LinkedIn offers real estate professionals some amazing marketing tools for building their professional network and generating new leads. If you want to grow your contact list, expand your network and connect strategically with decision makers, we’ll show you how to get started on LinkedIn the right way!
Is LinkedIn Worth It For Real Estate?
Ok, so LinkedIn might not be the most obvious place to look for homebuyers, but everyone needs a place to live, right?
Many homebuyers, sellers, business owners and professionals use LinkedIn on a daily basis to network with professionals in their area.
If you learn to use LinkedIn effectively, you can attract the interest of experts (professionals, business owners, and influencers), build brand recognition in your target market, and cultivate deeper relationships with potential homeowners.
Sounds good, so far? Then let’s take a walk through the platform and its features.
Who Uses LinkedIn?
Real estate brokers and agents spend a lot of time and resources at major conferences and other networking events each year. Chances are, the contacts you meet offline are probably already on LinkedIn, and the people you need to meet are there too.
With over 400 million registered users globally, LinkedIn currently holds a 4% market share of global social media. While other social media platforms target the average consumer, LinkedIn is exclusively for professionals and businesses:
- Influencers
- Corporate Executives
- Job Seekers (Students, recent graduates)
- Millionaires (41%)
- Entrepreneurs
- Global Brands
- Business Professionals – i.e. real estate, IT, engineers, accounting, recruiters
- Local Businesses – i.e. restaurants, entertainment venues, retail
- 57% of traffic comes from a mobile device.
- 44% of LinkedIn users earn $75000 + annual income (HootSuite)
LinkedIn Tools & Features for Real Estate:
Real estate professionals can use LinkedIn’s awesome networking tools to grow their contact list substantially with quality leads.
Besides the basic contact information, you can research more important details about your contacts such as recent job changes, alumni groups, professional associations, charities they support, previous initiatives they may have launched, etc.
Premium services are more robust, but non-paying members can still uncover valuable leads and opportunities with such useful features as:
- Sponsored Content: Marketing solutions to strategically boost your content. Reach more of your target audience based on your key metrics.
- Sponsored InMail: Personalized messages targeted to the right people in your database.
- CRM Integration: Migrate your email database from Gmail, MailChimp, Yahoo, as well as your CRM (Zoho, Salesforce, Infusionsoft, etc).
- Instant Messaging: Similar to Facebook, LinkedIn members can message each other instantly and receive notifications to their iPhone or Android.
- RSS Feed: Relevant news content from your circles is regularly updated in your RSS feed so members can stay advised of the most recent updates in their network.
- Networking: Search for companies and individuals by industry or geolocation.
- Notifications: Receive alerts and notifications to your phone so you don’t miss anything important.
- Social Sharing: Content from your LinkedIn profile can be instantly shared on your social media channels with the click of a button.
- Analytics: Impressions, clicks, unique visitors, and demographics are all tracked so you can monitor all of your interactions on LinkedIn.
Getting Started On LinkedIn For Real Estate Pros
Whether you’re a new member, or you want to revamp your existing profile, you can follow our simple step-by-step guide to networking on LinkedIn…
Step 1: Create A LinkedIn Company Profile Page
Everything starts with your company profile. Make sure your profile is as detailed as possible, which will help boost your visibility on LinkedIn searches.
Remember to:
- Include your business contact info – physical address
- Include your website URL, blog, email, social media links
- Add an image: people respond more favorably to content with images – ALWAYS. (Profiles with a photo receive 14 x more views than those that don’t!)
- Links to media mentions (newspaper interviews, blogs, TV interviews, etc.)
- Interesting post shares relevant to your professional focus
- Influencer shares (share the thoughts of thought leaders you follow)
- Examples of your writing/media production (blog articles, podcasts, promotional video, etc.)
Step 2: Create a LinkedIn Showcase Page…
Your LinkedIn Showcase page is useful for static, evergreen content as well as more dynamic content. Post and promote your blog articles, referral programs, free consultations, and any relevant updates your network would appreciate.
Step 3: Search For Local Businesses To Network With…
Once you’ve established a professional profile, you can reach out to others on LinkedIn and request to join their network. The advanced search tool can help you uncover relevant local businesses in your industry or region. Find peers and associates you may have worked with previously, endorse their skills, and invite others from your contacts to join you on LinkedIn.
Step 4: Join Relevant Groups & Communities…
Look for real estate organizations and groups where your target audience can be found. While some groups are exclusive, others are open to the general public. Either way, make sure you respect the policies of the group and that their audience has relevance for you.
Step 5: Publish Great Content Consistently…
Getting people to subscribe to your email list will only work if you are consistently putting out great content people find useful. Your real estate blog articles can lead people back to your site and help you generate more backlinks, earning you increased authority with search engines.
Step 6: Use the Sales Navigator Tool…
LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator is a powerful social selling tool that will help you monitor important contacts, uncover new leads in your defined territory and improve your communications. Suggestions and insights are provided based on historical behavior parameters to help you identify suitable organizations and individuals for prospecting. Reach out to them, request to interview them for your blog, and build your relationship.
Step 7: Track Results with LinkedIn Metrics…
Measurable results are key to improving your effectiveness. LinkedIn does a great job of providing analytics for tracking the activity to your account, as well as activity in your network. Their graphical interface is easy to interpret, and reveals at a glance:
- Profile Views
- User demographics
- Post engagement (comments, shares, likes, etc)
- Audience range
- Follower updates
Your LinkedIn Analytics reports can also be integrated with automated reporting software.
BONUS: Advanced LinkedIn Features For Real Estate Pros (Read The Article Here)
Conclusion…
With a LinkedIn profile, real estate professionals can open the door to new relationships hidden across their territory. Content from your blog can be repurposed to help you connect with industry leaders, experts, and business owners in your region or neighborhood. You can monitor your contacts to cultivate new prospects, and become a true local leader!