Instagram has become one of the most widely-used social media platforms on the planet. Since its launch in 2010, the platform has grown exponentially, attracting both personal users and businesses from all over the world. With over one billion accounts logging in every single month, one-seventh of the planet is using the platform to like, share, and suggest. Not using this free platform to advertise your real estate listings is simply bad business. Here’s how real estate agents can use Instagram to boost their business and increase the responsiveness of potential buyers.
It’s Basically Free Advertising
Instagram is free to use, making it an advertising platform that, by its very nature, can help you save money on ad costs. Traditional newspaper ads and other avenues usually cost hundreds of dollars, and you’ll find that the majority of the modern world is online via Facebook or Instagram rather than nose-deep in the morning’s paper.
With free advertising on Instagram, you can post as many pictures of your listings as you want; encouraging friends, family, and other associates to like and share your images to increase their overall reach. Instagram is simple to use, making it accessible for people of all ages, and therefore increasing your demographic reach as well as organic reach.
You simply can’t do better than a platform that’s free to use and reaches billions per month.
Billions of Users Per Month
Speaking of which, Instagram has logged over one-billion users in the previous months. Every month, 1/7th of the world’s population logs into this popular social media platform, providing a literal plethora of potential customers. Reaching a large number of people quickly is Instagram’s strong point, and something you certainly couldn’t achieve through newspaper or radio ads alone.
With so many people within your reach, you can be sure you’re attracting as many customers as possible. The more people that see your listings, the greater the chance that you’ll find a potential buyer and even close a sale. Reach out with SEO-optimized posts complete with high-quality photos and SEO-specific hashtags and keyphrases to attract customers from all over your area.
Sales Posts
Instagram allows you to create detailed sales posts for your real estate efforts. Tired of listing black-and-white ads in newspapers, magazines, and elsewhere? Instagram has incredible tools to help you list full-color, high-definition photos and summaries of all of your properties. Never again fall victim to poor-quality listings by using Instagram to craft the perfect house listing.
Direct Outreach
With Instagram, you can reach out directly to users who like or otherwise interact with your posts. This eliminates the mystery of who’s interested in your listings. Potential buyers will like and comment on your posts, and from there, you can directly message or respond to their comments in turn.
According to communityinfluencer.com, real estate agents who use Instagram can see up to ten times more engagement with their posts than without the platform. What could you do with ten times more people responding to your ads? You’d likely be able to increase your sales and your real estate reputation!
New home buyers are especially wise to the Instagram market and will be easy to attract with stunning photos and detailed descriptions.
Hashtags for Better SEO
Hashtags have made SEO easier than ever. Potential buyers can narrow down their preferences based on how your photos are tagged, making the real estate process more customized for both real estate agents and buyers.
In fact, ranking hashtags with Instagram may actually be more effective than your current SEO efforts, ranking you higher in the listings and increasing the likelihood that you’ll attract the buyers you’re looking for. Ranking as high as possible is the key to a successful Instagram experience.
Edit Photos for Professional Feel
If you’re finding that your photos don’t look as good as you’d hoped, Instagram has awesome filters and editing tools that can help you craft the perfect look for your listing. Whether you need to increase the image’s brightness, crop it for a more manageable size, or otherwise alter your image, Instagram has all the tools you need for that perfect shot.
Filters can add a new life to your image, and make your real estate listing even more attractive to Instagram users. While we certainly don’t suggest changing anything too drastically to give a false representation of the home or building you’re selling, a little doctoring-up of an image can go a long way in bringing out the structure’s best features. Don’t be afraid to experiment!
Conclusion
Instagram is a free advertising platform that anyone who’s serious about their real estate efforts would do well to become a part of. With billions of users each month, plenty of SEO and image editing tools, and a platform that’s both easy to access and customizable, Instagram is your go-to for all things related to advertising. Opinions expressed here are the opinions of the author. Influencive does not endorse or review brands mentioned; does not and can not investigate relationships with brands, products, and people mentioned and is up to the author to disclose. VIP Contributors and Contributors, amongst other accounts and articles, are professional fee-based.
Published October 1, 2019