With over 2 billion active monthly users, Instagram is one of the largest social media platforms out there.  Real estate marketing with Instagram has helped many agents skyrocket to success with virtually no marketing budget. With that being said, any agent looking to be triumphant in this market had better get their Instagram game on point.

Why Instagram?

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Instagram is the most visual social media app and is the perfect place to boast all of your activity as a real estate agent.  You can post your listings, open houses, show your day-to-day routine all while allowing your audience to be with you every step of the way.  The best part about Instagram is that it is so user friendly – you can start today and look like a pro by tomorrow. Everything you post stays on your page and acts as a portfolio for your business. Your activity gives potential clients a feel for your vibe and what it would be like to have you as their agent.

In addition to that, you can always see everyone who interacts with your content – when people comment on your posts, you can reach out to them directly and you can also keep up with your past clients. This is the perfect CRM and lead generator for your business. If you really want to take real estate marketing the next level, you can create custom graphics on Canva or use one of their templates to promote your business.

Let’s get set up!

Photo Credit: Instagram @hbokhchalian

When you are creating your account, choose “Business” so you will be able to analyze who is viewing and interacting with your content.  These insights will help you understand what your audience wants to see from you.  You will see what works and what doesn’t.

Since Facebook and Instagram are both Meta platforms, you can create your IG page with the same email you use for Facebook and post to both pages automatically.

When choosing a name, be sure to either use just your name or your name and a keyword related to your business – example: @amytherealtor or @realtywithoscar.  Keep your handle (username) short and sweet – something catchy that people can remember.

As far as your headshot photo goes, choose a clear photo – preferably a shot taken by a professional photographer. Also, consider keeping your profile pictures the same across all your professional social media platforms.

Now it’s time to move on to your bio.  This section is small so use the space wisely.  Include things like how you enjoy helping people buy and sell homes, your location, contact information and your niche. There is also a place for you to add your website.  Instagram will allow you to add up to five website links but still doesn’t allow clickable links in the body of your posts.

Linktree is a great tool to include all of your links in one place.  You can put your Linktree link in your bio with links to your website, helpful tools for your clients, your blog and so much more.  This is a great way to increase your website views. Linktree also has a section for you to plug in your social media accounts.  It’s a convenient one stop for potential clients to get access to all you have to offer.

Posting for Success

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Once you have your profile up and running, now it’s time to start posting.  We at JohnHart abide by the 80/20 rule for real estate marketing – 80% personal and 20% business content.  While your real estate career is absolutely important, people have to know, like and trust you before they will actually work with you.  That’s why it’s so important to give your audience a glimpse of who you truly are.  What do you like to do outside of work?  What are your hobbies?  Share what you are comfortable with BUT – steer clear of political and controversial subjects.  Keep your page light and friendly as you never know who may be checking you out and you don’t want to turn potential clients off.

Branding

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When people come to your page it should have a “feel” and tell your story.  The way to make this happen is to stick to a certain color scheme and font in your posts. This creates a cohesive look and ties your posts together. 

Determine your target audience and create content with them in mind. This will increase your chance of connecting with the right leads at the right time.  There are several types of posts you can make.  Mix it up to keep your audience engaged.  Choose from videos, pictures, tips, event promos:

• Coming Soon/Just Listed/In Escrow/Just Sold graphics
• Home decorating tips
• Seasonal posts
• Agent promo
• Property tours
• Local restaurants and places to try
• How-to videos and tips
• Motivational quotes
• Home tips
• Out and about posts of yourself
• A day in the life posts

If you are on a team, show them on your page too.  Pics and videos of you guys at work and at play will give your audience a glimpse of how you guys interact with each other.  Create a vibe that people are attracted to.

Reels vs Carousels

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It’s no secret that Instagram Reels have been all the rage for real estate marketing over the past few years now and are an excellent way to grow your platform.  Many agents have been massively successful with their real estate marketing thanks to Reels. According to Keeping Current Matters, posting Reels can increase a post’s reach by a whopping 40%! That means 40% more people could potentially see your post and decide to choose you as their real estate agent.

Reels are short video clips, similar to TikToks, that tell a story in 15-90 seconds. Studies have shown that to maximize engagement, you should keep your Reels short.  While people may hang on and watch your reel for the whole 90 seconds, it is very likely that they probably lost interest around the 20-30 second mark.  With that in mind, we say keep your reels between 3-25 seconds long for the sake of growth.

Although Reels have been the King of growth on Instagram for a long time now, recent studies have shown that Carousels are here to stay.  A Carousel is a collection of up to 10 pictures posted together that can be swiped through.  Carousels are great because they gradually tell a story with each slide. While Carousels only account for 18% of Instagram’s content, they can keep followers on your page twice as long especially if you use all 10 pictures.  When you create engaging carousels, you can increase your likes, comments and shares which will help you get in front of more people on the app.

Insights

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Once you have 100 followers on your Instagram Business account, you will get access to Insights. This feature allows you to see who is engaging with your posts. This will help you understand what content is working and what is falling flat. Analyze and adjust based on your Insights and make sure the audience you are attracting with your content fits the target you intended to find when you created your page.

Insights can also help you determine which types of posts perform the best in terms of engagement statistics and actions.  This will help you map out the type of content you create in the future. You will also be able to see what days and times your audience is online, which is helpful when scheduling out posts.  When you post at the right time, you have a greater chance of connecting with leads at the perfect time.

Let’s Collaborate

Photo Credit: Instagram @johnhartlifestyle

One of Instagram’s latest features that has really helped creators boost their engagement is the ability to add a Collaborator on a post.  When you add someone as a Collaborator, the content you post shows up on both of your pages. This means that the content is served to both of your audiences.  Follower’s comments will show up in both of your Notifications.  This introduces you to your Collaborator’s audience and vice versa.  For example, this feature is great for when two agents host an open house together, closing day with clients or you want to shout out one of your vendors.

Content Calendar

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Creating and maintaining a content calendar is the one thing that will keep you consistent with your social media marketing.  Create a content schedule that includes at least three content pillars that you think your audience will want to see posts about. Using the information from Insights, schedule your posts for the days and times that your followers are on Instagram.  There are plenty of automated scheduling and uploading apps that you can use to create your posts and schedule them out in advance. This is perfect for those busy workdays when you don’t have time to sit down and create posts at the time when your target audience is on Instagram.

Another important content calendar tip is to have a weekly topic list that you refer to. This makes it a no brainer when it comes to what to post.

• Monday – Motivational quote or Monday morning routine
• Tuesday – Educational post or home décor tips
• Wednesday – This or That
• Thursday – Personal post
• Friday – Promote your open house schedule for the weekend
• Saturday – Property Tour
• Sunday – Self-care or Sunday Funday post

A content calendar is a great way to stay organized and accountable with your real estate marketing.  Knowing what to post and when takes the anxiety out of showing up on Instagram.  Couple that with a scheduling app like Planoly or Later and you are good to go.

Hashtags

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People often ask if hashtags are still a thing – the answer is YES.  Hashtags are still very important and act as a way to get the attention of the people searching for YOU.  Agents who use hashtags have a 12% higher engagement than those that don’t use them.  Here are a few hashtag tips from Inman:

• Highlight your location and farm with #[neighborhood] and/or #[city]
• Help people find your brokerage with #[brokerage name]
• If you want to attract a certain category of buyer to support your niche, try hashtags like #[hometype] like #beachfront #bungalow #victorianhomes etc.

Instagram’s popularity is still on the rise after all these years and is a great way to stay in touch with past clients and attract new ones at the same time.  This platform is imperative for real estate marketing and has created a host of millionaires across multiple industries.  If you are willing to put in the work, your business will be thriving in no time!