Over the past five years, social media has been used to generate leads, boost sales, and reach new clients. But while the numerous social media channels have their merits, Instagram marketing has been leading the way.
Instagram—the massively popular photo-sharing social platform—has been growing its follower numbers in recent years.
And by constantly innovating the way people use Instagram, the channel has opened new doors for businesses to reach clients and increase conversions.
For realtors, Instagram marketing is a lucrative bastion. Real estate as an industry is visually appealing—more so than other fields—which makes it easier for realtors to use the platform efficiently.
But what do realtors need to know about running an Instagram account that will not only improve their follower numbers, but will help them grow their client base beyond the platform?
Here are some Instagram marketing tips all realtors should know.
Create Your Instagram Business Account
The first and most important aspect of Instagram marketing is making a business account. Most Instagram users have personal accounts but these lack the analytical tools that businesses need.
You can quickly convert your personal account to a business one from the Instagram menu. You will then be able to see analytics and metrics on your posts including the following:
- Post Impressions
- Top Posts
- Post Performance by Date and Time
- New Followers
- Follower Demographics
Not only can you see important analytics, but business accounts help clients contact you—you can include your official email address and phone number to your profile.
You can also include one link in your bio. This link could be for your website, or alternately, you can opt to use your Instagram business account to grow your realtor blog or to redirect to other social accounts.
Creating a business account will make the Instagram marketing process easier to manage and more efficient.
Stay On-Brand on Instagram
Once you have made your Instagram business account, you need to start thinking about your brand. While most businesses use a logo as their profile picture, it doesn’t quite work the same way for realtors.
When clients are looking to buy or sell a property, they want to work with a person, not a corporation. Real estate, despite being an industry of firms, is still an extremely personal arena.
For your profile picture, it is best to use a high-res version of your headshot—and be consistent with the use of that image.
Use the same picture on your other social media accounts and your website and blog, so you are easily recognizable by clients no matter where they find you.
These personal branding tips from Adam Enfroy explain how important branding is for realtors and solopreneurs in real estate.
Your bio should also include key hashtags that are relevant to your business—if you have a branded hashtag, even better. It will help you track your metrics.
But branding isn’t only about logos and hashtags. Your brand should also have a set color palette, fonts, and a voice that is easily recognizable as you.
The reason why these brand elements are so important is because of the amount of content that potential clients come across on social media.
To stand out from the crowd, and your competitors, you need to be recognizable beyond your face and logo.
Consistently using brand colors and fonts will make brand recall easier on Instagram and beyond, thus boosting your client reach and conversions.
Instagram Marketing Content
We have already established how the content you post on Instagram needs to be branded. But what kinds of content can you post on the channel?
On your Instagram account, you can post photos and videos using a social media scheduler. GIFs will also have to be converted into videos if you want them to work on Instagram.
There are other ways to use Instagram (which we will come to later) but for now, let us look at the types of photo and video content realtors can post.
- Listings
Real estate is very visual and potential clients are always eager to see properties before making a decision.
Post images of the properties in your portfolio. Or you can jazz up the images with these handy Instagram templates to boost views.
- Open Houses
Take videos at open houses that you hold to capitalize on both FOMO and social proof.
These videos could be guided tours of the properties, flyovers of the home, short interviews with visitors, or a promo from the homeowners.
- How-To Guides
Buying and selling real estate can be a tricky prospect for clients. Put them at ease by sharing some tips and tricks from your own experience.
- DIY
How should clients get their homes ready for buyers? Share DIY tips and home renovation project ideas that will add value to your clients’ lives and add properties.
- Rental Reports
What’s happening in the rental market? Clients want to know but they may not understand everything they read in a local rent report from Abodo.
Break down the industry for your potential clients in short videos and easy to read graphics.
- Testimonials
People like to hear from other people—testimonials create a connection between people.
Additionally, clients feel like a testimonial from past clients who are willing to share a photo or video of themselves is proof that their experience was authentic.
- Influencers
Don’t rely on your internal Instagram marketing to reach clients. Tap into influencers who could become your brand ambassadors on Instagram.
With the help of select influencers, you can grow your reach and place yourself as a thought leader in the real estate world.
Go Beyond Instagram Posts
There are a number of ways to use Instagram. While the major focus is on image and video posts—which can be promoted or sponsored to further your reach—you can also use Instagram Stories and Instagram Live video.
Both of these aspects of Instagram marketing are great at making you more personable to clients. There’s also a fun element to Instagram Story—thanks to its filters and stickers—that you should seriously consider adopting.
Conclusion
Instagram marketing has the potential to help you grow your reach and influence immensely, and that too without spending any money.
Create, or switch to, a business account as soon as you can to access in-depth analytics.
Always stay on-brand across your Instagram and digital marketing—this means using your profile image, logo, color palette, fonts, and personality consistently.
There are numerous kinds of content that you can post—use a variety of posts to keep audiences engaged.
And don’t limit yourself to posts—use Instagram Live and Instagram Stories whenever you can to make a personal connection with your audience.
By using these steps, you can reach new clients organically and see your leads increase slowly, but steadily.
