Best Practices: Instagram for Real Estate
Knowing how to best incorporate social media into your real estate digital marketing strategy has never been more important. Social media can be used in a variety of ways, from generating seller leads and promoting your listing videos to qualified buyers, to recruiting talented agents and building your real estate company’s brand. Instagram, in particular, is one of the most popular social media platforms. Instagram has one billion active users and is widely used by millennials. Companies of all sizes have found success leveraging Instagram’s features and consumers’ preference toward visual media. Because the real estate industry relies so heavily on visuals, Instagram is a great platform to use for real estate. Instagram also enjoys the highest engagement out of the big social media platforms (63% of Americans say they check it daily), which became more pronounced during the pandemic.
Read on to learn how to best use Instagram to boost your real estate business.
Instagram Was Made for Real Estate: Here’s How to Use It
First and foremost, before you begin posting on Instagram, make sure that your company’s Instagram page is set up as a business profile. When you have a business profile, you’re able to view a dashboard of insights for your posts and can boost well-performing posts (more on that below). You won’t have the ability to add links until you have 10,000 followers or are verified by the platform with a blue checkmark so this is important.
Instagram is an ever-evolving platform and has tons of features that can help make you shine. Here are just a few:
- Single posts. Post one image or one video up to 60 seconds long.
- Slideshow. Choose up to 10 photos or videos to share in a carousel to swipe through.
- IGTV. Create videos up to 10 minutes long (you can create videos up to 60 minutes long with a verified account or once you have a large enough following).
- Reels. Share short 30 second videos with fun editing options.
- Stories. Share images or videos that only stay up for 24 hours.
- Instagram Live. Go live for up to 4 hours with the streaming feature to share more interactive and authentic content, such as a live property tour.
Below we break down what you absolutely need to know about using Instagram for real estate. If you’d like to get more information, let’s connect to discuss your specific needs and personalized recommendations for your business.
8 Ways to Use Instagram for Real Estate
- Feature listings. Show off current and future listings in a single image, slideshow, or video format. You can also have fun with using Instagram Live to give tours and share updates in a personal, authentic way. Because Instagram is a visually-driven platform, leaning into the “Instagram-worthy” features of properties, people, communities, and more (i.e. what looks really appealing) can be a great way to attract leads.
- Share success stories. People want to work with companies that are credible and reliable, so posting about a successful sale, a fun throwback to people you’ve helped in the past, or recognition like recent awards or achievements you’ve earned gives potential customers a look into what your company is all about. Strive to balance content that’s about you and content centered around others.
- Promote new listings, specials, and open houses. Because Instagram is a fast-paced platform with stories lasting only 24 hours and feeds turning over quickly, it’s a great place to promote time sensitive information like open houses or specials (such as free staging services, use of a moving van, etc.). You can also use Instagram to make announcements and share about new listings that are likely to sell quickly, to build hype not only for potential buyers, but also for potential sellers.
- Utilize advertising tools. Like with so many other social media platforms, Instagram comes with built in advertising tools. You can boost well-perfoming posts, serve ads, and track insights. Instagram can be highly cost effective in reaching a larger audience, especially if you’re looking to connect with Millennials and Gen Z.
- Post employee spotlights. People are more likely to trust a company they feel like they know so share content about your team. Interview-style videos can be fun for agents and a great way to give your customers a sense of who they’d be working with, without directly telling them. Because Instagram has the most engaged users of any of the major social media platforms, it’s a good idea to avoid overthinking content you post and letting your and your team’s natural personality come through more. Some of the best performing posts have nothing to do with real estate and instead are things like birthday shout-outs, recipe recommendations, vacation tips, etc. Take advantage of this!
- Provide tips or valuable information. With all the great features Instagram offers, it’s easy to share helpful information and tips for first time buyers or sellers to help them become familiar with the process.
- Highlight areas of interest. For customers who may be unfamiliar with the areas you serve, posting local attractions and places to check out on your feed will help you become a go-to resource for those wanting to move into the area.
- Use hashtags. Hashtags are common on social media platforms, but they truly shine on Instagram. Using relevant hashtags will help you extend your reach and allow your profile to be more searchable.
As with any digital marketing channel, it’s important to constantly test and evaluate which Instagram strategies work best for your audience. Understanding Instagram insights will help you identify your best performing content so you can adjust your strategy accordingly and determine if Instagram is right for you. And there are lots of other resources to help you get started with, or level up, your Instagram strategy for real estate. Canva, for one, is a great tool to create visually-appealing, Instagram-worthy graphics (just be sure to make them your own so you stand out as opposed to looking like everyone else).
Regardless of where you are in your Instagram journey, now’s the time to pay attention to it. The company recently announced plans to take on YouTube and TikTok as an entertainment hub, continuing its transformation from a photo sharing app to so much more. With its loyal user base and proven advertiser success, these changes are poised to make a good thing even better.
Want more information about creating an effective Instagram strategy for your real estate business? Connect with our team today.