Instagram Marketing Ideas for Real Estate Agents

Who should listen: Anyone who struggles with social media content and wants to improve their reach and engagement on Instagram.

Key idea: To establish a lead-generating social media presence, you must post consistently.

Action item: Start posting content inspired by your life outside of work.

By now, you know that we strongly advocate maintaining a consistent presence on social media for the simple reason that it’s where your audience is spending their time. Whether it’s at home, in the office, or on their smartphones, people are connecting, researching, and buying online. But what type of content causes users, and Instagram users in particular, to stop scrolling and give their attention to one post over another?

Simply put, it’s content valuable to them.

And if you’re a real estate agent looking for leads, then the content that’s valuable to your ideal client is generally one of four types:

1. Information about local businesses
2. Client testimonials
3. Product updates
4. Information about you

Information about local businesses

People who live in or are considering moving to your area appreciate knowing about the local businesses in the community.

Of course, there are many ways to share information about the products and services offered by a business, but, since we’re talking about Instagram with its heavy emphasis on images and videos, we recommend creating Reels featuring interviews with owners, employees, and patrons.

We offer advice about the different formats you might use and the advantages these interviews have for you as an agent, but let’s think for a minute about the appeal of these types of posts.

• They’re engaging. While you can certainly share the type of questions you’d like to ask your interviewee, the ebb and flow of an unscripted conversation is authentic. People tend to be themselves, and, since the comments are impromptu, what they say can be peppered with funny remarks.
• They’re informative. Your viewers will get an inside look at what makes a business tick. When done well, these interviews will explain what the business does, how it does it, and why it does it. Viewers will assess the personality of those who work there. They’ll get to see the physical location and sense the atmosphere.
• They build community. Much like residents of an area refer to the local high school football team as “our” team and celebrate their wins and bemoan their losses as if they were their own, featuring local businesses on social media encourages people to identify them as being a part of “our” community.

Client testimonials

You’re well aware of the power of referrals between people who know one another, but you may not be as aware of the awesome power of online recommendations from strangers.

In July 2021, Oberlo collected research from a variety of sources. Among the findings, they reported:

• Nearly 90% of consumers read reviews before they make a purchase.
• Roughly 79% of shoppers report trusting online reviews as much as recommendations from people they know.
• Approximately 55% of consumers will read at least 4 reviews before they make a purchase.
• As many as 82% of consumers say they read reviews of local businesses.

Note that these are recommendations that people read. Imagine how much more powerful viewing a client’s endorsement of your services would be. Adding the nonverbal components of body language like gestures and facial expressions and all that’s associated with our voices—tone, volume, speed, and pitch—and you have a much richer, more compelling message. And it’s made easy using Instagram.

Product updates

Updates about your “product”—whether they’re market updates, the featured home of the day, changes to your team, additions to your services, or tips that educate—help to build your credibility. These types of posts may not be the most exciting (although there’s a lot of creativity among our listeners), but the regularity with which you provide them is critical. If you provide a product update once a week on the same day at the same time, even if viewers don’t look at them now, they’ll recognize and remember you as the expert who can help them when they need it.

Information about you

People tend to identify and sympathize with others who are similar to themselves. To the extent that your ideal clients can see themselves reflected in you, they’ll know, like, and trust you. This is why you want to share some of your personal life on Instagram, and the easiest way to do that is to document what’s going on outside of the office.

How much of an open book you want to be is up to you, but, generally speaking, people respond favorably to seeing others living their normal lives.

Driving to an appointment, shopping for dinner, showing glimpses of your weekend with the family or your pet doing goofy things, filling up at the gas station, celebrating birthdays, finding lost socks under the bed—these types of day-to-day activities may not be all that exciting, but it’s what most of us do. Instagram posts that show you living your life give viewers a little insight into the person behind the title.

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Blog by Jenna Kutcher: 3 Easy Strategies to Help You Rock Instagram in 2021