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9EffortlessWaystoUseLinkedIntoGenerateRealEstateLeads

ByMatthewBushery

AboutInboundMarketing

LinkedInrealestateleadgenerationYouknowtheinsandoutsofrealestatemarketingforFacebook.YoutweetregularlytoyourmanyfollowersonTwitter.YouevenpostonvisualsocialnetworkslikePinterestandYouTube.ButdoyoutakeadvantageofallthatLinkedInhastooffer?

Theunofficialsocialnetworkforprofessionalsisactuallyanexcellentrealestateleadgenerationtool.Notconvinced?Well,justlookatthestats:Datacompiledfrommorethan5,000companiesfoundLinkedInproduced277percentmoreleadsthanFacebookandTwitter.That’snottosayyoushouldn’tusethoseplatformstogeneraterealestateleads,butitdoesmeanyouneedanactivepresenceonLinkedIn.

ThereismoretoLinkedInthansimplysigningupforanaccount,though.Realestateleadgenerationonthisplatformrequireseffort.Luckily,wehavenineexpertrealestateleadgenerationideasforLinkedInthatcangrowyourcontactsdatabase.

1)AddineverylastdetailaboutyourbusinessonyourCompanyPage.

Onceyou’vesignedupforabusinessaccountonLinkedIn,fillinalloftheinformationaboutyourcompanyonyourpage,asyouwouldforanyothersocialnetwork.ThisincludesyourrealestatewebsiteURL,linkstoothersocialaccounts,andyourbiooutliningyourexperienceinrealestateandtheareasyouspecializein(likesellingcertaintypesofhomesorworkinginacertainpricerange).Didyouworkatotheragenciesorbrokeragesinthepast?DoyouhaveoneormoreRealtorcertifications?Addthosedetailsaswell.

Onceallofyourcompanyinfoisadded,createaprofessional-lookingbannerimageforyourCompanyPageheader.Or,ifyoudon’thavethecreativechops,hireadesignertodeveloponeforyou.Regardlessofhowyougetone,theimportantthingisgettingone.LookbelowatRealtyONEGroup’sheaderimage,whichshowcasesitsrankingasoneofthetop-growingcompaniesnationwide:

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Yourheaderimageshouldincludeuniqueinformationaboutyourbusiness.Perhapsyouhadthehighestsalesvolumeatyouragencyinthepastyear,helpedclosethelargestdealinyourcommunity,orhavesomeamazinglistingsyou’vehelpedsell.Anythingthatseparatesyoufromthepackandmakesyourbusinesslooklikethecreamofthecropshouldbeincorporatedintoyourbannerimage.Evenyourrealestateagentheadshotwithatextoverlayfeaturingyourcontactinformationworkswell.

Themoreyoucanbuildyourcasethatyou’reaknowledgeable,experienced,hard-workingrealestateagent,themorelikelyalocalleadsearchingLinkedInforrealestaterepresentationwillconsideryou.

2)MakeyourCompanyPagestandoutfromthoseofotheragents.

AfterfillinginalloftheessentialinfotoyourCompanyPage,thinkofwaystomakeoptimizeitfurtherandmakeyourslookdistinct.Oneoptionistoaddvideos.Throughthesite’sCompanyUpdatesfeature,youcanaddVimeoandYouTubevideosthatappearonyourCompanyPagehomepageandinyourfollowers’homepagefeeds.Additionally,theplatformallowsforSlideShareuploadstoo.

Anyvisualcontentyoucreate(aslongasit’sinformative)canhelpyourLinkedInpage.Justasphotos,images,andgraphicsperformwellonPinterest,Instagram,andFacebook,LinkedInprovidesanothermediumyoucanusetopublishmultimediaandadvanceyourrealestatesocialmediamarketing.

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3)DevelopaShowcasePagetorelayevenmorebusinessinformation.

TherearedifferenttypesofpagesyoucansetuponLinkedInforyourbusiness—CompanyPagesandShowcasePages.Thebestwaytounderstandthemisthis:TheCompanyPageistoyourrealestatewebsitewhattheShowcasePageistoyourdedicatedlandingpages(likeyourrealestateblogoryour“aboutme”page).YoucansetuponeormoreShowcasePagestopromoteyourblogposts,promotionaloffers(e.g.referralprograms,freebuyerconsultations),oranyotherpertinentinformationyouwantyouraudiencetoknow.

Here’sanexampleofoneofGoogle’sShowcasePagesforitsdigitalmarketingresearchplatformThinkwithGoogle,whichincludesnumerouspostslinkingbacktoitswebsite:

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4)UsetheAdvancedSearchfeaturetofindlocalstoconnectwith.

AdvancedSearch,atoolprimarilyusedbyjob-huntersandcompanieshiringonLinkedIn,hasotherusesthatcanaidyourrealestateleadgeneration—notably,theabilitytodiscoverbackgroundinformationoncurrentleadsandtoidentifynewprospects.

Whenyoustumbleuponpeopleofinterest,don’thesitatetosendthemapersonalizedmessage.Thekeytoearningtheirtrustandnotannoyingthemisbeinggenuineandhonest.Tellthemyou’realwayslookingtoconnectwithlocalswhomaybeinthemarket.Consideraskingquestionsabouttheirownbusinessorbackgroundifyoufindsomethingintriguingaboutthem.Peoplelovetalkingaboutthemselves,soaslongasyouavoidoverlysales-ymessages,youcoulddevelopplentyofnewrelationships(a.k.a.realestateleads)viasearch.

AgreatfeaturemanyLinkedInusersemploytoorganizetheconnectionstheymakeisthetagtool.Clickonthe“Connections”tabatthetopofyourprofileandscrolloveranycontact.You’llnoticea“Tag”featurethatallowsyoutousekeywordstolabelthatconnection.Iftheyhavelittleinterestinyourbusiness,forexample,youcouldwrite“Cold.”Conversely,iftheyseemveryclosetohiringanagent,tagthemwitha“Warm”label.Usewhateverorganizationalsystemworksbestforyou.

5)JoinorcreateGroupstoreachlocalcommunitymembers.

Google+andFacebookhavecountlessnichegroupsthatallowuserswithsimilarintereststoeasilyinteractwithoneanother.ManyLinkedInusersdon’trealizetheplatformalsohasGroupsthatallowforsuchengagements.Searchthesiteforrealestate–relatedGroupstojoin.Someareprivate,meaningyouneedtobeapprovedtojoin,whileothersarepublicandopentoeveryone.

WhicheverGroupsyoujoin,besuretoincludemembersofyourtargetaudience.Talkingwithfellowagentsandconsumersfromacrossthecountrycanhelpyoubuildanonlinepresence,butifyouwanttofindbonafiderealestateleads,lookforGroupsthatincludelocalcommunitymembers.

OnceyoufindtheseLinkedIncommunities,researchmemberstoseeiftheyfitthecriteriayoutypicallylookforinclients.Oftentimes,youcanfindoutLinkedInmembers’incomelevelsandlinkstoothersocialmediaaccounts,whichcangiveyouinsightsintotheirpersonallives,includingifthey’reinthemarketforanewhomeorreadytosell.Speakdirectlywiththeseusers,answertheirquestions,andgaugetheirinterestinyourrepresentation.Subtletyisvitalwiththeseinteractions,however:Ifyouselltoohard,you’llpushawayanypotentialleads.

Iftherearen’tanyGroupswhereyouthinkyoucouldaccruemorerealestateleads,startyourown.Makeitspecifictoyourgeneralarea(whetherthat’syourtown,county,orstateisuptoyou)andinvitethoseyou’vefoundusingAdvancedSearchtojoin,alongwithanycurrentleadsinyourcustomerrelationshipmanagement(CRM)database.ThebenefitsofstartingaGrouparemany,butmostly,itprovidesyoutheopportunitytobecomeathoughtleaderandgo-toresourcefornearbybuyersandsellers.

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6)Publishlotsofinterestingcontent—yourownandothers’.

Justlikeyoudoforyourrealestateblogandothersocialmediaaccounts,postingasignificantamountofcontentisessentialtogrowingleads.LookatsomeofthebestrealestateagentsandfirmsonLinkedInandyou’llnoticeatrend:Theyallpostcontentofvaryingtypes—linkstoblogposts,opinionpieces,newsjackarticles,andcuratedpieces.HereareacoupleexamplesofupdatestoBoston-basedUnitRealtyGroup’sCompanyPage:oneacuratedpieceonrecenthousingmarketdata,theotherapromotionalpostonaneventthefirmsponsored:

ArequiredprecursortopostingblogcontentonyourLinkedInpageis,ofcourse,learningtoblog(andwell).Butonceyouhaveyourrealestatebloggingroutinedownpat,publisheachpieceonyourCompanyPage.Havingsaidthat,it’salsooptimaltofindgreatcontentfromotherindustryresourcesandlinktothem.Aswithallmajorsocialchannels,it’sidealtoshowyouraudienceyou’rewillingtogoaboveandbeyondtofindinformationthatcanhelpthem.

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7)Addsocialsharingplug-instoyourCompanyPagetodrivetraffic.

Havingsocialsharingbuttonsonyourrealestatewebsiteandinyouremailmarketingexpandstheimpactofyourcontentinahugeway.LinkedInoffersitsusersasocialsharebuttonthatmakesitacinchforuserstosharecontentwiththeirnetworks.WiththiscodeaddedintoyourCompanyPage,yourfollowerscaneasilyspreadyourcontentwiththeirfollowersandincreasetraffictoyourprofileandrealestatewebsite.BesuretoaddaLinkedInsharebuttontoyourpersonalwebsiteaswelltomakeitsimpleforvisitorstoshareyourpoststoLinkedIn.

8)TakeadvantageoftheSponsoredUpdatesfeaturetoexpandyourreach.

AnotheroptiontomaximizeyourLinkedInpresenceistouseSponsoredUpdates,afeaturethat’shelpedbrandssmallandlargetargettheircontenttospecificsegmentsoftheiraudiences.DirectSponsoredUpdates,forinstance,allowyoutopersonalizeyourcontenttocertaingroupswithinyouraudience(basedondemographicinformationthatyououtlinebeforesharingyourcontent).

Then,thereareadsonthesite,forbothsmallandlargebusinesses.Assumingyoudon’thavetheadbudgetofanationalbrokerage(notmanysuccessfulrealestateagentsandfirmsdo,sodon’tfret),checkoutLinkedIn’ssmallbusinessadvertisingoptionstoseewhichworkbestforyourstrategyandadspend.

9)LookoveryourLinkedInanalyticstodeterminewhatisandisn’tworking.

AnythingandeverythingyoudoonyourCompanyandShowcasePagesisthankfullycompiledintodatabyLinkedIn.Usethesite’sanalyticstoolstodiscoverlinks,clicks,impressions,andinteractionswithyourposts,anddeterminewhichcontentandadshelpedyougainmorefollowers.FigureoutthetrendsforyourLinkedInaccountandalteryourrealestatemarketingeffortsontheplatformasneeded.Forinstance,increasetheamountoftimesyoupostalinktoacertainblogpostiftheanalyticstellyouitgarnerstonsofimpressionsandengagement.JustasyoudowithGoogleAnalytics,examineyourLinkedInmetricscarefullysoyoucangeneratemoreandmorerealestateleadseachmonth.