What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a social media network that sprung to life in 2003. As a social network for professionals, career-focused content is a defining feature. The platform is filled with prospective and current employers, employees and colleagues. If you’re wondering why LinkedIn matters for your real estate agency, here are some startling statistics:

• In South Africa, it’s the second-biggest platform after Facebook.
• Two million posts, articles and videos are published on LinkedIn daily.
• 45 percent of LinkedIn users are in upper management.
• It’s 277% more effective for lead generation than Facebook and Twitter.

Excited by the idea of targeting a successful local professional? Great! There are so many reasons you should sign up now.

Why you should use LinkedIn

LinkedIn users may not be on the site to buy or rent their dream property. That doesn’t mean you won’t get any bang for time invested (yes, LinkedIn is free). Here are 6 ways the site can help you:

1. Boost your brand efforts.
2. Promote your products and services.
3. Drive traffic to your website.
4. Engage with current and future clients.
5. Recruit talent for your agency.
6. Keep an eye on your competitors.

Setting up your LinkedIn account

Your LinkedIn account is the voice of your agency. To start, you’ll need a personal LinkedIn account. Once you do, follow the simple steps on this link.

Of course, you’ll want to get all the lead-generating, brand-building, star-employee-finding benefits the network has to offer. Use these tips and tricks to do just that.

• Complete all your profile fields
  This gives you credibility and optimises your profile for more visibility on the site.
• Add a logo and background photo
  Give your profile a personality punch by adding your agency’s logo. For your background, choose something that speaks to your brand. It could be a product focus like a beautiful property, an image of your team or top-selling branch. Whatever you choose, ensure the image is high quality, eye catching and tasteful.
• Optimise your bio
  People might not directly be looking for listings on LinkedIn. But, they are searching for possible employers in the property industry or real estate agencies they might be interested in. You can add relevant keywords to your summary and About tab.
• Add Career Pages
  By enhancing your account with Career Pages, you’ll take your account up a notch. You’ll get to add Life and Job tabs that give your audience a look into your agency, culture and work opportunities.

PRO MOVE: You can create multiple versions of the Life tab to target different audiences. For example, you might want to tell a different story to a real estate agent candidate than a marketing or finance candidate.

• Create Showcase Pages
  These act as extensions of your account and let you spotlight different parts of your agency. For example, you could create showcase pages to feature different branches. You could separate the sales and rentals divisions of your agency. The advantage is that these pages have different personas you could target in a personalised way.
• Tell everyone
  You should share your profile on your other platforms. Add contacts you’ve previously emailed and encourage employees - past and present - to join your network. You could also add an icon to your website, email signature and press releases to get the word out there.

Posting great content

Your audience wants useful, insightful, inspirational and relevant content. Give them the kind of content they need and make them an excited traveller on your agency’s journey.

• Create a content calendar with a defined strategy so you put out the right content at the right time.
• Share new services, property trends, job opportunities or give a behind-the-scenes peek at your agency’s activities.
• Provide a variety of content like presentations, blog posts from your website and videos. You can give your blogs a higher reach by syndicating them to LinkedIn Pulse.
• Make sure your brand’s personality carries through, but do keep it professional. The memes and lighthearted videos you might post on Facebook or Instagram will not resonate on LinkedIn.
• When should you post? According to Hubspot, aim to post on LinkedIn between 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM. Wednesday is the best day to be active on the site.
• Follow the four-to-one rule - for every four useful posts you share, you can get one out that directly promotes your agency.
• Share posts from other accounts to build relationships. This works well if your employees are creating content - you’ll essentially be high-fiving them while making your own profile shine with new insights.
• You can focus your reach by contributing and sharing content to relevant groups. For example, you would get more traction on Real Estate Investor or Luxury Real Estate Network vs Gourmet Chocolate Industry. These groups have professionals interested in real estate that will help make your name as a thought leader in your field.
• Analyse your progress with LinkedIn’s analytics. It will help you understand how your content is doing and enlighten you about your audience.

For many LinkedIn users, your content may very well be the first touchpoint with your agency. By following these pointers, you’ll make a super first impression.

Take it further with LinkedIn Ads

You can enhance your organic postings by advertising on LinkedIn Ads. With it, you can target your audience by job title, function, industry, and more. Is your goal lead generation, brand awareness or even event registrations? LinkedIn Ads will help you get the most from the site.