How and Why Real Estate Agents Need to Utilise LinkedIn
In general, Real Estate professionals do not make much use of the professional audience on LinkedIn when compared to other social media platforms. Those who take advantage of the professional network to garner business are few and far between. However, with more than 187 million members across 200 countries, its high time that we give this a thought.
Benefit That LinkedIn Can Offer Your Business.
• A recent study found that traffic from LinkedIn generated the highest visitor-to-lead conversion rate, almost three times higher than both Twitter and Facebook combined! Given that a person approaches LinkedIn mostly with a business-focused mindset, it isn’t surprising that business related content performs better there as compared to other social platforms.
• LinkedIn users tend to have a relatively high average household income making it a more lucrative platform for large purchases. So it is good to be around when they are ready to do that.
• The power of LinkedIn lies in the ability to research, locate, connect and engage all in one location. It is a social network focused on enhancing business that works best by working hand in hand with your offline marketing efforts.
Ways to be Effective on LinkedIn
Make your Profile Informative and Comprehensive
Make sure your profile has details of your experience, and it clearly conveys your strength or specialty. Ensure buyers and sellers can find what they need to know about you easily. Remember, potential customers often conduct extensive research online, on you and your business much before they ever connect with you in person.
What they find is either going to create a strong impression or put doubts in their mind. It is only logical that people need to be reassured about your ability and experience to handle what could be the biggest deal of their lives.
Host and Share Engaging Content
Take inspiration from the best in the field. The top real estate agents and firms on LinkedIn all post engaging content — links to blog posts, news articles, opinion pieces, etc. On social channels, it’s ideal to show your audience you’re not of a closed mindset and are willing to go to great lengths to find information that can be of help to them.
Utilize Your Real World Connections
With a professional and engaging profile in place, it is time to take advantage of your connections. Widen your network by reaching out to your peers, existing clients and professional contacts that you already work with. Make use of LinkedIn’s referral system and it’s Recommendations function.
While requesting or soliciting referrals, be sure to convey clearly what you need. That makes it easier for the author and also increases your chances of receiving a recommendation.
Measuring and Improving your Efforts
Anything and everything you do on LinkedIn is recorded and compiled into data. The site’s analytics tools can be used to collate and determine the content that helped you gain. Figure out the trends and modify your marketing strategy on the platform as needed.
As in the real world, it is important to define your potential audience and set up a suitable strategy to find and engage them on LinkedIn. Examine your LinkedIn metrics carefully just as you do with Ad related Analytics, to consistently generate more and more real estate business.
With even Google listing LinkedIn as a prominent trusted source in it's search results, its a no-brainer to take advantage of this professional platform.