Instagram is entertaining, motivating, easy to use and can take your business in the right direction, if you know how to use it properly.

Before I wrote this post, the new feature of "Stories" was not available. After Instagram launched this feature yesterday, everyone had an opinion! Personally, I think it's a fantastic feature that just made the game of social media more interesting! Is SnapChat now irrelevant as Instagram's platform now has this new enhanced feature? Stay tuned for my post on "the Rise (or Fall?!) of SnapChat" next week!

Every blogger or entrepreneur in the city knows the value of this Instagram as a powerful social media platform – and if you don’t, you need to make Instagram one of your new best friends....now more than ever with the added "Stories" feature!

The people I have and have NOT met through social media have truly been a blessing to me and my journey with Real Estate In Stilettos. There are women I text on a regular with whom I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting! Ten years ago, people would have called me out be to taking a risk and I would have been scolded for being unsafe! Now, it's so normal to meet up for coffee or for collaborations with a fellow Instagrammer!

The love and support I receive from Instagram has allowed my blog to grow and be a part of a network that makes me want to do more for the women in my community and motivates me to achieve new goals. It may just be a quote I am posting, but that quote connects me to people whom I can relate to and eventually become my real estate clients or supportive friends through my online network.

Here are a few tips for you to get the best use out of your Instagram and turn internet based connections into real life clients:

The importance of a great bio and profile photo

Your profile is the first thing people look at when they click on your account. You should definitely have a profile photo which is consistent with all of your social media platforms. Use a photo of yourself rather than your logo as it makes it a more personal connection with your followers. Keep your bio short and sweet to just a sentence or two. {Oh! Try to avoid all of the thousand choices of emojis!!}
Let your followers know what you are about and why they should be following you. Make sure you add a link to your website on your bio. This is the icing on the cake as people tend to click on links and from here once they like what they see, will become frequent visitors to your website or blog by subscribing.

Now it’s time to start to build your following and create an online presence!

Instagram should be accessible to you everywhere. Download the app to your mobile device, your tablet and others devices you have access to. Make sure you can access it when you need to because it’s a platform that should be used throughout the day.
Start to follow people and businesses in your circle. Use the “explore page” to see what is trending and what accounts people are interacting with. The more people and businesses you follow, the more your social presence will grow.
Use your other social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. to advertise your Instagram profile and to drive more followers to it. All of your social media should be synced. When you post a photo on Instagram, you should have it linked to your other social media accounts. This is important as we don’t have the time to post on every social media platform that exists!
Engage with other Instagram users and their posts. Comment, repost, answer questions…it all works the same way! But you have to be interactive in order to build your online presence. Create a community and build on what you want to achieve. Use popular hashtags and create a few of your own to start a trend. Search hashtags you and your business can relate to and comment and engage with those users.
Consistency is KEY!!! Try to post at least once a day or a few times a week. The more you post, the more your online presence will grow and the more followers you will gain. But don’t over saturate your posts! They should be different but consistent to you and your brand/business. Your posts should add value to your followers and your photos should be of great quality.

My last, but most IMPORTANT tip??

BE POSITIVE in all that you post!!! Restrain yourself from commenting on political matters, gossip or stating your personal opinion on certain subjects. Keep your Instagram profile positive, clean and with a message that your followers are able to learn from. The less you engage in social media drama, the more time you will have to build yourself and your own business. Trust me, there are times I come across a post that makes me want to respond, but I have learned the art of keeping my mouth shut for the sake of my reputation ;)

In the end, have fun with this social media platform, but understand that there are never ending opportunities if used correctly. It can do so much for you both on a professional and a personal level. Your new found friend could end up being your next client!

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram at @realestateinstilettos! I would love to see how you are branding and growing your Instagram. Comment on one of my posts if I am not already following you!

With Love,

Nikki