Give Your Social Strategy a Boost with Pinterest and Instagram

Looking for a way to get a better return on social media marketing? Pinterest sends more referral traffic to websites than Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube combined (Shareaholic). Furthermore, engagement from Instagram users is 10 times greater than any other platform (Business Insider). You most likely have a set strategy for Facebook and Twitter, but the ability of these two photo-centric platforms to grab the attention of clients and prospects is often overlooked.

The following tips and tricks are taken from a recent presentation by Erica Campbell Byrum, Director of Social Media for Homes.com.

Instagram

• Drive Engagement with Photos and Videos - Every community or listing has a unique quality, and Instagram is the perfect place to highlight it. Photos are "liked" twice as much as text updates and videos are shared twelve times more than links and text posts combined (MBooth). This offers plenty of opportunities for potential clients to discover your content and find out more about your business.
• Make Your Content Discoverable with #Hashtags - #Hashtags are one of the primary ways that users are finding new content on Instagram. If you want to maximize the reach of your posts on this social network, you should be researching terms related to your industry that users are searching for the most.
• Use Filters for an Artistic Touch - Instagram offers a full collection of filters that can make your pictures and videos really shine! Not only will these filters make your content stand out from your competitors, but it will help make the unique features of a property even more appealing.

Pinterest

• Create Boards That Interest Your Followers - Always create "boards" that you know will interest your clients. "Home related" content is among the most popular on Pinterest, so try to share content that will help them improve the home that you and your team helped them find.
• Show Off Your Team - Create a Pinterest board that highlights the local experts that you have on your team. Other Pinterest users can comment and share their previous experiences with them. When other members of the community are looking for the best person to help them buy or sell their home, they'll know exactly who to call!
• Engage Other Users' Content - Continuously engaging with other users' posts will help build your reputation on this platform, while also helping to establish and grow relationships with members of your community and other industry professionals. This can be done by "repinning" their content, which shows that you are interested in what they are sharing and will help you stay top of mind.

The combination of Pinterest and Instagram can connect you with consumers in ways that other networks do not, so understanding the best practices for each of them is a big part of having an awesome social strategy.

To view the original article, visit the Homes.com blog.