They visit the property website, examine photographs and details, watch a longer tour, or research the agent presenting the home.
- Inquiry: If the property fits their needs and circumstances, they may ask a question, contact their agent, or request a showing.
This isn’t a guaranteed sequence, and people don’t always move through it in that order.
But it explains why useful content matters at several points, not just when a listing first appears.
A dedicated property website can be helpful here.
I use property websites to bring photographs, videos, descriptions, and other information together in one place.
Someone who discovers a property through social media has somewhere to investigate further or share with another interested person.
6. Email, Live Video, and Sharing Create Other Opportunities
People don’t all discover homes through the same channels.
Some follow real estate accounts. Others read listing emails, watch YouTube property tours, or receive a link from a friend.
Email marketing gives me another way to introduce listings to my contact network.
Live presentations can also be useful. Viewers may ask questions, request another look at a room, or learn about features before arranging an in-person visit.
Not every property needs every marketing format. I consider the home, the available resources, the seller’s goals, and whether a particular format would provide useful information.
7. What Happens After the Listing Goes Live?
Putting a home in the MLS, installing a sign, and announcing the listing are useful starting points.
But what happens next?
Because I handle much of my own content production and maintain an established online presence, I can continue creating organic social posts, additional videos, and property presentations as the listing progresses.
That might mean highlighting a feature that didn’t receive much attention initially, answering questions that have come up, or introducing another aspect of the neighborhood.
I don’t measure marketing activity simply by how often something gets posted. I want the content to give people a reason to learn more.
If buyer interest is limited, additional promotion may be worth considering. But pricing, presentation, competition, property condition, and feedback also deserve attention.
More content cannot correct every reason a home may be struggling to attract buyers.
8. More Views Are Helpful Only When They Create Opportunities
A property video might receive thousands of views and no inquiries.
Another might attract fewer viewers but reach someone who has been considering a purchase.
That’s why I look beyond views, likes, and shares.
Questions, requests for property information, showing activity, and buyer-agent feedback can provide more meaningful information about interest.
The purpose of marketing isn’t to make a property popular on social media.
It’s to help potential buyers discover it, learn about it, and consider whether it might be the right home for them.
Those are opportunities I work to create, supported by appropriate pricing, presentation, personal attention, and continued communication.
More Exposure. More Attention. Greater Reach.
If you’re thinking about selling a home in Irvine, Newport Beach, or surrounding Orange County communities, contact me to discuss how I would approach marketing your property.
As an Irvine Real Estate Broker and REALTOR® serving Irvine and surrounding Orange County communities, I use modern marketing methods, including custom video and social media reach, to help my sellers’ homes attract more attention.
Rather than relying only on buyers finding your listing, I work to put your home in front of potential buyers where they’re already spending time: on social media, watching videos, and browsing online from their phones, tablets, televisions, and computers. This includes people who may be considering a move but haven’t started actively searching for a home.
Sometimes, seeing the right home at the right time is enough to turn someone’s curiosity into genuine interest.
I don’t just wait for buyers to find your home. I help potential buyers discover it.
Tony Babarino, Irvine Real Estate Broker and REALTOR®
REAL Broker
Serving Irvine, Newport Beach, and surrounding Orange County communities.
California DRE#01717758
Call/Text: (949) 633-6741
Disclaimer: This article provides general information about real estate marketing, not a guarantee of reach, buyer inquiries, qualified prospects, offers, sales prices, or selling timelines. Consumer-behavior research addresses general responses and does not establish that a particular listing campaign will produce a sale. Audience size, online distribution, and marketing results vary. Advertising should follow applicable fair housing laws, platform policies, copyright rules, and privacy and marketing requirements. If your home is currently listed or you are represented by another real estate broker, this article is not intended as a solicitation.
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