Insta-Marketing. As in, marketing you can implement instantly. Who doesn’t love (and need more of) that?

Instagram has quickly become one of the most popular social networks of today’s highly digital era and it’s actually a fairly easy platform to learn, even for today’s most social media challenged individuals (no shame here - everyone has to learn sometime, right?).

So when it comes to multifamily marketing, what can you actually do to improve your marketing on Instagram and why should you be doing it? Well, a group of savvy marketers recently learned exactly this at the Multifamily Social Media Summit 2017. We heard from Sue B. Zimmerman (also known as THE Instagram Expert). You can find and follow her on Instagram by searching for her handle, which is: suebzimmerman

Here’s what she taught us...

The Why:

• Instagram has more than 600 million active users

• Instagram has “less noise” than other social platforms (more simplistic approach with photos)

• You can use photos to “tell” your story (and your customers will most likely help you tell your story too, through their posts)

• It’s quick. Posts require little more than uploading a photo and incorporating some hashtags

• It’s easy to toggle between Instagram accounts (for example, if you have a personal account and a property account)

• Instagram is focused on mobile (helloooo that’s where our customers are)

• Instagram is visual (which is exactly what we want to be in this business)

• You can get qualified leads through this platform (she’s seen it happen)!

The What:

One whole session at this year’s Multifamily Social Media Summit focused on tips and techniques you can implement to use Instagram as a sales and marketing platform for your business. Already on Instagram and looking to take your strategy to the next level? Or are you just getting started? Here are some of Sue’s best pieces of advice to make you a rockstar Instagrammer (and marketer)...for your community

• Use Instagram, but be sure you’re distributing your Instagram content on other channels (such as Facebook). It’s like a two-for-one special!

• Create a specific profile description - people need to know who you are, what you do and what you offer. What makes you (your community), unique?

• Include valuable descriptions within your post. Such as #twobedroom #rentaldowntown

• Location-based hashtags are the very best kind of hashtags to be using for the multifamily industry. So be sure you’re including these in every post (such as #downtownhouston or #columbusbrewerydistrict)

• Experiment and use various angles when taking and uploading photos to Instagram. Take photos from the side, high/low, near and far instead of the traditional straightforward picture.

• If you’re using (or want to use) Instagram stories (these are a series of short videos and photos that you create inside instagram, separate from your account feed and are only available to be viewed by your followers for 24 hours) be sure to put a call to action (such as "message us for exclusive offers" or "schedule your tour"), at the end of your story. It creates the perfect “ending”.

• What kind content could and should you share? Photos of community exteriors, on a bike or subway going to/from the community, interior photos , amenities, social events, neighborhood attractions. Consider the prospect’s perspective. If you were a prospect, what kinds of things would you want to see shared?

• Have a targeted hashtag strategy  - it’ll pay off (see below)

• Check out a cool tool called Iconoshare. This will tell you how  many times a specific hashtag has been shared. See social rank, how they are classifed by category and by location, then use that information to determine which hashtags you want to use in your posts for maximum impact

• Search for posts where Instagram users have tagged you (your community/your location) or have used hashtags related to your property. Then look those same hashtags up using Iconoshare and see where your clients and customers are coming from (then re-target them, if you wish).

• You can use up to 30 hashtags in a post, but our expert Sue recommends using 7-12. So tag away, my friends.

And there you have it. Hopefully those of you who are even the most savvy Instagrammers will find some new tips in here that will help you make the most of this super simple, yet sharp social platform. Need help or still stuck on how to get started? Reach out and connect. I’ll be happy to walk you through it.