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A new quirk in the Threads algorithm showed Josh Ries that if you give leads too much information too early, you overwhelm them and lose them.

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Over the past 30 days, I have been testing something on Meta’s Threads that honestly feels ridiculous. I am sitting at about 11 million views in the past month, and that is not because I suddenly became a better writer. It is because the platform is rewarding short, punchy posts like crazy right now.

The funny part is, I started this as research for a different Inman article. I still plan to write that article. But the test taught me something that matters way beyond Threads and way beyond one article.

In real estate lead generation, we are trying to say too much too early.

The big mistake agents make at the top of the funnel

Most agents treat top-of-funnel content like a listing presentation. They try to prove everything up front. They overexplain, they stack features, they dump market stats and they end with a call to action that assumes the consumer is ready to move today.

That approach is not only exhausting, but it is also mismatched to how people actually behave online in 2026. Attention spans are short. Trust is earned slowly. And most people who see your content are not ready to take a big step yet, even if they like you.

What Threads made painfully obvious is that one or two sentences can create more engagement than a full paragraph, as long as the idea hits a nerve. That engagement is not the end goal, but it is the beginning of the relationship.

Why short content works better than long content for nurturing

Short-form content works because it does not ask for much. It asks for a second of attention, not a five-minute commitment. That sounds small, but it changes the game for lead generation.

If someone engages with you eight to 10 times on short posts, you now have familiarity and pattern recognition working in your favor. They have seen your viewpoint, your tone and your consistency. When you finally reach out, or when they finally reach out to you, the conversation does not feel like a cold start.

It feels like a continuation.

That is the part agents miss. It is easier to build a relationship after repeated small engagements than it is after one big post that most people never finish.

The real takeaway is sequencing, not going viral

This is not about chasing views. This is about sequencing your information the way humans actually absorb it.

Top of funnel should be simple. One idea. One pain point. One clear opinion. Something a buyer or seller can react to without needing to schedule a call or read a novel. Then the next post adds a little more. Then the next post adds a little more. Over time, the audience builds context, and you earn the right to go deeper.

Agents do the opposite. They start deep and hope the consumer catches up.

What this looks like in real estate content

Instead of writing a long post about the entire buying process, you write a short post about one problem, like why buyers keep losing offers even when they are qualified.

Instead of a full breakdown of pricing strategy, you write a short post about why online estimates create false confidence and false anxiety at the same time.

Instead of an essay on interest rates, you write one line that reframes the decision in a way that makes people stop and think.

Those small posts become touch points. Touch points build familiarity. Familiarity builds trust. Trust is what makes follow-up and conversion easier later.

The business math behind small bites of value

There is also a profitability angle here that most agents ignore. If your nurture is built on repeated small touches, your cost per relationship goes down because you are not constantly trying to force big conversions from cold traffic.

You also reduce lead waste. When people engage over time, they self-identify their intent. The serious ones stick around. The tire kickers fade out. That improves your conversion rate without you needing to spend more, and that is where the business math starts to work in your favor.

Why this changes how you should think about lead gen

Threads did not just show me a platform quirk. It showed me a human behavior pattern.

People do not want everything up front. They want enough to stay interested, then enough to stay confident, then enough to take the next step. If you give them too much too early, you overwhelm them and lose them. If you give them small, consistent value over time, you earn their attention repeatedly, and repeated attention is what turns into real relationships.

The point is not longer posts; it’s better timing

Long-form content still matters. Articles still matter. Guides still matter. Videos still matter. But they work best after you have earned attention, not as the first impression.

If your lead gen feels like you are constantly starting over, the fix is not always better follow-up. The fix is building a nurture strategy that stacks small wins over time, because in 2026, attention is rented one second at a time, and trust is built in layers.

Josh Ries is a real estate broker and a lead generation consultant. You can connect with him on TikTok and Instagram.

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