Get ‘Gramming! Instagram Posting Tips for Real Estate Pros

There are specific tricks and tips you need to know to make your ‘gram effective.

In our last piece, we talked about why you should be using Instagram and how to get started. Now that you’re all set up, it’s time to start posting! Just like Facebook, you need to post to Instagram consistently and within the platform’s best practices. 

We of course recommend using a content calendar for any and all social media accounts to keep you on track. But beyond our standard, general suggestions, there are specific tricks and tips you should know to make your ‘gram effective. In today’s article, we’re covering the different types of content you can use on Instagram and specific platform dos and don’ts.

Post Types You Should Know About

Though Instagram’s founding focus was image-sharing, the platform has grown into a much more rich visual network with numerous posting options. The key there is visual. While the number of content options has grown, IG remains a platform focused on beautiful photos, eye-catching graphics, and stunning videos. Today, IG’s main post types include the following:

• Single-image posts: AKA the original. You post a single, square photo, image, or graphic with a caption. These can then be found in the main grid on your profile and are shared in your followers main feed.

• Carousel posts: Like single image posts, except they include multiple images (up to 10). Followers can then scroll from left to right to view one photo at a time.

• Video posts: Also like traditional image posts, except with video content. Video posts also live in your profile grid and are shared in the traditional feed. They must be less than a minute in length.

• Video carousels: AKA a way around that one-minute limit. Have three minutes of video content? Break that into three shorter videos, then share a single post with three videos in a carousel to create that longer narrative. Followers can scroll from one video to the next just like with carousel photos.

• Boomerangs: Boomerangs are short, looping videos (similar to gifs) made in Instagram’s sister app. Boomerangs work by taking a burst of photos, then using them to create a video that continuously loops in the main feed. Boomerangs live in your profile grid like any other traditional post.

Traditional posts all show up here, in your profile grid.

• Stories: Remember when we talked about Snapchat? Stories is Instagram’s in-app version of Snap’s platform. Stories posts are not found within your profile grid or in the main feed. Instead, they live in the Stories strip at the top of user’s feed or can be accessed from your profile by clicking your profile picture. Stories work by sharing vertical-format photos and videos that are viewable for 24-hours, then disappear. You can also save parts of your Stories if you want them to be accessible after the 24-hour mark. These saves Stories (called Highlights) live on your profile, above your post grid. We’ll be digging into Stories more in our next article.

• Paid Posts: We won’t be covering Instagram’s paid options yet. But we did want to mention them because the paid side of IG offers a lot of functionality you don’t get with standard, organic posts.

Things to Know Before You Get ‘Gramming

With Instagram’s different posting options, your creativity can shine through amazing images, videos, and other visuals. Though the sky's the limit, we’d advise following a few key dos and don’ts to grow your profile the right way.

Don’t include links in your posts.

This is a big one. Instagram does not support linked content in posts. Surprised? Don’t be. Instagram’s original goal was to be different from existing platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Rather than offering a feed of written content to users, IG was set up to be a place of beautiful imagery...and not much else. 

“But wait, I’ve clicked on links on Instagram before?” You have, in fact, clicked on ads. Instagram’s paid platform supports linking from feed posts. But for organic efforts, links are a no go. 

Do use the link in your bio.

Before you dismiss Instagram’s link-free lifestyle, think back to when we mentioned the importance of links in your bio. Your profile bio is the one place you can add a link. At minimum, this should be a link to your website. But the best use of this feature is to update the link regularly. 

Have a listing you’re highlighting? Link to it in your bio, then post images or videos of it directing followers to head to your profile for more information. Updating your bio link and directing followers to it is also a great way to grow traffic to your page, which can build your following.

Don’t post low-quality images or videos.

Refer back to what we said earlier: Instagram is a visual platform. That means that your visual content is the main focus. Sharing images that are too small and pixelated, photos that are cut off or not resized properly, or graphics with text that’s hard to read are all sure ways to lose followers.

Do make use of stock and graphic design tools.

Before you panic and abandon IG, remember when we talked about stock images and tools like Snappa and Canva? This is where they come in handy! You can use design tools allow you to create unique graphics using your own pictures or stock photos.

A word of warning: stock should not be your be-all-end-all. Stock photos are a great tool to fill in the gaps in your own content and can be extremely useful as a part of a graphic with other elements. But posting dozens of unaltered stock photos without any original content is not what IG is about.

Don’t share content from other platforms.

If you’re already posting to Facebook and have the connection between your Facebook and Instagram business pages set up, it’s easy to think “cool, so I can share the same content to both and save time.” 

But that’s a pretty terrible strategy! Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn all have their own unique cultures, best practices, and rules. For example, odds are your Facebook posts include links. If you share that content without any changes, the link in the Instagram post is going to be web address in plain text with no way for users to go to it. That’s a pretty poor experience for your followers.

Do resize your graphics and alter your captions to fit the platform.

All social networks have their own recommended sizes. Instagram posts should ideally be 1080 x 1080 pixels. Before sharing an image or graphic from another network, be sure to resize it to fit your Insta feed without getting cut off. You can find a full list of social media image sizes here.

Similarly, the text conventions on different platforms mean you should always tweak your captions to fit the network. Instagram doesn’t support links, but does benefit from more hashtags than Facebook or Twitter. Speaking of which...

Don’t forget about hashtags

We’ve covered the importance of knowing how to hashtag before. For Instagram, it’s worth repeating. IG is the ideal platform to flex your hashtag skills! Avoiding them is a sure way to keep your content in front of the same limited audience. If you’re not using hashtags consistently and strategically, your content is much harder for users to find.

Do come up with a hashtag strategy.

Do a little research and come up with a tagging plan. You can check out our full rundown on IG hashtags here. But as a quick reminder of what to include in your tagging strategy:

• The ideal number of tags is 9-12 per post, and longer hashtags perform best, with 21-24 characters being the ideal length.

• Decide on 4-5 content hashtags to use on every post, with a mix of large-reach, popular tags (ones with 100k+ posts) and smaller, local, specific tags (ones with 9k or less posts). 

• Choose 1-2 branded tags which will also be included on all posts. 

• Pick 3-4 tags specific to the individual post. These can be content or trending depending on the nature of the post.

• Don’t forget to break your hashtags up from the rest of the post text in using either the Paragraph Break-up (inserting a paragraph break between your post body and hashtags using periods and returns) or the First Comment (posting all of the hashtags in the first comment immediately after sharing, rather than in the post body).

Bottom Line

Instagram’s filtered and curated vibe can easily intimidate new businesses getting started on the platform. But with these tips and tricks you’ll be ‘gramming like a pro in no time. Now that you’ve mastered the basics of posting, stay tuned for our next piece on growing your account and getting the most out of those business profile analytics!