The Do’s and Don’ts of Instagram And Periscope too!

With Instagram you can share unique photos and videos featuring: listings your partners have record testimonials record interview videos share homeowner tips The incredible engagement numbers make it easy to maximize your entire Social Media strategy (connect and share with Facebook and Twitter) Here are the Do’s and Don'ts for effective Instagram marketing

DO: Post photos and videos that you actually recorded People who will follow you are actually interested in You They want your behind the scenes They want your expertise on a subject Test different things and track the engagement, do more of the best performing photos or videos: Photo of your morning coffee with caption “ready to getter done” Ten second video walking into the office or meeting with positive “I’m going to rock it out today” message

DON’T: Use and alter stock photos for your account Infographics are one thing, but people want reality If you are using stock photos it presents you as not real Your entire day is spent doing things Take photos of those things or record quick thoughts of those things and share them

DO: Create rough mini-scripts for short videos Know exactly what you want to say before you hit record (go over it in your mind a few times PRACTICE) Yes, spontaneity with your videos can help you come off more natural, but with a maximum 15 seconds available, it’s important to make your point quickly Save the off the cuff stuff for events you are attending

DO: Get past clients to participate in testimonial videos The power of word of mouth is huge It is not easy to get a full testimonial in 15 seconds But a photo of the happy buyer at closing, or at their new home A short thank you for helping me buy my dream video It is the unexpected word of mouth approval that can boost your brand

DON’T: Request or buy followers or likes for your account Buying followers or likes is the most in effective way you can spend your money These are people whom you will never procure a mortgage loan for In your videos and captions it is ok to say “If you like this information and find it helpful please follow me for consistent updates” But not “make sure to follow me and share the link so all your friends can follow me too”

DON’T: Edit listing photos to the point they become unrecognizable I know, I know, “but Paul, they have all those cool filters and effects Those photos generate less engagement than un-altered photos Goes back to people want real

DO: Automatically share posts to Facebook and Twitter too. In your account settings, you can set it up so that every time you post a photo or video to your Instagram account, it also appears on Facebook and Twitter Facebook also gives special treatment to posts from Instagram as it is first images and videos and second owned content

DO: Show off your personal side from time to time Remember Instagram is about your brand Your personality is every bit a part of that Share fun moments as well as business moments The key is to balance the two

DON’T: Solely post pics and videos of your life outside of your Mortgage Business You don’t want your posts to loose focus of “hey I can help with your mortgage” The personal posts are meant to humanize you, make you Real To much and people forget what you do

DO: Take advantage of popular, relevant hashtags Use the ritetag.com/best-hashtags-for/YOURQUERY The key to getting found on all the big social sites these days (except for LinkedIn) is to use hashtags Identify relevant hashtags for your local market Search several combinations featuring your city and common real estate terms — like “homes for sale,” “listings,” and “housing market”

DO: Respond to post comments and reply to followers’ posts This may not happen as often as you’d like (at least early on), but reply to comments made about your photos and videos If you notice someone liking a lot of your photos and videos, check out their page and find a post or two to like as well and perhaps even comment on Instagram is a great conversation-starter if used properly, so keep tabs on followers you can interact with It’s also wise to comment on local business Instagram accounts, you never know who may see you and check you out

DON’T: Comment on every post your followers publish You don’t want to come across as a stalker Commenting on a potential lead or partners every single post can make you look desperate Be choosy on the posts you engage with Listings are cool, but not the besties baby shower

DON’T: Publish images with text, like quotes Instagram users love the platform for its visual nature Use Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn to offer up links to blog posts, and infographics keep Instagram as your photo- and video-publishing tool I you want to be inspirational with a particular photo, use the photo description for the message not the photo itself

DO: Use Instagram Direct to share personalized posts with specific people This is the personal message system for Instagram You can do an individual or a group message More personal communication Relationship building with followers who engage with you a lot

DON’T: Give up on Instagram! It takes time to generate credibility Instagram is far from a time-sucking social platform — it takes mere seconds to open the app, take a photo or video, and post it The key is to be consistent If you are not consistent you will not get any benefit

DO: Analyze the performance of your Instagram efforts Knowing what type of posts generate the most impact is how you understand what types of things your audience wants Providing the things your audience wants makes consistency much easier Track your posts both on Instagram and on Facebook Track Likes Track comments Track shares

Here are a few examples of people using Instagram for their business (real estate agents)

Show cases area life style

Consistently branded professional photography makes for a strong Instagram presence

Uses a good variety of images to promote brokerage activities, properties and personalities

Listings and lifestyle (non professional pictures still lots of engagement and followers)

Be creative with your Instagram photos and videos Have fun We are in an age of electronics Share your life their to grow your brand!!