4 Tips to Attract Ideal Real estate Clients on Instagram

What if you went to a networking event and just talked AT people the whole time? You didn’t ask anyone any questions and if they said anything, you wouldn’t respond back and ignored them; how do you think that would go? Do you think you would get potential clients or potential contacts that way? It’s the same way when you have a friend that you are constantly reaching out to and they never respond. Or if they do respond, they say they are too busy to hang out. Eventually you stop texting and calling them. They eventually come back to you and ask why you never call them anymore. It’s because the relationship feels one sided. That’s not a good relationship or a good friend and that’s also not a good way to build your business.

It’s the same way on social media. It’s call SOCIAL media, not talk AT people media! One of the best ways to gain more loyal clients (because followers are great, but of course clients>followers) is to engage with your ideal audience. It’s about that give and take.

According to the 2019 Census Bureau data, 9.8% of people moved in the last year. While that is the lowest move rate since they started tracking it, it still means about 10% of your SOI (Sphere of Influence) are likely moving in the next year and almost everyone knows someone who is moving. Growing your SOI will increase the percentage of people moving in the next year and Instagram is a great way to do that.

If Content is King, then engaging with your ideal clients and audience is the Kingdom. Without the Kingdom, Content would be the King of himself. One of the strategies to engage with people to extend your reach is by  Gary Vee called the $1.80 rule. He talks about commenting on popular hashtags in your niche and industry. How it works is you comment on 9 posts in 10 top hashtags in your industry or niche and leave your 2 cents… 9 X10 X 2 = $1.80.

While this strategy can work in the Real Estate space, here’s my take on how to implement a similar strategy with real estate. 

1. Commenting on your clients’ posts.

Commenting on current and past clients’ posts will keep you top of mind. You may think that they have been a client in the past, so why would you need to keep top of mind with them? Think again.

The National Association of REALTORS®’s 2020 report found that of those who used an agent to buy their home in the last year, 12% used an agent previously to buy or sell a home, yet only 33% of all homebuyers were a first time buyer. That means 67% of people were returning buyers so only about 18% used the agent they used before. Yet that same study found that 90% of buyers said they would use their agent again or recommend their agent to others. Why do you think there is such a huge disconnect? Because you aren’t top of mind! By the time they have a referral for you or go to buy or sell a home, they’ve already met their kid’s soccer teammate’s mom who is an agent. They forget about you and they move on. THIS is why you need to engage with them. Be a friend to them, and they wouldn’t think of using someone else or referring their friends to anyone else but you.

That same study found 41% of those who bought a home last year and used an agent were referred by (or is) a friend, neighbor or relative. So your past clients are much more likely to refer you to their friends if they keep seeing all that you are doing and you keep top of mind for them.

If you aren’t following your clients on social media, this is a great time to find them and add them. Or it can give you an excuse to call them or email them. Tell them you are updating your contact information and wanted to ask them for their social media handles as well as where they hang out the most. This will let you know if you need to be more active on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

2. Comment on your clients’ friends’ posts

In addition to keeping top of mind with your clients, you want be able to expand your client list as well. We hang out with people similar to us. Your client enjoyed working with you, so their friend should enjoy working with you too. They are likely in a similar life stage which will help you know what is most important to them. 

The same NAR study also showed that 75% of buyers only contacted one agent before selecting who to work with. That’s why if you are the first person they think about when they are ready to buy a home, chances are you’ll get that sale.  If you are interacting with their posts like we are talking about here, they are likely to follow you back. Then they will see your content and you’ll be the first person they think about when they go to buy or sell a home. 

Commenting on their posts will also tell Instagram you are closer friends. Therefore, they will show your posts more often to your clients. You won’t get as lost in the Instagram algorithm.

To do this, go to your clients’ posts and see who else commented on the pictures. Go to their latest posts and leave them your 2 cents. Tell them how cute their kid is or how nice that sunset looked. A little kindness goes a long way!

3. Use the location Tag to comment on potential clients

Another way to find potential clients and followers is to use the location setting to comment on people’s photos that are in your area. Real estate is all location based, so this is a great way to connect with potential clients. Here’s how to do that.

Below is a picture I tagged “Downtown Raleigh”.

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Click the magnifying glass at the bottom of the screen. Then to the “Places” tab in the search feature and type in an area that you have sold houses in or a good location for finding people similar to your location.

Then click on the top photos and comment on them leaving your “2 cents” on the photos.

You can even get really specific if you work with people in a specific area. Like the example below of Brier Creek versus just looking at all of Raleigh, NC.

You could even look at local restaurants, stores, etc and do the same for these. This is a great way to expand your reach on Instagram and get people who are either in your area or hang out in your area. 

4. Comment on people’s pictures using location specific hashtags

Other industries can have an easier time using the Gary Vee method of leaving a $1.80. For example, if you have a business that sells clean beauty products online, you could comment on a hashtag like  #cleanbeauty as they aren’t confined to selling to a certain area. Their clientele could be anyone with a credit card and a shipping address. For real estate, that’s not the case.

Hashtags that can work with people in your area is location specific hashtags. For example,  #raleighnc #briercreek #carync . Also think outside the box with hashtags like #raleighmom #raleighgirl #durhamentrepreneurs  etc. While these aren’t as common, they are used! Find ones that are similar to your ideal client and go comment comment comment.

Find this the same way you found the location. Click the magnifying glass to Search, then going to the “Tags” tab and type in what you are looking for.

Once you click into a hashtag, Instagram with suggest other similar hashtags that are commonly used.  This can help you if you aren’t sure what to search for. See the suggestions below before the pictures. 

BONUS!!!

Now that you’ve commented on a few dozen people’s posts every day and your following and engagement for your ideal client is up, we can now advertise to them. Yes, we can take your organic traffic and people who have engaged with your content and specifically advertise to them with an open house ad or a new listing through Facebook’s Ads Manager. Since they have already been engaging with you, you aren’t just adverting to a cold audience that doesn’t know who you are. This is a warm audience that likes you and has engaged with you. They are now much more likely to convert with a good CTA (call to action) that you have in your ad.

 Why would you want to advertise to someone who is already engaging with you for free/organically? People need to see messages over and over again before they act. Hitting them from multiple angles is good and makes them more likely to convert into a lead. Another reason is sometimes they aren’t seeing you organically. 5.5% of posts gets seen on average by your audience on Facebook (Source: Hootsuite) and about 34% are reached Instagram (Source: Iconosquare).

Targeting people who have engaged with your content is called creating a “Custom Audience”.

Once we’ve set up the Custom Audience, you can also advertise to people who have similar behaviors to this audience. It’s called a  “Special Ad Audience” (formally Lookalike audiences which you can’t do with Facebook now if you are in the Housing space).

From Facebook’s website – “A Special Ad Audience uses existing information you have about the people you want to reach to create a new audience with similar online behavior. It’s like Lookalike audiences, but adjusted to comply with the audience selection restrictions associated with your campaign’s chosen Special Ad Category and our ad policies.”

Not only are you advertising to your warm audience that knows you, you are also adversing to a cold audience that is likely to be interested in your content too since they are similar to the people who are already engaging in your posts. 

All the strategies and tactics work together, that’s why it’s important to have a marketing strategy in place. If you want to learn more about how to advertise like this let’s chat! You can book a free call with me below. 

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