This week, Kevin Systrom, the CEO of Instagram, announced that the photo sharing platform has officially surpassed 300 million users, making it even more popular than Twitter (which had 284 million users as of the third quarter of this year). My guess is that a portion of those 300 million users are your current and prospective residents. So, how can you better connect with these renters via Instagram? Check out these four tips.

Make it a Conversation
Social media is about dialogues, not monologues. If someone comments on one of your photos, respond to them. If someone follows you, follow them back and start a conversation by commenting on one of their photos.

Post Regularly
If you have an inactive Instagram account, it's like not having an Instagram account at all. Post fresh content regularly (try once or twice a week to start) to keep your followers interested.

Add Some Variety
Don’t just post images of your community. People will get bored and stop following your account.  Instead, mix things up! Post photos of your staff and their creatively decorated desks to show off your great company culture. Snap photos of your residents’ pets (with their permission, of course) so folks can see you value your four-legged residents. Upload pictures from your last resident event so prospective residents can see how fun it is to live in your community. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination!

Use Hashtags
Increase the reach of your posts by incorporating relevant hashtags. That way, if a user is searching for a specific hashtag, your images will appear in the search results. For example, if you upload a photo of your apartment community with the Chicago skyline in the background, include #Chicago in the caption. If you snap a photo a resident’s pet like I suggested above, tag it with the popular hashtag #dogsofinstagram. Or, consider creating your own branded hashtag, such as #RiverPlazaLiving. Let your residents know about the hashtag so they use it in their photos, too!

Are you on Instagram? What are you doing to better connect with renters? Please share in the comments below!