So, we already know that Instagram is very popular. This is a social network that real estate brokers shouldn't neglect because it has more than 1 BILLION active users and user engagement that is four times higher than Facebook's.
Numerous top-producing agents use Instagram to increase their natural lead production, reputation management, and even attract genuine deals.
The effectiveness of Instagram marketing has only grown in light of the present pandemic.
We carefully examined hundreds of top-producing agents in the US and Canada for this article, including some of our very own AgentFire clients, in order to develop 20 quick-to-implement Instagram marketing strategy.
And as if that weren't enough, the majority of these methods won't even take you 5 minutes to implement
Understanding Instagram's potential
Instagram is effective for a variety of marketing methods because of its extraordinarily high interaction rate and huge user base. You can get a sense of how huge Instagram is by looking at the statistics below.
According to Oberlo's published research:
Facebook's engagement on Instagram is four times higher.
Over 1 billion people actively use Instagram.
71% of the user base is made up of young adults.
On the platform, users spend 53 minutes a day on average.
On the platform, 83% of users claim to have found a new good or service.
At least one business is followed by half of the users.
The story that the data presents is fairly engaging. When such a tremendously popular platform exists like Instagram, you simply can't just ignore it. I'll go through some strategies for using the platform to promote your services in the most effective way
Instagram Marketing for Real Estate: 20 Easy Ways a Top Producing Agent Can Use Instagram
Optimize Your Profile
1. switch, use a business profile
Making the switch to a business profile on Instagram should be your first action. A quick tutorial on how to do it is provided below. It's very simple and won't even take more than 30 seconds.
You may access Facebook Ads Manager, the real advertising platform, and audience insights by creating a business profile. Other users will notice a "title" next to your name once you make the switch.
2. Possess a strong bio
A well-written bio is necessary for two different reasons: first, it portrays as much more professional.
Second, in order to decide whether or not to engage, the majority of consumers demand vital information about you immediately. Your potential clients will be lost if your bio is toothless.
Maintain a clear, concise, and readable style. Make sure you incorporate:
Your full name
Your real estate team's name (if you belong to one)
Name of your brokerage
License Number Honors and Recognition
A link to your website or maybe a YouTube video describing who you are Josh Altman's bio link actually leads to a video from his "Top 10 Properties of the Week" series. Therefore, you could wish to mention your content strategy in your profile if you have one.
3. Add buttons for action
Instagram enables action buttons on company profiles, allowing customers to engage with your brand. With these in place, prospects will have even less difficulty contacting you or scheduling an appointment because everything happens within the app.
Simply go to your profile, select Edit Profile, then click Contact Options under Public Business Information to add an action button.
The action buttons for Email, Call, or Message will be combined into a Contact button after entering this information if you utilize all three.
There are a few more sophisticated action buttons that are integrated with other apps, such as for scheduling appointments and making reservations for tickets, but we saw that the majority of agents managed just well with the fundamentals.
This is how it appears on coach Dan Wood's profile:
Highlight Your Current Properties
4. Make Your Listings Visible On Your Feed
The simplest Instagram marketing method for real estate is to feature your current listings in your feed to create a sort of "listings magazine."
Up to 10 images can be uploaded each post, which is ideal for showcasing a home's best characteristics. There are a few filters you might want to experiment with, but keeping images as authentic as possible is usually a good idea.
The Instagram page of Chad Carroll is a flawless patchwork of expensive homes with the odd elegant portrait. A top agent uses social media in this way.
5. Use Instagram Stories and Highlights to Draw Attention to Your Listings
Make sure that feature is turned on! An Instagram Story is a feature where you can highlight a photo or 15-second video for 24 hours before it gets archived. A day can have several stories. Consider it the visual equivalent of the spontaneous status updates on Facebook and Twitter.
Instagram Highlights are a selection of up to 100 of your favorite recent or old Instagram Stories.
With over $4.5 BILLION in sales, Joyce Rey, a well-known business leader, has a successful Instagram account that is worth following. Each home has a unique highlight, which leads to a slideshow of excellent pictures taken throughout the house using Instagram Story.
In addition to being able to advertise her properties within her circle, she has essentially created a simple funnel to direct potential customers toward making a purchase.
6. Utilize videos to improve your posts.
HubSpot claims that social media postings with videos get 48% more views overall.
The maximum length of a regular Instagram video post is 60 seconds. However, Instagram just just unveiled IGTV, a feature for longer-form content with a maximum duration of 60 minutes.
There is a wide range of manufacturing quality you can aim for, but as we always say, use what you have.
Here are some suggestions:
Upload a preview of a forthcoming online open house using standard Instagram Video.
With IGTV, capture a property tour.
Record a brief video of you providing an update on the market; it only needs to be a short clip from your phone.
Describe the Covid-19 safety standards you're incorporating into your property tours.
Respond to inquiries from clients.
Address the buyer's inquiries
Here's an example from Mark Salerno, another top agent, who gives a minute-and-a-half tour of a home while including a few drone photos (though that's optional if you don't have a drone).
7. Tag people and businesses
You can tag people and organizations in your posts, just like on Facebook. The post should be shared with your brokerage, your sphere, and any outside vendors like developers.
This keeps you at the forefront of your sphere of influence. And you never know which one of them might require your assistance.
8. Include The Properties' Location In Your Posts
Comparable to Facebook's Check-in is Instagram's Location Tagging. You can either use the GPS on your phone or a search engine to locate the location.
There are certain advantages to doing this, the most significant of which being that Instagram is still a search engine and you can increase the number of people who see your listings when they perform a local search.
Your listings ought to show up in the search results, for instance, if someone types "home for sale" + [place] into a search engine.
Your post's chosen place will be near the top.
Promote your real estate business
9. Give your followers something of value
Make visual representations of your data and share them with your audience. We must serve as our customers' and communities' expert advisers now more than ever.
You can visualize a ton of relevant data, including MLS data, unemployment statistics, news on government stimulus, inventory updates, etc.
Consider yourself the knowledge broker in your market, as Tom Ferry always advises. Here's a lovely illustration from renowned agent Banna Fakhoury:
10. Share inspiring materials
In addition to being shared, inspirational content is also currently a really good thing to do for the community.
Since Ryan Serhant essentially serves as both a realtor and a life counselor, his inspiring writing gets directly to the core of the issue. Get set and go!
11. Present client reviews
We already understand the value of customer reviews; in fact, if you regularly read the Spark, you are already aware that our current economy is one of "reviews," and that customers have high expectations.
There are various ways to share customer reviews with your Instagram following. The following are some of the choices you should consider:
Ask one of your clients if they would be willing to create a brief video that you can include in your feed.
In your Instagram stories, provide textual testimonials.
Posts that highlight your newest deals should include testimonials.
Here is a brief but powerful illustration from renowned producer Abel Gilbert:
13. Show Off Your Success
Given that so many people have been forced to file for unemployment, bragging about your accomplishment might sound like the last thing you want to do right now.
Another way to look at it is that by demonstrating your accomplishment, you are demonstrating to the community that transactions can be completed today while still adhering to Covid-19 safety standards.
You are demonstrating to them that there is still hope since the market is changing.
This is a fantastic post by Loida Velasquez, but I would add some text to the post explaining how they accomplished it.
13. Pay attention to the distinctive features of your properties or even your neighborhood.
Here's a cute trick for livening up your feed. Why not advertise your neighborhood in addition to your listings?
What is the story of your city? Instagram can help you tell a visual story. inside information? What is a hyperlocal specialist only likely to know?
This Leonard Steinberg illustration pays homage to Park Row's past.
14. Distribute user content
You can also include sharing other users' items in your feed. Consider it as selecting relevant information for your users from reliable sources.
For instance, Keeping Current Matters has a personal Instagram account and frequently publishes informative pieces that you can share to inform your audience.
15. Work with influential people
Whether it's a well-known member of the community or another real estate expertise broker, there may be a local influencer you may get to know. The more collaborative the project, the more effective it is today; this is also true of real estate and real estate marketing.
Ryan and Joe deserve praise for enlisting YouTube superstar Casey Neistat, even if we are aware that this is dishonest given the fact that Ryan is essentially an influencer himself.
Launch Instagram Ads
16. Use the insights tool on Instagram
You can check age, gender, and location information on your chosen posts, stories, or promotions if you have already switched to a business profile on Instagram.
Simply go to your profile and select the menu symbol at the top right to access this option. The second item on the list will be the Insights tool.
17. Use Carousel Ads to Highlight Property Features
One of the most effective strategies on Instagram is the carousel ad. Furthermore, it is the ideal advertisement format for real estate.
A Carousel ad presents a row of photographs resembling a catalog that viewers may swipe through, presenting an interactive showcase of your finest listing photos. On Facebook, which makes use of the same advertisements management as Instagram, this is how it appears:
18. Start sponsoring ads
An organic post that you choose to pay to promote is essentially a sponsored ad; you don't need to create any new content, retype the text, or reupload the photographs.
The post gets promoted exactly as is, and all of the existing interaction is kept! For postings that are already doing mediocrely, this is a fantastic infusion of promotion juice.
19. Use targeted ads to advertise locally.
The Instagram platform's sophisticated targeting is yet another fantastic feature. You have access to a variety of targeting choices when producing an advertisement, including those related to location and particular demographic groups. By doing this, you'll be able to create a niche audience that will be more receptive to your offerings.
Real estate agents should pay particular attention to location-based targeting. It's important to note that Instagram uses both zip code and radius targeting, making it incredibly precise and laser-focused.
When producing a targeted ad, the demography should also be taken into account. Luxury apartments, for instance, should only be offered to wealthy people, whereas inexpensive rentals are typically targeted at young adults and families with lesser incomes. With the click of a button, you may target the audience to a very particular group using the many targeting tools the platform provides.
The conclusion
By this point, it ought to be obvious that advertising your services on Instagram makes perfect sense. Remember that the methods described above represent just a small portion of your options. The platform's vast user base and sophisticated visual elements make the marketing opportunities essentially limitless.
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