Nowadays everyone wants to know how to get more followers on Instagram. Although we know that quantity does not mean quality, much less success, a striking number of followers on social networks draws the attention of those who view the profile. It gives the indication that the person in question is more than an influencer: they are an authority in the area in which they work. Also, is a good way to increase your real estate ad views! That’s why we’re here to show you the main points to keep to in order to grow as a real estate agent on this social network. Now is a good time to start!
1. Username and URL
Firstly, your username will be exactly the same as the URL to access your Instagram account. So you should be careful to choose a name that:
- Indicates who you are
- Indicates your profession and your real estate reach in your bio
- Is easy to write
- Is easy to pronounce
- Unforgettable
2. Transform your Instagram profile into a business profile
If you are looking to interact with your audience on Instagram, the first action is to turn your profile into a business profile. Thus, you will also be able to measure your reach, as you will have access to various information, such as:
- Interactions on posts per week (includes profile views and website clicks)
- Pages discovered per week (includes reach and number of reactions to your posts)
- Number of posts made per week
- Performance of each post
- Demographics of your audience
- Story data
A business account also makes it easy for potential stakeholders to interact with your business. When transforming the profile you can add email, telephone, and address, making it easier for the user to find contact details easily if they want to get in touch.
3. Beautiful media, always!
In the midst of thousands of clicks published daily, you will only gain the attention of your audience if you attract their attention. One of the most effective ways is to post pretty photos often. The image is the biggest appeal of Instagram as a social network. In addition to being visually attractive, you need to captivate your audience. To get even more followers, always posting what they expect to see is the key. Everyone wants a beautiful feed!
When posting a photo…
If you can’t afford to hire a photographer, take quality photos and do a basic edit on them to encourage your potential client to get to know more about that property. Apps like Lightroom and Airbrush are great for this. Also, explore posts with multiple photos. You don’t need to upload 10 photos at once, but 4 or 5 is fine!
To inspire you to make cool photographs to promote and sell properties, check out the profiles of other renowned real estate companies on the market.
If you decide to use videos…
It’s obvious that you don’t need a studio full of fancy equipment to create good images and videos for Instagram. After all, one of the key benefits of this platform is the ease of production and distribution.
However, some basic features will help you make materials that stand out from the competition. The most obvious example is that of the audio quality. Most cell phones have cameras capable of capturing high-resolution images, but microphones do not always do the trick.
So, a good initial investment would be an external microphone to connect directly to a cell phone. Remember: users can tolerate an image that is not of ideal quality, but they will pay barely any attention to bad audio. Do your best to avoid too much noise or echo when recording.
Know that this format is perfect for educating your potential customers because through a video you can show people more information and details of the property.
What’s more, you can also appear in the video as this conveys more authority to those watching and proves your expertise in the subject.
Because Instagram accepts videos that are only 1 minute long in their feed, be brief when showing the property and talking about it.
4. Content is king on Instagram for real estate agents
If, on the one hand, the image is what attracts the most attention, it is the content that makes the person stay. Beautiful images without relevance are just beautiful images, which do not add anything for your followers. Therefore, it is important to write interesting captions that are useful or at least more creative for the audience that follows you!
Everyone talks about creating relevant content but not everyone understands what it really means. Relevant content is content that can really please your followers. For you to be able to elaborate on this, you first need to know your audience.
In addition to this type of content, the main purpose is to sell properties through Instagram, or at least capture qualified leads for a sale. Don’t forget to invest in inbound marketing.
Also, take advantage of the tools that Instagram offers! An example is the tag to apply the price of the “product” being advertised. Similar to tagging a friend in a post. This is a great feature to use for your real estate posts.
Everyone wants to know the price, don’t be the “boring” one who doesn’t want to give that information. That way, you can ensure that the person you contact is possibly more interested in a purchase.
5. Don’t forget to use Hashtags on Instagram
We recommend using up to 6 hashtags relevant to real estate on a post, although the limit is up to 30.
Hashtags are keywords with the # symbol, which turns the term into a link. This link connects all the people who are talking about this same topic. A good marketing strategy is to take the opportunity to use these hashtags to help you gain visibility.
Imagine that your potential audience uses these hashtags to search for real estate opportunities. That’s why it’s also important to highlight the region in which you operate in your bio!
When thinking about a new post, imagine which hashtags your potential client would search for and use these!
So, in practice, instead of using hashtags like #realestate #broker #realtor #lead #realestatemarket #sell, which your customers would NEVER look for, opt for hashtags like #apartment #apartmentforsale #apartmentforrent and others that are focused on the neighborhood where the property is located. That way, your posts will appear to those who should actually see them!
6. Interact frequently
Interaction is key! The more you talk to people on Instagram, the more noticeable your presence will be. In addition to responding to comments they make on your posts, give back too! Like and comment on profiles you follow, like or want to be followed back on, share other posts and stories, and send kind messages to those users with the content you most admire.
Mentioning people in your stories can also be an interesting way to gain notoriety. However, use common sense! People like to be tagged in cool content that is interesting to them!
Create relevant content for people who request information, and guide them with the knowledge you have, for example. What is expected of you as a realtor is just that. May you be a trusted professional who is always kind and available!
7. Follow the right people
Many users often follow any type of person on social media in order to be followed back. But let’s face it this is not the best way to get followers really engaged with what you offer.
It is also recommended to follow people in your professional environment. Other realtors who you not only work with but also influencers you look up to; map influential people in your niche! In fact, you can use this to your advantage by making partnerships, such as exchanges of disclosure, for example.
This way you can build your audience little by little, without haste, but with consistency. Follow people with buying potential, preferably from the same city as you. Follow brands and companies that have something relevant to offer you, just as you can have something relevant to offer your followers. Think and analyze social behavior on the network in a logical way, that way you will improve the quality of your interactions!
8. Use Instagram Stories and IGTV
A great success that started on Snapchat and took over social media are stories, popular content that is simply a post that lasts for 24 hours. On Instagram, this became a huge trend and, consequently, an opportunity to spread news about the real estate market and increase the level of interest from visitors.
With Instagram Stories it is possible to post behind the scenes of the real estate world, a decorated apartment stand, and events in the area, among other things. IGTV is a platform that allows you to record videos of up to 1 hour, which is fantastic to promote your business and also introduce a call to action (CTAs) to redirect visitors to an ad or the company’s website, for example.
9. Spread your posts across the internet
Finally, but just as important as the other tips, you shouldn’t limit yourself to Instagram in real estate marketing, but promote your business as much as possible on the web. There are thousands of people out there looking for their dream home, so you can’t miss the chance to reach different audiences.
Whenever possible, share your posts on other social networks to form an integrated publication channel and show that the communication channels used speak the same language. Partnerships with digital influencers are also an interesting way for you to promote your brand to a greater number of people.
So, just know that investing in real estate marketing requires organization, planning, and a good dose of creativity. This makes it much easier to influence people to buy what you have to offer.
If you liked these tips on how to use Instagram in favor of your business, also check out this blog post on How to increase the engagement of your real estate page on Facebook?
