By Peter Ricci
By now, a number of outlets – ours included! – have written about the benefits of Instagram for real estate agents, and it’s certainly true that as a photography app, Instagram offers agents a quick, easy and flexible opportunity for photographing properties and freely sharing them with one of the fastest-growing social networks out there.
But of course, there is a lot more to real estate than photography, and Instagram can be equally useful in a number of other areas in your real estate practice.
1. Around the Office – Real estate offices are fun, dynamic environments, and Instagram is a great way to document the many things that occur in your respective offices. The buying and selling process can be intimidating for some prospective homebuyers, and an Instagram feed that looks at your office in a tongue-in-cheek manner – we’re thinking funny photos of stacks of documents, the copy machine, etc. – could make clients see the other side of your business.
2. Where Are You? – Instagram is an app, so naturally, you should take advantage of any opportunity to use it on the go – and real estate agents are always on the go! So, think about snapping photos of the many interesting thinks you see while driving around, from cool buildings, to funny billboards, to lovely landscapes, to funny observations. Anything that adds a distinct personality to your brand will benefit you as an agent.
3. Employee Page – This is related to our first tip; many offices and real estate teams are composed of numerous members, but for some clients, a mere picture and bio page does not really communicate what that person does for the team; so, consider introducing your team members using Instagram photos. As Vanessa Au explained on Social Media Examiner, this approach humanizes your brand, and you could even customize your approach and turn it into a campaign, where you spotlight a different team member each week.
As you can see, Instagram can be adapted for a myriad of purposes in the business environment, making them more fun and spontaneous in the process; however, the aforementioned uses are just three that we thought of. What ideas do you have?