8 Great Facebook and Instagram Hacks

Social media sites like Facebook and Instagram are experiencing record volumes of visitors. A major benefit for real estate agents: the cost of advertising has fallen as these social media channels register record traffic.

Nearly 70 percent of Americans use Facebook and 74 percent of them visit Facebook every day. To take advantage of the massive traffic on Facebook and Instagram (which is owned by Facebook) to raise your local visibility now and when real estate begins to rebound, here are eight great hacks.

Facebook and Instagram hacks

The magic of kids and pets: Make sure to leverage the power of a photo that shows a pet or a child to boost your Facebook activity. Connect it to your business – such as a photo of you with your children actively playing outside at home and the tagline "Why I do what I do." Or a photo of your cat or dog that captures a moment with a tagline that describes the photo in a fun way, noting as you were working from home, this has happened: "Caught in the act," "Too cute for words," or "Comfort Queen."

Animals and children draw traffic. Two extreme examples: Grumpy Cat with her 2.7 million Instagram followers and Boo, dubbed the "World's Cutest Dog," with his 16 million likes on Facebook. Connecting your business to who you are in your personal life is an authentic and powerful way to give more personality to your professional life on social media. (Facebook and Instagram)

Videos are more popular than ever – make sure yours sound great: Video has exploded, and people have gotten over their fear of the camera or what they look like on video. Use your phone to create a quick one-minute market update on what's happening in real estate in your local area. Create one regularly, making sure it is hyperlocal and authentic. A misspoken word corrected, or a minor glitch is likely to be forgiven by viewers. Pro tip: Go outdoors in the summer sunshine to record your report, but don't have the sun at your back (you'll be too dark) or your face (you'll likely squint).

The most important thing for a successful video is providing great content that people can hear. Viewers will put up with non-perfect videos but if the sound is poor, they won't watch. (Facebook and Instagram)

Change your Facebook cover

A powerful image for your Facebook Business Page cover — the area that is at the very top of your Facebook page — is important. But using a video for your Facebook cover is better. A powerful way to spruce up your Facebook cover is a short video tour of your community. It's easy to add, makes your Facebook page look more professional and captures instant attention from clients and prospects. (Facebook)

Pick a day, a theme and post a photo or image each week

Throwback Thursdays work because it picks a day and a theme, and you know what images will fit. You can do the same thing with Facebook and Instagram. Pick one day each week, give it a theme (and a name) and post a photo related to your theme.

For example, if you specialize in listing equestrian properties, you could create "Great Gallops" and post photos of horses in action every Sunday; if you sell golf properties, post "What course am I?" on Fridays, with photos of local (or famous) folks asked to guess the golf course; or with waterfront properties, you could post sunsets and views from around your waterfront community on Waterfront Wednesday. It's a great way to engage with your sphere and potential prospects, become more memorable – and stand apart from the competition. (Facebook and Instagram)

Be ready to give to get

One of the most important ways to increase the popularity of your Facebook and Instagram accounts is to engage actively. You have to do more than just hit "like" on a bunch of other posts. You need to add personal, meaningful comments, regularly.

Keep track of your clients – especially ones who have referred business to you — on Facebook and Instagram and look for ways to acknowledge any accomplishments or achievements they share or milestones (birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, etc.). Try this formula: for every post you make, add comments to posts by five other folks. (Facebook and Instagram)

Respond rapidly

Most real estate agents are so busy that they have terrible response rates. Yes, Facebook measures your response time. Some agents never even check their notifications. (It's that little bell icon at the top of your Page.) But agents who get the most leads from Facebook have their notifications stream to their mobile phones so they can instantly acknowledge a comment or question made on their site. The faster you respond, the more satisfied folks who are asking to engage with you will be! (Facebook)

Instagram users can add their occupation to their name

Why? Because it is searchable. So, if you are John Smith, you can be "John Smith Real Estate Agent" or "Jane Doe Real Estate Agent." Some folks even add their zip code, city name or name of their firm to their Instagram account name. It's the same principle when creating the name for your Facebook Business Page – pick a name that makes it easy to search. (Instagram and Facebook Business Pages)

Put a Facebook pixel from your Facebook Business Page on your website

You will need to install a Facebook Pixel in order to utilize ads for targeting people who have visited your site. It not only helps you reach a wider segment of your audience, but it can help increase lead generation – which means more sales.

A Facebook Pixel also gives you better marketing insight as to what works for your business and what doesn't. Instagram and Facebook have the same ad platform, so the Pixel is the same and will run on both platforms once you have your business pages connected.

If you can't figure out how to install your Facebook Pixel ID, there are videos and step-by-step instruction online you can find with a Google search. Or contact Tech Helpline. Afterwards, look for your Pixel ID and copy it for later usage. (Facebook and Instagram)

Do you have a great Facebook or Instagram hack that you want to share? Just email us.

To view the original article, visit the Tech Helpline blog.