If you are in real estate Instagram is the perfect platform to show off your listings!
People obviously want to see photos of the properties that you as an agent have listed.
You can use Instagram to showcase your houses, give virtual tours and even generate leads!
If you can build trust and relationships with your potential customers through a social media platform like Instagram, you’ll be one step ahead of the competition.
We’re going to show you Instagram features that work best for real estate agents as well as what to post, tips for lead generation, and accounts to follow for inspiration.
Features that are Perfect for your Real Estate Instagram
As a realtor, it’s crucial to keep your social media up to date. But what features on Instagram should you be utilizing?
And how can they help you grow your business? The perfect real estate Instagram showcases your style and personality and includes diverse posts and beautiful photos.
Instagram is always making updates and rolling out new features like Instagram TV – also known as IGTV for short.
This feature allows you to create a channel and shoot videos from your phone that upload to Instagram and appear at the top of your profile.
A huge benefit to IGTV is that Instagram will show users suggested videos on their profiles when someone they follow posts something new.
It’s also great because it integrates with Instagram so you do not have to build up your follower base on another platform.
To start using this awesome feature you will first need to download IGTV and login via your Instagram.
It’s a simple process to connect your account but if you ever need help, we offer an Instagram marketing service to help boost your number of followers and conversion rate.
You can use IGTV to give virtual tours of your properties. Many of your clients may not be able to take time out of their day to drive to the property and spend time touring it.
Posting videos of your listings can save their time as well as your own! IGTV’s format is vertical video which makes it even easier on you when you’re shooting with your phone.
You won’t have to remember to turn your phone sideways to shoot horizontal, which is typically what is recommended for professional video.
When you are giving a virtual tour there are several things you will want to include. First, introduce yourself.
You should give a brief introduction at the start of every virtual tour so that clients can get to know you. Don’t chatter on too much.
The point of the video is for clients to see the home, not hear your life story. Start on the outside and walk in.
Clients will want to get the full experience like they would at an in person viewing. Walk up to the front door so they can see the exterior of the home.
While you are giving the tour point out any details that you love about the house or any bonus features.
Pro Tip: When you are shooting make sure that your video is as steady as you can get it. No one wants to get dizzy watching your tour.
Better yet, grab a friend to film it for you! This way you can walk and talk without worrying about the quality of your video.
Another way you can use IGTV is to show off the neighborhood near your listing. Take a walk and tour your followers and potential clients around.
Being able to view your property and where it’s located from the comfort of their couch can help you show more people your properties in a convenient and efficient way.
You want your followers and potential clients to view you as the expert. Consider making videos of yourself answering frequently asked questions.
This will help your clients gain a better understanding of real estate and what goes in to buying a house.
When it comes time for them to buy a home, they will be well-educated and trust you as their realtor!
You can also use Instagram stories or videos that you post to your page to showcase properties and give virtual tours but keep in mind that these have time constraints.
With IGTV, you can shoot up to an hour long video. Although we don’t recommend dragging potential customers on an hour long virtual tour, you won’t feel constrained by short clips.
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Post more than one photo
The multi-photo feature allows you to include up to 10 photos per post.
This is ideal for a real estate Instagram because you have the ability to include a photo of each room as well as the exterior, back yard or any other additional features.
This is a great compliment to shooting videos of your properties.
People may want a wide angle shot of the whole dining room, something you might not be able to feature in a video. Promote your posts on Facebook as well for a greater reach.
Photos also allow your potential clients to easily scroll back and forth through the listing and enjoy every room in the house. Show details of the property in your photos.
If there is a unique pattern or design, include a close up. You will want to make sure that they are in a logical order.
Start with a shot of the front of the house and then move in to the downstairs, upstairs and then the backyard.
Move your potential customers through your property. You can even ask them questions in your caption like “What’s your favorite room in the house?”
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Account highlights
Instagram highlights allow you to save your stories and keep them on your profile for as long as you want! You can have as many or as few as you want.
We recommend that you have at least one highlight that you use to introduce yourself. You can include video as well as photos, gifs and memes to showcase your personality.
When people are looking for a realtor they want someone who they can connect with so showing who you are is important in the process of generating leads.
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Take Advantage of Geography
The location feature is pretty basic but as a real estate agent you will definitely want to utilize this to tag your city.
Tagging your location can increase your discoverability on Instagram. Users can search by places or current locations to find places or businesses near them.
When they tap a location they can see posts from this location. So if you are located in a specific area or neighborhood you should be tagging that location in your posts.
For example, if you are a realtor in Atlanta but you have a property outside the city in the Sandy Springs area you would want to tag Sandy Springs as your location…
…or if you are in an even more specific neighborhood within this suburb, tag that location.
A search for this area shows two of the top posts are from real estate companies!
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Run Ads or Boost Posts
Want to make sure that you are reaching the right audience on your real estate Instagram?
Try boosting your listing post or even an “about me” post so that it reaches more potential clients. This is how you will be able to generate leads.
Your current followers may already be clients or people who you have sold homes to in the past so it is important to constantly grow your follower base on Instagram.
In order to run ads and boost posts you will need to make sure your account is a business account.
If you have a personal Instagram account you should create an account for your real estate business. Separate the two so that you can keep one professional.
On your real estate Instagram, you will be able to track analytics and insights from these ads to improve future ad campaigns.
Sponsored ads on Instagram originate on Facebook so you will need to have a Facebook account for your real estate business as well.
If you don’t think you need to be on multiple social media platforms, think again.
If you want to reach as many potential clients as possible it’s wise to run ads on both Facebook and Instagram.
The more people that see your ad the more likely they will take action – whether it’s following you, recommending you to a friend or converting themselves.
Check out one of the targeted Facebook ads that we created for a student housing property that generated more than 2000 leads and over 500% follower increase!
You should also keep in mind that different people prefer different forms of social media.
Some potential clients may check Instagram a lot more than they check Facebook and vice versa.
What Should you Show Clients on your Real Estate Instagram?
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Photos of your properties
Obviously, you want to have photos of the properties you are trying to sell, but make sure that they are perfect.
Shoot wide, show different angles and use great lighting if you want your photos to make a lasting impression.
Show before and after photos if properties have been updated. This is nice for clients to see the progress of your listings and can make them more interested in the properties.
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User-generated content
Repost photos from your clients! User-generated content boosts engagement and brand visibility.
Why is it important for your users to be engaged with your brand? This is one of the most important parts of content marketing.
If your users are not reading and engaging with your content, then it’s pointless.
Customers will choose your company over your competition if they see that you have quality content and that other users are liking, commenting and interacting with you online.
Essentially, your profit relies on customer engagement.
Users can show their support for your brand by creating content that features your company.
For example, if one of your client’s posts about their house or a photo of them with their new home you can use their content on your real estate Instagram.
User-generated content is powerful because it is coming from real people who have experienced your company.
When people post about you on social media they are essentially telling their friends and followers their opinion of you.
People tend to trust content that comes from friends and family members more than they trust content that comes directly from businesses.
The more content you use from your followers the more they will create!
Just make sure that you are still posting your own content and that any user-generated content you post is high quality.
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Photos of you with your clients
Social proof is a sure way to get potential clients interested!
When you sell a home, get a photo with your clients and ask if you can post it to your Instagram account.
When potential customers see that real people have had good experiences with your brand it makes them more likely to convert.
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Client Testimonials
People make quick decisions based on reviews that other users post about you or your business.
You may have reviews on Google or your company website but it’s important to show people testimonials on every platform.
Since you can’t receive reviews on Instagram there are a few ways to show people client testimonials.
Post photos of thank you notes that clients have written you. This is adds a personal touch and shows people that you are good at what you do!
This photo of a thank you note shows that this realtor has real clients that loved their experience with her!
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Showcase your personality
People want to get to know you as a person before they decide to work with you.
Again, if you already have a personal Instagram you should create a separate real estate Instagram account.
Even though this account should be more professional you will still want to show off your personality.
Give followers a peek into your life show them where you eat in the neighborhood or your favorite local spots.
Show followers and potential clients what makes you different and unique from other realtors.
Pro Tip: Your username should include your name and the word “realtor” so that people know that this is your real estate account.
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Drive traffic to your blog or website
Instagram doesn’t allow you to hyperlink which can be frustrating if you want to link to your blog or website.
So if you want to drive traffic to your site you can include links in your bio which you can change out regularly…
…or you can use sites like linktree which allow you to have multiple links in your Instagram.
This is beneficial because you want people to go read your blog or check out the listings on your website or contact you!
Once again, you should not make every post directed at your website. If your real estate Instagram is too salesy you run this risk of losing followers.
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Give clients decor inspiration
Even though you are selling houses not every post should be a “sell” post.
Posting design inspiration breaks up sell posts allows followers to engage with you.
Ask them a question about the photos you post. Tell them to post photos of their favorite interior designs and tag you!
This is a great way to drive engagement for your real estate Instagram.
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Use hashtags
There are over 17 million posts with the hashtag “real estate” and if you use this hashtag for your posts, they will get lost in the mix.
Hashtag research is important for any brand but especially for industries like real estate where hashtags are linked to tons of posts.
More hashtags does not always equal more visibility.
Make sure you are using appropriate hashtags for your brand. You can even create your own hashtag and encourage your followers to use it.
Pro Tip: If you do create your own hashtag you will need to use it on every post along with other popular hashtags.
Your hashtag will not be trending on Instagram right off the bat so be patient!
Real Estate Instagram Do’s and Don’ts
1. Don’t use stock photos
This is tacky and people and if people have seen this photo somewhere before they’ll become suspicious of you or your company.
Stock photos also just have a certain vibe. They can make your account look posed or fake. You want your real estate Instagram to be unique and it won’t be if it’s littered with stock photos.
Maybe you’re not the best photographer. No worries! Check out our guide on how to take Instagram photos. You’ll be a pro in no time!
2. Don’t sell too much
Your real estate Instagram should be diverse and not full of sales posts.
While it’s important to show your listings and try to sell them, not all of your followers are looking to purchase.
They may want to follow you for design inspiration, real estate tips or local advice.
3. Don’t buy followers
No matter what your business is absolutely do not buy followers. You want real people who will actually engage with your brand and most of the time paid followers end up being bots.
If you have a huge following but not many likes or comments on your photos this can look suspicious to your organic followers.
Although many people look at the number of followers accounts have when decided whether or not they are legitimate, there are other things you can do to earn trust.
High-quality content and photos are all you need to organically grow your follower base.
4. Do use your logo if you have one
This is a great way to increase brand awareness and recognition which is key if you want to grow.
When people recognize your logo you start to build trust with them. If people know and trust your brand, getting leads will be much easier.
Pro Tip: If you are just starting out in the real estate world, consider creating a logo. It can be as simple as using your name or initials in a cool font!
5. Do show your local neighborhood or the neighborhood where your listings are.
Post photos of restaurants, cute streets or parks. Your listing may be the most beautiful home ever but people want to know if it’s in a good area.
This helps buyers know what it’s like to live in the area and allows them to picture their lives if they were to purchase this home.
6. Do show teasers of listings
Have a property that’s under construction? Post progress photos even though it’s not ready for sale!
This can get followers and potential customers excited. It’s also great for engagement as they will want to follow the progress of the house.
You can even use these posts to ask users questions like “What do you think this room will be?”
7. Do have a professional profile picture
Your real estate Instagram profile photo should be a professional high-quality shot of you!
Having a photo of yourself as your profile photo will build trust with users and show them that you are an actual person.
If you don’t have a headshot yet consider using your logo in place of it just make sure it’s high quality.
Real Estate Instagram Accounts to Follow for Inspiration
Even if you are a small town real estate agent you can still take some tips from big brands!
Ryan Serhant may be the star of a TV show but his real estate Instagram is a nice mix of professional and personal.
He posts photos with his wife as well as photos of the projects he is working on.
He also includes his website in his bio which can be great for potential clients who want to check out his listings!
Another great thing about his account is the little blue check mark by his username. This is a verification badge and can help increase trust with your potential customers.
Instagram has now made relatively easy to request a verification badge for your business. Just go to settings on your account page and request verification.
Follow the steps and click send!
Note that blue check marks are used to indicate a public figure, celebrity or global brand and they do not guarantee a verification badge but it’s worth a shot!
Looking for inspiration from a smaller company? Root Realty is a Florida real estate company that posts photos of their real estate agents, new listings and design inspiration.
They also show followers what goes on behind the scenes!
A cool feature they have created is “feedback Friday” where they post testimonials from clients each Friday.
This shows their leads and followers that they are professionals and they’re also really good at what they do!
Get reviews online because it is immensely important because the majority of the time, potential clients will seek out reviews before they decide to work with you.
The Rehab Life Instagram is run by a couple who flips houses in Minneapolis. Go to their Instagram for some inspiring before and after photos!
They also post positive messages from their followers and make sure to thank them for their support.
Thanking your followers or clients publicly shows them that you appreciate them and actually take the time to read their messages that they send to you.
Another way you can engage with clients is to reply to comments that they leave on your posts.
Brenda Camacho is a realtor who has worked hard to get her real estate Instagram to reflect her personal brand.
She uses a consistent color as well as her logo on most of her posts.
This creates a nice theme and an appealing look for her Instagram. She posts helpful content for buyers as well as inspiration and motivation.
Zillow may not be the first place you go for your real estate Instagram inspiration but they have high-quality photos that you can browse through to get your juices flowing.
If you’re not quite sure how to shoot a difficult room turn to Zillow’s Instagram. You’ll find great interior and exterior shots of beautiful homes!
Whether your work for a large company or a small one, it’s important to make sure your real estate Instagram is engaging your followers and potential clients.
You should have high-quality photos of your properties along with posts that show off your personality.
If you think you are utilizing all of Instagram’s features and you’re still not getting the results you want, give us a call!
Our team is an expert in real estate social media marketing and will examine your accounts and create a personalized campaign for your brand.
The sooner you start the faster you will begin to get leads so contact us today!
