Maximizing Instagram Reach
Geoff Zimpfer opens his private mortgage coaching community's monthly guest call to the public, featuring Instagram strategist Jen Herman. She covers Reels strategy, Instagram's new view-based metrics, bio construction, hashtag best practices, and how Instagram content now surfaces on Google. LOs who want a no-fluff, tactical Instagram playbook should prioritize this episode.
Reels under 30 seconds reach new audiences; everything over 30 seconds serves only your existing followers — so you need both, used intentionally.
Takeaways you can run this week
- Post Reels under 30 seconds to reach cold audiences: record a 9–15 second clip with 2–3 bullet points on screen, add a text title in the first 1 second, and end with a single CTA ('follow me for more'). Publish natively in the Instagram app, not through a scheduler.
- Do all Reels editing inside Instagram — even a small in-app edit (add a music track, drop a text box) signals original content to the algorithm and increases distribution. Use CapCut to prep, then finish with at least one in-app edit before publishing.
- Run a 6–8 week content calibration: post exactly 3x/week — one Reel, one single-photo feed post with a caption, one carousel. Track reach (not views) on each format to learn what your specific audience responds to before changing anything.
- Rewrite your bio with three required elements: (1) who you are — include a personal detail like a hobby or identity ('single mom,' 'marathon runner') that attracts your ideal client, (2) what you do — your specialty or geography, (3) what's in it for them — one line like 'I'll save you time and money' or 'helping you build a clear mortgage plan.'
- Use a minimum of 20 hashtags per post, placed in the caption (not the comments). Focus on geo-specific and niche tags like '#LasVegasRealEstate' or '#SanDiegoFirstTimeHomeBuyer' rather than broad tags like '#RealEstate.' Longer captions with descriptive keywords can drop hashtag count to 5–10.
- Go to Instagram Settings, find 'Be found in internet searches,' and toggle it ON. This allows Google to index your Instagram posts, so descriptive captions with city/state keywords and your specialty now have dual SEO value on both Instagram and Google.
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GET FREE ACCESSThe playbook
- Step 1 — Create a Reel cover: Take a photo in the same spot you'll film, add your video title as text, save it as your custom cover image.
- Step 2 — Film the Reel: Do a one-take recording. If under 30 seconds, use bullet-point text overlays so viewers loop it 2–3 times to read it. If over 30 seconds, deliver full value verbally with a short caption.
- Step 3 — Edit inside Instagram: Import your CapCut-prepped video, then add at least one in-app element (music, text box, filter) to signal original content.
- Step 4 — Write your caption: Short Reel = short caption with 20–30 hashtags. Long Reel = descriptive caption with geo keywords + 5–10 hashtags. All hashtags go in the caption, never the comments.
- Step 5 — Publish natively: Save Reels as a draft in Instagram. Use a scheduling tool like Publer only as a reminder to go manually publish from your drafts — never auto-publish Reels through a third-party tool.
- Step 6 — Measure reach, not views: After 48 hours, check Instagram Insights for reach (not views). Compare to your baseline. If a post hits 2x your average reach, reverse-engineer what made it work.
Worth quoting
“I would rather you post once a week and have it be epic, amazing content than post seven days a week and have it be mediocre.”
“Reels under 30 seconds get distribution to new audiences. Reels over 30 seconds serve your existing audience.”
Best for
LOs who are posting on Instagram inconsistently or only doing Reels with no strategy, and want a concrete system to expand reach to both consumers and real estate agents.