You’ve decided you’ve heard enough about this Instagram app and you’d like to give it a shot as a Marketing Strategy for your Business, but you have no idea where to get started. We can help!
The Lingo:
Profile- Each user has a profile which displays the photos that they post
Post- A photo put on Instagram by a user
Hashtag- Similar to Twitter, photos can be organized and searched according to hashtag
Double Tap- The action required to “Like” someone’s post, double tapping the Post marks the image or video as Liked by your profile
Tag- Can be used to mark other users in your photo, give someone credit in a caption, or to alert your friends in a comment thread
Explore- This section of Instagram will show you photos based on the things you most frequently like (double tap), if you’re liking photos of people in your client demographic this can be a great way to find more potential leads
Comment- It is important to interact with your fans, one way is by commenting on their photos, this leaves a small message from you under their photo
Direct Post- This is very similar to the Direct Message feature on Twitter, it sends a photo and a message privately to a specific user
Re-Gram: Reposting an Image or Video (usually done with a third party app) that has been posted by another user, when and if you Re-Gram be sure to always credit your source
Meme: A funny image, usually with text above or over it, many Real Estate Agents take advantage of Memes to show the more humorous sides of their personality with work-related, comical but appropriate memes

Understanding Instagram:
Instagram is a Social Media Platform that focuses primarily on Photo and Video. A strong Instagram presence can strengthen brand recognition, cultivate an online following, and establish yourself as the go-to for Real Estate Information. For a Real Estate Professional, Instagram can be an invaluable way to share:
- Listings
- Interesting Parts of a Property (a garden or large closet)
- Parks and Schools in your Active Area
- Photos of your Active Area (landmarks and fun)
- Photos and fun with your Agents (humanize your Agents by letting your fans get to know them)
- Videos of your Listings
- Advice and How to’s
While Instagram’s web-based platform has been severely improved since its inception (you can now like, comment, edit your profile, and more) you still cannot upload new photos and video to the platform.
In order to create an account as well as upload new photos and video, you will need to have the Mobile App.

Hashtags on Instagram:
Hashtags do more than just sit at the bottom of each photo you post, they’re used to sort posts in searches as well as enhance the “Explore” section of Instagram. It is essential not just to use hashtags on all of your pictures, but to make sure that your hashtags are relevant and effective.
Some of the popular Real Estate Hashtags on Instagram are:
#RealEstate #Realtor #LuxuryRealEstate #RealEstateLife
If your photo or video is also related to a more fringe aspect of Real Estate you can include that as well:
#InteriorDesign #SplitLevelRanch #OceanView #SeaSide #MountainHome #Remodel #HomeFlip #Home
Take advantage of popular hashtags to bring more people over to your profile, for instance: #MotivationMonday or #ThrowbackThursday
When using these popular hashtags be sure that you are putting your own personal flavor in each post rather than posting a photo or video that isn’t related to your industry.
A Real Estate Professional can use #MotivationMonday to make a statement that motivates Clients or Agents. Take a look at the below example:

Interacting on Instagram:
Interacting with potential followers is an extremely effective way to grow your fan base on Instagram. Search for posts with hashtags relevant to your demographic and like and comment on the posts. Commenting something as simple as “Nice shot!” or “Love your profile!” tends to warrant a follow from the fan, whereas simply liking a post will not have the same effect.
Stay in touch with users once they do follow you. Be sure to scroll down your newsfeed, liking, commenting, and interacting with your followers. If you’re more friendly and active, you are more likely to maintain your follow numbers.
If you see a follower has an experience you can relate to or a question you can answer, be sure to lend a hand! Even if that person is not in the market for a home right now, you will be the person they think of when they eventually do need a Real Estate Professional.

Popular Instagram Apps:
While Instagram does include a photo editor in the platform, sometimes the things you would like to accomplish are not available, or you would like to add a little something extra to your photo before posting. There are plenty of free and paid apps to accomplish things like creating collages, overlaying text or adding special effects to images. Here are a few examples:
Afterlight: A popular Photo Editing App including filters, frames and textures Click Here
Layout from Instagram: Created by Instagram, this app allows users to include multiple photos in a collage as well as apply special effects to any image Click Here
Quick: Easily overlay text on any image in your library Click Here
Facetune: Edit and Adjust lighting, red eye, or blemishes when posting a portrait of a Client, Agent, or yourself Click Here

Remember:
Don’t be too much of an online Salesperson, Instagram Users are looking for interesting content and interesting personalities, use this platform to showcase your creative self!
Posting Listings and Mini-Tours are great methods of including sales material in your profile, but they shouldn’t be the only things you post.
Share client memories (is an anniversary of a sale coming up? Tag your past client in a #ThrowbackThursday post about the sale), show off your Market knowledge with small videos explaining Real Estate Industry terms, Mortgage Rates and more.
Be sure that you stay active, interact with followers and potential followers by liking and commenting, and don’t forget to follow back!