It doesn’t matter what you are marketing, if you want to reach your target audience, you have to be where they hang out. Real estate marketing for Realtors® is constantly evolving. While the majority of the population hangs out on social media, not all sites appeal to all demographics. And Instagram has created a loyal following with a mostly younger audience. In fact, more than three out of four Instagram users are between the ages of 18 and 49 years old, according to Pew Research. That’s why some real estate agents are beginning to use Instagram to reach millennial home buyers.
While Facebook and Twitter may still be the king and queen of social media, Instagram is the prince that is charming a growing audience with some interesting demographics that may be surprising to some. Since its founding, Instagram has become one of the world’s most popular photo sharing platforms with more than 300 million users worldwide. Although women are more likely to use Instagram, men are starting to catch up. More than one-fourth of all adult internet users are on Instagram. Nearly one third are college educated and more than half earn over $50K per year, based on the Pew Combined Omnibus Survey, September 2014.
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but the key to Instagram is being able to write a compelling caption that captures the viewer’s emotion. But Instagram is not just for static images. Users can post 3-15 second videos directly from their smart phone which is ample time for testimonials, or to highlight some of the best features of a property. The limited time forces real estate agents to give careful thought to the message they want to create. You can also send a message, photo or video to up to 15 other users using the Instagram Direct feature which is similar to Twitter’s direct messaging.
Optimize your post. When posting an image on Instagram you should also add the location which allows viewers to see exactly where the property is when they view your post. Also, don’t forget the #hashtags. Hashtags are the keywords that are used to index a post on Instagram. Think about adding up to five hashtags to make it easier for users to find your post on the social media platform. Keep in mind that if you only use broad hashtags like #realestate or #homes it goes into a bucket with all other posts using the same tag. So try to come up with some more narrow tags like #mytown or #myneighborhood that will better optimize your post.
photo credit: R. Nial Bradshaw via photopin (license)
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