Ever wonder what would happen if someone just said “screw it” to all the real estate marketing rules and did something completely different? Well, Kaitlin Hannig did exactly that, and gained 100,000 followers by squatting in bathroom corners, roasting potential buyers, and proving that authenticity beats aesthetics every single time.
In this episode, Chelsea and Kayla sit down with Salt Lake City’s most delightfully unhinged realtor who’s become a viral sensation by doing everything the “experts” say not to do. What makes Kaitlin special isn’t just her humor — it’s her ability to turn her personality into a marketing superpower that actually converts.
If you’ve ever wanted to ditch the cookie-cutter content and actually connect with your people, this episode is your permission slip to get weird, get real, and get results.
Why Having “Nothing to Lose” Is Your Secret Marketing Superpower
When we asked Kaitlin how she found the courage to completely flip the script on real estate marketing, her answer surprised us.
“Everybody asks me like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re so brave. How did you find the bravery? How did you find the courage?’ I don’t feel like I did because I had nothing to lose at that point. Like I’m a new agent, okay? I’m not even two years in here. And so I didn’t have dignity. I had 1,400 followers on Instagram and there were no stakes for me. And I think that one mistake people make is that they believe they have stakes.”
Most agents are paralyzed by potential clients who don’t even exist yet. You’re worried about losing people who haven’t hired you, aren’t following you, and probably don’t even know you exist. Kaitlin put it perfectly:
“People invent these potential clients that they’re afraid of losing. And I’m like, they’re not real. You can’t lose them.”
If you’re a new agent, or even if you’ve been in the business for a while but feel stuck in the same-old-same-old content cycle, you actually have way more freedom than you think. The fear of what people might think is keeping you from the exact thing that would make you stand out.
If you show up as yourself and you’re afraid you’ll lose certain clients, why would you want to work with them anyway?
You want to attract the people who get you, not spend your career walking on eggshells around people who don’t.
Find Your Voice by Getting Honest About What You Hate
Kaitlin believes you will start finding your voice when you answer this super important question:
What do you actually hate about this industry?
In her case, it’s toxic positivity.
“People are always like, ‘this is your dream home.’ Everything in your life is gonna be amazing. You’re gonna love it here. No problems. Your kids are gonna grow up and never say a bad word because you gave them this house. And it really frustrates me because like:
A) we’re telling people that we know more about their lives than they do. And I think that’s insulting. And…
B) The last several decades have just been calamity after calamity. So people that show up in our feeds saying everything’s so great and wonderful and perfect… instantly like your bullshit meter goes way high and they lose credibility to you.”
She’s not wrong. It’s no secret that interest rates are high. Homes are expensive. The market is tough right now. It’s perfectly ok to say these things out loud and acknowledge what people are experiencing. More than being negative, you are communicating that you get your audience.
When Kaitlin stepped back and said, “I hate the fakeness,” she found her unique approach to real estate marketing.
The magic happens when we stop trying to be everything to everyone and start being honest about who we are and what we stand for.
The people who connect with your perspective are your people.
And the ones who don’t? They were never going to hire you anyway.
Wait, Scrolling Can Be Productive?
Kaitlin went from 1,400 to 100,000 followers in just a few months, and it started with what most people would consider a productivity nightmare: spending three hours straight scrolling Instagram.
Her method was simple but genius. Every time she stopped scrolling on a piece of content, she’d ask herself “Why? Why am I stopping on this?” Then she’d save it and keep going.
After compiling a bunch of examples, she’d go back and look for patterns. What were the common threads? What kind of conversations were happening in the comments? What made her brain go “How did they think of that?”
You don’t have to be a marketing genius to know what you like. You just have to pay attention to it.
For Kaitlin, what stopped her scroll was weirdness. Once she realized there was a market for that type of content, she leaned into the weirdness of her own brain.
But your flavor might be completely different. Maybe you stop for inspirational stories, behind-the-scenes moments, or clever tutorials. Whatever it is, make a note of it because this is the type of content you will probably enjoy and excel at creating.
The Problem with Labeling Yourself on Social Media
“I’m the cowgirl realtor.” “I’m the yoga realtor.” “I’m the compassionate realtor.”
We’ve all seen these labels, and Kaitlin has some thoughts.
“When you label something so upfront like that, it takes away a lot of the fun-ness of it. And also, if it’s so true, then you shouldn’t have to come out front with it.”
Think about it this way… If you’re really the cowgirl realtor, why not just do your listing videos on a horse? People will figure it out!
Instead of saying “I’m the bookish realtor,” imagine walking into a gorgeous living room and saying, “This living room reminds me of the scene in Pride and Prejudice when Darcy does this thing.”
Same with yoga. Skip the “I’m the yoga realtor” bio. Instead, roll out your mat theatrically in different rooms. Put yoga clothes in the closet and say, “Look how much space there is for all these matching sets.” Talk about fitting your entire yoga class in this huge living room.
Here’s what’s interesting about Kaitlin’s approach: she doesn’t label herself at all. But her audience has called her everything from “optimistic nihilist” to “ray of chaos.” And that’s perfect because they’re doing the work of figuring her out.
Kayla gave us the perfect example of this in action. As a football coach’s wife, she could describe a living room by saying, “You could feed the entire football team in here after game night.” It’s engaging because her community loves the team, even if they’re not looking to buy or sell.
That’s so much more interesting than a graphic that says “5 Reasons This Living Room Is Perfect for Entertaining.”
The Three Video Formats That Built 100K Followers
Kaitlyn has three core video formats that she leans on:
Format #1: The Bathroom Corner Hot Takes
This is where Kaitlin stands in her bathroom and talks about miscellaneous things. Sometimes it’s real estate advice like “If your partner does these things, don’t buy a house with them” (including “if they make you cry on your birthday every year,” which is actually solid life advice).
Sometimes it’s perspective shifts like “I actually don’t think you want the extra space. I think what you want is to not trip on your kids’ stuff all the time.”
And sometimes it’s responding to haters. Like when someone said she was “devaluing the industry” and mentioned that “industry gurus like Tom Ferry” wouldn’t approve — right before she flew to Orlando to be interviewed by Tom Ferry. She responded, “I’ll ask Tom why he doesn’t like me on Monday when I talk to him.”
Format #2: Neighborhood Pros and Cons
This one was genius because Kaitlin realized she didn’t need to give a complete overview of every neighborhood. She just does three pros and three cons, and that’s it.
The magic happens in the comments when people fill in what she “missed.” It creates this whole discussion about the community, and everyone feels involved.
For example, when she did a video about her own neighborhood, she mentioned “RIP Rogers Bakery” at the end, a local bakery that had closed. Suddenly, her comments were full of people sharing memories about Rogers and what a good guy Roger was.
It told outsiders about the community while signaling to locals that she was one of them. Pure genius.
Format #3: The Asshole Home Tours
This is the format that goes most viral, where she’s squatting in different rooms saying things like “I know you’re crying yourself to sleep at night. Might as well do it in this room.”
It’s her signature style, and here’s why it works: people know what kind of content they’re getting, but they don’t know exactly what she’s going to say. So they stay for the whole video to see what’s at the end.
So the next time you catch yourself saying “I don’t have good lighting” or “my house isn’t aesthetic enough,” remember Kaitlin squatting in her bathroom corner. Because apparently, that’s all you need.
High Production ≠ Better
News flash: You’re probably not stopping your scroll for the most polished, high-production content, and neither is anyone else.
Right now there are agents spending thousands of dollars on flashy videos where houses turn into graphics and there are all these elaborate effects. But Kaitlin wonders how sustainable that really is and how much content you can really get from that.
We agree! You can’t grow a following if you can only afford to post once a month because each video costs you three grand and requires a full production crew.
And when it comes to graphics, Kaitlin is not a fan:
“We all know that you can just type into Canva and spit it out. It’s not a difficult thing to do and it’s not your personality. We’ve become really immune to those things.”
She’s not wrong. We used to stop for “5 Tips” posts, but we don’t anymore because we’ve learned we never actually go back and look at those tips.
Before you create another graphic, try this:
- Tell stories about deals you’ve navigated
- Film on job sites and explain what’s happening in real time
- Share behind-the-scenes moments of your life as an agent
Is Batching Content Truly Worth It?
Kaitlin doesn’t batch content. At all.
“Maybe it would be smarter if I did,” she admits, “but one of the things I think is key to my success is just being very honest with myself about how my brain works and how I am productive.”
And that’s the real lesson here: work with your brain, not against it.
When Kaitlin tries to batch 10 reels at once, she loses momentum on each individual video. “I lose the thread. I don’t feel like they’re as zingy.” So instead of fighting it, she embraces what works: filming one thing at a time when the energy strikes.
When Kaitlin creates content, she:
- Picks one of her three formats
- Decides where she needs to film it
- Does about 60% prep (but leaves room for creativity)
- Films one thing and posts it
She does keep a “very twisted” Notes app full of random ideas (including a joke about getting fired from Chuck E. Cheese that she may never use). But she doesn’t rely on it completely.
The best content often comes from responding to what’s right in front of you, not from a pre-planned list.
Maybe you’re someone who thrives on batching five reels on Sunday and calling it done for the week. Great! But if you’re someone who gets creative at random times and loses steam when you try to batch, that’s okay too.
The goal isn’t to be the most optimized content creator on the planet. It’s to consistently show up as yourself in a way that’s sustainable for your brain and your life.
As Kaitlin put it:
“I would much rather be less efficient and focus on one thing at a time than try to optimize and burn out.”
Sometimes less efficient is actually more effective!
How to Maintain a Consistent Brand Voice in All Your Touchpoints
So how do you take your social media personality and translate it into actual client work without being… well, unhinged during a listing appointment?
“There is a little bit of a disconnect,” Kaitlin admits. “The way I’m speaking to you now, this is baseline. I am not the same persona that I am online. I do feel like I need to tell people like, you’re not being catfished. I just have more facets of my personality.”
The key insight? What you see on Instagram is 100% her; it’s just not the entirety of her. And that’s totally fine.
Kaitlin’s social media creates rapport before she even meets her clients.
“It creates this sense of ease. Then I can just come in and I can do the real estate stuff,” she explained.
Social media can function as a “soft launch” into your client relationship. By the time they’re ready to work with you, they already feel like they know you.
Here’s an example of how Kaitlin injected her personality into a different client touchpoint: her newsletter.
When Kaitlin tried to do traditional real estate emails, she was bored out of her mind. And if she’s bored writing it, why would anyone want to read it?
Then she saw a singles event where people were pitching their friends (“You should date Brad because he volunteers at the animal shelter and has a six-pack”), and a lightbulb went off.
Now her weekly email features a single person looking for love in Salt Lake City. People can nominate themselves or their friends, and she includes a little profile along with houses for sale. Then, she hits them with the following tagline: “If you don’t need a date, but you need a house…”
Sure, single people have nothing to do with real estate. But it’s entertaining, it’s uniquely hers, and it ties her to Salt Lake City. Most importantly, she can sustain it because it’s fun.
“People don’t want to be sold to. People want to be entertained and then they’re willing to spend their time and energy with you.”
The thread that runs through everything Kaitlin does is this: if she’s not having fun with it, she won’t stick with it. And if she doesn’t stick with it, it can’t work.
This is attraction-based marketing at its core. Again, you’re not trying to be everything to everyone; you’re trying to be irresistible to your people.
This episode was edited by Adrienne Cruz.
