Instagram Integration
Social MediaWhat It Does
Instagram is the premier visual social platform with 2 billion monthly active users, making it essential for real estate professionals who sell homes based on aesthetics, lifestyle, and aspirational living. Unlike text-heavy platforms, Instagram is 100% visual—every post is a photo or video showcasing properties at their best. This integration automates posting property photos, creating multi-image carousels for room-by-room tours, publishing Stories with behind-the-scenes listing prep, and leveraging Reels for 30-60 second property walk-throughs that reach millions.
Why Real Estate Professionals Use It
Real estate is inherently visual. A home's appeal is determined in seconds by curb appeal, kitchen finishes, and natural light—all of which Instagram showcases better than any other platform. Buyers form emotional connections through photos and videos long before scheduling a showing. An agent with stunning Instagram content attracts higher-quality leads who've already fallen in love with the property and are ready to act. Automation ensures every listing gets professional-looking posts immediately, capturing attention during the critical first 48 hours.
AI Solutions for Social Media
Key Features for Real Estate
Discover how Instagram powers real estate automation workflows
Automated Feed Posting with Carousels
Publish single-image or multi-image carousel posts to your Instagram feed automatically. Carousels let you include up to 10 photos per post, perfect for showcasing multiple rooms, angles, and property features. Posts include captions with hashtags, location tags, and CTAs.
Post every new listing as a 10-image carousel: exterior, entryway, living room, kitchen, dining, bedrooms, bathrooms, backyard, neighborhood shot, logo card with contact info. Followers swipe through the entire property without leaving Instagram.
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Automation Workflows
Ready-to-deploy workflows powered by Instagram + NextAutomation
Auto-Post New Listing as Carousel + Story
When a new property is listed in your MLS or CRM, this workflow creates a visually stunning Instagram carousel post with up to 10 professional photos, generates an AI-written caption highlighting key features, adds local hashtags and location tags, and publishes a matching Story sequence alerting followers to check the new post.
1MLS or CRM triggers webhook when new listing goes live
2Retrieve listing data: address, price, beds, baths, sqft, all professional photos
3Select best 10 photos (primary exterior, kitchen, living, master bed, bathrooms, backyard, aerial, floor plan if available)
4AI (OpenAI node) generates caption: '🏡 Just Listed: [Beds]BR/[Baths]BA in [Neighborhood]. [Highlight features]. Priced at $[Price]. DM to schedule a tour!'
Every listing achieves instant visibility to your Instagram followers and local searchers browsing hashtags/locations. Carousel format encourages high engagement (users swipe through all photos). Story creates urgency with 24h expiration. Agents save 30 minutes per listing previously spent resizing photos, writing captions, and manually posting. Listings with Stories get 25% more DM inquiries than posts alone.
Triggers & Actions
Connect Instagram to your workflows with powerful triggers and actions
Triggers
New Feed Post Published
Fires when a new post (photo, carousel, or video) is published to your Instagram feed.
When you post a new listing to Instagram, trigger workflow that logs post details in CRM and sends notification to team Slack channel.
Incoming Direct Message
Fires when someone sends a DM to your Instagram Business account.
Buyer DMs 'Is 123 Oak St available?' Trigger bot response with availability confirmation and Calendly link to schedule showing.
Comment on Post
Fires when someone comments on any of your Instagram posts.
User comments 'Love this kitchen!' on listing post. Trigger auto-reply: 'It's stunning in person! DM to schedule a private tour 🔑'
New Story Published
Fires when you publish a new Instagram Story (24-hour disappearing content).
After publishing open house Story, trigger workflow that logs Story URL in CRM for future reference and tracks view count over 24h.
Story Mention or Tag
Fires when someone mentions your Instagram handle or tags you in their Story.
Client tags you in their 'We got the keys!' Story. Trigger workflow that notifies you via Slack and prompts you to repost with congratulations.
New Follower
Fires when someone follows your Instagram Business account.
When user follows you, trigger welcome DM: 'Thanks for following! We share new listings weekly. Looking for something specific?'
Actions
Create Feed Post
Publishes a new post to your Instagram feed (single photo, carousel up to 10 images, or video).
When new property listed in CRM, create Instagram carousel post with all listing photos, caption, hashtags, and location tag.
Publish Story
Publishes a new Instagram Story (single photo/video slide or multi-slide sequence).
When open house scheduled, publish 3-slide Story: (1) 'Open House Today!' graphic, (2) Property exterior with time overlay, (3) 'See you there!' CTA.
Publish Reel
Publishes a short-form video (15-90 seconds) as an Instagram Reel with audio, text overlays, and caption.
Turn property walk-through video into 30-second Reel with trending audio and text overlay showing price and key features.
Send Direct Message
Sends a DM to a specific Instagram user from your Business account.
When buyer books showing via Calendly, send confirmation DM: 'See you [Date/Time] at [Address]! Here's what to expect: [details].'
Reply to Comment
Posts a reply to an existing comment on one of your posts.
User asks 'What's the HOA fee?' in comment. Auto-reply from listing data: '$150/month. DM for full property details and showing availability!'
Add Hashtags and Location
Automatically adds hashtags and location tags to posts for improved discoverability.
Every listing post auto-tagged with #[City]RealEstate #DreamHome #JustListed and location tag [Neighborhood Name] for local search visibility.
Repost Story
Reposts someone else's Story to your own Story (with permission), commonly used for user-generated content.
Client tags you in their move-in Story. Repost to your Story with text overlay: 'Congrats to the Johnson family on their new home! 🎉'
Setup Guide
Get started in approximately 45 minutes for full setup including DM webhooks; 20 minutes for basic posting only
Prerequisites
- Instagram Business or Creator account (convert from personal in Settings → Account)
- Facebook Business Page linked to Instagram (required for API access)
- Meta Developer Account and App (same as Facebook setup)
- Instagram Page Access Token (generated via Meta Graph API Explorer)
- n8n instance with Instagram node available
Convert to Instagram Business Account
Open Instagram app, go to Settings → Account → Switch to Professional Account. Choose 'Business' (not Creator). Link your Facebook Business Page when prompted. Add contact info (email, phone, address) and business category ('Real Estate Agent'). This unlocks Insights, DM automation, and API access.
Business accounts get access to Instagram Insights (analytics) and the ability to run ads. If you already have a Business Page on Facebook, linking is instant. If not, you'll create one during this process.
Link Instagram to Facebook Business Page
In Facebook Business Manager (business.facebook.com), go to Business Settings → Accounts → Instagram Accounts. Click 'Add' and link your Instagram Business account. This connection is required for API access—Instagram API permissions flow through the linked Facebook Page.
If you manage multiple Instagram accounts, add each one in Business Manager. You can automate multiple accounts from a single n8n instance using different access tokens.
Generate Instagram Access Token
Follow the same process as Facebook: in Meta Graph API Explorer, select your Instagram Business Account (it appears in the dropdown once linked to FB Page), request permissions ('instagram_basic', 'instagram_content_publish', 'instagram_manage_messages'), and generate token. Copy it—this is your API key for n8n.
Instagram tokens inherit from the linked Facebook Page token. If you already set up Facebook integration, you may be able to reuse the same token for Instagram actions.
Connect Instagram to n8n
In n8n, add an Instagram node to a workflow. Click 'Create New Credentials', paste your Access Token. Test connection by adding a 'Get Account Info' node and executing—it should return your Instagram username, follower count, and profile details.
Save credentials as 'Instagram Business - Production'. Instagram and Facebook credentials are separate even though they share the same Meta API—keep them organized with clear naming.
Prepare Photo Assets with Correct Dimensions
Instagram has strict image requirements: Feed posts (1080x1080 square or 1080x1350 portrait), Stories (1080x1920 vertical), Reels (1080x1920 vertical video). Set up an image resizing step in n8n workflows (use Sharp node or ImageMagick) to auto-resize listing photos to these dimensions before posting.
Square posts (1:1 ratio) take up more screen space in feeds and stop the scroll better than landscape. Always default to square format unless showcasing tall property features (ceiling height, exterior facade).
Set Up Instagram Messaging Webhook
In Meta Developer app, go to Instagram → Webhooks. Subscribe to 'messages' events. Paste your n8n webhook URL (from Webhook trigger node set to POST). Verify webhook. Now incoming Instagram DMs trigger your n8n workflow for bot responses.
Test by DMing your business account from a personal account. Check n8n execution log to confirm message payload is received. Extract sender ID and message text to build reply logic.
Create First Automation: Auto-Post New Listing
Build an n8n workflow: CRM Trigger (new listing) → Fetch photos → Resize images to 1080x1080 → AI node (generate caption with hashtags) → Instagram API (create carousel post with location tag) → Slack notification. Test with a sample listing to ensure post appears on your Instagram feed correctly formatted.
Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags per post, but 8-15 targeted hashtags perform better than maxing out. Focus on local hashtags (#[City]RealEstate) + broad discovery hashtags (#DreamHome #HouseHunting).
Monitor Insights and Optimize Content Strategy
Use Instagram Insights (in app) or pull data via API to track: follower growth, post reach, engagement rate, top posts, DM inquiries. Combine with n8n automated reports. Identify what works: Do Reels outperform photos? Do luxury listings get more engagement? Adjust your automation to double down on high-performers.
Instagram's algorithm rewards consistency and engagement. Post 5-7x per week at varying times. Respond to comments within 1 hour (use automation). Stories posted daily keep you in the top row of followers' feeds, which drives profile visits and DM inquiries.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Instagram integration
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