Every great realtor incorporates social media platforms into their marketing plans, and with its visual nature, Instagram seems to be practically made for the real estate industry. That said, like any other media, you’re going to want to be strategic in how you present yourself and your real estate business. That’s why DMD has put together nine best practices (and one to grow on) for promoting a home on Instagram.
Quality Images are King on the Feed
The heart, the point - heck, the whole reason for Instagram’s existence is imagery. The name “Instagram” came from instant camera + telegram, and the founders’ intention was to boil social media noise down to what was most important to its users: photos, comments, and likes. The relationship between you and your followers really is that simple. You bring the quality images to them, and they will interact.
Where promoting a home on Instagram is concerned, that means sharing the best images you have from your listing. Unique, high-quality, eye-catching shots that really capture what makes the home special and interesting. Something we know just a little bit about here at DMD.
Apply Your Real Estate Branding Guide to the ‘Gram
Your professional Instagram account is an extension of your real estate brand. While your feed should contain variety, you’ll want to incorporate a few of the same on-brand elements into every post.
Think color scheme, ambiance, brand voice, and mission statement. These are all things that can remain consistent while you mix up the daily content. Speaking of which...
Mix Up Your Daily Content
Don’t get stuck in a rut by posting every single photo of a property in the same tired way every day. Give your community something to look forward to.
One way to connect is to share images of yourself with them. Show them what makes your business go, too. And when it does come to listing photos, think outside the box. Highlight to-die-for features. Think about sharing interesting angles. Incorporate before and after shots on remodel projects. Add videos.
Utilize Your Feed as a Gallery Teaser
Showcasing more than one photo is fine, but don’t give everything away. Draw your user in, and interact with them through your various touchpoints. As long as it’s not encumbering, your followers will want to dive in deeper.
The thing to remember is you always want to bring them full-circle and back to your business. In other words, you’re providing beautiful images and interactive content because, ultimately, you’d like to help your followers with real estate.
Tailor Your Captioning to Drive Business
There are two schools of thought when it comes to captioning your Instagram photos, and really it depends on the goal of your post. When in doubt - shorter is better. But if you really have a story to tell, take your time.
We typically recommend a combination approach to keep things fresh and interesting. But always keep it tailored with your brand and business in mind.
Incorporate New Insta Features Into Your Efforts
As Instagram continues to test, evolve, and incorporate features into its platform, understand that your followers are jumping on them, too. You want to be where they are, so when you see a new feature, don’t be afraid to try it out!
Did you know you can convert your most popular posts into ads? Or archive stuff you’ve later decided against? Traffic-tracking features are always evolving as well.
Offer Sneak Peaks and Interesting Generated Content via Stories
There are so many exciting ways you can use your stories to your advantage. Utilize them for walk-throughs. For property opinion polls. For Q&A boxes.
Share related content from others via stories, too. This is a way to share your broader interests while keeping on-brand with your permanent feed.
Use Highlights for More Permanent Information and Guides
The highlights section is the perfect space for brand philosophy videos or other permanent branding efforts.
Its location also makes it easy to drive people to your URL link directly above the highlights feed. Some also choose to host detailed contest rules videos there or share their most current news.
Always Tag Your Location - Especially in Alaska
According to SocialReport.com, “Posts with a tagged location result in 79% higher engagement.” What’s more interesting to us is an application of an idea that doesn’t yet have data backing, but the theory seems sound. (And tagging costs nothing, so why not give it a try?) What is it?
It’s rumored that Instagrammers are now utilizing the service similarly to Yelp. Specifically, they’re searching for local businesses through the app. We imagine if you have a habit of tagging every listing post, you’re bound to garner some interest when Alaska-local followers happen to be in the area.
(And One to Grow On!)
One of the easiest ways to keep your own Insta feed fresh is by following the trendsetters themselves. Take a cue from a few key industry influencers and apply their principles with your own twist.
In the meantime, if you’d like a few tailored tips for how to best present your real estate business and listing images through the platform, reach out to DMD Real Estate Photography to learn more!