Ah, Instagram, one of my own personal favourite social platforms. I could talk about it all day. Luckily for you, I’m not going to do that, today’s focus is on Instagram reels.
Before I dive into the world of reels, I’m just going to give a quick run down of all the different ways you can post on Instagram. If you’re not very well-versed in the platform, or you haven’t used it for some time, it’s handy information to know before I talk about reels.
Instagram is a visual platform, and there are multiple ways you can post.
Grid posts: The main grid is made up of square images which are what people will see in their main feed. This is not the place for wheelie bins, weed-riddled patios, or unmade beds. This is the place for fantastic lighting, impressive garden landscaping, and selling a lifestyle to those scrolling through properties. The exception to this is if you have a particularly juicy do-er upper, Instagram loves a renovation project – the community is huge.
Stories: Your Instagram stories are only live on your actual story for 24 hours. You can post images, video, text, polls, snippets of music, animated gifs, to these. You may wonder what the point of these is. Well according to Instagram, 500+ million people use stories daily, and one third of the most watched stories daily belong to brands. You could use them to promote tips on how to present a property ready for selling, small hacks for turning a rental property into a home, or any number of things to capture people’s attention.
Highlights: You know we said stories disappear after 24 hours? Well, they don’t if you want to keep them. You can create highlights, which are basically different categories you can file your stories into. Keep all of your property presentation tips in one highlight, and decorating hacks for tenants in another and people can access them whenever they like, then.
And last but not least, we have reels.
What are Instagram reels?
Instagram reels are a fantastic way to create engaging video content and it is Meta’s answer to the TikTok phenomenon which has taken over social media since the start of the COVID pandemic. Reels are where Instagram or Facebook users can record, edit and upload a 15-60 second video clip and then share them on the platform to their stories, the explore feed (where users can see new content based on their interests), and the reels tab on their profile.
Why are Reels important?
Whenever any social media app brings out something new, you should be paying attention. In the case of Reels, they’re really trying to push it. The Reels button is front and center when a user is on the app, and there’s a general consensus among marketers that the algorithm really loves accounts who use them, showing the content from these accounts to a wider audience.
It’s something new, but there’s no need to be scared of it. Why not try making exclusive teaser clips of properties before you put them on your website “sneak peeks”? Edit together an area guide, showing brief clips of all the best bits in under a minute. The possibilities are endless, and jumping on it now to get ahead of the game and make the most of it while Instagram is favoring it, is a jolly good idea.
Looking for help posting to your Instagram account and growing a following? Get in touch with us and have a chat with one of our social media legends – this stuff might make you want to put your head in your hands and cry, but we live for it.
CHECK OUT MORE ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEO REELS HERE
Katie Gillingham
Katie is a Freelance Copywriter living in rural Dorset with her daft old Labrador. She first started writing content for the property industry back in 2015, and loves nothing more than bringing brand voices to life!
