Real Estate Business Tips: How to Better Utilize Instagram

By Marquis Matson

Before committing to purchase, people want to get a feel of the properties they intend to spend their hard-earned cash on. What better platform to showcase this than on Instagram? With over a billion users monthly, Instagram is undoubtedly one of the best social media platforms if you're looking to grow your real estate business.

Through your photos, videos and Stories posts, you can give potential customers virtual tours that are likely to generate quality leads for your real estate business. The following is a list of steps you can take towards realizing the real estate opportunities that this social network offers:

Set Up a Free Business Profile

After setting up an Instagram account, you can make it a free business profile by going to the profile settings and choosing the option to "Switch to a Business Account." You'll be required to provide additional information such as your business name, location and phone number.

A major benefit of the business profile is that you'll gain access to the analytics for your account, known as Instagram Insights. With this, you'll be able to see important data such as clicks, user demographics, visitor traffic, specific audiences, and more.

Keep in mind that your new account should be entirely professional. Personal pictures or pictures that do not concern your real estate business should be limited to your private account.

Add an Interesting Bio

Your bio is the first place your audience will look when they want to find out more about you and your business. You need to make sure your Instagram bio leaves a compelling first impression to attract followers and ultimately, more clients. To create the perfect Instagram bio for your real estate business, make sure it contains the following:

• Your target audience
• Your real estate niche
• Your location
• Your business contact information (phone numbers, etc.)
• A link to your website

A bio that contains all of the above will appear professional and tick all the right boxes.

Upload a Professional Photo

Add a professional photo of yourself to your profile. This is an excellent way to enhance the credibility of your business page. Not sure of what photo to use? Think about an image you can use on your website, resume or business cards, such as a headshot.

Having a photo makes it easier for clients to recognize you when you have to meet them offline.

Invite Your Friends and Family to Follow You

You need to garner followers as quickly as possible. This is because many profile visitors will look at your number of followers when determining the legitimacy of your business. Having just a few followers will not provoke the right reactions from potential clients. To get you started, invite your friends and family to follow you. There are other more long-term ways to grow your Instagram account, but your friends and family can give your profile the initial boost it needs.

Post Engaging Content

Instagram provides several options for engaging your audience and cementing your position as a trustworthy real estate agent. These include the use of photos, videos and Stories. Also, Instagram TV gives you the ability to post longer videos.

Create a content calendar and post twice a day for the best results with your followers. Get a feel of when your followers are on Instagram the most and create your posts around these times.

Don't forget to engage with your followers. Using Instagram is a two-way street. Like and comment on the photos posted by your followers. Additionally, liking and commenting on real estate-related posts of people that do not follow you increases visibility for your brand, as well as your prospects of attracting more followers.

Always Upload the Highest-Quality Images and Videos

As a real estate business, first impressions matter a great deal on social media. The quality of images and videos on your page need to be high-quality for two reasons:

• Give your clients the best possible views of the property
• Solidify your reputation as a legitimate business with access to the properties in question

For the best results with your images, do the following:

• Ensure the image suits the square layout perfectly.
• Only post images that are in line with your brand's image.
• Don't post pictures of properties you are not proud of.

Create Hashtags

Hashtags are not an afterthought on Instagram—they're a great way to connect with your target audience searching for the content you've shared. Hashtags can increase engagement on your Instagram profile by up to 12 percent.

Make the most of your hashtags by including a minimum of five relevant hashtags that will help you to better connect with your audience.

Related: The 25 Most Popular Real Estate Hashtags

Now you know how to enhance your real estate Instagram account, post varied content and use engaging hashtags effectively. You have everything you need for your real estate business to flourish on Instagram. All that is required now is for you to get started!

Marquis Matson is a writer, social media manager and SEO content marketer at SocialGrowr.  She currently lives on the coast of Ecuador, working remotely as a freelancer. Matson's primary focus is on building online visibility of new, up-and-coming brands, particularly brands that promote health and wellness.