How to Grow Instagram

If you are a total Instagram aficionado and you know absolutely every little thing and every nuance there is to know about Instagram, then maybe this isn’t for you. Otherwise, let’s do a little deep dive into some really useful information.

There are three sections in this article. The first section is all about other apps you can use in conjunction with Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. The second part of this article is all about using Instagram as a prospecting tool. There are some really great ways to track your clients, what they are doing, etc. If you work for yourself, you’ve got to track people that want to work with you, and you have to keep tabs on them — stay connected with them and find commonalities. The third part of this article is going to be all about using the Instagram app itself to track numbers. It’s really granular. It’s really good.

Everybody in the world is on Instagram. Instagram is certainly the belle of the ball. It is, in my experience, the most popular format by a mile (which sends a little message to my head — it might be time to focus on Twitter and Linkedin). I’m really enjoying Instagram and I’ve gained a lot of followers because of the TV show, Stay Here (thanks again to everyone watching it).

Apps to Use with Social Media

If you are in sales or real estate, a massive part of your industry now has shifted into social media. What used to be emails, texts, and other forms of communication has shifted into social media. And now, social media has shifted from “look at me having coffee and walking my dog,” (obviously, this still exists) into a very sophisticated way for us to communicate with our clients. I’m going to give you a list of apps that, if you are feeling particularly nerdy, you might want to explore. These apps are not cheap, but if you want to intensely track your numbers, auto-post, compare with competitors, etc., then check out these two great apps (in my order of preference).

1. Iconosquare. I think it’s the best Instagram tracking app out there. I have it and I really like it. The interface is great, I can see what the competition is doing, and how my hashtags are performing. It also gives information on your Instagram Stories, which is super important and exactly why I love this app. I enjoy being able to see which of my stories are getting more engagement.

2. Sprout Social. This is also a killer app for tracking data, auto-posting and looking at the competition.

How to Track Your Client Base on Instagram

There is an area within Instagram called “Collections”. To get there, you tap the home button, tap your name, swipe left, and tap Saved, then boom, you see Collections. If you were to look on my IG, you’d see that my Collections are called PLG Agents, Airbnb Porn, House Porn, IG Killers (people that I really like on IG).

 Instead of hunting through Instagram, looking for all of my clients and looking for all the people that I’m trying to work with (because it’s endless), I can easily access them via Collections.

If you’re scrolling on Instagram and see a client of yours, hit the “Save” tab and it will drop them into your folder. You can also categorize clients depending on the level of interest. That way, every time you want to track what a client is doing, tap the folder and tap the name. This is a great way to prospect your client base and comment on their posts. If you want to find an influencer or someone that you want to be around, you save one of their posts and then comment on 10 of their posts. And then his or her audience will see that you’re commenting, and you’ll begin to build your own audience.

In the beginning, I found Instagram so frustrating because there’s just so much crap. But now, I can have a concise list of whom to target. I can find out what they’re talking about and I can stay in their lives. It makes them feel special and it’s much better than the old-fashioned phone calls. “Hey Man, just checking in. Just wanted to see how you’re feeling about buying a house.” All of that crap is kind of out the window.

How to Track Your Numbers on Instagram

Tap your name and swipe left to access Insights. Here, you can find an awful lot of great information. You can access some really great data that will show you what posts are working, and which ones aren’t.

You’re able to see Activity (how many accounts are interacting/viewing your content), and Content. With Content, you can see which of your posts are getting the most reactions. This allows you to see what’s working, what people are liking, and what they’re not. So now I can see what’s working for me on Instagram, what people are liking and what people are not liking. It gets better.

If you tap on “See All”, it brings everything up in descending order so you can see all of your posts — what’s working, what isn’t. Here is the really, really juicy information for you. At the top, it says Impressions. It allows you to also view your content in terms of likes, followers, and engagement. And all the people who love social media will tell you — engagement is everything. Next, you can separate your time period from a year to six months, three months, 30 days, or 7 days. 

This was to just to crack open the door for you to get in there and explore. Because, at the end of the day, I believe that in order to be successful in business now, we need to be prospecting through social media. 

Instagram has become a lot more sophisticated and some of those things are buried in there. Everything you need (unless you’re a nerd like me) is already in the Instagram app. Follow your numbers, see what people are liking (and what they’re not). I had some surprises, honestly. There were posts that I knew would be killer, and they didn’t get as much love as I anticipated. And there were posts that I threw in there and thought no one would love, and BOOM.

This is Your Work

There is a common misconception in real estate, frankly, and in business, which is that social media is something that you get to after you’ve done all of your other work. This is 2019 — social media is your work. This needs to be an integral part of what you do on a daily basis. Carve two or three hours out a day — this is prospecting. It’s just not cold calling anymore; I’d much prefer to cultivate relationships digitally that I can then transfer into the real world and have a slug of espresso with.