It feels like with Instagram, there’s a new trend to be aware of every week. You may have heard of the soft launch; now meet its cousin, the soft tag.

What Is Soft Tagging?

Soft tagging is a way of discreetly tagging a person or business in one of your posts. 

The first way we see this done is in Instagram Stories. You can tag an account in a Story and then pinch the tag with your fingers to make it too small to see. This way, the people you want to interact with the content will still get a DM and be able to repost without being obviously tagged in the Story. 

The other way people are soft tagging is by @ing an account in the comments section of a post. This makes it apparent to the person tagged in a post rather than the entire audience. 

Why Are People Soft Tagging?

The next generation has made it clear they want nothing to do with “cheugy” social media behavior, such as rushing to update your Facebook status the minute you’re in a relationship or broadcasting every detail of your day to everyone you know. Rather than curated, highly edited posts, people are leaning heavily into spur-of-the-moment photo dumps and casual finstas. The concept of the soft tag aligns with this pattern of use. 

Nowadays, people see less reason to place a big, distracting tag on photos and opt to keep things minimalistic. Think about it, who wants tags blocking out the actual content in a post, especially when they aren’t all that relevant? Someone’s username in a photo or story doesn’t need to be so big that it’s blocking the actual person. 

In short, younger generations aren’t eager to share every detail of their lives so conspicuously, especially when it requires a bunch of large text that could ruin an intended aesthetic. 

How to Use Soft Tagging in Your Real Estate Content

Listen, you don’t have to follow every new trend on social media. But soft tagging does have some added benefits for your real estate content. It’s a simple switch that may appeal to your current clients and your audience on social media.

  • Aesthetic. We’re not saying you need to go full-out Gen Z, but if you’re showcasing a luxury property in your stories, you don’t need tags messing with the overall vibe. Use soft tags to let the photos speak for themselves.  
  • Content sharing. If you want other agents to spread the word about a particular piece of content, soft tagging allows them to repost without your added tags. They can even do a soft repost by zooming in to hide the username, making it look like they took the photo themselves. 
  • Client privacy. Your clients don’t scour over your social media all day. Use soft tags to ensure your sellers see your marketing while helping maintain their privacy. 
  • Reach. Don’t hesitate to tag accounts mentioned even briefly. There’s always a chance that a larger account will see you’ve tagged them and throw it up on their Stories. Both @thebrokeagent and @brokeagentmedia have been known to repost relevant content that comes across their feeds, so don’t underestimate the power of suggesting your content with a soft tag!

Want more Instagram tips? Check out BAM’s free ebooks for the latest hacks.