As you may have read in our recent post about property marketing in uncertain times, staying connected is now more important than ever. With Instagram seeing a 40% increase in use, it’s the perfect platform to engage with your audience when in-person meetings just aren’t an option.
But while many estate agents know that they should be on Instagram, many are unsure of what to post, resulting in a profile with no direction, or one that over time gets slowly forgotten. So if you’ve decided to use your downtime to improve your social media presence, we’ve compiled a handy list of Instagram ideas for estate agents that will help get you started.
What To Post Now
As there will be little in the way of new listings at the moment, we’ll start with some posts that can be used at any time, even when business is slow.
Tips for buying and selling
As with all other social media platforms, your focus should be on providing value to your audience. Tips for buying and selling are a great way to give your expert insight to help answer any questions people might have about property.
You can create these posts by either repurposing snippets from your blog posts, or by simply thinking about some of the questions you get asked the most. As far as images go, you have a few options.
- Use an eye-catching photo from one of your listings.
- Create an accompanying graphic using a free website like Canva (make sure to use your brand colours and font)
- Use a free stock image from a website like Unsplash or Pexels
Or, if you’re not too camera-shy, you could even record your tips and tricks in a short video.
The local area
If people are following you on Instagram, they are likely looking for, or are interested in, property in your area. And we all know that location is a huge determining factor for people in choosing where they want to live. So why not share some special moments from the area that you serve? It could be the first sign of ducklings at the village pond, a beautiful view or the opening of a new business venture – anything that will give people a glimpse into life in your area.
Behind the scenes
Share a glimpse into the day-to-day of your role, even if at the moment it’s not quite business as usual. You could post a photo of your home office set up, or a photo of your pet ‘helping’ with your work. These kinds of posts will help show a bit of your personality, making you seem relatable as opposed to just another faceless brand.
When your back to business as usual, behind the scenes images might include unboxing your latest brochures, a colleague’s birthday celebrations in the office
What To Post When Your Office Reopens
The types of posts in the previous segment are all great to post at any time. Here, we’ll look at a couple of other Instagram ideas for estate agents that you can add into the mix once things are starting to pick up.
Sneak previews
When you get a new instruction, share a photo of a room or feature of the home, telling your audience when it will be launched online. This will help to build up anticipation for your new listings, and will also give people looking to move an incentive to follow your account. It’s also a great way to generate leads, as people will often message you directly to get more information, potentially giving you a few interested buyers before the house even goes online.
Property listings
The key to posting property listings on Instagram is to not make them too ‘salesy’. This might seem counter-intuitive, but despite the presence of ads on the platform, people don’t come to Instagram to be sold to. As it’s primarily a visual platform, people log on to be inspired, entertained, and to connect with other people.
When posting photos of a new listing, don’t caption it with its particulars. Instead, use a simple sentence or two pointing out something unique or special about the home. People will be far more likely to respond.
So, there you have it, our best Instagram ideas for estate agents. If you’d like to learn more about the best ways to use this platform, we’ve got a few resources that will guide you in the right direction:
- 7 ways you can use social media to bring in more enquiries
- Estate agents: 10 social media mistakes to avoid
- Getting started with Instagram stories for estate agents
Do you want to learn how to generate more leads from your listings?
