TikTok has quickly become one of the most effective ways agents can generate leads both in Australia and overseas, helping them reach new audiences, showcase their personality, and turn casual viewers into potential clients.
We recently reported on Luke Saville, property partner at The Agency in Toorak, who sold 25 apartments using TikTok and Instagram.
However, in the US, agents are also doing big things with TikTok.
Courtney Benson, Dallas-Fort Worth agent, went from being worried about the thought of being on camera to generating 47 referrals in just 120 days.
“I was terrified to get on video,” Courtney says.
“I weighed 130 pounds more than I do now, and I kept thinking, what would people from high school think if they saw me?”
But when COVID hit, she needed connection.
“My husband told me I just needed to interact with people. My kids were on TikTok, so I joined them, did a silly dance, and had fun.”
Then came the breakthrough moment.
“I posted a video about a builder who’d been a massive pain. I didn’t name names, but I was honest. It went viral overnight. Buyers, sellers, and even other agents reached out saying, ‘Thank God someone said it.’ That’s when I realised the power of sharing your truth.”
From that day forward, Courtney decided that she’d stop editing herself.
And the audience responded.
Connection over perfection
“People think social media is about views,” she says.
“It’s not. It’s about connection. The vanity metrics don’t matter, the relationships do.”
Unlike Instagram, which she jokingly likens to the Mean Girls “pink-on-Wednesdays crowd”, TikTok rewarded her for showing up as her authentic self.
“TikTok will take you messy. I don’t care if you brushed your teeth or put your bra on, people just want to connect.”
“I don’t batch content or use scripts. When something happens that fires me up, whether I’m laughing, crying or pissed off, I pull the car over and film it right then. That emotion is what makes people connect.”
Courtney has 47 referrals in the past 120 days, with roughly half of her closed transactions coming directly from TikTok leads.
“It’s wild,” she says.
“People call me out of nowhere saying they feel like they already know me. TikTok is basically doing my nurturing for me.”
Her phone number sits in her bio, and instead of spam, she gets gratitude.
“I get calls from people who say, ‘You helped me,’ or agents who want to send business my way. I really don’t get the crazy stuff. I just get connection.”
Using Dante (her AI sidekick)
In the past few months, Courtney has brought on a new assistant, not a person, but an AI.
“My ChatGPT’s name is Dante,” she laughed.
“He gets me like no other.”
After filming, she dictates what the video’s about and asks Dante to write a hook-filled description packed with SEO keywords targeting “buyers and sellers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and agents looking for a referral partner.”
“Sixty per cent of my business from TikTok comes from other agents,” she explained.
“So I make sure my captions speak to both audiences. Buyers and sellers hire me, but realtors send me clients, I need both.”
The posts that convert
Her most viral moments come when she says something controversial
“If I tell them they’re doing something wrong, they come for me, either I’m brilliant or I’m the dumbest person they’ve ever met. And that’s fine. The ones who hate me wouldn’t work with me anyway,” she says.
“When I share real client moments, like standing up for a seller or enforcing boundaries, people see my confidence. That’s what makes them reach out.”
“You don’t need a perfect setup.
“You don’t need to be 25 and flawless.
“You just need to be yourself, every day.
“Because when you show up real, your people will find you.
“And that’s when the magic, and the referrals, start.”
