Instagram has evolved into an excellent tool for real estate professionals, and, in particular, it can be a great platform to interact with millennials.
Instagram currently boasts over 300 million users; 53 percent of those are between the ages of 18 and 29, and 78 percent of its users are between the ages of 18 and 49. This is the place to connect with young homebuyers.
Although growing your network in the beginning can be challenging, it is well worth the effort. Here are a few tips and tricks to get you to that 100-follower mark.
1. Post early, and post often
When it comes to what time of day you should post, you’ll often see the best return when you post in the morning. Instagrammers use the platform heavily and often check their feeds first thing in the morning.
Make it a habit to have a photo ready when you get to the office to post on your feed. You’ll receive the highest engagement if you’re posting behind-the-scenes looks at your office as well as photos from when you’re on the road, possibly showing a home. Don’t be afraid of overdoing it — a photo a day isn’t too much.
2. Use your hashtags wisely
Think local when you think of hashtags. If you’re a real estate professional in South Florida, use hashtags featuring local cities and neighborhoods to get regional attention.
Although tagging #ForSale might get you more likes, those likes will likely be coming from around the world. Think local, and reach the right audience for your brand.
3. Always follow back
Well, not always. But if someone in your area — in your target demographic — follows you , definitely follow them. Instagrammers are notorious for unfollowing businesses and brands that do not follow them back, so give a little to get a little.
It might busy up your personal feed, but it’s the only way to ensure that your pictures get in front of your target demographic.
4. Use Layout
Layout is the new app created by and for Instagram. It allows you to add photos as a collage, and it’s perfect for showcasing properties.
Instead of posting four pictures of a home, post one picture with four photos included. You’ll see a much higher engagement rate with the latter. Best of all, the Layout app is free.
5. Think about advertising
After buying Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion, Facebook has made advertising on Instagram both easy and accessible in the past few months.
Now Facebook users can connect their Instagram accounts and advertise directly from Facebook’s ad platform — this allows you to show Instagram ads to a target audience at any budget you set. If you’re looking for quick growth, advertising is a great way to stimulate your following.
I hope this article will get you thinking about ways to grow your following.
Justin Kerby is the co-founder of CAVE Social.
