---
title: "Instagram for real estate agents: how to get clients"
description: "What to put on your profile, what to post and how to reply in minutes, even when people message you at 10 PM, so your DMs turn into showings."
url: https://socialmaker.ai/blog/instagram-for-real-estate-agents
language: en
---

# Instagram for real estate agents: how to get clients and keep the ones who message you

What to put on your profile, what to post and how to reply in minutes, even when people message you at 10 PM, so your DMs turn into showings.

Published on October 4, 2026 · 15 min read

![A gray-haired real estate agent smiles as he answers a message on his phone in the empty living room of a house for sale, keys in his other hand](https://socialmaker.ai/blog/instagram-for-real-estate-agents/portada.webp)

It's Saturday, 10 PM. Someone watches the video of a house and messages you: “Is it still available?” You're having dinner with your family, or you've already gone to bed. You reply Sunday mid-morning, and they tell you they already booked a showing with another agent. In real estate, Instagram isn't just about posting pretty photos: it's about being found, getting messages and answering before anyone else does.

In this guide you'll see what the data says, what to put on your profile, what to post even if dancing on Reels isn't your thing, how to reply in minutes even when you're at a showing, how to sort out who wants to buy, rent or sell, and which advertising rules are worth knowing.

Animation: on a Saturday at 10:14 PM, the same person asks two agents whether the Coral Gables house is still available. The agent with an automatic reply answers the same minute with the card to book a showing, and the person books for Sunday at 11:00 AM. The agent who replies manually answers on Sunday at 9:40 AM, when the person has already booked with another agent.

The same question, at the same time, to two agents. The showing went to whoever answered first.

## Can you really get clients on Instagram?

Yes, but not the way many people think. In the National Association of Realtors (NAR) annual report, 46% of buyers said their first step was looking at homes online, and 52% found the home they ended up buying online ([NAR, 2025](https://www.greaterbergenrealtors.com/clientuploads/Broker_Page/2025_Profile_of_Home_Buyers_and_Sellers.pdf)).

Here's what matters most: most people talk to just one agent. 74% of buyers interviewed only one agent, and among sellers, 80% contacted just one ([NAR, 2025](https://www.greaterbergenrealtors.com/clientuploads/Broker_Page/2025_Profile_of_Home_Buyers_and_Sellers.pdf)). In another survey, 47% of buyers hired the first agent they contacted ([Zillow, 2025](https://www.zillowstatic.com/bedrock/app/uploads/sites/33/2024/09/2025-Consumer-Housing-Trends-Report-for-Agents.pdf)). Often, the first agent they talk to is the only one: if that's you, answer fast and well.

Social media is the storefront. When NAR asked agents which technology brings them the most quality leads, the most common answer was social media (39%) ([NAR, 2025](https://cms.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/2025-10/2025-realtors-technology-survey-report-10-06-2025_1.pdf)), and Instagram is the second network agents use most for work (57%), after Facebook ([NAR, 2026](https://www.nar.realtor/news/real-estate-news/even-in-a-tougher-market-realtors-are-holding-their-ground)). Among prospective buyers, 44% said they're more likely to hire an agent who's active on social media, although 46% said it makes no difference ([Zillow, 2025](https://www.zillowstatic.com/bedrock/app/uploads/sites/33/2024/09/2025-Consumer-Housing-Trends-Report-for-Agents.pdf)).

But almost nobody picks an agent from their profile alone: only 1% of buyers found theirs by seeing their social media page without a connection ([NAR, 2025](https://www.greaterbergenrealtors.com/clientuploads/Broker_Page/2025_Profile_of_Home_Buyers_and_Sellers.pdf)), and in another survey, 7% discovered their agent on a social network ([Zillow, 2025](https://www.zillowstatic.com/bedrock/app/uploads/sites/33/2024/09/2025-Consumer-Housing-Trends-Report-for-Agents.pdf)). Instagram works as proof that you're real and active, as one agent put it: “Nobody buys houses on social media. But if your friends in town know you're a realtor due to consistent social media presence and your potential clients look you up and see that you are active, it may influence them to use you” ([Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/realtors/comments/1sy4h8o/is_posting_listing_flyers_and_videos_on_social/oirou7h/)). What converts is replying fast, by message: 53% of buyers prefer to text or use a messaging app with their agent, and only 33% prefer phone calls ([Zillow, 2025](https://www.zillowstatic.com/bedrock/app/uploads/sites/33/2024/09/2025-Consumer-Housing-Trends-Report-for-Agents.pdf)).

And if you work in Spanish, there's more: 62% of Hispanic adults in the US use Instagram, compared with 45% of White adults ([Pew Research Center, 2025](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/PI_2025.11.20_Social-Media-Use_REPORT.pdf)). In 2025, Hispanic homeowner households grew by 441,000, a record, while the national total grew by 316,000: without Hispanic households, the number of homeowners would have gone down ([NAHREP, 2025](https://nahrep.org/downloads/2025-state-of-hispanic-homeownership-report.pdf)). “I’m fluent in Spanish and that’s what keeps me busy in my market,” said one bilingual agent ([Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/realtors/comments/1f5r5kx/realtors_who_speak_more_than_one_language/lkusszf/)).

## The problem: messages nobody answers

A buyer who messaged several agents on Instagram to ask whether a home was still available put it this way: “Most haven’t replied at all (it’s been a couple days). (…) As a buyer, I honestly just ended up continuing the conversation with whoever replied first” ([Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1qw5xvn/how_fast_do_you_realistically_respond_to/)). In the same thread, an agent explained one of the reasons: “A lot of times it shows up in the folder for spam and we dont usually check that” ([Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1qw5xvn/how_fast_do_you_realistically_respond_to/o3mq64v/)).

It doesn't only happen in the US. In Bogotá, the owner of an apartment complained that a rental company only answered on WhatsApp, nobody picked up on Saturdays and a request could go unanswered for weeks ([Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Bogota/comments/16umcdb/c%C3%B3mo_les_ha_ido_con_inmobiliarias/k2m09vc/)).

**Tip**

Check your Instagram message requests folder: that's where messages from people you don't follow land, and those are exactly your new clients.

## 1. Set up your profile so people find you (and know who they're messaging)

Whoever lands on your profile decides in seconds whether to message you. Your photo, your name and your bio need to answer three questions: who you are, where you work and how to reach you.

- **Your area in your name:** besides your name, add what people search for: “Daniela Restrepo | Miami Homes”. Instagram search looks at your name and username, so people can find you by searching “Miami homes”.
- **Your face, not just the logo:** people buy from a person. Use a photo in natural light where you're easy to see.
- **What you do, where, and in which languages:** “Buying, selling and renting in Miami-Dade · I speak English and Spanish · Book a showing at the link”.
- **Your license and your brokerage in plain sight:** in many places it's required. The rules by location are further down.
- **Useful story highlights:** “For sale”, “Rentals”, “Happy clients” and “How to buy”.

For the link in your bio, a page with your listings works better than a lone link to a portal. [SocialMaker's link in bio](https://socialmaker.ai/link-in-bio) has 15 designs made for agents (4 on the Starter plan and all 15 on Pro and Max): paste your listing's link (from your site, your brokerage or the portal where you published it) and the card builds itself with the photo, price, bedrooms, bathrooms and size; if a portal doesn't let us read the listing, you fill it in by hand. Next to it go your WhatsApp and book-a-showing buttons, plus a line for your license.

If you want more ideas, [our Instagram bio ideas for business](https://socialmaker.ai/blog/instagram-bio-ideas-for-business) include 36 examples by industry.

## 2. What to post (no dancing on Reels required)

You don't need to become a content creator. What works best for an agent is what you already know how to do: show homes, explain the process and tell people what it's like to live in your area.

- **Short vertical video tours:** 30 to 60 seconds, in the order of a showing: entry, kitchen, primary bedroom, backyard. End with the price and the area.
- **“What $400,000 buys in…”:** two or three homes at the same price in different neighborhoods. It helps people who don't know yet where to look.
- **Neighborhood guides:** schools, parks, grocery stores and how long it takes to get downtown. Great for people moving from another city.
- **The process, explained:** pre-approval, down payment, closing costs, inspection. They're the questions you get asked the most.
- **Behind the scenes:** the signing, the key handover, the first day in the new home (with your clients' permission).
- **In your clients' language:** if you work in Spanish, post in Spanish; it's one of your advantages.

![A real estate agent with long braids films a white kitchen tour with her phone on a gimbal](https://socialmaker.ai/blog/instagram-for-real-estate-agents/tour.webp)

A tour filmed on your phone shows more than ten separate photos.

**Tip**

Put the price in the post and use a word for everything else: “Comment INFO and I'll DM you more photos, the address and showing times.” That way you know who's really interested.

Why show the price? Because hiding it annoys people. An agent who tried posting with and without the price said: “I've tested both and it means a LOT of people ask for price, but are annoyed enough to not work with the agent” ([Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/realtors/comments/1l3nlup/why_dont_realtors_list_the_price_on_social_media/mw2ixlq/)). And in Costa Rica, someone wrote that almost everyone they know can't stand businesses that hide the price or say “price by DM”, and some even decide not to buy ([Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Ticos/comments/1vr6yaz/el_m%C3%A9todo_de_marketing_de_los_negocios_de_no/)).

**Important**

A listing's photos aren't always yours, even if the listing is: they may belong to the owner, the photographer, the brokerage or the MLS, and using them without permission can lead to a copyright lawsuit ([NAR](https://www.nar.realtor/copyright/who-owns-your-property-photos)). If you don't know who owns a photo, don't use it ([NAR, 2023](https://www.nar.realtor/magazine/real-estate-news/law-and-ethics/3-rules-to-avoid-a-copyright-claim-on-the-photos-you-use)). And if you edit it with AI or an editing tool (adding furniture, changing the paint or the view), in California, since 2026, you have to say so next to the photo and link to the original ([California, § 10140.8](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=10140.8)).

## 3. Reply in minutes, not hours

In more than 100 secret-shopper tests of US real estate brokerages (online inquiries and open house visits), 47% of online inquiries never got a response; among those that did, half took longer than 39 minutes, even though they were all sent during business hours ([Mike DelPrete, 2024](https://www.mikedp.com/articles/2024/8/13/secret-shopping-47-of-online-property-inquiries-are-ignored)). It's a small sample, but it points the same way as a classic study published in Harvard Business Review, covering 1.25 million leads received by 42 US companies: those that tried to contact a lead within an hour were nearly 7 times as likely to have a meaningful conversation as those that tried even an hour later ([Harvard Business Review, 2011](https://hbr.org/2011/03/the-short-life-of-online-sales-leads)).

Interest also cools off fast. One agent described it like this: “They saw a kitchen they liked at 11pm and hit the blue button. By morning they forgot they did it” ([Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/realtors/comments/1tdayie/zillow_leads_reply_once_then_disappear/olxg04x/)). The problem is that messages arrive when you can't answer: at a showing, driving, at a closing or at dinner time. Another agent wrote in September: “last week, I missed a couple dinners working on the phone and laptop” ([Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/realtors/comments/1w94bqv/how_do_you_communicate_your_boundaries_with/)).

That's where an automatic reply helps: it doesn't replace your call, but the person gets something useful that same minute, and the next day you call someone who already booked. And you get to finish dinner with your family.

## 4. Put a word on every post: “Comment INFO”

With [SocialMaker's automations](https://socialmaker.ai/automations), every time someone comments the word you chose, three things happen without you touching your phone:

1. You reply to the comment · With a short line like “Done! I sent you a DM.” You can write several versions that take turns, so the same reply doesn't show up over and over.
2. They get a private message · With a button to receive the information.
3. When they tap it, they get the listings · The card to book a showing, with the button text you choose (“Book a showing”), and the cards with photo and price you already have in your link in bio.

The same works with direct messages and your stories: if someone messages you “available”, “price” or “info”, or replies to your story with that word, they get the answer that same minute.

**Tip**

Pick a word that's easy to type on a phone: INFO, HOME or PRICE. If someone types it in lowercase or with an accent, it still works.

## 5. Sort buyers, renters and sellers with one question

Not everyone who messages you wants the same thing. Instead of asking each person whether they want to buy or rent, the automatic message can ask with buttons, and each button has its own answer: the homes for sale and the showing for buyers, the rentals for renters and a valuation call for sellers.

Animation: an automatic message asks “What are you looking for?” with three buttons. Whoever taps Buy gets the card to book a showing and the homes for sale; whoever taps Rent, the available rentals; whoever taps Sell, the card to book a valuation call.

Tap the buttons above: each answer is set up once and goes out on its own.

You can add up to 13 buttons, and each one can send a text, a link, your listing cards or the card to book. On the Pro or Max plan, you can also ask for their phone number or email before sending the information: they're saved in your contacts and you can download them in a file for your CRM.

## 6. Book showings without the back-and-forth

What eats up the most time is agreeing on a time: “Does Saturday work?”, “What time?”, “Actually, Sunday is better.” With [SocialMaker bookings](https://socialmaker.ai/bookings) you create a “Property showing” service (for example, 30 minutes, in person, with the address) and the person picks a day and time from your open slots, right from the message or from your link in bio.

- They get the confirmation by email, with a file for their calendar and a link to change or cancel the appointment.
- If they booked ahead of time, they get an automatic reminder the day before.
- You see every showing in your calendar and can mark who didn't show up.
- For sellers, you can have another service: “Home valuation”, by phone or video call.

![A couple sitting on their living room couch at night excitedly looks at a home listing on a phone](https://socialmaker.ai/blog/instagram-for-real-estate-agents/pareja.webp)

Lots of people shop for homes at night, from the couch: let them book without waiting until Monday.

If you're worried people will book and not show up, see [how to reduce no-shows](https://socialmaker.ai/blog/how-to-reduce-no-shows).

## Advertising rules, depending on where you work

In many places, your posts, your bio and even your messages count as advertising. Here are a few examples; before you post, ask your brokerage what yours requires.

- **NAR members in the US:** your brokerage's name on all your advertising; online, it can be on a linked page with the required disclosures ([Code of Ethics, Standard of Practice 12-5](https://www.nar.realtor/about-nar/governing-documents/code-of-ethics/2026-code-of-ethics-standards-of-practice)).
- **Texas:** social media and text messages count as advertising; your name and your broker's name can be on your profile, as long as it's reachable with a direct link ([TREC, rule 535.155](https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/texas/22-Tex-Admin-Code-SS-535-155)).
- **California:** your name, your license number and your responsible broker on all first-point-of-contact materials, electronic ones included ([§ 10140.6](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=10140.6)).
- **Florida:** your brokerage's licensed name on every ad, and it must be clear people are dealing with a licensee ([FREC, rule 61J2-10.025](https://www.flrules.org/gateway/ruleNo.asp?id=61J2-10.025)).
- **Mexico:** the real estate advertising standard requires your name, address, phone and email, truthful information and the sale price in pesos (you can show it in another currency too) ([NOM-247-SE-2021](https://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle_popup.php?codigo=5646251)).
- **Colombia:** if you broker rentals, your landlord registration number on your ads ([Law 820 of 2003](https://www.funcionpublica.gov.co/eva/gestornormativo/norma.php?i=8738)).

**Important**

Whatever your automatic replies say is on you. In California, the regulator warned in 2026 that if an AI tool gives inaccurate or misleading information, responsibility rests with the agent and their broker, not the technology provider ([DRE, 2026](https://dre.ca.gov/Licensees/Advisories/Advisory_2026_03_17_AI_in_California_Real_Estate.html)). Write the texts yourself and review them whenever a listing changes.

## What to avoid

- **Describing who the home is right for instead of describing the home.** In the US, the Fair Housing Act prohibits ads that indicate a preference based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin ([42 U.S.C. § 3604](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/3604)). “Adults only” or “perfect for a Christian family” can get you in trouble; “three bedrooms, two blocks from a school” describes the home without choosing who.
- **Advertising another agent's listing without permission.** NAR's Code of Ethics prohibits it ([Standard of Practice 12-4](https://www.nar.realtor/about-nar/governing-documents/code-of-ethics/2026-code-of-ethics-standards-of-practice)), and so do several states.
- **Messaging people who didn't message you.** SocialMaker's automations only reply to people who commented or messaged you first, as Instagram requires. Buying followers or sending mass messages can cost you your account.
- **Promising what you can't control:** “the best investment of your life” or “it'll sell in a week”. NAR's Code of Ethics asks you to present “a true picture” in your advertising ([NAR, 2026](https://www.nar.realtor/about-nar/governing-documents/code-of-ethics/2026-code-of-ethics-standards-of-practice)); show facts about the home and the area.

**Good to know**

Prefer to see it live? On Friday, October 16, we're hosting a [free online workshop](https://socialmaker.ai/events/taller-instagram-16-octubre) about automations and link in bio, with examples from real estate and other businesses. It's in Spanish.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does Instagram work for getting real estate clients?

Yes, mostly as a storefront and proof you're trustworthy. Almost half of buyers start their search online and most talk to just one agent: what makes the difference is answering fast and making it easy to book a showing.

### What do I post if I don't have listings for sale?

Neighborhood guides, the buying process explained, the questions you get asked the most and your clients' results, with their permission. Other agents' listings, only with authorization.

### Do I have to show my license on Instagram?

It depends on where you work. In several US states your advertising has to show your brokerage's name (in California, your license number too), and NAR's Code of Ethics requires it from its members. There are examples above; ask your brokerage what your state requires.

### Does the automatic reply replace my call?

No. It makes sure the person gets something useful right away (photos, price, how to book) and lets you call people who already showed interest. The important conversation is still yours.

### Can I reply in English and Spanish?

Yes. Write your messages in your clients' language; if you work in both, use a different word for each language (for example, HOME and CASA), each with its own answer.

### How much does it cost?

You can start for free, no credit card required. Plans and what each one includes are on the [Pricing](https://socialmaker.ai/pricing) page.

Instagram doesn't sell homes on its own: what sells is the conversation that starts there. If you want to see step by step how to set up the automatic reply, check out [how to set up Instagram auto-reply messages](https://socialmaker.ai/blog/instagram-auto-reply-examples).

Written by **Andros Blandon** SocialMaker

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## Keep going with the step-by-step guides

[**Create your first automation** Step by step: someone comments a word on your post and gets your link, your booking page or your coupon by DM.](https://socialmaker.ai/help/create-your-first-automation) [**Reply buttons: a different reply for each option** Options the person taps instead of typing, each one with its own reply. Great for menus, prices and frequently asked questions.](https://socialmaker.ai/help/reply-buttons) [**Appointments, services and products by DM** Send your booking page, a carousel with your services, or your products right inside the chat, and see how many bookings each automation brings in.](https://socialmaker.ai/help/bookings-and-products-in-dms) [**Create your link in bio** Claim your address (socialmaker.ai/yourname), choose a template, and publish it in minutes.](https://socialmaker.ai/help/create-your-link-in-bio)