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Are YOU LinkedIn?

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Services for Real Estate Pros with PipelineDeals 12345   

So we hear all day long about why you should be on this social network and that... but did it ever occur to you to use LinkedIn anything for other than looking for a corporate job?  Well-- I was in that boat until I did a call with Laura Monroe from Inman News and she convinced me otherwise... 

 

5 Tips for using LinkedIn for Real Estate:

  1. Get busy and CONNECT!  It's a professional "social network" that attracts the most educated, affluent and influential audiences on the web!  Leveraging your connections on LinkedIn can be a great source of referrals and clients that can actually afford to buy homes :).
  2. Update your status with great content!  Think about it, if you want to be a thought leader, here is where people will really appreciate your strategic and insightful all-things-real estate mind. 
  3. Export your most important contacts. Yes, LinkedIn is the only social network that lets you EXPORT your contacts!!!  Take advantage and use this tool to make sure you best contacts are input into a contact management system (Market Leader has a great one :) ) where you can then leverage great email and print marketing to make sure you are always at the top of their mind as a real estate expert.
  4. "Tag" your contacts.  This creates labels for you to easily sort and communicate to groups of tagged contacts!
  5. Create a client-centric summary.  This is probably the most important part of your profile!  Fill it with keywords about where you work, where your passion lies, and why your future client would want to have YOU as their real estate professional!

Watch a short clip:

 

Want more?  View our entire webinar, along with class notes here:  http://learn.marketleader.com/display/learning/LinkedIn+for+Real+Estate

 

"People and Globe" Image courtesy of Renjith Krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Maureen Bray Portland OR Home Stager ~ Room Solutions Staging
Room Solutions Staging, Portland OR - Portland, OR
"Staging Consultations that Sell Portland Homes"

Thanks for linking to the webinar ... it sounds like it has some great tips!

Jun 18, 2014 02:52 PM
Laura Monroe
Inman News - San Francisco, CA
Dir. of Industry Engagement & Social Media

Hi Shannon! Thanks so much for asking me to present the Linkedin webinar today with you! I know we could have gone on and on and dug in even more on how to really use this platfoem for real estate. I hope everyone finds it useful. :) Laura~

Jun 18, 2014 03:04 PM
Laura Cerrano
Feng Shui Manhattan Long Island - Locust Valley, NY
Certified Feng Shui Expert, Speaker & Researcher

Staying linked can be sometimes tough with all the various social media outlets and options.… But follow me anyway.  :)

 

Love and light,

Laura

Jun 18, 2014 03:47 PM
Amanda Christiansen
Christiansen Group Realty (260)704-0843 - Fort Wayne, IN
Christiansen Group Realty

I'm on Linkedin, and have thousands of connections, but I don't use it much.  Maybe I should use it more?  I don't know...  I'm doing fine without it.  

Jun 18, 2014 10:00 PM
Suzanne Otto
Six Twenty Designs - Lansdale, PA
Your Montgomery County PA home stager

Excellent tips. I know I don't use LinkedIn to its fullest extent. There's so much social media out there!

Jun 18, 2014 10:21 PM
Richie Alan Naggar
people first...then business Ran Right Realty - Riverside, CA
agent & author

I post to it but I dont know much about it...Lot of a nice product out there but for what?

Jun 18, 2014 11:18 PM
Monte Wall
Keller Williams Premier Realty - Katy, TX
Keller Williams Premier Realty - Katy, Texas

Shannon, thank you so much for this post.  I wasn't able to attend the webinar yesterday and I really need to work on my LinkedIn.  Will be watching the video later today.

Jun 18, 2014 11:36 PM
Michael Setunsky
Woodbridge, VA
Your Commercial Real Estate Link to Northern VA

Shannon, I have several hundred contacts on LinkedIn. Haven't seen much value from it. I will watch the video to see what I have been missing.

Jun 18, 2014 11:44 PM
Shannon Shimabukuro
PipelineDeals - Kirkland, WA
Smart Selling Made Simple for Brokers

Jeff- Thanks for the book recommendation!  I love a good read :)

Laura-- Thank YOU for rocking that webinar!  You are a goldmine of great information-- thank you so much for sharing your great insights! 

Jun 19, 2014 01:01 AM
Morris Massre
Pembroke Pines, FL
Real Estate Instructor Broward County Florida

Yes, I too am a big believer in Linkedin and use regularly.  However, I tend to stay away from other realtors as I don't see how they can help my cause.

Jun 19, 2014 02:31 AM
Gary Woltal
Keller Williams Realty - Flower Mound, TX
Assoc. Broker Realtor SFR Dallas Ft. Worth

Shannon, great bullet points and the link to the webinar. I think LinkedIn is not as appreciated by most agents as much as Facebook is....

Jun 19, 2014 03:01 AM
Karen Fiddler, Broker/Owner
Karen Parsons-Fiddler, Broker 949-510-2395 - Mission Viejo, CA
Orange County & Lake Arrowhead, CA (949)510-2395

I've started sharing my posts on LinkedIn and have actually gotten a deal from it. 

Jun 19, 2014 05:35 AM
Kimberley Kelly, SFR, HAFA, GREEN
HK Lane, Christie's International Affiliate, 760-285-3578 - La Quinta, CA
I do Real Estate like I played polo-to WIN!

Good post, and I do use LinkedIn for posting!

Jun 19, 2014 06:01 AM
Wayne L. Brown
Franklin Advantage Inc. - Alpine, CA

Shannon

I hear what you are saying, and side with you to a degree.

However, in the last six months, LinkedIn has had some horrific issues going on.  Specifically with posting Contributions and posts within one's selected Groups that they follow or are members of.

For a few weeks I attempted to post and comment Relevant posts and Comments to many of my Groups.  Meanwhile, my contribution level was increasing to the point where I became the Top Contributor in several Groups.

Then all of a sudden, a few of my posts or comments were Flagged.........with just One Flag it Blocked me from any further posts or comments.

There has been a Firestorm of similar posts in the Help Section regarding this issue where members are suddenly Flagged, and can not post.

LinkedIn's solution is to contact every Group Leader to see if you can get them to remove you from being Flagged..............There is NO WAY to know which Post or Which Group Flagged you..........This happens even if you are a Premium Member.

If you have a large number of Groups that you post to or comment in, this means a tremendous amount of energy to find out how or why you got Flagged.............More-so, many Group Leaders are Not aware of this issue or How to Correct it.............As Management within LinkedIn will NOT participate.....................They just made up the Rules...........but will give NO Support.

If you care to read about this go to the Help Section, and search for " Your Posts are being Moderated Temporarily"................

You will see Hundreds or maybe even Thousands of Members who are Livid to put it Mildly.

While after months of being Moderated with No success at removal.........All of a Sudden I was allowed to Post.

Consequently, I post rarely now.

The consensus is that those Posts being Flagged are Not necessarily for posting Irrelevant Content or Promotional Spam...................

But rather from Members who may have been Top Contributors where you might have bumped them off...........Becoming the Top Contributor.

Quite Childish..............and a Nightmare since LinkedIn Management will NOT HELP.........and many Group Leaders Clueless to a Solution.

Just my 2 Cents.

Thanks for the post

Jun 19, 2014 07:10 AM
Shannon Shimabukuro
PipelineDeals - Kirkland, WA
Smart Selling Made Simple for Brokers

Karen- I'd love to pick your brain and hear how you got a deal from LinkedIn!  That's awesome- congrats!

Wayne-- thanks so much for sharing your story.  To be honest, I wasn't even aware of the group specific newsfeeds until I was interviewing Laura for our call.  Thanks for bringing this up-- I can see how that has been frustrating for you.  I hope they can get the kinks worked out so it's more user friendly for those using it with the best of intentions!

Jun 19, 2014 07:33 AM
Joye Hollis Ridgeway
AgentOwned Realty, Charleston SC - Charleston, SC
- Homes, Land, Investment, Commercial

I don't know what Linked-In is all about, even though I do have an account there which was established years ago.  Yesterday, my google account was hacked, sending out a scam email from me to people who are not in my address book, but are in my Linked-in account.  A recipient called up and wanted to know how I got her work address.  The only comon demoninator is Linked-In.  I would recommend changing passwork regularly.

Jun 19, 2014 08:41 AM
Jill Sackler
Charles Rutenberg Realty Inc. 516-575-7500 - Long Beach, NY
LI South Shore Real Estate - Broker Associate

Comment #31 is very interesting and news to me. I didn't even know this could happen on Linkedin and I'm sorry it happened to the author. I guess the moral is not to become too popular.

Jun 19, 2014 12:25 PM
Donna Foerster
HomeSmart Realty Group - Parker, CO
Metro Denver Real Estate Assistant

Shannon~ Very helpful hints. I've had a profile on LinkedIn for 5 years, but have never really used it. I'm going to save this post. Thanks!

Jun 19, 2014 02:35 PM
Janice Zaltman
United Realty Group - Boca Raton, FL
Energy Efficient And Eco-Friendly Homes in Florida

I like Linked In. Have been unsure how to utilize it as a realtor since most of my connections are realtors. Would love to learn how to build connections that want to hear more about Real Estate in my community.

Jun 20, 2014 01:37 PM
Inna Ivchenko
Barcode Properties - Encino, CA
Realtor® • GRI • HAFA • PSC Calabasas CA

I'd like to learn more about Linked In marketing and better networking. I have a lot of connections there, but I don't really use them.Thanks for the link to the webinar, I'll check it out.

Apr 08, 2015 06:42 AM