Companies and organizations all over the world are realizing the benefits that come from utilizing social media. From free promotion to connecting with even more potential customers, these are just some of the benefits of using social media.
But what if you’re a realtor and want to get your homes noticed–are there any ins and outs you should be aware of?
The answer is yes! Learn more about the dos and don’ts of using Instagram for real estate. With a little planning and knowledge, you can put these ideas to work for you and sell more homes.
Do Know the Benefits of Stepping Away from Competition
If you’re like most realtors, you know all the standard places that everyone goes to show off a house for sale. Truila, Realtor.com, and many other real estate listings are popular places to advertise homes on the market.
But what happens when you market homes for sale in an unconventional way?
Using social media for advertising homes can offer a great and unexpected way to get them in front of the right eyes. Because social media comes with so many opportunities to share, even if someone isn’t in the market to buy, they can share it with folks who they know are interested.
Having a strategy with social media ensures you’ll find the perfect balance and the success that comes along with it.
Do Keep the Focus on Visuals
One of the benefits of Instagram for real estate agents is the fact that you can focus on pictures of the home. This is what most folks are interested in, so it will mean more to them than a wordy description.
When you create posts, you’ll want to engage with followers and give them some information about the homes, such as how many beds, bath, asking price and so on.
Provide folks with a glimpse of the home so they can understand what it looks like and get a good feel about it. If they’re interested, this makes them want to get in touch with you. If they aren’t confident, they’ll hold back or think you have something to hide.
If you’re looking for more ways to increase your following besides quality pictures, check out the best Instagram growth service.
Do Make Sure You’re Using a Business Profile
Using a business profile means you’ll get taken seriously by everyone who runs into your Instagram. If you have a business account, you’ll get to see useful analytics, such as where viewers come from and what they’re searching for.
This allows you to target your social media with ease, and appeal to the right type of folks who are looking to buy from you.
Think about what your goals are, and consider making the switch from personal to business if you want to utilize the benefits of Instagram for real estate.
Don’t Forget About Live Video
Live video is helping folks feel even more connected than before. That’s because they can see what’s happening in real-time with the host.
Using live video means people can catch a replay later, or even ask questions as the event or Q&A are going on. If you think about it, it can be like hosting an open house, but no one needs to leave their home.
If you haven’t given live video a shot yet, see what happens when you do. You can do a walkthrough of a house, or just show a small sneak peek to give buyers an idea of what you have to offer.
Give live video shot, and see if it helps you gain new followers.
Don’t Ignore Your Bio-Link
Unlike Facebook and Twitter, you can’t post links easily on Instagram. That’s where your bio-link comes in and helps you refer folks to if you want to send them somewhere.
You can put your realtor website in, a contact page, or just about any link you want. Make sure you choose a link that can help the majority of your viewers.
Check out other brands, companies, and even fellow real estate agents on social media.
Make a note of how they leverage their social media. See how and when they mention their bio-link and try doing the same.
Note if folks are using your link and see if there’s any room for improvement when it comes to directing folks to your website.
Don’t Go Overboard with Hashtags
Hashtags and Instagram go hand and hand. If you’re trying to get people to discover your listing or want to come up in the most recent search results, using Hashtags is one of the easiest ways to do so.
When using hashtags, it’s important to put quality before quantity. If you have too many, your listing can appear spammy.
Instead, focus on a few quality features of the home you’re selling and use hashtags to describe those. These could be things like:
- Location
- Rooms
- House style
- Any noteworthy or outstanding features
Following this advice can help match you with folks who are most interested in what you have to offer.
Don’t Publish Too Often or Too Little
With social media, everything has a balance. It’s important not to do too much or too little, and always keep your followers in mind.
Publishing too little means your audience is going to forget you’re there. You’ll have a hard time growing your real estate following on Instagram, and in turn, getting noticed.
On the other hand, if you publish too much, you run the risk of annoying people with updates that seem constant and even unnecessary.
Find the right balance between updates that are helpful, interesting and informative and posting just for the sake of putting up a new picture or listing. Your followers will look forward to what you have to offer and continue to return for more.
Learn More About Using Instagram for Real Estate
There’s a lot to consider when you’re trying to up your real estate game and adding Instagram to the mix. When using Instagram for real estate, make sure you’re not publishing too much, have quality to offer viewers, and leverage with a business account to see where folks are coming from.
Are you ready for more? Check out our post on what to do to get more Instagram followers and look at our ultimate guide to see how to leverage Twitter.
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