I’VE GOT A RIDDLE FOR YOU…
…What has 2 thumbs, thousands of followers, and a slight taco addiction: this gal.
But how might you ask? Well let me tell ya, it didn’t happen over night. It actually happened over two years of residing in Texas and happily living off of mexican food. Oh you meant the thousands of followers part.
Well…I performed a bit of a digital safari and looked at dozens of Instagram accounts. I targeted accounts that were owned by non-celebrities. You know, those people who just so happen to have thousands of strangers following them and NOT be a Kardashian. I wanted to understand what these profiles had in common. Basically that’s all a business-y way of saying, I was trolling Instagram late at night like “what does she have that I don’t have?” with a pout on my face and everything.
DIDYA KNOW…
The design of your real estate Instagram feed is the deciding factor in the user’s impulse to click the “follow” button. I mean, of course users follow people because they personally know them. But, ultimately, what separates people with a few hundred followers from those with thousands, is their awesome Instagram feed.
After all, if the feed looks inconsistent and shabby, would you follow it? Probably not…but how do you create the perfect real estate Instagram feed?
I thought you’d never ask! Let’s jump straight in to the 4 Steps to designing the perfect real estate Instagram feed.
4 STEPS TO TAKE YOUR FEED FROM INSTA SHAB TO FAB
1 | DETERMINE WHO YOU ARE TALKING TO
Social media is all about being social, which means not only should you be liking, commenting, and engaging your butt off…but you should also be speaking directly to someone with each and every one of your posts.
The first step in any successful marketing strategy is to determine exactly who you are talking to, so that you post things that person actually cares about.
The better your know your target audience the more effective your Instagram efforts will be. Planning your real estate Instagram feed is like planning the perfect date (i.e. your feed) for that perfect someone (i.e your ideal client). You must ask yourself:
- What defining characteristics do I know about my date?
- What are they interested in? What would they like to see and do?
- What inspires them, makes them laugh, brings them joy?
- How will I make sure they get to know me better?
- What kind of overall experience do I want them to have?
- What would they want to tell their friends and family all about?
As your creative juices get flowing and you start to jot down ideas and topics, you will quickly begin to better understand your target audience.
These topics will help you determine the types of post your audience would love to see, essentially creating postable content buckets. Ideally you will have 3-5 topic areas that make up your postable content buckets.
For example, if the target audience for your brand is a millennial first-time homebuyer, who lives in big cities, likes healthy eating and believes in self-love >> then you would post interior photos of stylish starter homes, artistic city photography, healthy foodie snapshots, and motivational quotes about self-love.
2 | CHOOSE A VISUAL THEME
It’s time to choose your attire for your date. How can you dress up your feed so that it makes the best first impression possible?
You want your target audience to decide within 8 seconds (because that’s as much of their attention you will initially get) that they like you, love you and want more of you. Ultimately, leading them to hit that “Follow” button.
One of the most important things to keep in mind when it comes to selecting a visual aesthetic is consistency. You want your target audience to be able to look at your most recent 9 tiles and know immediately what they can expect from following you.
Since you have already taken the time to understand what types of content your target audience will like, all you need to do now is dress it up in a visually appealing bow that screams “You know you want to follow me because you can tell I totally get you”.
To do that you must ask yourself Do I want my feed to be…
- feminine or masculine
- luxury or eclectic
- modern or classic
- bright or dark
- colorful or neutral
Selecting a style for your postable content buckets will determine what photos you will post.
3 | CREATE A PHOTO VAULT
Now that you have determined the topic areas and visual style that your ideal client will be most attracted to, you must now select the photos. Remember that your photos should be aligned with what you know about your target audience and with your visual theme.
Your photos will fall into three buckets:
PERSONAL IMAGES
Photos of yourself, your family, your pet, your home, etc. These are images that you take yourself and own. When pulling together personal photos in your photo vault, start by checking out what you already have sitting on your phone and/or computer. Then, schedule a photo shoot with a photographer or a lunch date with a friend with a great camera or latest smart phone to fill in the gaps.
BRAND IMAGES
Templates that either you or a graphic designer have created to match your visual brand identity. So think about those images of quotes, testimonials, and tips that match your business’s brand and visual aesthetic perfectly. Although I fancy creating social media brand templates on Photoshop, I highly recommend Canva for a super simple design tool that will have you looking official in no time!
CURATED IMAGES
Are you down with O.P.P.? Yea you know me ! I’m talking about Other People’s Photos. These are photos that you find on Instagram, Pinterest, or Houzz that fit perfectly into your postable content buckets. Whenever possible, make sure to credit the original photo owner in the actual caption (not through tagging or in the comments). Although re-gramming may be acceptable on social media platforms make sure to never use O.P.P. content on your website or print materials.
4 | PLAN YOUR FEED IN ADVANCE
Awesomeness doesn’t happen by chance – you must plan! Now that you have taken the time to determine your target audience, select your visual theme, and create a vault of photos, you must plan out your feed in advance. Like actually, plan the exact 9 photos that you will post and in what order.
Planning your Instagram feed can go a long way in helping you present the perfect real estate Instagram feed. I have personally tried a number of Instagram planning tools but my absolutely FAVE (and the one I personally use) is Planoly!
Planoly allows you to see what your feed will actually look like in your Instagram grid. All you do is upload your selected photos and drag-and-drop them in your desired order. You can also pre-write your caption and even pre-select your hashtags if you want to really go pro.
Behind-the-scenes look: Currently, I plan out my posts 9 tiles in advance but I am working to at least double that number!
DRUM ROLL
So are you picking up what I am putting down?
I can’t tell you enough how much taking the time to work through these steps has not only transformed my feed but has also saved my sanity. Planning your Instagram feed can go a long way in helping you design that perfect instagram feed that totally wows your ideal client!
So to recap, the 4 steps to designing your perfect real estateInstagram feed:
- Step 1: Determine who you are talking to
- Step 2: Choose a visual theme
- Step 3: Create a photo vault
- Step 4: Plan your feed in advance
>> HEY, I HAVE QUESTION FOR YOU!
What Instagram feeds do you absolutely love? Leave their IG handle in the comment section below.
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