Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
When it comes to generating B2B leads via social media, most businesses use LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or niche networks. However, Instagram could be successfully employed for B2B lead generation, even by realtors.
According to statistics, more than 90% of Instagram users follow at least one business, and 2 out of 3 agree that Instagram facilitates interaction with brands.
Realtors can leverage Instagram creatively to generate B2B leads. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Simply switching from private to professional or business when setting up your Instagram profile is not enough to have a lead-generating business presence. You will need to set up your Instagram profile to tick all the boxes.
Tweak your bio to generate B2B leads:
Every time you publish an ad on a Facebook Page, you can choose to show it on Instagram. You will need to have your Instagram profile linked to your Facebook Page for this to work. Connecting a Facebook Page to your Instagram professional account has several benefits for B2B lead generation:
Since you are targeting B2B leads, what you post should reflect your business intent. Publish compelling, informative content - B2B consumers are usually busy, and they want clear, timely information with all the details they need to make a decision.
You can post pictures of employees in charge of a specific area and listings, new team members, photos of commercial spaces for lease, pictures of commercial buildings available, images of buildings you sold - to “brag” about your success, details about a social cause your company supports, and the list goes on.
Use Instagram to share insight from your company leaders and behind-the-scenes images from your business that reflect your corporate culture. Also, share testimonials from former clients to reflect your commitment to transparency and business excellence.
B2B customers may be busy and immersed in their own agendas, but they too appreciate a genuine Instagram profile with a human touch.
Showing support for a social cause is a display of corporate and brand values while revealing the humanitarian side of your business. According to ClickZ, Mastercard predicted that 77% of Americans choose to shop local while 75% of consumers prefer shopping from companies that share their human values.
Supporting charities and local communities is a great way to grow your business while having a social impact. B2C and B2B consumers alike favor companies that care about the environment, ecology, animal welfare, and human lives. There are enough social causes and charities to chose from to inspire change and demonstrate that you care.
Support for social causes and charities will attract business partners who share similar values. You will expand your network and reach to include these people and companies that act responsibly. B2C followers may choose to follow your Instagram profile just because your message resonates with their beliefs, too, thus growing your number of followers beyond your B2B scope.
Last but not least, supporting social causes and charities will give both you and your employees a sense of satisfaction and deeper meaning.
You can employ Instagram ads successfully to generate B2B leads without spending too much. First, create an ad that serves your purpose. For example, you want to collect phone numbers, email addresses, and other information from your B2B leads, you can create ads that achieve these goals fast.
If you want to promote a new commercial listing to reach potential buyers, Instagram ads will put your property in front of thousands of people. Many B2B Instagram users are Millenials and prefer using social media platforms to do business. A good ad will deliver excellent results if you select your audience carefully - based on geolocation and interest.
Run your Instagram ads from your Facebook Page to expand your reach. If you don’t have a Facebook Page, you can pay to turn any post into an ad with Instagram promotions without leaving the app.
You can choose your budget, and when your promotion ends, you can analyze its performance through the insights provided by Instagram to learn what worked and improve your campaigns over time.
Stories are posts - images or videos - that disappear in 24 hours. Instagram reports 500 million daily active Stories users worldwide, and the Facebook app family shares 1 billion Stories every day. In addition, 4 million businesses use story ads every month. Here are some other statistics that support the use of stories to generate leads:
Since stories disappear in 24 hours from the feed, if you still want your followers to access them, transform the best and most relevant into “highlights,” which will appear on your profile page under your bio. You can still find expired stories in your archives. Turn the ones your followers loved into highlights if they showcase who you are and the scope of your business.
These examples show how, with the right strategy, realtors can employ Instagram successfully to generate B2B leads. Although Instagram is not necessarily a platform favored by B2B users, it offers excellent value and humanizes a brand beyond the scope of sales. With good storytelling, beautiful imagery, and personalization, you will earn the trust of B2B followers, generating valid leads, and growing your business reach.
