Why brokers should be using Instagram

Added 10/12/20 - 2 min read

Imagine a platform with the potential to reach one billion users a month. One that was visually attractive, measured performance, always in reach of the user and even had ad capability built right in. That platform would be Instagram.

With one of the highest average monthly user rates, Instagram is an incredible tool to have within your marketing arsenal. It reaches an audience directly and offers the ability to connect with them in a genuine manner.

Why should I use it?

Instagram isn’t just a place to collect your prettiest posts, it’s a significant platform for brand awareness. While you may struggle with generating new leads directly from the app, there are still good reasons to have a presence there.

Expand your reach - Creating a presence on this social media platform can help you expand the number of people you are able to influence. Many people who don’t use other platforms like Facebook and Twitter are regular users of Instagram.
A large portion of these are also in the age bracket that aligns to first time buyers, giving you the opportunity to reach this demographic more easily.
Stay in sight - Since even happy clients may not need your services for 3-5 years after a home purchase, it can be easy for them to lose sight of your business. However, social media, especially one that can be passively enjoyed like Instagram, is a great way to connect and stay front of mind when those clients start looking to buy again.
Define your brand - This is also a wonderful way to showcase the things that really make your brand stand out. Share your team culture, your extensive knowledge, and your unique approach through Instagram. Millennials are especially likely to check a business out on Instagram and other social media before engaging, so you can use this platform to easily put your best foot forward.

How do I use it well?

Instagram is a highly visual platform. This means that the content that you share on there should look nice and be visually appealing. Users on the platform are looking to interact with images that they like the look of, not interact with brands.

However, studies have shown that instagram users are happy to like and comment on branded or promotional content that looks like a native post. So as long as you ensure that your posts are well-presented visually, they should perform as well as other, non-branded posts.

In addition to looking nice, some things to consider are:

Engagement - Engagement is what drives success on this platform and it’s also one of the great things about it - connecting with people directly. You can drive engagement by interacting with other posts on the hashtags you use, liking and responding to comments, and ending your captions in questions.
Frequency - With social media, people love to talk about algorithms and optimal posting schedules and it all gets very overwhelming very quickly. So here’s the simple way to put it: Instagram rewards quality and consistency. If you can post good content daily, that’s great! But if it takes you a week to put together something good, that’s ok too! You just need to find the frequency you can comfortably keep up with and stick to it.
Contact - The absolute key to success here is to make it easy to contact you. There will be options available for adding a phone number or contact email and doing both is a great idea. You can also link to your website in your profile bio. It’s always best to remove friction around getting in touch.

Learn more: Podcast #45 - Running a successful and engaging social media channel

Now that you know more about not only why Instagram is a great tool for marketing, but also how to succeed with it, get out there and ‘do it for the ‘gram’!