You may have already seen some changes rolling out on your Instagram page, but in case you haven’t heard: Instagram has added a new “Recommended” feature that displays recommended posts directly in your Insta-feed.
Instagram’s algorithm curates a variety of posts it thinks you may like based on your interests, as well as posts your friends have liked. While these two have existed separately, on the “Explore” tab and the “Following” tab respectively, the change means both types of content will be pushed to your main feed.
While there are probably a variety of reasons Instagram is doing this, the main one I can think of is that it wants to enhance its targeting accuracy by collecting more data on its user’s preferences.
If you’re a business sponsoring ads on Facebook and Instagram (which, let’s face it, are becoming more alike every day), you want to make sure you’re reaching the right people.
Reaching the right people means you’ll likely have a better ROI on that channel, leading you to increase your marketing dollars.
How can real estate agents best take advantage of this change?
Your goal should be to be more focused and intentional with your posts. Make sure every post you make is in line with your brand and your business. That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to flood your followers’ Insta-feeds with houses and for sale signs.
Rather, curate your social profile by posting tastefully selected photos that are completely representative of you and your brand and that also resonate with your end consumer.
How do you know what will resonate?
This will entail some research. In business school we were taught to create three “customer profiles” that outline different characteristics of those who would eventually buy our products/services.
A great way to start is to look at your existing client base and see if you can spot any similarities among your clients.
By separating them into three profiles, you can then segment and visualize your “ideal” client base. Keep this client in mind when you are posting to your Instagram account. This tactic should help you refine your Instagram feed so that you appeal to your ideal audience.
With the acquisition of Instagram by Facebook, it seems more and more changes are being directed by the bottom line. However, I believe the end goal of these changes is to increase engagement, which not only helps businesses but also helps users find interesting content.
What do you think of the new feature? Please share in the comments section below.
Tiffany owns and operates her own boutique real estate brokerage in the Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina-metro area, Alexy Realty Group. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.
