If you’re not already using Instagram as part of your social media marketing plan, you need to create an account, like, right this minute. Instagram is one of (if not the) most popular social media platforms in use by today’s consumers, and you can be sure your competition is using it to their advantage.
The great thing about Instagram is that it allows you to quickly gain followers to boost your business by simply posting eye-catching content. And thanks to user-friendly design programs with free and paid versions and easy-to-use, free photo editing apps, creating lovely graphics and enhanced images for your Insta feed is a lot less daunting than you might expect.
The great thing about Instagram is that it allows you to quickly gain followers to boost your business by simply posting eye-catching content.
But we can hear your question already: As a REALTOR®, what should I post on my Instagram account? Just houses? Won’t that get boring?
The answer is: Yes, it will. You need to keep things lively and fresh by posting new and different content regularly. And speaking of regular posting, social media marketing experts recommend posting at least once or twice a day on your regular feed and posting to your story between one and three times daily.
DON’T PANIC. This doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. The trick is to keep it simple. Choose three to five types of real estate-related posts you feel comfortable posting regularly. That’s no fewer than three, but no more than five—having too many options can cause you to freeze up!
Template Ideas (Shortcuts!)
Once you’ve chosen your topics, the next step is to create templates. You’ll want to have at least three templates for each type of post. This will save you time and make creating your content a snap.
Select some of the best highlight images of the home and add a banner on the top or bottom that says “Just Listed.” There you go! Share those with a complete description of the house.
LISTING PHOTOS are probably the easiest templates to create. Select some of the best highlight images of the home and add a banner on the top or bottom that says “Just Listed.” There you go! Share those with a complete description of the house.
CELEBRATING A CLOSING is another quick and cute post idea. Take a pic of your clients, and share it to Instagram (with their permission) along with a brief blurb. Some easy options would be summarizing the clients’ dreams for their new home or your observations on their personalities. Just remember always to be complimentary!
TESTIMONIALS, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES, MARKET REPORTS, REAL ESTATE FACTS, and anything else text-based can still be conveyed with an eye-catching graphic. Use quirky fonts and refer to the color wheel when designing to grab the viewer’s attention and add visual elements for greater depth, such as curlicues, shapes, or graphics.
When it comes to choosing the text, try to keep the inspirational quotes relevant to buying, selling, or owning a home, and always be sure to credit the source of the quote. You can also publish insight from real estate experts like economists or respected media outlets. Updates on your local and regional real estate markets are always a popular and helpful topic to post about as well.
Everyone loves posts about KIDS AND PETS. Yours, your clients’, your neighbors’, your clients’ neighbors’—it really doesn’t matter who they belong to, as long as they’re cute and have something that you can briefly share about them (and if you have their permission). People love the cute stuff. And it humanizes your brand.
Get over the hurdle of getting started. Then once you’ve been at it for a while, you can work on improving.
Keep it Comin’!
Got enough ideas? Good. Now it’s time to CREATE, POST, AND REPEAT. Create your first post today—yes, today! Don’t overthink it or waste your precious time trying to achieve perfection. Get over the hurdle of getting started. Then once you’ve been at it for a while, you can work on improving.
Creating a shortcut with templates means you should only have to spend a few minutes every day creating that day’s post. To save even more time, generate a bunch of content ahead of time and then schedule it for publication using Facebook’s Creator Studio (Facebook owns Instagram). Just be sure to note a date and time to create your next batch of content in your schedule.
Vary the templates and the content, and you’ll always have a fresh, engaging, regular Instagram feed to attract new followers, please the ones you already have, and help you work toward your business branding goals.
Download our 60 Social Media Posts you can use today to start you off on your social media journey!
