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Every week I help dozens of real estate agents optimize their social media profiles to grow their business.
A welcome advantage of this is building social proof online, which can be just as powerful as word-of-mouth referrals offline.
Here are the first seven steps I ask each of my clients to take on LinkedIn before we set them up with an ongoing social strategy;
1. Optimize your profile
Improve your chances of being found, recognized, and reached out to on LinkedIn. At the very least you will need a professional photo, a well-written summary, and complete work and contact information.
Make sure every element of your profile is public under your privacy settings - LinkedIn is a place for new people to find and learn more about you without unwanted barriers.
2. Send a personalized connect request to your past & current clients
If you’re not connected to every person you’ve ever helped buy or sell a home on LinkedIn, start now. Personalize each request to increase your chance of acceptance on a positive note. Here’s an example from one agent I know;
Sharon - It was great working with you last year. I hope you’re settling in well to the new home! Let’s stay connected here, and if you have any real estate related questions please don’t hesitate to reach out,
- Kristen
3. Choose your Inner Client Circle
After connecting with everyone you know, identify an “inner circle” of clients who you’ve built a particularly positive working relationship with. Your inner circle may be anywhere from 5 to 20 people, depending on how long you’ve been in the real estate business.
You can keep a manual list or use LinkedIn’s pro feature to save and tag profiles in this group.
4. Offer something of value in exchange for recommendations
LinkedIn recommendations mean most to prospective clients when they come from your past clients, not your colleagues or family members.
Now that you have your inner circle, reach out to them by email to ask for a LinkedIn recommendation. Offer something of value to make it worth their while. Some agents I know simply offer a $5 gift card to their local coffee shop. If the recommendation had been in person, they say, it would be natural to buy their client a “thank you” coffee.
5. Engage with your Inner Circle
Building social proof on LinkedIn is a two-way process. Just about everyone on the network is a professional looking for more exposure and activity on their profile. Engage with your inner client circle with a “like” here and a comment there. Show them you’re listening and nurture the relationship outside of your real estate interactions.
6. Share quality content
Share interesting, “like”-worthy content with your network. Every “like” and comment helps establish you as a real estate thought leader. Share a balanced mix of content about you (eg. re-posting a glowing recommendation from one of your connections) and external articles to help your ideal clients find or sell their next home. For every self-focussed “share,” there should be about 3 updates in your news feed that don’t relate directly back to you.
7. Work steps 3-6 into your ongoing process
Steps 1-2 laid the groundwork. 3-6 are simple, actionable steps you can take in your daily process with clients to build social proof online. Every time you make a new client exceptionally happy, add them to your inner circle. Ask them to write a LinkedIn recommendation in exchange for a “thank you” coffee, engage with their posts on LinkedIn, and share quality content that they would find valuable.
Social proof has always helped real estate agents find business. Social media makes it easier. If you’re interested in similar tips for Facebook, Twitter and Yelp, subscribe to the ProjectRealty blog for parts 2, 3 and 4 of this series.
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