If you are reading this, you’ve probably found yourself thinking, “everybody seems to be on Instagram, how can my real estate business benefit from it?”. If you haven’t thought that, WHY NOT? If it is because you prefer to use Facebook, or twitter, that is fine. Just know you are missing out on an opportunity your competition is already taking advantage of.
If you’re still hesitant to jump on the Instagram bandwagon, maybe these statistic will change your mind:
600 Million users MONTHLY
300 Million users DAILY
4.2 Billion “likes” per DAY
216,000 photos posted every MINUTE
10X more engagement than Facebook
On average, Instagram users are a more affluent demographic compared to other platform users
You can rank quicker with a hashtag than with traditional SEO
Your recent posts can get to the top of user’s search results easily
You can message anyone on Instagram directly
You can edit your photo right on the app and post stunning photos in seconds
Have you changed your mind yet? There’s no wonder why all of the top producing agents are using Instagram to promote their real estate business. Getting the hang of Instagram can take some practice, but we’re here to shorten the learning curve and help you see the light! I’m not going to take you through how to set up an Instagram account but more so how to leverage your Instagram profile to gain more business.
While stats don’t lie, as you get started with Instagram it may be challenging to come up with creative content to post. Take a look at the list below for some ideas of who you can be targeting with your photos and let it spark your creativity!
Local homeowners looking to sell
Local buyers looking for homes in your area
Out of town realtors looking for referral agents in your area
Out of town buyers looking for homes in your area
Past clients who keep up with you online
New clients who discover your profile
Referral clients who were tagged (formerly known as referred) by mutual connections
Now that we’ve convinced you to get started on Instagram (hopefully) and promote things related to your business, you need to make the commitment to get MORE personal. Not in the sense of sharing what you had for lunch, but giving your followers a “behind the scenes” look inside your real estate business and even your personal life. You want your followers to have a connection with you; like they know you without ever having met you.
To do this, here are some tips on how to connect with your followers:
1. Quality over Quantity
Publish interesting and relevant content that appeals to your audience while not flooding their feed multiple times/day.
2. A picture is worth a thousand words but a video is worth even more
By 2020, video will account for 82 percent of all consumer internet traffic. Use this to showcase your team, meetings, open houses, behind the scenes, sneak peeks, etc to engage your audience.
3. #Hashtags aren’t for young people
Posts with at least one hashtag have 12.6% more engagement than those without. The optimum number of hashtags is 11.
4. Think local
If you search by location, a list of local public accounts will appear. We suggest you to like, comment, or tag people on their posts. Make it a goal to comment on at least 3 local posts a day – or more if you have the time. Just be sure to write genuine comments, because anything else will seem inauthentic.
Farming on Instagram looks a little different than farming with postcard mailers – In this case, some of your Instagram stories should be of locals, not your listings. To farm on Instagram, feature and tag local businesses, hangouts, events, activities, and more! This is what people want to know and these are the types of posts that will make you the “digital mayor” of your town – and of course, the go-to agent.
5. What does your name say about you?
Add 1-2 keywords in your name on Instagram in order to make your profile more searchable (i.e. Ken_Milford_Realtor).
Be sure to write a brief bio that says how you help people and how to contact you.
6. Be human
No one is going to feel a personal connection to a listing photo or business logo. Post a current headshot as your profile image that is professional, but also vibrant, stylish, and friendly. It will give people a glimpse of who you really are as a person.
7. Clean up
If you already have an account and are going to leverage that for your real estate business, go through your previous photos and delete any of the posts that aren’t attracting the right people. You can now “archive” these posts on your profile so they don’t appear to the public. Remember, by focusing your photos on relevant topics, you’ll be attracting more of the right people (i.e. potential clients)!
Of course, there’s so much more to Instagram than this blog, but this was more for you to realize just how easy it can be to use Instagram to bring a whole new of set of real estate leads to your business. What changes are you going to make to your Instagram profile? How are you using Instagram to drive traffic back to your website? What are your favorite Instagram accounts to follow for inspiration? We’re listening, let us know!
- Anthony, Marketing Manager