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Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms today, and with over 700 million active users it’s not hard to see why. Instagram marketing has been a key part of many real estate businesses in order to generate leads for their brokerage services.
Instagram is used daily by 59% of millennials, the biggest demographic of first-time homebuyers. As a result, it’s an excellent area to promote your services and offerings. This is particularly true given that just 39% of real estate brokers utilize the service, implying that competition isn’t as strong as it is on other social media sites such as Facebook. Follow these guidelines to start utilizing Instagram for real estate lead creation and company growth:
1. Come up with a memorable user name
(Image credit: Instagram)
You will be prompted to provide your name and choose a username when you initially join up for Instagram. When people look at your Instagram profile or search for you, they will see your username. There are a few special factors to ponder while choosing a name and a username:
- Don’t mention the name of a brokerage—Instagram is great for developing a personal professional brand.
- Maintain a straightforward approach.
- Use every sentence to link oneself with real estate; this may be done with a clever joke or simply by using industry jargon.
Choose a username for Instagram that you won’t have to alter in the future, even if other things change (like your brokerage, your location, or your title). If you alter your Instagram username, your followers will get more acquainted with it, and you risk losing their trust. It would be easier for consumers to remember and search for your name if you keep it basic.
You only get a certain amount of characters in your name and bio on Instagram, so make the most of it, as Jasmine (@realtygirl) does. To set yourself apart from the countless “real estate agents” they’ll encounter online, provide your name, title, or location.
2. Make Your Instagram Bio Lead-Generating
A landing page for BoldLeads’ home evaluation.
A real estate Instagram bio should set you apart from the rest of the real estate brokers in your region right away. Use the area to express what makes you special, and include a real estate lead generation link in your profile. You’ll be able to get new leads into your funnel immediately from your Instagram profile if you connect to an optimized landing page.
BoldLeads makes it simple to construct a landing page that grabs new leads. It generates landing pages for house evaluations that you may put on your website and link to from your Instagram and social media postings. BoldLeads also gathers social media profile information, so even if prospects simply input an address, you’ll still obtain a partial lead.
3. Select a Profile Photo That Is Appropriate for Your Brand
Unless they choose to click over to view your entire profile, followers on Instagram will only see your name and picture. Make use of a professional real estate headshot, a logo, or a personality-filled picture. Make sure your shot is bright and clear, and stay away from tiny lettering and distracting backdrops. Because Instagram profile photographs cannot be resized, followers should be able to view your face or logo clearly without effort.
4. Invite Your Friends & Family to Follow You
Give your professional Instagram account a boost by letting everyone in your network know about it. Invite your friends and family to join you on your journey. To get your audience interested across platforms, make an announcement on your other social networks and link to some of the photographs and videos you’ll be exhibiting on Instagram.
5. Focus on the brand rather than the topic.
A balance of personality and product is what creates amazing real estate content on Instagram. Do you have any amazing properties that you’d want to list? Post images of the listing, virtual tours, and who you’re selling to. Do you have a dog who gets into mischief around the home that you adore? Also, please post it.
Post about homes for sale, homes sold, open houses, local events, and new restaurants or charity activities to maintain the emphasis on real estate. People come to your website, not simply to look at listings, to see if you’re someone they’d want to do business with. Ryan Serhant, a well-known real estate agent, enjoys having a good time, as seen by his Instagram feed. Take a look at the image above. Doesn’t it seem like looking for real estate with that man would be a lot of fun? Yes, of course.
Don’t be scared to inject your own personality into your Instagram posts. It will boost your engagement, make you more memorable, and ultimately help you succeed in real estate.
6. Stay away from touchy subjects
Although all of your communications and marketing should be honest, you may need to filter your regular dialogue in a public venue like social media. When it comes to portraying your competence as a real estate agent, you should avoid discussing politics and religion as much as possible. Have a good time, publish about stuff that won’t upset anybody, and get others motivated to collaborate with you.
You should be the person on Instagram who stands out from the crowd and seems personable to your target clientele. Clients come from diverse walks of life, faiths, and political beliefs, so you want them to feel at ease when they contact you. If you want to keep a personal Instagram account distinct from your business one and use it to discuss politics or other sensitive topics, be sure to turn it to “private” so that only individuals you accept into your circle may see it.
7. Use Instagram Stories to Build Engagement & Connection
(Image credit: Instagram)
As a real estate agent, using Instagram Stories helps you to stay top of mind by placing you outside of your followers’ conventional scrolling feed—at the very top of their phone. You can check who has seen your story by opening it and swiping left or right. Plus, since Instagram stories expire after 24 hours (unless you save them in a highlight), the feeling of urgency encourages people to watch your films because they won’t be able to view them again.
What kind of content do real estate brokers share on Instagram Stories? Jane Hadley, a North Dakota real estate agent, stated:
“My Instagram Story photos are generally more honest, including behind-the-scenes during open houses, brief home tours, and open house advertising.”
Because of the many tools available, such as stickers, noises, games, filters, and extra tools like Boomerang, Instagram stories are one of the finest methods to generate interaction and grow your following. Boomerang loops your video in front of and behind you.
Pro tip: Tag your location during open houses to make the most of this feature. This will broaden the reach of your article and raise the likelihood of a prospective customer discovering you and dropping by. You may produce unique and compelling tales that your audience looks forward to by using a range of alternatives available to you.
8. Make a resource out of Instagram Story Highlights.
(Image credit: Instagram)
Using story highlights to turn your Instagram profile into a resource for buyers and sellers is another wonderful method to utilize Instagram for real estate. Heavenly, for example, adds a series of photos and videos to her story to clarify terms like earnest money deposits, disclosures, loans, and buyer advice. This social media marketing method allows you to build trust and followers without having to create fresh content every 24 hours.
9. Post high-quality photos on a regular basis
For Instagram, there’s a ready-to-use real estate design from Canva.
Instagram images should no longer be scrolling thumbs. The easiest method to achieve this is to share stunning, clear, and appealing photographs on a regular basis. You may use Instagram to boost your real estate business by posting photographs of happy clients, beautiful houses, community activities, and even auxiliary photos that highlight the benefits of living in your area and working with you.
Instagram has a variety of built-in filters that may help make your photographs sparkle, but you’ll want to use photo editing tools like Canva if you want to add additional components that can strengthen your personal brand, such as a watermark or crucial information about a listing.
10. Create strategic captions.
(Image credit: Instagram)
Even if a photograph may convey fantastic information to your audience on its own, the description is an important component. Instagram enables you to submit captions up to 2,200 characters long, with the recommended length being between 138 and 150 characters. Keep your captions interesting even if you’re only listing or displaying your sales, like in this case. You may also use real estate memes to show off your individuality and humor.
The option to generate carousel posts is another wonderful tool for your real estate Instagram account. Carousel articles include up to ten photographs and function similarly to a photo book, making them an excellent method to highlight real estate listings or events.
11. Upload video content to IGTV
(Image credit: Instagram)
IGTV is for videos that are one minute to one hour long, and there are numerous routes for uploading videos to your Instagram account. This is a terrific method to provide advice or show off property walk-through videos, neighborhood details, upcoming events, and interviews. Because videos garner more views and interaction than static photographs, it’s critical to use this real estate marketing strategy. In fact, IGTV videos take up four times as much space on the explore page, making it a wonderful method to get new followers.
To make use of this useful tool, you don’t need to be a skilled video editor or even employ one. Using a program like Spark Video, you can easily edit and improve your films. Spark Video is a free Adobe program that allows you to clip a video, add text, add background music, and record a voice-over. Using editing tools to add subtle touches to videos may make them seem well-crafted and professional.
12. Use Instagram Reels to Increase Traffic
(Image credit: Instagram)
Instagram Reels debuted in August 2020 and soon became one of the most effective methods to increase your content’s views and interaction. You may employ popular noises to add individuality and fun to your Instagram page, or you can make an interesting Reel by cutting down property videos and photographs. You may either upload a video directly or utilize the platform’s basic video editing capabilities.
13. Increase Engagement by Going Live on Instagram
Consider utilizing video if you haven’t already, whether you’re sharing a video to your feed, using Instagram Stories, Reels, IGTV, or Instagram live. Instagram has more than 500 million monthly users, and users’ time spent viewing video has increased by 80 percent in the previous year. Give your audience something to look at using video, which is something that is well-suited to real estate.
Instagram Live Video allows you to communicate with your followers in real-time. Additionally, when your followers open the app, Instagram will send a notice to all of your followers. You may leave comments for your followers to debate what you’re presenting or turn them off, but it’s a great way to arrange any kind of “live session.”
14. Use Strategic Hashtags to Broaden Your Reach
(Image credit: Instagram)
On Instagram, hashtags improve searchability and help your photos acquire new followers. Before you publish a post to your feed, do some hashtag research. Hashtags let you target the people who should view your content, attract new followers, and communicate with potential leads. While Instagram enables you to use up to 30 hashtags, keeping it to approximately 10 is a reasonable rule of thumb.
15. Make an effort to interact with other users.
(Image credit: Instagram)
To utilize Instagram successfully in real estate, you must do more than just post and wait for results; you must also participate. Interacting with individuals who follow you or other real estate-related accounts falls under this category. Find fascinating individuals in your field of employment and strike up a conversation with them. Using Instagram to its full potential would need considerably more than just broadcasting.
When you use Instagram as a medium for connection, it works best. If you’re just interested in posting for the sake of making money, it’ll show in your Instagram approach. Instead, harnessing Instagram’s potential for your real estate company requires being sociable and engaging in genuine relationships. It takes time and effort to create a following and generate momentum, but it’s a great method to expand your network when combined with publishing and utilizing hashtags efficiently.
16. Use Paid Ads to Target Your Audience
Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, lets you target an audience and run advertising in a similar fashion to Facebook. Your Instagram advertising should blend in with your target audience’s timeline, with the idea that some may begin to follow you for more postings and information.
If you already know how to build a Facebook ad, the method for running an Instagram campaign will be very comparable, however, you don’t need an Instagram account to do so (but it is highly recommended). You’ll need to:
- Choose a goal for yourself.
- Choose your target audience.
- Select your ad’s location and budget.
- Make your ad seem professional.
Instagram advertisements may help you build your account and get more quality leads. You may experience remarkable development when advertisements are implemented effectively as part of your entire social media strategy.
Conclusion
It takes time and effort to use Instagram for real estate, but the process of making posts and interacting with people online can be enjoyable and gratifying. Have an Instagram account that you update on a regular basis, even if just for a few minutes, and get consumers interested in what you have to offer. While using Instagram advertisements to get started might be beneficial, the momentum comes from continuing social interaction.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you generate real estate leads on Instagram?
This is a fairly broad question. There are lots of different methods to generate leads on Instagram, but the most common method would be posting your homes and asking people if they’re interested in looking at it or you could post pictures from inside that might get more likes from potential customers.
What is the best way to lead generation for real estate?
One option is to use a lead generation company that specializes in real estate marketing. Another way would be to use websites like Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com which all have helpful resources for generating leads via the internet.
What is the best lead generation for real estate investors?
Asking for leads is a great way to get real estate investors. You can find out all you need by contacting your local bank or credit union, shopping malls, and building owners, as well as other sources such as the property management industry.
