Effective Real Estate Marketing Ideas Using Instagram

In this post, we’ll be going over real estate marketing on Instagram to build a strong foundation.

We all know that real estate is one of the most competitive industries.

72% of realtors are on social media and 57% of them are comfortable using social media.

These real estate marketing Instagram ideas that we’re about to share with you are sure to help your profile stand out from the competition.

They will help you increase customer engagement on the platform.

We’ll be going over ideas that use many different features on Instagram, some of which, we bet you haven’t thought to use yet.

9 Effective Real Estate Marketing Ideas Using Instagram

1. Creating A Strong Bio
2. Showcase Your Personality
3. Use Location Features To Your Advantage
4. IGTV And Instagram Live
5. Showcase Client Satisfaction
6. Move Leads Through Your Marketing Funnel
7. Use Reels
8. Keyword Search
9. Instagram Ads

1. Creating A Strong Bio

The first idea to building a solid foundation on Instagram in real estate is by creating a strong bio.

Now you may be thinking, “I created one of those when I first made my account. How is my bio going to help me acquire new leads?“

Well, besides your profile picture on Instagram, your bio is one of the few things people will first see when they discover you on the app.

This means that when using Instagram for business, your bio needs to create a strong first impression.

This is in order for you to gain a new lead’s attention and encourage them to check out more on your profile.

So what makes a strong bio?

• Location

For starters, you should include the location in which your agency operates.

This will immediately tell people who view your profile whether or not you can provide your services to them.

• Links

The whole point of using Instagram is to grow your following.

These new followers can then be converted into leads and ultimately, sales.

These sales don’t happen on Instagram though, which is why it is a great idea to include a link in your bio.

Including a link to your website or one of your listings will help move the client through your marketing funnel.

Doing so will get them closer to becoming a closed lead.

• Call-to-action

The last tip we have for creating a strong bio is to include a call-to-action in your bio.

A call-to-action is a phrase that you can use to prompt a specific action or compel an audience to act in a specific way.

It is helpful to include this in your bio because right away you’ll be able to encourage potential leads that discover your profile to do something.

And that will get them one step closer to becoming a client, and later on, a sale.

Your call to action doesn’t have to direct the viewer somewhere off Instagram as your link would.

Your call to action can be as simple as “Send me a direct message with any questions you may have.“

Something as simple as this opens the door for potential clients feeling comfortable messaging you privately to get to know more about your listings.

If your real estate Instagram account is a business account, which it should be, you can also include call-to-action buttons on your profile.

Call-to-action buttons make the process even easier for your followers

With a simple click, the user will be redirected to where they can fulfill your call-to-action.

2. Showcase Your Personality

When it comes to real estate, you end up spending a lot of time communicating with your client whether that be in person, via email, or over the phone.

This means that when people are looking for a real estate agent…

…they not only want to find someone that will help sell their house or help them find a new one.

They want to find someone that is personable and easy to talk to.

Instagram is a great place to showcase your personality.

We say this with caution though because you should not run your real estate profile the same as you do your own personal profile.

You want to keep your personal profile separate from your business profile.

But it is important to have something available for those that find your page to get an idea of who you are.

This is so they can better gauge if you are someone they can see themselves working with.

One of the best features on Instagram to do this is with highlights.

Highlights are an Instagram feature that is related to your Instagram story.

Although your stories on Instagram disappear after 24 hours, highlights are a way to keep content that was put on your story permanently on your profile.

Your followers can access your highlights at any time which is why it is a great way of showcasing your personality.

It will still be there when new followers find your page who weren’t there when the story was originally posted.

You can do a short video describing who you are, your real estate experience, and showcasing anything else clients should know about you.

All of these can now be kept in a convenient place for both current and potential clients to view.

Building this connection virtually with your clients will help build trust amongst potential clients and is sure to help you stand out from your competition.

3. Use Location Features To Your Advantage

You might think that the location feature on Instagram is rather basic but it can actually help more people find your posts on Instagram.

Instagram allows users to tag their location when they create a post.

This feature is essential for real estate companies and realtors on Instagram.

Tagging your location is known to increase your discoverability.

This is because Instagram users are able to search by places or their current location to find things.

When they select a location, they will see all of the top posts that are tagged to that location.

One of those top posts could just be one of your listings!

That’s why it is important to be specific when tagging your location because you will want the tag location to match where the property actually is.

Another creative way to indicate your location on Instagram to attain more local leads is by using hashtags!

A hashtag on Instagram is a series of letters, numbers, or emojis that follow a pound sign.

Much like the way Instagram users can search a specific location, they can also search for hashtags.

It is also a good idea to look at what your competition is using for their hashtags and what the engagement on their posts looks like.

Some popular hashtag options for realtors include:

• #newlisting
• #openhouse
• #walkableneighborhood
• #housegoals

If you’d like to learn more about hashtags, here’s our post on how to use Instagram hashtags.

4. IGTV And Instagram Live

One of Instagram’s newer features is Instagram TV, also known as IGTV.

IGTV is actually its own app but it also offers basic functionality within the Instagram app.

IGTV allows for longer videos than Instagram feeds offering up to 1 hour-long video.

IGTV’s format is optimized for vertical videos which provides a better viewing experience on mobile phones.

This also makes it easier to record for IGTV using a mobile device.

Especially since professional videos are often optimized for a horizontal viewing experience on mobile devices.

You can also post your Instagram live videos to IGTV.

The best way to use live and IGTV is to give tours of your properties!

Many clients will not always have time to make it to an open house even if the property you are showing is a great fit for them.

By giving a virtual tour of the property, you are still engaging that part of your audience.

And this is by allowing them to see the property without having to physically be there.

When giving these virtual tours, it is important that you introduce yourself.

This is a big part of the second idea we shared with you on showcasing your personality.

However, in this case, you don’t want to chat too much here.

Remember, the clients that view these videos want to see the home you are showing, not hear about your life story.

Also, make sure you start outside of the home and then walk in the front door.

Clients will want to see the exterior of the home from your point of view whilst also getting the full viewing experience as if they were actually there with you.

Another great way to use Instagram live and IGTV for real estate marketing on Instagram is to give a tour of the neighborhood your listing is in!

5. Showcase Client Satisfaction

A great idea for feed posts for your Instagram account is to share your client’s satisfaction with you and your services.

As previously mentioned, people will look for a real estate agent that is enjoyable to work with.

Using your Instagram is a great way to showcase this.

You can post any client testimonials so that others can see what people are saying about your high-quality service.

Another great idea for your real estate marketing on Instagram is to take pictures with your happy clients!

Anytime you sell a house or find a new home that makes a buyer happy, ask if it’s ok to take a picture and if you can share it on your Instagram.

6. Move Leads Through Your Marketing Funnel

If you’ve implemented these first 5 ideas into your existing Instagram marketing strategy, you should be seeing an increase in:

• followers
• engagement
• leads

But let us ask you this: What are you doing with all of these new leads? Is your only engagement failing to convert into real clients?

If so, you need to be doing much more in order to turn that lead into a client.

The best way to do this is to actually move them away from Instagram.

Now we know what you’re thinking. “Why would you say something like that when making a post about Instagram marketing?“

Allow us to explain.

Any qualified lead you get, regardless of the source, you want to convert to a sale, right?

Is engaging with the client through DM’s on Instagram a step below them becoming a sale?

Of course, it isn’t!

Try to move them through your marketing funnel by optimizing your use of Instagram to send them to the next step in your process.

For example, let’s say a potential client reaches out to you through a direct message on Instagram about selling their home.

Your next step to move them off of Instagram and further into your funnel is by responding with, “What’s a good time to talk?”

Once they let you know, ask for their phone number.

At this point, you have an appointment with a lead instead of a conversation on Instagram with one of your followers.

7. Use Reels

Another fairly new feature on Instagram is reels.

Reels are quick, 30-second video clips where you can use audio and AR effects.

A simpler way to think of reels is Instagram’s version of TikTok.

Reels have a great reach when shared by public accounts because they can appear on the explore page.

And Instagram is more likely to promote reels on the explore page because they’re a newer feature.

Reels will live on a separate reels tab on your profile although you can also choose to share them as part of your feed.

You can also find reels on the reels tab, located at the bottom of your Instagram feed.

So how can they be used for real estate?

The best way to use reels for your real estate marketing on Instagram is to show outstanding features of a property that make the property unique.

For example, if you are selling a house that has a basketball court in the backyard or a house that has a rooftop garden.

Reels can also be used to show the behind-the-scenes of what it is like to work with your real estate agency or just as a realtor in general.

8. Keyword Search

The way to reach more potential clients on Instagram in 2021 is by optimizing your content for Instagram’s newest feature which is keyword search!

In the past, you had to include hashtags in your content in order to make it searchable.

However, in 2021, Instagram is starting to test out keyword searches.

This means that users are able to search a general keyword in the search bar.

And, they will receive results with posts and accounts that have that keyword, even if those posts don’t have any hashtags.

As of right now, this search method is only limited to general interest topics.

But if you would like to get a leg up on the competition, you should start optimizing your content for specific keywords now.

This is so that as this search method advances, you’ll be able to rank higher than your competition.

Some of the keywords that real estate agents can begin using are property development, top realtors, and houses.

This list will begin to get more specific as time goes on and Instagram adds more specific keywords, but for now, the keyword searches for real estate are very basic.

It is a good idea though to start thinking, “What would my potential clients search for?“

9. Instagram Ads

There is one way to guarantee that your posts are reaching the right audience.

And that is through targeted Instagram ads.

In order to run ads or boost posts, you must first make sure that your real estate account is a business account on Instagram.

Since Instagram is owned by Facebook, you may find their advertising user experience similar to that of Facebook’s.

You can technically advertise right within the Instagram app.

But for your real estate marketing, we would recommend using your Facebook Ads Manager account to run ads on Instagram.

You’ll just have to make sure your Facebook page and Instagram Business profile are linked.

When it comes to advertising on Instagram, you’ll find a lot of features for creating a relevant target audience.

Arguably, the most important of all of these is geographic location.

The best method for picking where to advertise based on location is to include the location of the property you are selling.

As well as where the majority of your audience tends to move from.

Depending on the types of properties you are selling such as:

• multi-family homes,
• townhouses, or
• mansions

…you most likely have a very specific demographic of buyers.

Thankfully, Instagram offers a plethora of demographics to target via Facebook.

You might be asking, are there any other effective ways of targeting my audience with Instagram ads?

Yes, there are!

• Lookalike audience

One method is by using lookalike audiences.

A lookalike audience is a group of people that are likely to be interested in your services because they share characteristics with your current clients.

• Retargeting ads

You can also use retargeting ads to help convert hot leads into new clients.

Retargeting ads focus on an audience that has visited your website, for example, and left before taking action such as setting up an appointment.

Retargeting ads are focused on leads that are already interested in your business.

Seeing your brand appear again shortly after they left your website will remind the consumer that you are a great option to satisfy their needs.

It is important to keep your audience in mind when creating your advertisements.