Why your lettings agency should be using TikTok [+ podcast]

I joined TikTok before I joined Haslams Estate Agents, off the back of some social media training. The trainer told us that the next big thing would be TikTok - get on board with it, or you'll get left behind.

There are lots of different ways you can approach TikTok. I use it primarily as an information centre, for landlords and tenants mainly but with a little bit about selling and buying. TikTok's a really good space to share advice - it's fun, which makes it easier to absorb the information.

Before you start publishing your videos, you need to decide on how you want to position your content. You have to work out where you want to sit because there are tons of agents on TikTok, and they each have different success rates. For me, I wanted to make it a really positive place where I could show the general public that letting agents and agencies are okay. I wanted to grow my followers and views organically and naturally just using my personality and my experience.

I'm also very careful about how I conduct myself on those platforms as I'm representing my agency's brand. That's really important to always bear in mind, because the internet's a big place. I never aim to promote clicks with a controversial comment. If you decide to go down that route, you will boost your followings, no end - but then it comes with the comments and the poor interactions.

You may ask what topics you should focus on. When you get asked questions day in, day out about the same things, there you go: that's your first video. TikTok's great for answering the basic questions that first time renters may have too. I try to sprinkle in maybe two fun videos to one informative video.

Interestingly, I always thought the fun ones would do better, but the informative ones get more comments and people asking questions. If someone asks me a relevant question, I will always respond to them. That really helps boost the engagement rates, and is a great way to get your next video idea. One of my best videos was a response to a question about pets and it had around 37,000 views.

To maximise the views that you get, you need to keep an ear out for the trending sounds on TikTok as well. They can range from new music to mouthing along to old TV shows. I'll see a clip and I'll record it and then decide how I can integrate it with a topic that's relevant to the lettings industry.

You need to post consistently too. Try and post at least once a day, if not twice. I tend to record videos in bulk and then put them in my drafts, ready for a rainy day. I may not use a video for months, but it's there when I need it. That helps to make sure that you're regularly posting the content, even if you don't film every day. It doesn't need to be a long process, you've just got to enjoy it.

Once you've created the videos, you can reach your entire social audience by sharing them across all your social media platforms. I share the more informative videos on LinkedIn, and I grew my following from 500 to 1500 in a month, plus increased the number of hits for my posts from 10,000 to 50,000 in that time.

If nothing else, those stats prove that my social media trainer was right - agents not using TikTok could soon get left behind.