How to Maximize Instagram for Real Estate Agents

When it comes to real estate marketing, any competitive advantage can help, especially in such a vibrant market that is continuously delivering new property listings and offers to homebuyers.

Your social media accounts can make or break future real estate deals, as it’s one of the first things a client researches before deciding to do business with you.

However, we get it, it’s quite difficult to learn how to manage your social media presence when time is such a limited resource. The key is to focus on the platforms with the most impact on your niche. And in the case of real estate, Instagram is a platform that holds a great amount of influence due to its visual nature.

To make your job a little easier, we prepared a guide on how to maximize Instagram for real estate agents. Let’s get started!

How Important Is Instagram for Real Estate?

With roughly one billion monthly active users, Instagram is a social media giant. 

Since it’s a visual medium, it’s perfect for real estate agents to showcase their listings via video walkthroughs and gorgeous photos. It’s also one of the most popular social media channels right now, meaning that you can easily find your target audience on the platform.

Instagram makes it easy to connect with people, keep them posted about new offers, and convert them into valuable clients.  

Tips to Maximize Your Instagram Strategy

Now that you know why Instagram is so important for your real estate business, it’s time to find out the most important tips that will help you maximize your Instagram marketing strategy.

Make an Instagram Business Account 

Instagram business accounts are free, and they allow you to measure the success of your content strategy.

With a business account, you can get insights about your audience, post engagement and reach levels, and information about your best-performing posts. Thus, allowing you to tailor your posts to the audience you have and bring in more like-minded followers. 

Create a Content Calendar

The screenshot is taken from the content calendar section of the SocialBee app.

As a real estate professional, your schedule is always full. But the good news is that you can create a content calendar and plan your posts in advance to maximize your social media results with a minimal amount of time. 

Pick a time that you can devote to lining up your social media posts for the week (or even month, if you can plan your content that far in advance) and queue everything up.

It decreases the pressure that comes with constantly thinking about new content ideas, and it gives you time to check your account regularly and interact with your online community.

Post Consistently

In addition to creating a content calendar, consistency is the key. A constant posting schedule informs your followers about when they can expect to see new content from you. 

You can also create weekly content series that your audience can look forward to, like a New Listing Monday post or a Friday Real Estate Tip. The key here is to create a pattern so that your audience will look forward to hearing from you.

Diversify Your Content Format

The best thing about Instagram is that it allows you to experiment with different post formats, from regular visual content to Instagram Stories, Instagram Reels, carousel posts, Instagram Live and IGTV.

Moreover, you can showcase your offers through videos, you can engage with your followers by going live on Instagram, and show them all the best aspects of your property through carousel posts (you can add up to 10 photos and videos on each post). But remember, Instagram has specific image and video size guidelines you must follow to make sure your posts look flawless.

Here is a table with all the information about image size and aspect ratio you need to know:

Find the full article here: Updated Instagram Image Sizes and Aspect Ratio for 2022 

Gain New Instagram Followers

Do you want to increase your follower count, but things are moving very slow?

Well, you don’t have to wait for people to start following your account. You can take control over your Instagram popularity and give them a reason to follow you.

You can start by going through the list of users that follow your competitors and start interacting with them by:

1. Following their account
2. Liking their photos
3. Commenting on their posts

Another trick is to go through relevant real estate hashtags, find accounts and people interested in your industry and start engaging with them.

As a result, you will create a community around your brand faster than just waiting for your audience to find you.

Interact with Your Audience

Having an Instagram real estate business account can be fun.

It doesn’t have to be a channel for one-sided communication. You can use your platform to ask your audience questions, to get to know them better, and create a valuable connection with them

You can ask questions like:

• What does your dream home look like?
• What attracts you the most to a property?
• How much are you willing to spend on a new house?

Pair your interactive copy with attractive images from your listings, and you will get people interested in what you have to offer.

Moreover, you can interact with your followers by responding to their comments and DMs. It’s a great way to show that you are willing to help them and support them throughout the home buying process.

If you don’t have enough time to interact with your audience, SocialBee is here to help. With their community management service, they can grow your Instagram following and constantly interact with them to keep your audience happy and cared for.

Keep in Touch

Always keep in touch with your clients.

When you stay top-of-mind, they will be more likely to provide you with new business opportunities when it’s time to find a new property and refer you to their friends and family. Use Instagram to ask about their new home, wish them happy holidays, and thank them in case they recommended you to a new client.

Build Trust

You’ll build credibility when you post consistent and reliable information your audience can use. 

However, also providing a more behind-the-scenes look into your business, can help your audience get to know you better. For example, you can create a weekly series about your team members, inform followers about the process of finding and listing a new property, and share with them work anniversaries and company accomplishments.

Another way to build trust is by asking your clients to post testimonials about the service you provided. The posts will become part of your content, and potential clients will be able to see the quality of your real estate work from more credible sources. 

Use Relevant Hashtags

By using Instagram hashtags, you can increase the visibility of your account and boost the reach and engagement of your posts.

Hashtags are keywords that your audience uses to find content that they are interested in. By including those keywords into your content, you increase the chances of them finding and interacting with your posts.

Additionally, hashtags also provide your potential customers with relevant location information. So remember to use geographical tags to let your audience know about the location of your available home offers.

Start Networking

Instagram can also be a great way to connect with other professionals such as mortgage companies, accountants, attorneys, and local businesses. Engage with them and use this social media to network online and find new business opportunities.

Just like with normal clients, you’ll need to provide items of value in your posts to keep them interested. In this case, you might post business insights or offer to collaborate with companies in your community. 

Use Onlyl.ink to Boost Your Instagram Marketing

Instagram doesn’t allow links in posts and limits you to a single link in your bio. That can be frustrating when you’ve got lots of content to share.

That’s where Onlyl.ink comes in. Designed specifically for real estate agents using Instagram, this powerful app lets you create unique microsites for listings, lead generation materials, and more. It allows you to send your audience to the content you choose.

Onlyl.ink contact forms are compatible with Instagram’s autofill feature. As a result, potential clients can enter their contact details with a single click to get more information, allowing you to capture leads and convert followers into legitimate prospects.

Get started creating your Onlyl.ink today, it’s 100% free.

Improve Your Real Estate Instagram Marketing

Instagram is a great platform for real estate marketing. Due to its visual nature, it allows agents to fully showcase their listings.

Use today’s tips to optimize your real estate Instagram marketing strategy, connect with your existing audience, and find new valuable leads. 

Let homebuyers near you know about your business and convince them to invest in your services.