Introducing a very special guest blogger today. Samantha Ward is a Kansas City real estate photographer based in Blue Springs, Missouri, on the southeast side of Kansas City. She works with real estate agents, designers and builders throughout the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area. For those in the Kansas City area check out Picture KC.

Everything you need to know to Market Real Estate on Instagram

Instagram has become one of the best social media platforms for market not only listings, but also for real estate brands. Followers can be gained quickly and relatively easy if realtors use specific proven strategies. Here is a basic introduction by best-selling author Jack Delosa to the etiquette behind building a brand that works:

Know your brand and target audience, and focus on that. So if you’re a real estate agent in Kansas City, it’s important to keep it local with hashtags like #kansascityrealestate #leawood #leessummit #sellkc or your local brokerage group, and steer away from generic tags like #ranchhome #hgtv or #1970s.

Fitsmallbusiness.com has put together an excellent list of some of the most effective hashtags for real estate, here are some of my personal favorites:

#”Your Target Neighborhood” – Some of the best in KC include #Roanoke #Brookside #Crossroads #Waldo #ShoalCreek #Midtown #Longview #Briarcliff
#Curb Appeal
#JustListed
#”Local+Style of Home You’re Listing” – #BlueSpringsMidcentury or #LeesSummitRanch
#Dreamhome
#MillionDollarListing
#OldHouseCharm
#Investment
#HomeSweetHome
#OpenHouse
#HouseHunting
#”Local School District” – #BlueValleySchoolDistrict or #BlueSpringsSouth
#”A Great Nearby Amenity” – #LakeLotawana #LoosePark or #CountryClubPlaza
#”Your Brokerage Name”
#JustSold

But hashtags are not all Instagram is about…

As full time Instagrammer Sabina Trojanova states, many people struggle to get going on Instagram, not only due to its growing popularity, but also because the new algorithms mean posts are no longer in chronological order, which means there is more than meets the eye when it comes to getting noticed:

Though Trojanova is a Travelgrammer, she offers several tips that are useful for a real estate account.

Post quality visuals!! Photography and video is the foundation of social media, so make post content that stands out
Use the Geotags, studies show geotags perform up to 79% better
Keep consistent. Not only with your content, but post at regular times and days, so followers know when and what to expect from you
Partner with others. Create mutually beneficial relationships with other Instagrammers who work in Kansas City real estate, whether it’s investments, design, or flipping. When they tag or send people your way, their followers see you, and vice versa.
Switch to a business account. Instagram Business offers analytics on how many views you get, when, from who, location and more
Build relationships. Leave meaningful comments on others posts and reply to the comments you get. It’s a social platform so it’s important to be social
Use Instagram Stories. Not only will you get more recognition from your current followers, as your profile will show up at the top of their screen, but rumor has it the new algorithm favors account using Stories
Use Instagram Live. One of the best tricks Sabina reveals is to save your Live video and post as a Story so you are almost guaranteed to be first on the feed. Instagram Live is a particularly useful tool for realtors when it comes to walkthroughs and showing homes, so use it to your advantage and get your account noticed!

Now all these thing to keep track of just to get noticed may seem a little overwhelming, but fortunately… there’s an app for that! Check out this list from CoSchedule on all the Apps available to make you social media posting easier.