Real Estate Marketing On Instagram: Ideas To Build A Strong Foundation (2024)

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We drove 2,326 leads for this realty client at $35.09 per lead and guess what, they were our first client!

Today, we’re going to show you how you can use the social network Instagram and social media advertising to generate powerful results too.

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 and some best practices that use many different features on Instagram, some of which, we bet you haven’t thought to use yet.

Let’s get started!

9 Effective Real Estate Marketing Ideas Using Instagram

1. Creating A Strong Bio

The first idea to building a solid foundation on Instagram in real estate is by creating a strong Instagram 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 aside from having a professional photo and contact information, what makes a strong bio?

• Location

For starters, you should include the location in which your agency operates. For instance, if you’re based in New York then be sure to include that.

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 this social network 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, a landing page, 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 like this opens the door for potential clients to feel comfortable messaging you privately, and 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.

In this example, you can see there is a call-to-action button to book an appointment, to message her, or to email her.

Summary Your bio needs to create a strong first impression for you to gain a new lead’s attention and encourage them to check out more on your profile.

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.

People love to work with someone that is personable and easy to talk to when looking for their dream home.

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.

Have that personal touch but don’t go overboard as you want to keep your personal profile separate from your business profile.

Don’t share too much of your personal life as you would on your personal Instagram account.

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.

This is why it is a great way of showcasing your personality and getting to know you at a personal level.

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

A great example is that 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 past clients, and potential clients to view.

Building this connection virtually with your clients will help build trust amongst ideal clients.

And it 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’re posting content.

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 when you post photos…

…because you will want the tag location to match where the property actually is.

For example, Atlanta is used to describe a large portion of Georgia.

However, there are many different neighborhoods and towns that fall under the “Atlanta” title such asBrookview Heights or Harland Terrace.

Another creative way to indicate your location on Instagram to help with your lead generation 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.

Similar to searching for a location, when a user performs a search for a hashtag, they will be shown the top posts.

And the most recent posts that include the specific hashtag they searched for, as well.

This makes hashtags another great way to connect with the local market on Instagram.

When you share photos, you don’t want to choose hashtags that are too big like #USA.

As you can see here, #USA is way too large with 113 million posts.

When we simplify this to #Atlanta there are still 35.4 million posts.

By refining that to #atlantarealestate you can see that we’ve now narrowed it down to 520,000 posts.

If you choose hashtags that are:

• specific to your city and neighborhood name, or
• perhaps even local business hashtags near the property you are showcasing to your audience

…you’ll be able to narrow it down to a much more specific, targeted audience.

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.

Summary Tagging your location is known to increase your discoverability.

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.

As you can see, if you go to the explore section on Instagram, there is a button right beneath the search bar that says IGTV.

If you click on that, Instagram will show you the top live videos currently as well as any IGTV videos that are recommended for you.

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.

We go more in-depth on all the recent Instagram updates you need to know about IGTVs and Instagram Lives in another post which you can read next.

But in short, Instagram Lives is a video broadcast to all of your followers that happens in real-time.

So how can Instagram Lives and IGTV help you get new clients in real estate?

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!

You can walk around showing other homes in the neighborhood whilst walking by parks, playgrounds, schools, shops, and more!

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.

After all, Instagram is known for its visual engagement so you don’t always want to be posting plain old boring text testimonials.

Taking pictures with your clients will also get your realtor’s face in front of the camera,

This is never a bad thing when trying to build trust with potential clients online.

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?

Take a look at your current real estate marketing funnel.

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 2023 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 2023, 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.

Check out our post on the Facebook Business page for steps on how to do this.

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 advertisem*nts.

This is so you are not marketing a mansion you are selling to someone who cannot afford it or doesn’t live in that area.

• Audience size

You’ll also want to keep an eye on the audience size meter.

It is important that you don’t get too specific because then you may be limiting yourself to a small pool of individuals that are not ready to buy a house.

If you’re curious as to how effective real estate marketing on Instagram, and social media in general is, just ask Eko.

Eko is a real estate project offering opportunities for land, retail, residential, and office space.

Within the first 3 months of social media advertising, we were able to generate 108 qualified leads for their business!

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

Real Estate Marketing On Instagram: Conclusion

So that’s all on real estate marketing on Instagram!

Instagram can give you more results than you think, but that is, only if you know how to use it effectively, for your specific products or services.

If you don’t know where to start, let our team of experts help you. Check out our competitive Instagram marketing services here.

Or, you can also contact us at 404-596-7925.