Beyond Likes: What Metrics to Track on Instagram for Realtors
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Let's be honest. It's a good feeling when you share something on Instagram, and immediately, the likes and comments start rolling in. You might even smile to yourself and think, "well, that post was worth it!" But was it really?
When we're evaluating the ROI of your efforts, likes don't always lead to closings. So, what are the metrics you should focus on if Instagram is a part of your real estate marketing strategy?
In this week's episode, I'm sharing how to ignore flashy, vanity metrics and instead what you should be focusing on.
Instagram can be a frustrating place sometimes. One moment, you're happily reading comments on one of your posts, and the next, you're comparing yourself to someone else with more followers. That joyful mood can easily turn sour just by looking at someone else's so-called "numbers."
Once you move past the comparison trap, there are also the changes that happen on the platform that have nothing to do with you. Yet, these changes and algorithm updates might mean that your posts aren't performing as well. And from a real estate marketing perspective, you might not be sure what metrics you should be paying attention to to begin with.
I just want to stop you here and share a philosophy I have about Instagram and real estate marketing in general. Great marketing is a pathway to conversations. It's an opportunity to build relationships, and those relationships are what grow your business. And Instagram is a place where you can have those conversations.
Yet, to get there, we need to implement a marketing strategy to reach and connect with more people. That's where the value of monitoring your metrics comes in. You're able to make better use of your time, know what's working, what's not working, and where you should put more focus.
Most people focus on the number of likes they receive on a post and their total number of followers on Instagram. It's nice to see those likes and follower counts - especially if they're growing.
Yet, these two metrics alone don't paint a whole picture. You could have thousands of followers and never get any real estate business from Instagram. Likewise, you could get 5-10 likes on your posts and still end up working with multiple customers from your Instagram marketing strategy.
What matters is that you are attracting the right kind of people, showing up with value, and taking the time to grow those connections.
I have several episodes about how to do just that such as Episode 67: How to get Found on Instagram as a Local Realtor and a staple, Episode 7: What to Post on Instagram & Social Media for Real Estate Agents.
From there, it's essential to monitor your metrics to see how your efforts are performing, whether you're just getting started with Instagram marketing or are already seeing success from it.
Real Estate Metrics Beyond Instagram
Before we analyze the metrics and data within your Instagram account, I always like to take a step back and make a note of business activity off the platform.
This might be an exercise you do monthly or quarterly to check in on your efforts. So, grab a spreadsheet or open up a Google Doc, and let's think about your past transactions and database. Make a note of customers, whether it's a new lead or a referral that came from Instagram.
Next, think about if you've been running any lead capture efforts on Instagram and how those strategies have grown your database.
If you're just getting serious about Instagram marketing for real estate, these numbers might be zero or low. That's OK. Part of this exercise is recognizing that your marketing efforts are to grow your business so that we stay focused on the end goal. It's very easy to get caught up on social media in things that really don't matter.
Next, I want you to think about the meaningful conversations you've had on Instagram. Have you started talking about real estate to someone new? Maybe it's through comments or DMs - but are you getting engagement in the form of actual conversations? If not, that's something we can work towards. If you are, that's amazing, and we can work on amplifying your efforts.
The source of your transactions, lead generation or database growth, and meaningful conversations are stats that aren't tracked in Instagram. So, you need to be mindful and aware of these as we work on fine-tuning your approach.
Reviewing Your Instagram Insights
After you've done some research on your own, we can dive into the stats and metrics provided to us by Instagram.
If you don't already, I'd highly suggest you make use of Instagram's Business account. There are no downfalls, in my opinion, only benefits!
So, make sure your account is a business account.
How to Switch to a Business Account:
Start on your profile feed
Choose the three lines in the top right corner
Select 'settings'
Scroll down to 'account'
Select 'switch account type'
Select 'switch to business account'
Once you have a business account, you'll have access to Instagram Insights for your entire account and individual posts.
Let's begin with your account's insights, located under the bio portion of your Instagram profile.
Your Instagram Account Insights for Realtors
Within your Insights, there are three key metrics that are monitored over a timeframe of your choosing, such as the last 7, 30, or even 90 days.
Let's explore what each of these metrics are, and more importantly, why you should care about them:
Accounts Reached
What it is: accounts reached is the number of unique accounts who have seen the content you've posted, whether what you shared was a post, Reel, or even Instagram Story. (This is different from impressions which include multiple views by the same account of your content.)
Why it matters: this stat matters because it's how many people are seeing what you're sharing. If your goal is to grow your real estate business, then we want more people to see your content, associate you with local real estate, and ultimately want to work with you. And it all starts with expanding your reach.
What to track: you'll be shown the "total number of accounts reached," and beneath that stat is a "percentage." This percentage indicates whether you're reaching more or fewer accounts over the previous time period. If it's green, it means it's growing! Instead of tracking the total number of accounts reached, I like to monitor the percentage of growth compared to the previous time frame.
Since real estate is local, it's also important to see if you're reaching potential home buyers and sellers in your market. To do this, simply click on "Accounts Reached," and it will take you to a screen that shows where your audience is located. From this screen, you can also see the number of followers vs. non-followers you're reaching. If you see you're not reaching many non-followers, then we know that new potential customers aren't finding you.
How you can improve: the first way to improve reach is to simply post more! The more you post, the more people you will reach. However, I don't want you spending all day every day on Instagram. We can be more strategic than this! Within the Reach section of your Insights Overview, you'll see the reach for each type of content you shared. From here, it's easy to see what type of content reaches the most people for you. For me and probably most users right now, Reels reach more people! Learn how to create a Reel for Realtors. Knowing this information can guide you on what type of content to share and where to spend your time.
Accounts Engaged
What it is: accounts engaged is the number of accounts that have interacted with what you've shared. These interactions could be liking a post, saving what you're sharing, leaving a comment, sharing your stories, or even replies. Think of this metric as measuring how interested people are in what you're sharing. After all, it's "accounts engaged."
Why it matters: this stat matters because it is a sign of how well you're content is resonating with your ideal customer and your audience. If people aren't engaging, then you know your content strategy is falling flat.
What to track: you'll be shown the "total number of accounts engaged," and beneath that stat is a "percentage." This percentage indicates whether you're engaging more or fewer accounts over the previous time period. This stat is important because we want what you share to be relevant or valuable to your audience. If people don't care about what you're sharing, they're not going to engage by liking, commenting, or saving your posts. As with "Accounts Reached," I prefer to regularly track this as a percentage of growth to know if I'm showing up consistently with valuable content.
By clicking on the "accounts engaged," you'll once again see the top cities where you are engaging people - a valuable stat for real estate whether you're focused on a local market or even those relocating. Scrolling down, you can see a more detailed view of how your different types of content performed, including how many likes, comments, saves, and shares each type had. This is another indicator of what type of content (whether it's posts, stories, videos, or reels) you should continue to focus on.
While simply looking at likes can be tempting when comparing the type of content to share, I'd encourage you to think more about comments, shares, and saves. Comments can indicate that people care enough to keep the conversation going. Shares mean your content is so valuable that they just have to spread the work. Lastly, saves mean that they found what you shared to be something they want to be able to hold on to and refer back to later. I do a little happy dance every time someone shares my content, and you should, too.
How you can improve: the best way to improve this stat is through your content strategy. People are engaged when you're able to speak to them and when you show up as your authentic self. If you're constantly "selling them" or posting info they don't care about, they won't be engaged.
That's why it's so important that you take time to think about who you want to attract on Instagram and the type of content they would be most likely to engage with in addition to showing off who you are. I teach you exactly how to figure out a content strategy that works for your business in my Instagram marketing course for Realtors, IG Unlocked. So, if you'd like to nail down exactly what to post to attract your dream customer and build your personal brand as a real estate agent, then head to IGUnlocked.com to learn more and join!
Total Followers
What it is: total followers is plain and simply, the total number of followers on Instagram and likely a stat you are aware of!
Why it matters: total number of followers matters for real estate because it means these people are interested in your Instagram account and you! However, this metric can easily become a distraction or false representation of success. I always recommend that we first focus on the right people and not just more people. So, before you dive into this stat, I want you to confirm that your followers are who you are looking to attract. Then, moving forward, we can focus on growing more like-minded followers.
What to track: you'll be shown the "total number of followers," and beneath that stat is a "percentage." This percentage indicates whether you're attracting more or fewer followers over the previous time period. Again, this is a stat where I prefer to track the percentage. That way, you can set realistic goals and easily monitor them.
If you click on "Total Followers," the expanded page will show you your "Growth." This includes your overall followers, how many people followed you, and even how many people unfollowed you. It's normal to get "unfollows." However, if this number is large, it might be a sign that you're attracting spam accounts or the wrong type of followers. You can also see followers by location here as well.
How you can improve: if you want to grow your followers, the best way, like I mentioned, is to first start with the right type of followers. And you can attract the right type of followers through the type of content you post, how you position yourself, and even how you optimize your account. The best all-in-one resource I have to help you with this is my Instagram marketing course IG Unlocked because we focus on a strategy that works for you, your business, and your market. So, head to IGUnlocked.com to learn more about course availability!
Instagram Post Insights for Realtors
After you've taken a look at your overall account Insights, then we can move on to the insights within your posts. To access the Insights for your posts, Reels, and videos, simply click on your post and then "view insights." For active Stories, simply swipe up on your Story to view the Insights.
Within your Post Insights, you'll see information that's similar to your overall Account Insights. From here, you can easily see the total number of likes, comments, shares, and saves. You can also see how many accounts you reached, the number of content interactions, and profile activity.
That's a lot of stats to monitor! However, an area you might not look at is the "Profile Activity." This area can be a gold mine when it comes to planning future content and capitalizing on what's already working. It also gives you the insight to know if what you shared was worth your time. In this section, you'll see how many people visited your profile after they viewed your post. If they do that, this means that your post captured their attention so much that they want to see more from you. Website taps show how many people moved off Instagram to visit your site. You can also see how many Followers you got as a result of a single post and if anyone took action, such as sending you an email.
Let's take a look at a practical example of how you can use this info.
Let's say you shared a post advertising your latest listing. In the post, you made sure to include a strong call-to-action such as "click my link in bio to view the complete property details including any price changes, exact location, or to schedule a showing."
Well, the Post Insights Profile Activity will show you if anybody did just that! You can see how many people clicked your link in bio after looking at this post. If nobody did, then you know you missed your mark on Instagram. If they did click the link, and you didn't get any leads, this might signify that it's your website that's not working and not your social strategy.
This is valuable information as you grow your business and attract new customers. So, while the number of likes on a post is a number people like to see, identifying missed opportunities for lead generation is more valuable to your business!
Why Monitor Instagram Stats?
When we monitor metrics, we don't want to do it for the sake of increasing likes or comparing ourselves to other's follower counts. We monitor stats so we can use this information to improve our marketing, hold ourselves accountable to showing up regularly, and be more efficient with our time.
While I encourage you to be authentically you and genuine in your approach, I also encourage you to treat Instagram marketing like it's a business decision. When you do, you'll start to see different results. You'll be more motivated to put in the work, and at the same time, you'll be more mindful of the ROI of all your efforts. You'll be less likely to get caught up in what other agents and people are doing, and you'll be more focused on what works and doesn't work for you!
So, to recap, here are the metrics I recommend you track on Instagram:
Take note of any transactions, new leads, or contacts you've made thanks to Instagram
Recognize the number of meaningful conversations you're having or not. Remember, we want to track and engage the right people foremost!
Head to your Account Insights and explore your metrics for Accounts Reached, Accounts Engaged, and Total Followers. Keep in mind, I like to monitor the percentage of growth.
For individual posts, look at your post Insights for key signifiers of whether your marketing efforts are working
The more you are aware of your marketing, the better your marketing will perform for you! And remember, it's not all about the likes and the followers! I've seen agents generate multiple closings with small followings. So, stay focused on your potential customers and how you can continue to create opportunities for conversations!
Looking to improve your Instagram marketing?
Don't miss IG Unlocked for Real Estate, my complete Instagram marketing course. In it, you'll learn exactly what to post and how to brand yourself as the go-to local agent. At the end of the course, you'll have an easy-to-follow plan that works for your lifestyle and to reach your business goals. Explore IG Unlocked here.
Want to learn more about Instagram marketing for Realtors? Don't miss these top posts:
[VIDEO] How to Brand Yourself as the Go-To Local Agent on Instagram
The 3 Biggest Instagram Myths that Are Costing Realtors Business
You might also find these related (free) resources valuable as well!
UP NEXT:
I’m Heather Colby, host of the “Ideas for Real Estate Podcast.”
If you like what you read here today, I’d encourage you to take a listen to the episodes. :
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