Have you ever binge watched episodes of Fixer Upper or had HGTV playing for hours in the background? If you want a highly engaged following on Instagram, you’re going to have to create content and show up in a way that hooks your followers and makes them excited to see your next post. A feed full of your Open House schedule mixed in with a few cheesy Real Estate posts isn’t going to do it but thinking like HGTV will!
Think about it – HGTV is a network based entirely on the Real Estate industry and they have a gigantic following of fans who can’t wait for the next episode of (fill in the blank)! People are glued to their TVs waiting for the reveal of the farmhouse renovation, figuring out which beach front property the buyers decide to purchase and whether the homeowners decide to love it or list it.
So as Real Estate Agents, we can use our social media platforms to share entertaining content just like HGTV does. We might not have a camera crew to document every step of our client’s amazing home renovation or 20 million dollar listings in the Hollywood Hills that we can share but here are 3 things you can start doing that will entertain your social media followers and have them coming back for more!
- Take it a step further “behind the scenes” – it’s great to share the behind the scenes, day in the life of our business but what if we also incorporated a more engaging way of sharing behind the scenes? When you’re out showing homes on a Saturday morning, snap some photos or clips of some of the main features of each of the homes. For example, maybe one has a great entertaining space, the second one is smaller but has a newly renovated Master bath and walk in closet and the third has a gorgeous backyard with an in-ground pool. Later when you have time, upload these photos or video clips to your stories, “House Hunters” style and poll your followers asking which feature they would want most in a new home. You could then create a post about this in your feed and share what the results of the poll were. As a bonus, you could talk about which of these features have the best resale value.
- Share before and afters – Most buyers will make changes to their new home after closing. Ask them if you can share a photo showing the before and after. Even if it’s smaller changes such as paint and decor, it’s fun to share the transformation of the space. You could also share before and after photos of a house that you staged or had staged. If you don’t have any photos like that, post about a staging hack that you used in your own home that would be helpful to sellers. It could be as simple as staging a bookshelf or adding new throw pillows to the couch.
- Tell stories – When sharing that your buyers closed on their home, share more than the typical “Congrats on your new home!” Tell your followers something about the clients journey to homeownership, what made them choose this house, what space in the house they’re most excited about or any plans they have to renovate. Get creative!
By showing up in a way that entertains your followers and gives them a peak into the behind the scenes of life as a Real Estate Agent, your followers will eventually become fans who can’t wait to see your next post. Try to pick one day each week where you show the reality of Real Estate on your Instagram account and invite your followers in to take action.
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