Whether it's promoting images you've published on your account or creating video ads up to a minute long, Instagram is becoming marketers' social media platform of choice due to the sheer simplicity of being able to put beautiful content in front of a targeted and engaged audience.
Instagram is visually focused and mobile first and offers 60 times the advertising rate of return than Facebook, and 120 percent more user interactions than Twitter, according to Chime Technologies, a platform development and CRM company.
For brokers who are just getting started advertising on Instagram, the first step is to decide what you want to get from the platform by determining your objectives. Matt Murphy, chief marketing officer of Chime Technologies, says ask yourself questions, such as, “Who is my target audience?” and, “How many people and at what conversion rate do I need for success?” You also need to understand how Instagram will integrate with the other social media platforms you are using to either advertise listings or brand your real estate company.
Next, develop a content strategy, Murphy says, with themes that showcase your brand, market, or real estate niche. You can also develop content strategies around your listings, real estate services, or market data. Decide on what types of content you’ll use, including images, videos, graphics, chats, or infographics. Then, create a content calendar, Murphy says, and schedule your posts or campaigns. You want to “keep it fresh without losing the value of content by over inundating your community,” he says.
Don’t forget to use hashtags! Choose smart hashtags for your posts that are relevant to your business or community will help clients or prospects find you. Consider the name of your city, neighborhood, housing development, or brand or words associated with the property you’re marketing. Don’t forget to share the love by hashtagging people and companies that hashtag you, Murphy says, which will help expand your community and strengthen your brand.
A smart marketer also leverages user-generated content. Murphy says this can be done in two ways: by publishing short client testimonials or client-submitted images or by simply allowing your community or followers to determine what you post. Track what garners the most engagement and do more of it. “Using user-generated content takes the guesswork out of marketing,” he says.
Source: Chime Technologies
