Guide
Instagram for real estate agents: posts that get you messages
Updated
On Instagram the number worth watching is messages, not likes, because a message is where an appointment gets booked. Here is the profile, the posts and the weekly plan.
In short
- Instagram works for agents when the posts are about your own town, because the people who can actually hire you live there.
- Post three times a week and film all three on Monday in about 20 minutes.
- Your profile should say your name, the word Realtor and your city, so people searching your area find you.
- The five posts that get replies are a weekly market update, what $500k buys in your town, an answer to a client question, a sold story and an open house invite.
- Spend 10 to 20 minutes a day answering messages and comments, before you make anything new.
- Posts a week this page asks for
- 3
- Monday filming that covers the whole week
- 20 min
- The size a Reel is, in pixels
- 1080 x 1920
Set up your profile first
Your profile is where interested people land. A stranger should see what you do and be able to reach you in 90 seconds.
- Instagram search reads the name field, so locals looking for an agent in your city find you there.
- One bio line that works, word for word, is "Thinking of selling in [your town]? Message me your street and I will tell you what it would list for."
What to put in each part of your profile
| Profile part | What to put |
|---|---|
| Name field | Your name, the word Realtor and your city |
| Bio | Three lines: who you help, where, and one small next step |
| Link | Your current listings or one page about you, not a menu of eight links |
| Highlights | Sold, Reviews, The Area, Open Houses |
Profile part: Name field
- What to put
- Your name, the word Realtor and your city
Profile part: Bio
- What to put
- Three lines: who you help, where, and one small next step
Profile part: Link
- What to put
- Your current listings or one page about you, not a menu of eight links
Profile part: Highlights
- What to put
- Sold, Reviews, The Area, Open Houses
Post about your town, not about real estate in general
Generic posts get ignored. A post about your town reaches fewer people, but it reaches the ones who can hire you.
- Do not post the national mortgage-rate graphic that every other agent posts every week.
- Post what sold on a named street and for how much, where your rules allow it.
- Post which coffee place just opened, or what a school rezoning does to demand nearby.
- A post that reaches people in your town is worth more than one that reaches the whole country.
- Neighbors who recognize you are the ones who call you when they decide to sell.
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
5 post types that get replies
Each post should give one specific person a reason to message you. Rotate these five.
Five posts that get real estate agents messages
| Post type | What it is | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly market update | 60 seconds to camera: what listed, what sold, one surprising number | Same day every week, so people start expecting it |
| What a price buys | What $500k gets in your town right now | People disagree in the comments, which spreads it |
| An answer to a client question | One question answered plainly, like what earnest money is | It shows you know how a sale actually works |
| Sold story | What it listed at, what you changed, what happened | Proof without bragging |
| Open house invite | This Saturday, this address, and one thing the photos do not show | It is the only one of the five that asks for something, so it does not wear people out |
Post type: Weekly market update
- What it is
- 60 seconds to camera: what listed, what sold, one surprising number
- Why it works
- Same day every week, so people start expecting it
Post type: What a price buys
- What it is
- What $500k gets in your town right now
- Why it works
- People disagree in the comments, which spreads it
Post type: An answer to a client question
- What it is
- One question answered plainly, like what earnest money is
- Why it works
- It shows you know how a sale actually works
Post type: Sold story
- What it is
- What it listed at, what you changed, what happened
- Why it works
- Proof without bragging
Post type: Open house invite
- What it is
- This Saturday, this address, and one thing the photos do not show
- Why it works
- It is the only one of the five that asks for something, so it does not wear people out
What to write in the caption
The video does the talking. The caption only has to say where this is, add the detail you left out and ask one question.
- Write the first line as if it is the only line, because that is all anyone sees before they tap more.
- Name the street, the neighborhood or the town in the caption, so people know it is about where they live.
- Add the one detail that did not fit in the video, like the tax bill, the school catchment or what the neighbors paid.
- End with one question people can answer in a word, like which street they want to see next week.
- Add the location tag for your town on every post. It is the setting that puts you in front of neighbors, and most agents skip it.
- Film a short chat with the owner of a shop or a cafe in your area, and post it as an Instagram collab so it shows up on both accounts. Their followers are all local, which is the audience you want.
What Reels, the grid, Stories and DMs each do
Each part of Instagram has a different job. The message is where all of them pay off.
- End your videos with a small ask, like message me your street and I will tell you what it would list for.
- Reply to every comment, and answer every message the same day.
What each part of Instagram is for
| Format | Who sees it | Its job |
|---|---|---|
| Reels | People who do not follow you | Reach new people in your area |
| Grid | People checking you out after a recommendation | Show proof, not memes |
| Stories | The people already following you | Keep them seeing you: open-house mornings, polls |
| DMs | People ready to talk | Book the appointment |
Format: Reels
- Who sees it
- People who do not follow you
- Its job
- Reach new people in your area
Format: Grid
- Who sees it
- People checking you out after a recommendation
- Its job
- Show proof, not memes
Format: Stories
- Who sees it
- The people already following you
- Its job
- Keep them seeing you: open-house mornings, polls
Format: DMs
- Who sees it
- People ready to talk
- Its job
- Book the appointment
A weekly plan you can keep
Three posts a week is enough. Post less and people forget you. Post more and the filming and replying start eating a working day, which is when most solo agents stop.
- Your first post of the week is the market update.
- Your second is a post about your town or a plain answer to a client question.
- Your third is a sold story or an open house invite.
- Film all three on Monday morning, back to back, in about 20 minutes.
- Spend 10 to 20 minutes a day on replies, and do them before you make anything new.
Where the week's Instagram time goes
About two hours a week, not counting editing. Editing is the next section.
- Filming, all on Monday20 min
- Posting three times15 min
- Replies, 10 to 20 minutes a day~90 min
Editing the videos: free or with Cutroom
Filming a market update takes 5 minutes. Editing is the step that stops most agents, because it is the part that takes an evening rather than five minutes.
- The free way is to post your phone video as it is, with Instagram's own captions. That is fine if you post now and then.
- Cutroom does the editing for you. You upload one clip of yourself talking, up to 3 minutes, and it comes back in about a minute.
- It writes out your words, adds a headline and captions, and puts your listing photos on the words that mention them.
- You get a 9:16 MP4 at 1080 by 1920, which is the size Reels are.
- You change the video by editing the transcript, then export and post.
What an edited Reel costs
| Option | Cost |
|---|---|
| Your phone video with Instagram's captions | Free |
| A Cutroom edit | 100 credits |
| Export | 20 credits per minute of finished video |
| A 30-second Reel, all in | About 110 credits |
| Your first video | Free within 7 days: 600 credits, no card, Cutroom mark |
| Lite | $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits, about 11 Reels, no mark |
Option: Your phone video with Instagram's captions
- Cost
- Free
Option: A Cutroom edit
- Cost
- 100 credits
Option: Export
- Cost
- 20 credits per minute of finished video
Option: A 30-second Reel, all in
- Cost
- About 110 credits
Option: Your first video
- Cost
- Free within 7 days: 600 credits, no card, Cutroom mark
Option: Lite
- Cost
- $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits, about 11 Reels, no mark
Questions people ask
- How often should a real estate agent post on Instagram?
- Three times a week, kept up for months. People remember you through repetition. The neighbor who has seen your market update eight Mondays in a row is the one who says hello at the open house.
- Do I have to show my face?
- It helps a lot, because clients hire a person they recognize. If the camera is a hard no, your voice over listing photos still beats graphics. An avatar can present a script instead, but that needs Cutroom's Basic plan at $39.99 a month and costs 350 credits a minute.
- Do hashtags matter for real estate Instagram?
- Less than the basics. A name field people can search, location tags and posts about your town do more for local reach than 30 hashtags. Spend the saved minutes replying to comments instead.
- Should I keep my personal life off the account?
- No, keep one account and let it breathe. Clients hire a person, and the dog or the Saturday game makes your market posts feel warmer. Just keep real estate as the main topic.
- How long before Instagram brings an actual client?
- Months. Count messages and profile visits each week rather than followers, and give the plan a quarter. One message asking what a house would sell for can pay for the year.
- What does editing Reels cost?
- Nothing if you post your phone video with Instagram's captions. With Cutroom it is about 110 credits per 30-second Reel: 100 for the edit plus 20 per minute of export. Your first video is free within 7 days, no card. Lite is $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits.
Set up your profile tonight, film three videos on Monday, and answer every message the same day. Your first video is free.
Try for freeYour first video is free, no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite at $19.99/month removes it