Instagram is the much-discussed picture taking/editing and sharing app available for the iPhone and Android markets (Instagram was just bought by Facebook for a whopping $1 billion!). Postagram (also available on both markets) allows you to share your Instagram (as well as regular and Facebook) pictures via a real postcard, delivered by the U.S. Postal Service, with just a few clicks on your smartphone for $1.99 (on sale currently for 99 cents per postcard).
Working the expired or for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) market can be a challenge when trying to stand out from the sea of thirsty agents trying to gain the attention of the sellers. Postagram offers an elegant option to show that you are head and shoulders more creative, professional and savvy than the rest.
Armed with your list of owner names and addresses, head out and snap front views of the homes you have targeted. With the unlimited photo editing apps now available, “filter it up” to create a beautiful work of art from the pic, then load the Instagram image into Postagram. Before setting out, create your message, as you are limited to 180 characters, and save it in your notes app for easy access. … For chances of even higher impact, create a “why list with me” page on your website or blog and use a URL-shortening app to shorten the link, and include this in your message.
The entire theme behind your Postagram message is that you see their property as unique and will work harder and more resourcefully than the rest. Encourage them to go to the URL to learn more about what you have to offer. You are allowed 180 characters in your message space, so brevity and relevancy are key!
If you make it a point to go out and do a few homes a day, your listing inventory will begin to grow. I did the research in my area and found that if the sellers of an expired listing relisted in the first 10 days, they were most likely to list with their existing agents, but if they relisted after the first 10 days, all the way up to six months later, they listed with a new agent. The likelihood of them relisting at all dropped significantly after six months. So the sweet spot in timing would be to go after those most likely to relist with a new agent. Run the report and see when that is for your market.
You do not need to have an Instagram account, but filtering the pictures is part of what makes them stand out so much. Make them a mini work of art. The picture itself is perforated in the postcard, so they can still pop the picture out and keep it, likely stuck on the refrigerator, another reminder to them of that real estate agent who went the extra mile. …
Stand out from the rest! Be unique, awe them!
More on Instagram and iPhonography here.
