Instagram Stories for Real Estate Agents: How to Boost Engagement and Leads

Instagram Stories are where followers get to know you between listings. They're quick to make, they disappear after 24 hours unless you save them to Highlights, and they give you tools a regular post doesn't: polls, question boxes, and link stickers. Below are the Story ideas that have worked best for my business, plus how to make each one count.

What should a real estate agent post on Instagram Stories?

Post short, useful updates that show how you work: coming soon previews, home tours, neighborhood spots, market updates with the source named, behind-the-scenes moments from showings and closings, and answers to common questions. Use polls and question stickers to start conversations, and save your best Stories to Highlights so new visitors can find them.

Real Estate Marketing on Instagram

I launched my Instagram profile in 2014 and have tested nearly every feature the platform has added since. Some agents find the constant changes frustrating. I treat each one as a new way to show buyers and sellers how I work.

Stories changed my account more than any other feature. They let me show the details of the real estate process, share quick tips, and start conversations with clients across the country.

In this guide, I'll show you how to create a Story and how to use Stories to start conversations that turn into clients.

How to Create an Instagram Story

Instagram Stories disappear after 24 hours unless you save them to a Highlight, which makes them a low-pressure place to post often. Here's how to create one:

• Open Instagram and tap your profile photo at the top of the feed, or swipe right from the home feed.
• Choose any filter you may want but keep in mind your branding. You'll want to remain consistent.
• Capture a photo or video (perfect for a quick tour of a home or to emphasize a specific feature).
• You can skip capture and go to your gallery to choose an image or video.
• Next, you can add stickers, time stamps, or even a GIF to your Story.
• When you're done, tap Your Story to share it with your followers.

Real Estate Instagram Story Ideas

Here are a few more you can add to your list of creative Instagram Story ideas and themes to make your Instagram account stand out.

Buying and Selling Tips

Short tips on buying and selling are some of the most saved Stories you can post. Explain one step at a time, such as what happens during the inspection period or why a pre-approval letter matters, and add a question sticker to invite follow-up questions.

Home Trends

Educate homeowners and potential buyers by giving them an in-depth look at floor plans, kitchen appliances, flooring, and other home products without ever having to leave their homes.

Client Testimonials

Real estate agents can use Instagram stories to show potential buyers a more personal side of the business. This could include testimonials from previous buyers (shared with their written permission), images of happy buyers, and even a virtual "Sold" sign when a property is purchased. It's a great way to show the human side of the business and make potential buyers feel more comfortable and confident about their purchase.

Real Estate Market News

Agents can post daily updates on the market, including mortgage rules, housing market updates, trending topics, or other hot topics in the real estate industry. It's a great way to keep your followers engaged and informed while boosting your brand’s visibility. Name the source and month for every number you share.

This is an excellent time for collaboration and sharing a mortgage market update with your trusted lender.

Decor Ideas

Share decorating tips with your potential clients to help prepare their homes for the real estate market. Or to help new homeowners make their new homes feel like their own. This is a great way to build a personal connection with your audience and show your expertise in making homes look amazing.

Decor and staging tips tend to get shared, because followers are often planning a move or a refresh of their own.

Open House Behind-the-Scenes

This can be a unique way to create content, so they get to know you and get an idea of how you could represent their home in a sale. This can be done by having a "Behind-the-Scenes" video of an open house that's just been completed. This will let them see how you and your team work together and give a sneak peek of what to expect when they come for an open house. This can also be used as a marketing tool to generate leads or interest in an upcoming open house.

Add this to your Seller Highlights for marketing for future listings.

Sneak Peek of New Listings

Sneak peeks give your followers a first look before a listing goes live. Check your MLS's coming soon and Clear Cooperation rules first, since public marketing can start the clock on MLS submission.

Before and After

Progress Stories, from slab to framing to drywall, show buyers what they're paying for and keep your clients' friends and family following along.

Be Funny

Everyone loves a good laugh, so don't take yourself too seriously. Share a real estate joke or a funny moment from a showing. Followers remember the agent who made them laugh.

Home Tours

Show the interior design of your listings, preview upcoming construction models, and even announce open houses. Instagram Stories can be a great way to keep potential buyers interested in a property, as they can get an immersive visual experience and better understand what it would be like to live there.

Neighborhood Guide and Community Spotlights

Show your followers what daily life looks like in your area: the coffee shops, trails, farmers markets, and small businesses. Describe the place, not the people, and add a link sticker back to a neighborhood guide on your website.

Specialty

Give your followers an idea of what type of real estate you specialize in. This will help new potential buyers or those relocating find the right real estate business, showcasing you as an expert.

Answer Your Most Frequently Asked Questions

Through these stories, you can quickly and efficiently answer questions about your listings and keep followers informed about the latest developments in the real estate market.

My Most Successful Instagram Stories

Now that you understand how to do it, let's discuss some of my best Instagram Stories:

1. Prepping for a new listing

When you're prepping a new listing, use Stories to build anticipation before it hits the market. Show the improvements the seller is making to the property.

Most times, these are the things we will include in a listing description to share for all of the real estate portals and marketing pieces. Well, this is a visual story to show the process of painting the home.  

This one was pretty simple. Take a quick photo and video documenting the process.

Show it in stages from beginning to end. Maybe add a video of your favorite paint vendor and have them share some of their best tips for painting a home. You want to include each story with a location and a hashtag.

You also want to include the painter's company name and @PaintCompany as examples.

This kind of story not only gets likes, shares, and comments, but it also expands your network by geotagging (farming that area), engages the existing audience of your paint vendor, and allows others thinking of selling their home to call you in that specific area.

Most people prepare before deciding who to select as their real estate agent. This puts you in front of the pack by connecting to them first. 

2. Work with relocation buyers

Tell the story of the process and share how you helped them. Another story idea with this same theme is to include a short video testimonial of the happy clients. Don't forget to include a location and one hashtag to connect your ideal buyers who may make a move to your area.

They want to see how the process would go for them. Making a move can be stressful, but this gives them confirmation you are the best choice to help them with the same process.

This story is all about working with relocation buyers. I wanted to document the entire process and share how much detail I put into it.

Let's take a look: From start to finish, this story covers everything that could possibly go wrong when buying a home and includes tips for avoiding these pitfalls.

Pro Tip: In addition, I geotag each location with the hashtag #RelocationHomes so potential buyers can find me no matter where they are in the world.

3. Introduce your team

Introducing your team is a fun interactive way to connect to potential buyers and sellers.

You've created your first Story and already have the edge over others in the market who haven't started using Instagram in their real estate work.

Stories also take the pressure off being perfect. They feel more casual than a grid post, which makes it easier to post often and show the real side of your business.

It is also only available for 24 hours, so if you share information you do not want there forever, this is the perfect place to share. But if you love the story and want to save it... Highlights are a great way to keep it on your Instagram profile.

Pro Tip: When you start getting engagement from your stories, save them for future growth to add them to your Highlights. Don't forget you can use an Instagram Story template.

4. Staging tips for sellers

Real estate sellers looking to maximize the impact of their Instagram stories can share some staging tips to attract potential seller clients.

This can also be a great networking opportunity for stagers in your local area. Professional stagers recommend de-cluttering, using neutral colors to create a soothing aesthetic, and swapping outdated furniture for more modern pieces. This can help create a streamlined, appealing look and make potential buyers more interested in the property.

Additionally, sellers should take advantage of the interactive features available on Instagram stories, such as polls and question boxes, to engage followers and ensure that their content stands out.

Benefits of Resharing Popular Posts and Stories

Reposting is an easy way to keep your Stories active. When a client tags you in their closing-day post or a local business mentions you, reshare it and give credit where it's due.

There are many more, so feel free to experiment with ones that fit your brand. Keep it unique so you stand out amongst the others.

Maximizing Your Engagement

To maximize engagement, one of the most essential things when posting on Instagram is keeping yourself real and relatable. Authenticity is critical as it builds trust in you and your brand.

Another thing to consider is partnering with local area businesses and organizations and giving them honest and genuine support.

Be the storyteller they need. This can be done in your images, short videos, music, and captions, as it helps bring in those authentic connections and makes you relatable.

Once you're posting Stories regularly, add interactive stickers like polls, quizzes, question boxes, and link stickers to start conversations and send followers to your website.

Pro Tip: Save your best-performing Stories to Highlights, such as Buyer Tips, Sellers, and Neighborhoods, so new visitors can find them long after 24 hours.

Bottom Line

Mastering Instagram as a real estate agent takes time, but it can be fun as you build your followers and client lists. Instagram is one of the most powerful tools for real estate marketing you can use in your career. It is a significant key to your current and future success. Use Instagram to build relationships with your followers and increase your marketing strategy efforts.

Let them know that they can trust you and that you're likable. Show them you care, and becoming active on the platform is one of the most effective ways to do this. Consider this... Your brand is a set of memories and stories. They are a story of a client's decision to choose you over another when buying or selling their home. Connections are essential to your continued success; continual engagement will get you there.

If you want a complete system for what to post and when, my workbook, Instagram Formula for Real Estate Agents, lays out every post type I use.

Keep reading: 350 Real Estate Captions for Instagram, 150+ Real Estate Quotes and Captions, and Pinterest for Real Estate Agents.

Get 30 Hooks and 10 Caption Templates, Free

If you'd rather start from a template than a blank screen, my free swipe file has 30 first lines that make people tap “more” and 10 fill-in-the-blank captions for listings, just sold stories, relocation, new construction, and more. It also includes the fair housing check I run before I post.

Send me the free swipe file