Week 8 Part A: How to Expand Your Reach on Instagram by Using Hashtags

Does visual media work for the type of business you have started?

Yes, visual media works really good for my business as we are showing our photos and videos through these platforms. I hope we can learn how other companies in the same space use their Instagram so that we can increase our following and grow our brand on Instagram. 

Aerial 9 Media

    Looking at their Instagram externally it does not look like it is effective for them as getting clients from it. However, it is a great way to display their work and what they offer, so if that is the goal then it is very effective but in business, it's more about getting customers than just merely displaying what you offer. 

Some hashtags that they are frequently using: #realestate #realtor #realtorlife#sandiegorealestate #sandiegorealtor#carlsbad 

They currently have about l2304 followers, which for a locally based company is a pretty good base that they can grow much greater with some persistence. They post quite frequently about every day to every other day, which is really good since most companies don't post close to that amount. The last time that they posted was on March 12th, 2021. The type of content that gets the most response for them is the videos that they post. Their engagement rate is about 1%, they are getting on average about 25 or so likes on most posts. They don't receive that many comments, they receive about 1 comment on every fourth post or so. I wouldn't say that they are doing anything new or revolutionary. They are posting similar content that I already post, although the quality is amazing which speaks for itself. I think the main thing that I can take away from them is the consistency of posting, since they are posting close to every day, people will always have us on top of their Instagram and mind. 

Josh Mak

    I do not think that Instagram has been effective for them, but then again it doesn't appear they have been diligent with Instagram. Some of the hashtags that they use are: #RealEstatePhotos, #NYCRealEstatePhotography, #LongIslandRealEstatePhotos, #QueensRealEstatePhotography, #DroneRealEstatePhotography

For being quite a big company and located in different parts of the USA they have only 253 followers. It is strange the way they post, they post like a whole bunch of photos back to back but then they will go months without a post. So it's kinda hard to specify how often but I would say they post about every few months or so, although they post like five all at once. Their last post was on January 6th, 2020. Yeah, they haven't posted in over a year, which makes me question why and if this is even the right one, but I looked it up and this is the one. They really only post one type of content which is photos of houses. However, I would say that photos of bedrooms and living rooms get the most likes. Their likes to followers is about 4%, and they don't get that many comments either, they probably get maybe 1 or 2 comments on every other post. I don't think there is much that I can take from them because of the fact that it doesn't seem like they have had much success on Instagram but truth be told I don't believe they have really tried to do anything with Instagram. 

San Diego Real Estate Photography

    In the point of view of obtaining business, I am not 100% sure but I do believe that they should have had some inquire from it since they have posted quite a bit and it is intriguing. Some hashtags that they use frequently are: 

#sandiegorealestatephotographers#sandiegorealestatephotographer#sandiegorealestate#sandiegorealestateagent#ranchosantaferealestate#encinitasrealestate#carlsbadrealestate#oceansiderealestate#sandiegorealtors

They have about 1382 followers which is not bad for a local company, which can really be beneficial to them. They post about every other day or about 2 times a week. Their videos have gotten the most views, however, they have only posted a few videos and the rest are photos. Their last post was on March 2nd, 2021. They are getting about 2-3% of like to followers, which is about 30 or so likes per post. I would say they are getting at least one comment per post and sometimes more. They are posting really often which is one thing that I can improve on, the second thing is that there is always a captivating caption with the correct hashtags. The third thing is posting what the people like, so find what does well on my page and post more of that. 

Norman & Young

    I would say sort of, they have a good following and engagement is that bad. Without knowing behind the scenes I would say that they probably have had some inquires or jobs by Instagram. Some hashtags that they use frequently are: #photography #realestate#dfwrealestate

They have about 12.6K followers which is really good for a relatively small company. They post consecutively but then they won't post for a couple of months. Their videos are definitely the most watched from upwards of 1k views, although the last time September 10, 2020. Their likes to followers is about .7%. They receive about 2-4 comments on all their posts, which compared to some other companies that we have seen. I wouldn't say that they are doing something unique to really differentiate themselves. However, they have amazing quality work and post consistency(periods at a time) but nothing that the other companies haven't done. They have the most followers out of the companies I researched for this assignment so, clearly, something that they have done has created a huge following for them.  

Consistency is key, if you do not post often your followers will forget you. You also need to use hashtags to be found, we do not have businesses that are known just by their names, so we need to put ourselves everywhere in order to be found. Those two things are what can help grow our social following and increase awareness on our brand. 

Here are some hashtags that I believe will work well for my business's Instagram and that have worked well for me in the past. 

#realty #realtor #realestate #listing #MLS #realestatephotography #northcountyrealestate #carlsbadrealestate #northcountyphotography #carlsbadphotography  #home #homeforsale #vistarealestate #oceansiderealestate #3DTours #Virtualtours #matterport