How to Use Instagram for Real Estate Marketing

Do you really need to use Instagram for real estate marketing?

You're busy and on the go. But using Instagram for real estate business success has become essential!

Top-selling Realtors know how to do it. You should too.

Here we'll give you the insider info on just how to use Instagram for real estate. These tips and tricks are designed to be incorporated into even the craziest of on-the-go schedules.

With over 600 million Instagram users out there, it's a huge market ready to be tapped.

Instagram for real estate agents can produce meaningful results, like:

• Increase brand awareness
• Increase traffic to your website
• Increase leads
• Increase sales

Okay, so we know it's useful. But you'll probably want to equip yourself with the know-how before you get started.

So here we go:

How to Capture the Most Attention with Your Pictures

People come to Instagram because they have a visual appetite. Satisfy them!

Use high-quality photos – Always make sure the lighting is right. Try to capture the interior and exterior of your properties for sale during the daylight, ideally on a sunny day.

Include faces sometimes – This will personalize your photo content. It boosts engagement too! Photos with faces are 38 percent more likely to receive likes and 32 percent more likely to receive comments.

Inspire/Educate – Allow your followers to feel like they are benefitting from your content. Give the vibe that you're "in the know."

Tag the people shown – This will increase your exposure to those that follow the people you've tagged. Use an "@mention" to show the person your appreciation, and maybe even start a dialogue. This could double the engagement you receive!

Tag the location – This can be useful in educating your customer on the whereabouts of a particular property. Not only that, but when businesses use location-tagging, their posts average a 29 percent higher engagement rate.

Use layouts – The layouts app for Instagram allows you to arrange various photos into a single collage. This can be useful in showcasing multiple rooms in a home, or multiple amenities of a property.

Use filters wisely – Filters should be used to brighten or enhance your photos. Try using the "Juno" or "Ludwig" filters for some nice amplification effects.

Why Adding Videos Will Increase Your Value

If a picture is worth a thousand words a video is worth, well... a lot more!

Host a virtual open house – What better way to educate and entice your Instagram followers than to take them through what could be their future home! Make sure to move the camera slow-and-steady, and feel free to narrate with some useful information.

Keep it short – Instagram video can only last up to 15 seconds. This is actually the perfect amount of time to seduce a buyer before they swipe on.

Get testimonials – When past clients can vouch for your top-notch expertise you'll look like a hot commodity! Their smiles and happy faces will make other prospective clients want "in" on that kind of success.

Captions and Hashtags: How to Use Them

The captions do get looked at. This is your opportunity give the picture some context, provide useful information to the consumer, or tie your photo back to your brand. You can use words, emojis, @mentions, and hashtags.

Ask Questions – One way to boost engagement is to start a dialogue by asking a question. Try to solicit your followers' opinions about what they see – or better yet, how they feel – about the picture.

Remember: Engage back with their answers!

Use hashtags – Using a popular hashtag is a great way to participate in trending topics and boost your visibility. You can also try using niche hashtags to identify with specific followers.

Make sure you come up with a branded hashtag too!

Use "@mentions" – You can tag another user handle by putting the "@" sign before their name. They will be notified of the tag and they may even choose to post a comment to your photo.

In fact, posts that include another user handle in the caption net 56 percent more engagement overall. However:

This tactic is only successful when executed in an authentic and relevant manner! You should only tag those who are actually in or pertain to the photo. Otherwise, it will be viewed as spam.

Create a call-to-action – Come up with the step that you want your followers to take, and lead them there in a clear and concise way. For example, maybe you want viewers to give a you call, or to visit your website. Provide them with their next step. Like this:

• Want to tour this beautiful ocean-view home in person? Call my cell at (555) 321–1234.
• If you love this home, click the link in my bio to see other available properties.

(Hint: For the link in your bio, use a custom agent URL from HomeASAP and all visitors to your page will be tracked and catalogued for you).

Don't miss out on an opportunity to bring your followers closer to you. Get creative!

Example of Instagram Image

So now you know how to use Instagram for real estate! The steps are simple, but when you apply them you look like a pro.

Go ahead and get started with your new Instagram strategy and let us know how it goes!

Maybe this has sparked some ideas for how you'll brand yourself... Maybe you'll notice an increase of traffic to your site.

To view the original article, visit the HomeASAP blog.