Luxury real estate is a competitive industry, which can sometimes make it difficult at times to tap into new, fresh sources of leads.
The good news is that luxury real estate professionals are no longer limited by who they know or who they bump into at their local high-end gyms, cafes, country clubs or networking events.
Now, it’s become commonplace to use social media as a lead generation source— especially Instagram, since the visually-focused platform practically lends itself to the amazing photography associated with high-end listings.
Still, using Instagram to generate real estate leads requires more than simply posting photos of your listings or sending out mass direct messages on the platform.
The key is knowing how best to use this popular app for your niche within luxury real estate, and how to create content people want to engage with, and how to turn engagement into leads.
Here are some tips on how you can use Instagram to generate real estate leads in the luxury market:
1. Create Content Your Dream Clients Want to See
The key to great Instagram marketing—and using Instagram to generate real estate leads— is making it about the people who will be viewing your images and video content.
Think of how you can include them in what you’re posting by asking questions, showing off places they might want to visit, and giving shout-outs to local businesses or events that may interest them as well.
Not only is this important for building credibility with your target clients, but it’s also important for getting Instagram to give your content “reach” (i.e., show it to lots of people) and to make sure Instagram is showing your content to the right people.
It’s also important to be consistent with how you share your content, so make sure that you are uploading new images or videos at regular intervals—otherwise, people (and the algorithm) will forget about your content.
2. Engage to Get Engagement
Great social media marketing is interactive, which means engaging with people who are already following you and even seeking out followers who might be interested in what you have to say.
Use hashtags to find people who are searching for topics related to luxury real estate, and always be sure that you’re tagging businesses or influencers that might be relevant to your posts.
To figure out what and who those hashtags, businesses and influencers are, look up some of the more successful luxury real estate professionals in your market and see if they have an Instagram account.
You’ll notice which hashtags they use, who they tag and you can even see who they follow and interact with. Take note and see what you can apply to your own content without compromising integrity.
If you don’t find any successful luxury real estate professionals in your area who have succeeded on Instagram, a quick Google search on “Top Luxury Real Estate Instagram accounts” could point you in the right direction.
3. Practice Cohesive Branding
It’s important that everything that comes from your personal brand—whether it’s on social media, direct mail or otherwise—looks like it comes from your personal brand.
If you create images or videos with text in them to use on Instagram, be sure to always use the same fonts, colors and logo. People should recognize your content when it comes up on their newsfeed without even having to look at the username!
This makes you look more professional and makes sure people see your brand over and over again so they get more familiar with it.
4. Mix In Rich Media
Using Instagram to generate real estate leads isn’t just about posting pretty pictures. In fact, the best-performing social media content right now is video content.
People love watching, sharing and engaging with short videos, so using Instagram’s story feature, IGTV and posting 60-second videos to your feed is one of the best ways to get people to stop and engage with your content.
Some simple ideas to start creating more video content are:
- Doing a live, weekly, or monthly market update on your IGTV where people can ask questions about trends and data
- Do quick video walk-throughs in new listings and explain what’s special about them
- Create Instagram Stories as you walk around town pointing out the highlights of your area or highlighting the best businesses in town and tagging them so they share your story
- Create Instagram Stories as you walk around town pointing out the highlights of your area or highlighting the best businesses in town and tagging them so they share your story
Again, look at what other successful luxury real estate professionals are doing in your area and see if you can do something similar, but better.
5. Mind Your Posting Frequency
It’s one thing to be consistent with your Instagram posts, and another to post too frequently. These days, people would rather see two or three quality posts from you each week than see two or three posts per day, so plan accordingly.
If you do like to post more frequently, feel free to use the Instagram Story feature instead of the newsfeed for frequent posts.
A good rule of thumb is to post once per day or two or three times per week on your newsfeed, and if you want to post anything extra beyond that, make it an Instagram Story.
Is Growing Your Luxury Real Estate Practice a Priority For You In 2022?
The Institute’s in-person Luxury Live events are back and—for the first time ever—we’ve introduced a Member Happy Hour to give you even more time to network with other luxury real estate professionals (or aspiring luxury real estate professionals).
The curriculum for these exciting two-day events is based on our proven Seven-Step Luxury Marketing Blueprint to help you break into luxury real estate or reach the next level in your luxury real estate career.
To learn more and see when Luxury Live is coming to your city, click here.
Diane Hartley is the president of the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, a premier independent authority in training and designation for real estate agents working in the upper-tier residential market. Hartley brings her passion for luxury marketing and more than 20 years of experience growing and leading businesses to her role as president of the Institute.
