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Each week on Trending, digital marketer Jessi Healey dives into what’s buzzing in social media and why it matters for real estate professionals. From viral trends to platform changes, she’ll break it all down so you know what’s worth your time — and what’s not.
TikTok is turning livestreams into serious sales, YouTube wants creators to double down on Shorts, and Meta is — not so quietly — reshaping Facebook into a reels-first platform while confirming what we’ve all suspected: Links in captions kill reach.
Add in Apple’s iOS overhaul, which changes how your clients even see and sort your content, and it can feel overwhelming with how fast the platforms are moving — and not always in a direction that helps real estate agents.
If you’ve been relying on the same posting habits or content formats, this is your cue: It’s time to adapt. Whether it’s a new algorithm push, another privacy misstep or a shift in video strategy, one thing stays true: The platforms make the rules, and they’ll rewrite them without warning.
The good news is, it’s never too late to adapt; you’re just in time for the next shift.
TikTok Shop sales jump as livestream buying grows
TikTok Shop is gaining serious traction in the U.S., with a 120 percent year-over-year sales increase and more than 70 million products now available in-app. According to TikTok, 76 percent of users who engaged with TikTok Shop made a purchase via livestream in the past year, and 83 percent discovered a new product through this channel.
Top categories include womens wear, beauty, health, sports gear and electronics. More than 171,000 small businesses are now selling through TikTok Shop, and creators have hosted over 8 million hours of live shopping.
To maintain momentum, TikTok is introducing new seller tools, along with a special promotion and campaign.
What this means for agents
Livestream content is fueling discovery and conversion, not just entertainment. Real estate pros testing TikTok should pay attention to how creators explain value in real-time, engage directly with viewers and use storytelling to drive action.
Even if you’re not selling products, you are selling expertise. Think walkthroughs, market updates and Q&As — live.
YouTube pushes deeper into short-form shopping and brand deals
YouTube is betting big on creators — and shoppable content — with a batch of new tools designed to boost engagement and brand partnerships.
First up: Shopping in Shorts is getting an upgrade. Instead of the small banner in the corner, tagged products will now appear as prominent stickers you can move around the screen. Early tests show a 40 percent increase in product clicks with the new format, especially when used in livestreams or high-interest Shorts.
Meanwhile, YouTube’s Communities feature is rolling out to more creators, offering a dedicated space for audience interaction beyond the comment section. Think of it as a built-in discussion board with sorting options like “Top Posts” and “Newest,” plus visibility boosts for quality content.
And in an effort to make influencer-brand deals more accessible, YouTube’s new Open Call system allows brands to post partnership briefs that creators can apply to. This shift gives creators — regardless of size — more opportunity to pitch themselves for paid collaborations.
What this means for agents
Take notes on how YouTube is blending visibility, community and monetization. Try experimenting with short-form video that includes strong visual storytelling and subtle product placement (Think: neighborhood perks, not just listings). And don’t sleep on the power of audience connection — comment threads and community posts can build trust just as much as video views.
Meta’s AI missteps raise privacy concerns as Facebook doubles down on reels
As Meta pushes forward with new AI tools and video features, it’s facing serious backlash over unintentional data exposure on its chatbot platforms. Users interacting with Meta AI — thinking they’re having private conversations — have accidentally shared deeply personal content to public feeds, including medical questions, private travel plans and even phone numbers.
Despite Meta’s disclaimer that posts are only public when shared, the UI and user confusion suggest a design issue, not just user error.
At the same time, Facebook is streamlining all video uploads into its Reels format — removing the distinction between traditional videos and reels entirely. There are no length limits, and creators will get access to the same editing tools across the board. The Video tab is being renamed to Reels, and audience settings are being unified to help users better manage who sees what.
What this means for agents
There’s a clear gap between what platforms intend and what users understand. Make sure your content — especially anything AI-assisted — is clearly reviewed and intentionally shared. And if you’re using Facebook for community building, the shift to all-video-as-reels could be an opportunity.
Longer listing videos, walkthroughs and client testimonials can now get the same algorithmic push as short-form clips, so don’t be afraid to experiment across video lengths.
Meta confirms what marketers suspected: Links in captions hurt reach
Social media managers have long debated the best place to put a link on Facebook — in the caption or the first comment. Now, Meta is quietly confirming what most already suspected: Links in the post body can hurt performance. New post-level insights in Facebook’s Professional Dashboard suggest that placing your link in the first comment might help maximize reach.
It’s a subtle but important shift for agents who rely on Facebook to drive traffic to listings, blogs and lead forms. According to Meta’s own “Widely Viewed Content Report,” 97.3 percent of U.S. post views go to updates that don’t include a link to an outside site. If you’re still dropping links in your caption, you may be limiting your exposure.
What this means for agents
Rethink how you share listings and lead-gen links. Skip the default link drop and lean into visuals, captions that drive interest and first-comment links. Test the performance of these approaches — small changes could result in significantly more views from potential buyers and sellers.
Pro tip: Let Facebook generate the link preview, then delete the URL from your caption. Or try posting a high-quality image and dropping the link in the first comment — a tactic used by top-performing Pages. It requires more manual effort, but could lead to more eyeballs on your content. Agents should test both methods to see which gets the most traction.
iOS 26 redesign and AI features will change how clients experience your content
Apple’s newest iPhone update isn’t just about aesthetics — it’s a major shift in how your clients interact with content, communication and even your listings. With iOS 26, Apple introduces a striking new design, AI-powered features and seamless app integrations that will impact how agents show up in clients’ digital lives.
The biggest shift: Apple Intelligence — a suite of AI tools built into the iPhone — enables smarter message translation, live summaries, and real-time suggestions that enhance communication. That means your listing updates, client check-ins and showing reminders could be filtered or flagged differently based on what the AI prioritizes.
Apple’s new design also places more focus on visual content through dynamic widgets and full-screen web flows, meaning your mobile-optimized site, images and videos need to be sharper and more engaging than ever.
Messages and Phone apps now screen unknown contacts by default, and new layout changes might bury less relevant interactions. If your follow-ups aren’t clearly personalized, they may get lost. Apple Maps now offers encrypted “Visited Places,” which could be a gold mine for retargeting — or a challenge, depending on privacy settings.
And with video now even more immersive across Safari and CarPlay, real estate agents need to assume that buyers are watching listing videos, walkthroughs and branding content on the go.
What this means for agents
The way your clients interact with your brand on iPhone just changed. Don’t let their first impression be your last — it’s time to audit your mobile presence, messaging strategy and visual assets for the new Apple standard.
TL;DR (Too Long, Didn’t Read)
- TikTok Shop is booming with livestream sales up 120 percent. Watch how creators use real-time engagement to convert — it’s a model for value-driven, interactive content.
- YouTube doubles down on Shorts and creator tools. New shopping stickers, open brand deals and expanded community features point to deeper engagement opportunities.
- Meta’s AI raises privacy red flags as user confusion leads to accidental public posts. Meanwhile, all Facebook video is now Reels — a major shift with algorithmic upside.
- Facebook confirms it: Links hurt reach. Move your links to the first comment, or delete them after preview generation to improve visibility.
- Apple’s iOS 26 redesign means clients will see your content differently. AI filters, enhanced video and mobile-first design demand sharper, more strategic communication.
Features come and go, algorithms shift, and what worked last month might tank tomorrow. But here’s what doesn’t change: The way you show up for your clients.
You don’t need to chase every update or hop on every trend. You just need to understand what tools are out there, how people are actually using them, and how that lines up with the way you do business.
Keep showing up with clarity, stay nimble with your strategy, and remember — the real power isn’t in the platform. It’s in how you use it.
Jessi Healey is a freelance writer and social media manager specializing in real estate. Find her on Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, or Bluesky.
