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How Mari Arellano Built a Top-Producing Real Estate Business From Zero Using Social Media
Mari Arellano moved to a new city with no sphere and built a real estate business from scratch using social media since 2018. Here is exactly how she did it and what agents can learn from her system.
Who is Mari Arellano and how did she build her real estate business?
Mari Arellano is the CEO of Momentum Real Estate Group at eXp Realty in Southern California. She is a first-generation Mexican American, a mom of six, and a business partner to her husband George. She started in real estate in 2018 with no local sphere, no network, and no team.
She built her business on social media from day one. Not by going viral. By showing up consistently, speaking to the right people, and turning comments into CRM contacts.
What did Mari’s social media strategy look like when she started?
She started on Facebook, posting on her personal page and on Facebook Marketplace. Her very first client came from a social media post promoting an open house. Three people showed up. One became a client. She still keeps in touch with them today.
That one result told her everything she needed to know. There was something there. She kept going.
What is the difference between posting for brand and posting for leads?
Mari thinks about both and she keeps them separate.
Brand posts build visibility and trust over time. Lead generation posts are targeted to what her market actually wants to see. In her area, that means ranch homes and unique properties with standout features like workshops. She posts what her audience wants to find, not just what she wants to show.
“I don’t really care about views,” she says. “I care about connecting with the right people and generating leads.”
How does Mari turn social media comments into actual clients?
Her system is simple. She uses a call to action on every post. Usually just the word “info.” When someone comments, her team responds immediately, human to human, with the details and an invitation to share their phone number.
She tried automation. Her market rejected it. They could feel the difference. So she kept real people in the loop for every conversation, sometimes herself, sometimes her husband, sometimes one of her two virtual assistants.
The goal is always the same: move them from a comment to a CRM contact to a phone call.
Why does Mari say social media alone is not enough?
Because getting engagement is only half the system. The other half is what you do with it.
“There is a misconception that if your content does really well on social media, that is all you need,” she says. Too many agents stop at the post. Mari’s team runs a full conversion system behind every piece of content: comment response, phone number request, CRM entry, and follow-up.
The social media is the front door. The CRM is where the business lives.
What does Mari’s daily schedule actually look like?
Up at 4:30. Gym at 5. Home by 6:30 to wake four school-age children. Two school drop-offs by 7:20. At the office by 8. Pipeline review from 8 to 10. Appointments and consultations from 11 to 1. School pickup at 1:30. Back to work from 4 to 6:30. Family walk to the park after dinner.
Six kids. A husband who is also her business partner. A full production team. And she built all of it one post at a time.
What is Mari Arellano’s X factor?
Relationships. She says social media pulls people in. But what keeps them and what converts them is the genuine connection that follows. She loves her community. She wants to be the resource people call whenever they are ready, not just when they are hot leads.
“Don’t get discouraged if you are not seeing results right away,” she says. “It could take years sometimes. But keep at it because you are building your brand. And building your brand is building your business.”
Find Mari on Instagram: @mari.your.realtor
Let's grow,
Wendy