With the majority of real estate searches beginning online, social media is a great way to showcase listings. Yet many real estate professionals are still only using Facebook in their social marketing strategy. This is very surprising considering the effectiveness of real estate instagram marketing.
Now, we’re not saying that Facebook is not a great platform, it absolutely is! You can interact with potential clients, highlight listings, share relevant news as well as showcase your success stories. You can literally do it all on Facebook!
The issue is that the average age of Facebook users is steadily rising. While at the same time, the buying power of Millennials and Generation X/Y is rising too.
Instagram, on the other hand, has a lower average user age and has seen a large part of its success come from the fact that advertising on the platform is much less invasive.
The takeaway here is that Millennials and Generation X/Y are adopting Instagram. Can you say the same about your business?
Simply put, if you’re ignoring Instagram, you are ignoring lucrative business opportunities and exposure.
Fortunately, there’s good news!
Not only is Instagram easy to learn and use, but it’s also full of inspiration! Instagram has ideas for decorating, staging, listing photography as well as hashtagging and open house suggestions. Below you will find some of the few must-follow accounts on Instagram that every real estate professional should check out!
But before we dive into the ‘dos’ of Instagram for real estate professionals, let’s pause here and take a second to talk about a few questionable practices that are becoming more and more popular on Instagram.
What Not to Do on Your Real Estate Instagram Page
An Instagram account full of scantily clad selfies (male or female) with absolutely nothing to do with real estate will probably get you followers. These followers just won’t be the type of followers you want to attract as a real estate professional.
First and foremost, focus on presenting yourself as a competent professional.
Throw in a few candid smiling shots to warm things up but only choose pictures you would post on social media to share with family and friends.
If you wouldn’t, keep them off your professional accounts.
Boasting/Showing Off
Far too many accounts on Instagram are dedicated to boasting about money, possessions, lifestyles, or achievements. It is reaching the point where this has been officially diagnosed as a mental disorder. By all means, celebrate your successes, just spare your audience the bragging.
Your suits won’t sell houses. An expensive car won’t sell houses. Flashy jewelry won’t sell houses. In some instances, bragging about these things can actually cost you business if the clients think “who does this person think they are?” when viewing your social media profiles.
The Bottom Line
Your competitive advantage can be found in a number of ways but the best methods are always earned. Let the focus of your content strategy be on providing value to the audience.
Interested in viewing the Instagram accounts of successful real estate agents? You should check out this article.
The 10 Best Instagram Real Estate Accounts to Follow
realestatelegend
There’s no professional development here. What you will find are just memes that give real estate professionals a good laugh! Real estate can be a gravely serious business at times, so why not embrace the lighter side of the biz?
realestate_academy
With over 140,000 followers, this is one of Instagram’s most popular real estate pages. It celebrates beautiful photography while slotting in professional development posts and audience engagement – there’s lots of inspiration to be found here! Be sure to check them out.
realestateaus
Sharp photography, a rotating feature with some great listings searchable by address and traffic being funneled to their website is all complementary to their business.
beginninginthemiddle
An awesome account dedicated to low-cost/high-drama renovations and a great page to recommend if you’re trying to sell a “fixer-upper”. Some of the transformations are simply unbelievable and a great visual reference if you’re trying to help a client see the potential in a property!
jamesgallo_com
A Beverly Hills-based realtor with content that’s – to be perfectly blunt – a bit cheesy at times (not many potential clients are interested in watching their agent lift weights!). But one of the things he does phenomenally well is brand-building. Notice how he gets all of his contact information into each post as well as his hashtags? That’s something not done properly on many real estate professionals’ pages.
the_real_houses_of_ig
Started by the multi-talented Kate Rumson, this page accurately reflects her various talents that include interior design, real estate investment, development and construction, along with social media. She has over 1 million followers who can’t get enough of her visuals. If you can’t find inspiration here, you won’t find it anywhere.
therehablife
Another great renovation account, this is a MUST for anyone dealing with fixer-up properties. The transformations show that even some of the most run-down properties can have a new lease on life.
Tom Ferry
Tom Ferry is one of the most renowned and respected real estate coaches out there sharing tons of free real estate marketing content to help improve your business. You’ll find Instagram stories galore on Tom’s page. He also uses his Instagram account as the primary hub to connect with all of his followers so be sure to check out the comments section on his Instagram account. It is great for networking and connecting with other agents.
brendacamachorealtor
She might be a small fish in this pond with a modest following, but Brenda has absolutely NAILED her personal branding. She finds a tasteful way to incorporate herself into her visuals without becoming the focal point. Her engagement (which is more important than followers) is equal to other real estate accounts with 10x as many followers. She knows her target audience (younger buyers and families) and goes to great lengths to reach out. Including solely Spanish-language posts.
Grant Findlay-Shirras
Finally, we had to include the creator of this blog Grant Findlay-Shirras on this list. He is the co-founder of a multi-million dollar real estate marketing company and creator of the Local Leader® system for agents. If you’d like to learn more about what Grant provides agents, click here. Grant is also known for his podcast and YouTube channel Real Estate Moguls where he interviews real estate industry influencers and experts.
Interested in some of the basics about Instagram? Why not read up on how to get started on Instagram?
