Instagram for Real Estate Agents: Build Authority, Boost Visibility, Close More Deals

Can Instagram for Real Estate Agents Help You Stand Out?

Yes, Instagram is the ideal platform to build visibility, show personality, and create a brand that clients remember. It’s not just about posting listings—it’s about making a lasting impression through consistent, engaging content that reflects who you are as an agent.

Whether you’re a full-time or a part-time real estate agent, Instagram is one of the best ways to market yourself as a REALTOR. It helps to build your brand, showcase properties, and connect with clients. Its short-form video and image capabilities allow you to use visual storytelling, engagement, and strategic marketing.

As you grow your Instagram account, people will know, like, and trust you more. Then, when the opportunity arises, you are top of mind to help them buy or sell a property.

Instagram for real estate agents offers unique advantages that traditional marketing channels cannot match:

• It rivals many of the advantages of Direct Mail Marketing.
• Visual storytelling through Instagram Reels and Instagram Live.
• Direct client connection through engagement and Direct Messaging (DM).
• Establish yourself as an expert in your market area.
• Create a recognizable brand not just in your area, but your city and state

The most consistent, engaged real estate agents with optimized profiles land more listings, get faster sales, and increase referrals.

While there are many advantages, the setup can feel overwhelming. Here is a step-by-step guide that makes Instagram for real estate agents a breeze.

How To Set Up Your Instagram Account for Success

The first thing you need to do is create and optimize your account. You can either create a new profile for your real estate business or convert your profile to a Business one.
Before you take this step, have a few things ready. These include:

1. Professional headshot or profile photo.
2. Contact information (business email, phone, website).
3. Color scheme/visual aesthetic concept.
4. Brief professional bio draft.
5. Initial batch of high-quality property photos/videos.
6. A list of areas, neighborhoods, or markets you serve.

The best real estate agents have aesthetic profiles optimized for search.

Switch to a Business Profile

A business profile unlocks essential features for real estate agents. These include Instagram Insights (aka your Analytics) to track engagement and demographics, contact buttons, and Instagram ads so you can run targeted promotions.

How to Switch to a Business Profile

To switch your account to a Business profile, tap your profile picture at the bottom right to open your profile page. Next, hit the ‘Edit Profile’ button. If you have never changed your account before, you should see “Switch to Professional Account.”

Select “Business” as your category, then follow the instructions, choosing your business type (in your case, Real Estate), and contact information.

Note: If you already have a Creator Account, this process is a little different. On your profile page, hit “Professional Dashboard.” Then hit the gear icon at the top right, scrolling down until you see ‘Switch Account Type.’ You can also do this under ‘Preferences.’

Optimize Your Profile

Now it’s time to optimize your profile. It’s your digital business card, so it must look professional. More importantly, it must attract the ideal lead who may be searching for real estate agents in your area. Here are a few things you can do:

1. Choosing an Effective Username

Your name should be simple, professional, and easy to remember, but note it’s limited to 30 characters. Consider your name with a separator and a keyword like ‘Real Estate,’ ‘REALTOR,’ or ‘REALTOR [Your City]. You can even squeeze in a particular niche, like Luxury Real Estate.

Your username is prime real estate (pun intended) for keywords. You can use your Instagram handle for your name or other searchable features. Here are a few examples:

Think about what your ideal client will search for inside Instagram’s search bar. Let that guide your naming decision.

2. Using a Professional Profile Picture

Your profile picture is your first impression, so make it count. Use a high-quality headshot that clearly shows your face behind a branded background color of your choice. If you have other social media profiles or brand assets, use the same photo for consistency. While you can use a branded logo, an image of you builds much more trust.

3. Crafting a Compelling Bio

Your bio helps profile visitors understand who you are and what you do. Keep it simple and place a Call to Action (CTA); a statement that encourages next steps. You can use emojis as they help break up text and add personality. Use short, direct sentences as you’re working with 150 characters. Here’s an example:

• 📍 Selling & Buying Luxury Homes in Miami
• 🏡 Helping families find their dream homes
• 📩 DM for a free home valuation!

4. Adding Contact Information and Action Buttons

When you edit your profile, you will see ‘Contact options. Here you can add your contact number and email. Where applicable, add your office address in the location section of your profile. Under Contact options, you can add an ‘Action’ button, which shows on your home page. Consider adding “Book Now” for consultations if you use a scheduling tool, which may be accessible here.

How Can Agents Build Their Brand on Instagram?

Instagram for real estate agents is more than slapping up property for sale, hoping someone sends you a message. It’s about crafting an appealing brand, then providing opportunities to engage with you.

Let’s start by defining your brand or aesthetic. First, establish your Unique Selling Proposition (USP), which are the qualities that set you apart from others in the space. Figure out your niche and ideal client.

• Are you heading into Luxury Real Estate?
• Are you the REALTOR who helps with investment properties?
• Targeting first-time home buyers?
• Interested in a particular neighborhood or community?
• What are the values that drive your business (Community, Sustainability, Luxury)?

You can use these factors to guide your content decisions.

Developing a Cohesive Visual Theme

Whether you want to admit it or not, Instagram for real estate is all about the visuals. Having a well-curated visual theme will set you apart from the thousands of REALTORS with inconsistent content and visuals. Use consistent filters, colors, and layouts for a polished look. Create a few custom templates in a tool like Canva with your brand color palette. The same should go for your videos.

You should also consider the overall grid aesthetic when planning posts. When you post in a sequence with your brand colors, you can create a visually stunning profile that encourages followers to consume more of your content and build trust.

How To Plan Your Content Strategy

Now your Instagram profile is ready to go, so what will you post? First, build some content pillars. These are the main themes or categories that structure your content strategy, making it easier for you to be consistent with posting and your format. For real estate agents, effective content pillars might include:

• Property listings
• Client testimonials
• User-Generated Content
• Market updates
• Behind-the-scenes
• Home-buying tips

These can be a combination of Instagram Reels (short form videos), carousels (multiple images on one post), and Stories (temporary moments or thoughts shared in video, text, or photo form).

Aim to rotate through these pillars while maintaining a balance that serves your business goals. For instance, your strategy can look like:

• 1 x Property Listing IG Reel/week
• 1 x Home-Buying Tip IG Reel/day
• 1 x Market Update Carousel/week
• 1 x Customer Testimonial Image/week
• 1x Behind-the-scenes IG Story/day

There’s no right or wrong way to do this. At least not until you get feedback from your Instagram Insights, which we will touch on later. Choose the options within your time and budget, then be consistent.

Creating a Content Calendar

Content calendars are great ways to plan your content, give it priority, and be organized and consistent. It helps when you have to hire help for videos or drone footage, which is popular among viewers today, or wait for approvals before posting a property.

Schedule time in your content calendar for engagement, such as responding to comments, answering messages, or going Live. Leave flexibility for timely content, such as quick sales or significant market-disrupting changes. A lack of clarity on what to post (and why) is the biggest reason Instagram for real estate agents fails.

Popular tools for creating a content calendar include Notion, Trello, Monday, or scheduling tools like Later, Buffer, or Sprout Social.

Posting at Optimal Times

After posting for a few weeks, you can begin to dig into your analytics, which will provide valuable information. The biggest value nugget is identifying when your followers are most active and engaging.

According to NAR, the best times for social posting, particularly on Instagram, are 11 am on Wednesdays. Of course, each audience is different, and this can depend on many external factors. Test different times and days for the first month, then adjust accordingly. Consider your local market’s schedule, such as work hours and commute times.

What’s critical is consistency in posting. Unfortunately, only a percentage of your audience sees your initial post. If the algorithm deems it valuable based on initial engagement, it is then shared with others. Therefore, to increase the odds of this happening, aim for at least 5 posts per week, plus daily Instagram Stories.

Which Content Strategies Work for Real Estate Agents?

Here are 5 effective Instagram marketing strategies that work for real estate agents:

1. Highlighting Current Properties

Show the best of your existing listings in real estate and properties. Use high-quality photos and videos by investing in professional real estate photographers. Drone footage on larger properties is growing in popularity. Highlight unique features with detailed shots you can use during carousels. Use walkthrough videos for Instagram Reels.

High-quality video and images of properties can be repurposed in countless ways. For instance, create property tour Stories with multiple images/videos. Use interactive stickers (questions, polls) to engage viewers.

These can be placed under a “New Listings” or “Open Houses” Highlight that’s regularly updated. Highlights are great for organizing your best content, promoting specific services, and making your profile more user-friendly.

2. Reels For Neighborhood Content

Potential clients also want details around the property, especially first-time buyers. You can leverage Instagram Reels for engaging content in the property and its surrounding areas. Some marketing Instagram posts for real estate agents include:

• Quick property previews with trending audio
• Before/after renovation transformations
• Filming quick neighborhood tours or local amenity highlights
• Sharing “day in the life” content, showing your property showings
• Creating educational content about the buying/selling process

Instagram for real estate agents is a great place for showing other essential parts of the buying and selling process.

3. Showcasing Testimonials and Success Stories

Video and carousel testimonials are highly engaging. It can help with gathering leads or increasing conversions. Ask your past clients for text and video feedback and testimonials. Use this info to create graphic templates for text testimonials. Share screenshots of positive reviews (with permission), tagging your clients when appropriate. Include specific details about how you help them.

Celebrating SOLD properties is a great way to display success stories. Examples include photos on closing days and challenges that occurred. Finally, use Stories to highlight properties that sold over asking or in record time.

4. Sharing Educational Content

While showing listings fall under transactional content, educational content can build trust and grow your following. It also positions you as an expert in your niche. You can share monthly or quarterly market statistics for your area via carousel posts or Infographics. This content helps potential clients take action based on market changes over specific periods, interest rates, or emerging neighborhoods.

Home Buying/Selling Tips

The buying and selling process can be stressful, so your Instagram for real estate agents content can also help. Common examples include:

• Creating “what to expect” guides for first-time buyers
• Sharing home staging tips for sellers
• Explaining common real estate terms and processes
• Offering checklists for preparing a home for sale
• Guiding financing options

Use value-added content in video and image form to help save time and money during transactions.

5. Behind-the-Scenes and Personal Content

Personal content, such as behind-the-scenes posts, helps clients connect with you and humanizes your brand. Some real estate agents have built excellent brands that incorporate their daily lives with real estate content. It humanizes your brand. Share your daily routine, team introductions, or community involvement, letting your audience in on the challenges and rewards of the profession. Share some of your real estate client appreciation event highlights. Other examples include documenting your staging process or sharing milestones.

When creating personal content, be authentic, as it fosters trust and engagement. Do things like share your ‘why,’ while being transparent about market challenges and your personal values with real estate. Demonstrate genuine care for your clients and the effort that goes into serving them.

6. Utilizing User-Generated Content

Client-created content, also called user-generated content (UGC), provides powerful social proof. UGC is a popular form of content as it’s raw, unscripted, and genuine. Ask your clients to share their experiences working with you, or post photos and videos moving into their new home. Ask your clients to tag you in the post! You can also do quick videos or photos at closing to share with your audience. UGC content is great when you’re unsure of what to post for a given week.

What Are the Best Ways to Boost Instagram Engagement?

Now you have different examples of Instagram posts for real estate agents; mix and match them based on your current listings, client base, or your overall goals. Consistent posting of valuable content is only half the battle. It is a social media marketing platform after all, so engaging with your audience must be built into your strategy. If you’re slow to respond, or worse, unresponsive, you can lose credibility in an instant. Responsiveness and engagement are qualities that clients look for in real estate agents. It builds a perception of how you’ll work with them in the future.

Don’t hesitate to engage with the accounts of your ideal customers or businesses within your local area. Like and comment on their posts or share their content on your stories. Engagement will prompt others to take a look at your profile, follow you, and even turn into a lead!

Responding to Comments and Messages

It’s critical that you respond to comments and messages. Aim to respond to all comments within 24 hours and any Direct Messages (DMs) within a few hours within your business hours. You can place your working hours in your bio, which helps set expectations on your response time. As Instagram can be a time suck, commit a specific time every day to engagement and commenting.

Use Saved Replies

Did you know that Instagram has an auto-reply feature? Using Saved Replies, you can set up saved responses to frequently asked questions within your Direct Messages. These save time and ensure consistency of message. For instance, you can develop Saved Replies for property inquiries, info on upcoming open houses, or thank you messages.

To set up Saved Replies, click on the three-line ‘hamburger’ icon, then ‘Business Tools and Controls.’ In the Business Settings, hit ‘Saved Reply.’

When you add a new Reply, you can add a word as a shortcut that will autopopulate a longer message. Add both your trigger word and long message, which you can then use to engage with people.

Apps like ManyChat take this further, allowing you to create automated responses within the comments and messages once someone uses a particular word.

Use Instagram’s Interactive Features

Continue building your engagement using some of the additional features within the app. The more engagement, the more you can craft content that converts followers into leads. Instagram has polls, questions, and quizzes that you can use in your Stories. For example, you can:

• Create a poll to gauge interest in different property features.
• Create a quiz about local facts or market statistics.
• Use question stickers for Q&A sessions about buying/selling
• Create a poll or use the slider feature to gauge price points.

Interactive features aren’t a requirement, but can be an excellent tool in improving your reach.

Host Live Sessions and Q&As

Instagram’s Live feature allows you to engage with your followers, answer questions, and show real-time details. For instance, you can do a live tour of a home or neighborhood, interview local experts, or talk about market changes immediately.

How Can Real Estate Agents Leverage Instagram Ads?

While you can get some traction from consistent posting, it can take time. That’s where Instagram ads come into play. Instagram ads should be used with organic posting to gather new leads quickly. With your business account, you get the option to ‘Boost’ your content under each post. Click the ‘Boost’ button under any post to start the process.

Instagram can use the same settings and payment method if you’ve already set up a Meta Business account with your Facebook details, or you can do it separately

Types of Ads Suitable for Real Estate

You can boost multiple posts or create ads optimized for Instagram. It is common practice to have more than one ad (aka campaign) running simultaneously or different variations of the same ad. Common ad examples include:

• Photo ads for property listings
• Carousel ads for multiple property images
• Video ads for property tours
• Collection ads to showcase a portfolio of listings
• Story ads for time-sensitive announcements (open houses, price reductions)

The content on your ads should hook the viewer immediately. Call out your ideal buyer and use high-quality visuals of properties. After a few days, use your analytics to determine which one of your recent posts works best. Your ad will prompt the individual to take action, such as sending a direct message, clicking a link, or placing a call.

Targeting Your Audience

When creating your ad, it’s all about ensuring the right individuals see your content. This also applies to your general content, but with ads, you get to target your ideal audience, which maximizes your Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).

When setting up your ads, use precision targeting such as your location (neighborhood or zip code), demographics (age, income), and interests (real estate, home improvement, design). Use the best clients you’ve had as an example and develop a lookalike audience based on their best traits.

Send Your First Update

Budgeting and Measuring ROI

Remember, ads work with your consistent posting strategy. But you must have an effective budget and effectively measure your Return on Investment (ROI). If you’re new to real estate, start with small test campaigns at $5-$10/day, even if you have multiple listings. You can split your budget equally into 2-3 campaigns. With this small budget, you can see what works over 1-2 weeks, then funnel your budget into the best option.

Before you start, set clear conversion and measurement goals. It must make sense to run your ads! Some metrics you can set include:

• Cost Per Lead (CPL): Divide the total cost by the number of leads you got directly from ads.
• Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): Divide your revenue generated from ads by the total ad cost.
• Reach/Engagement: Track how many unique users interact with your ad.

REALTORS should also measure ROI, as it can help see the real value of their ads. ROI is (Revenue−Cost)/Cost ×100. For example, if you spend $2,000 on Instagram ads and close deals worth $8,000 in commission:

ROI=(8,000−2,000) / 2,000 ×100=300%

These clear conversion goals can help you determine which campaigns make sense and make data-centric adjustments.

Our free ROI Calculator does the work for you—just plug in your numbers and see your return instantly. Perfect for testing campaigns, setting goals, and making smarter decisions.

Free ROI Calculator

An Instagram for Real Estate Agents Hashtag Strategy

There’s a common belief that Instagram hashtags are dead. In many respects, this is true. Instagram’s algorithm prioritizes engagement, content quality, and relevance. Its search features also mean that content can be found without hashtags. At the same time, hashtags still have their place and can be very effective.

Researching Relevant Hashtags

It’s all about using specific hashtags for your ideal client to discover your content and brand. Research location-specific real estate hashtags, including popular and niche options. Then make sure you have at least 2-5 relevant hashtags in the captions of your content. Using multiple random hashtags can be counterproductive.

Creating a Branded Hashtag

Consider creating a branded hashtag that builds community and organizes content. A short, memorable word or phrase that includes your name can work. Use it across all your content and encourage your clients to use it with their testimonials.

Leveraging Geotags for Local Reach

When posting on Instagram for real estate agents, you have the option of tagging your nearby location with geotags. Geotags are location tags that use your phone’s GPS to display your exact location, like a city, neighborhood, or landmark. It’s a clickable location, such as a building, a city, or a region.

With Instagram for real estate agents, creating location-specific content matters. Using geotags increases the likelihood of people in your area finding your content. Note that these must be existing locations or geotags you’ve created yourself.

Start by tagging local landmarks near your listings. Use tags when creating neighborhood tours. Create a custom tag for upcoming developments in your posts or Stories. Engaging with similar geotags in your area helps you become known in your community.

Measuring Success and Optimizing Performance

These Instagram tips for real estate agents won’t work if you’re not measuring how well your content performs, especially within the first month you decide to go all-in on Instagram. Your Business profile comes with a dashboard that provides you with valuable data. Reviewing the data ensures you do more of what works to save time and maximize your ROI.

Using Instagram Insights

To view your Instagram Insights, click the Professional Dashboard on your profile. You can also access ‘Insights’ under Settings and Activity by pressing the hamburger icon at the top right of your profile.

It will show you basic insights from the last week, such as views, interactions, followers, and content you’ve recently posted. Clicking on any of these allows you to expand the data, adjust the dates, and get more demographic details from your content.

Key Metrics to Monitor

It’s not just about views; Instagram for real estate agents must be seen as a business tool. Look for data that can give you an idea of what works and what doesn’t, such as:

• Account reach and impressions
• Profile visits and website/landing page clicks
• Follower growth and demographics
• Story completion rate
• Saved posts (indicating high-value content)

Engagement also shows that your content is valuable or good enough to trigger a response. Comments, shares, and saves are vital markers that you are hooking your audience. Watch the time spent on your video content or DMs from specific content.

A great way to increase these stats is to instruct the viewer at the end of your posts to like, share, follow, or save the content. When you find your highest-performing pieces of content, look for trends like date posted, time, and seasonal trends. Keep this in mind when creating future content.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

When used correctly, Instagram for real estate agents is a powerful lead generation machine. Yet, it’s easy to make mistakes or miss details that end up being a poor return on investment. Here are 7 mistakes to avoid:

1. Posting Irregularly: Instagram can be an amazing lead generation tool, but you must take it seriously. That means posting consistently and on time. Inconsistency diminishes algorithm performance and audience connection. Commit to a sustainable posting schedule even during busy periods.
2. Neglecting Engagement: For Instagram to be effective, it cannot be a one-way street. Allocate time daily to respond to comments, answer messages, and engage with followers’ content.
3. Over-Promoting Without Providing Value: All your content cannot be selling your listings or asking for referrals. Provide value-based content first in the form of tips and walkthroughs before asking for sales.
4. Inconsistent Branding: Your brand leaves an impression and ensures you’re remembered. Posting content that is not aligned confuses followers and weakens brand reputation. Maintain consistent colors, fonts, photography, and logo styles across all content.
5. Using Hashtags Incorrectly: The right hashtags can be effective. The wrong hashtags – or excessive hashtags – can attract the wrong followers. Research and refine your hashtag strategy regularly.
6. Forgetting to Geotag: You’re missing key viewers and engagement, skipping geotagging. Local discovery helps potential clients discover you or your services. Always include location tags on posts to improve local visibility.
7. Not Cross-Posting on Other Platforms: Your content can be effective on other platforms, so don’t miss the opportunity to share it on Twitter, YouTube Shorts, Threads, and

   It can take time for you to see Instagram as a consistent lead generation strategy. If you avoid these mistakes, however, you’ll get results in short order.

   Best Instagram for Real Estate Agents to Follow

   Rather than reinvent the wheel, find Instagram tips for real estate agents from pros who excel in producing amazing content. They use Instagram as a lead generation machine. Here are some accounts to follow and emulate.

   1. Dusty Baker Group (@dustybakergroup)
   2. Angie Cole (@acolerealty)
   3. Mahsheed Parsons (@mahsheedluxuryrealestate)
   4. Jade Mills Estates (@jademillsestates)
   5. Erica Lockhart (@ericalockhart_la)
   6. Ian Grossman (@realestate_atx)
   7. Gila Goodman (@agentgila)
   8. Matt Lionetti (@matt.lionetti)
   9. Georgia Tusch (@tusch.real.estate)
   10. Nava Realty Group (@navarealtygroup)

   These accounts combine reels, static posts, carousels, and stories in innovative ways to show off their listings, build their personal brands, show market trends, and share practical tips.

   Final Thoughts on Instagram for Real Estate Agents

   Instagram for real estate agents has transformed from photo-sharing into an essential business tool for agents looking to build their brand and generate quality leads. Implement the strategies outlined in this guide. Start with optimizing your profile and creating valuable content. Then, engage authentically with your audience and use the insights to adjust accordingly. Moreover, use ads to boost high-performing content.

   Success won’t happen overnight. But with consistent effort, data-driven adjustments, and a clear understanding of your unique value proposition, Instagram can become your most powerful marketing channel. The most successful real estate professionals on Instagram understand that it’s not just about showcasing properties, but about building relationships and providing value that extends beyond the transaction.

   Start implementing these strategies today. Watch as your digital presence transforms into a consistent source of connections, referrals, and closed deals.