When posting on Instagram, your first goal is to stop the scroll and hook the audience in.
You know what doesn’t do that? Posting screenshots of your Google or Zillow reviews to your feed. The text is tiny, it feels forced, and no one wants to zoom in to read what Shelly from Lancaster said about how amazing you were during the transaction. Especially when it looks like you told her what to write. It just comes off as manufactured.
Obviously, reviews are important. You want people to see them. But your Instagram feed is not the place.
Save those for Stories and put them in a Highlight labeled “Reviews.” That way, when someone’s creeping your profile like a digital business card, they can click the Reviews Highlight and scroll through them at their own pace.
Find the Real Conversations That Tell a Story
So, what should you post to your feed?
As Sharran Srivatsaa always says, show proof over promise.
Instead of a static review graphic, share a screenshot of a real text message from your client (with their permission, of course). Here’s an example:
Take some time to look through your messages. Chances are, you have some great conversations you forgot about. These might sound like:
- “OMG, my house has never looked better. This staging is unreal we don’t want to leave now lol.”
- “Thank you so much. We’re obsessed with this little coffee shop down the street our life just dramatically improved!”
- “Just met our neighbors and they also have a five-year-old. This is perfect. Thank you for helping us get here.”
Why Real Texts Win Every Time
These kinds of messages show genuine emotion. They’re raw, real, and way easier to read. They don’t feel staged. And they tell a better story because you’re not just showing what you did, you’re showing how someone felt because of it.
Take it from me: nothing stops the scroll like a screenshot of a text conversation. Some of the best-performing content on The Broke Agent account has been simple screenshots.
People want to read what’s going on. They imagine themselves in the conversation. They think about how they’d respond or what they’d feel.
So skip the tiny, unreadable review.
Instead, post the moments that feel real. Show the emotion of the deal. Show how you made someone feel.
While I have you here, I’m going to practice what I preach. Look at this screenshot from our BAMx Community:
How to Use Instagram’s New Photo Comment Feature to Boost Engagement