“The goal is to get 100,000 impressions with 100 visitors,” said Mr. Ali, who described the event as a series of “moments” for guests to photograph, post and hashtag. “Everything is about, ‘You have to take a picture with this!’” Invitations had been sent to real estate agents as well as assorted Instagram influencers, artists and minor celebrities (including the singer Dannii Minogue, Kylie Minogue’s lesser-known sister).

In the end, about 150 guests spent the evening meandering their way through the 6,700-square-foot house, collecting Jo Malone gift bags in the marble-clad master bathroom and snapping “drug kingpin moment” pictures of each other on the pot throne. (Were there potential buyers in the mix? No one seemed too concerned either way.)

“All the food is photogenic food,” Mr. Ali said as he pointed to the sushi rolls from Nobu in the kitchen and an elaborate display of macarons from Ladurée spread across the dining room table. The evening’s “crescendo moment,” as he described it, was a dance party with a colorful 20-foot-long LED dance floor on the roof deck.

Real estate agents have never been ones to shy away from trying something attention grabbing to stand out from the pack — think goofy bus stop bench ads or embarrassing-photo billboards. Social media influence is the next logical step.

Evan Asano, the founder of Mediakix, an influencer marketing agency, estimates that advertisers — ranging from small mobile gaming apps to American Express — will spend $1.6 billion this year on paid Instagram influencer posts, up from an estimated $1 billion in 2017. (Celebrities like Ariana Grande or a Kardashian/Jenner sister, who are top influencers, can make $500,000 to $1 million for a single post. Smaller so-called micro influencers often post about products in exchange for free stuff.)

But can you sell your house this way? That’s not yet been proven. The real estate industry has been somewhat slow to embrace technology, particularly social media. “Consumers don’t sell their houses often and don’t want to be a guinea pig,” said Glenn Kelman, the C.E.O. of Redfin, an online brokerage with more than 1,000 agents.