It always makes me laugh when an influencer with 100k followers says your feed doesn’t matter, I’m like, “hold up, what about photographers, designers or yes even realtors who need to showcase their unique marketing and creative prowess to potential clients?” It actually makes me a little mad sometimes (ok most of the time) because as someone who has less than 10k followers at the time of this writing, I can honestly say that the DM’s that flood my IG account are filled with people who say things like “Melanie! I love your feed!” Or “Melanie, I want a feed that looks like yours, what can I do?” And when 90% of my business comes from Instagram I am left scratching my head at the 100K plus accounts that hold steadfast in their position that the visual appearance of your feed just doesn’t matter.

I get it, when you have a large following the look of your feed probably doesn’t matter, word of mouth, paid advertising and exposure is enough to get people to follow your account but what about the small accounts, or personal brands and service-based businesses that rely on their Instagram account to convey and showcase their marketing prowess to clients? I would argue that we need a curated feed that represents the calibre of work our clients can expect from us…and yes that includes you too, my realtor friend! Your potential clients are judging your ability to market their home when they land on your profile… be honest, does your grid pass the test?

If you’re still not sure, let’s take a look at some potential reasons why the look of your grid matters…A LOT.

 

YOUR GRID ACTS LIKE AN AUDITION

If you had to choose between a hairstylist who had an amazing feed, one that had tons of examples of gorgeous haircuts, some high quality photos of her family and travels and one that had tons of wishy-washy content, unintentional photos of cuts that made you ask “what am I looking at?” which one would you choose and more importantly which one would you trust to do a good job on your own head of hair? I’m guessing you’d go with the first one! Now the second hairstylist might be just as good, but because you felt zero connection to their content you didn’t get that “know, like and trust factor” which translates to …no sale! As a realtor it’s important to paint a picture of your marketing prowess, you want to showcase how great you are at marketing yourself as well as your listings so your potential clients can see their home in your marketing. Having a feed that is well curated and intentional with high quality images vs messy snapshots tells your potential followers and future clients that you know what you are doing, and you’ll apply that same standard to their home when it’s time to list.

YOUR GRID PAINTS A PICTURE

A feed that is well balanced and paints a picture of who you are, what you do and who you want to serve (aka first time home buyers, single moms, millennials) means those potential followers landing on your profile will instantly feel a connection to you and get clarity around your brand and messaging. A “sloppy” feed, or one that doesn’t have a clear tone, look or messaging has a harder time conveying that and often  without that intention behind your posts you end up confusing people and they jump ship before hitting that follow button.

A COHESIVE FEED MEANS MORE FOLLOWS

Did you know that you have about 3 seconds to impress someone enough that hit follow? Don’t believe me? Ask yourself how long it takes you to make a decision next time you follow an account on Instagram. I bet you head over to their page, take a quick peek at their grid, read their bio and know instantly if you want them to be a part of your daily IG feed. If you don’t have a grid that invites someone to say “yeah, I wouldn’t mind seeing those images on a daily basis” then you’ve lost them. Visually appealing grid that paints a well-balanced story is far more likely to get follows than one that shows up inconsistently with uninspired content.

IS A WAY TO STAND APART FROM YOUR COMPETITION

By building a visually appealing and intentional social media presence, you instantly remove yourself from the price hunters and instead lead with what you offer beyond the commission. If you use Instagram as a way to showcase your brand AND offerings you will instantly stand out from the realtors who are just posting real estate content every day.  Think about it, if all you post is pictures of your listings and market stats, how will anyone be able to tell you apart from any other realtor. By being super intentional with building your brand on instagram, you will see a difference in the caliber of clients you get, and will have far less commission slashing requests, because you will be leading with everything you offer …which is you, your awesome story and your amazing marketing skills!

 

So, while there are some that believe you don’t need a curated grid to get clients, I maintain that for realtors, especially realtors, having a visually striking feed is crucial to getting those followers and high caliber clients who value you over your commission.