Social Media for Real Estate, Part 3: Networking

The holidays are over, and the new year is upon us! I imagine your holiday season was filled with mounds of food and quality time with family, friends, and acquaintances. Unfortunately for introverts like myself, that meant lots of small talk, which is quite draining for us!

Today, however, we’ll be going beyond small talk as we discuss how to network on social media. (*roaring applause for that segue*) Examining some best practices on LinkedIn, I’ll do my best to add a few more arrows to your real estate marketing quiver.

Clean House

Before you had guests over for the holidays, you tidied your place, right? Consolidating backpacks and briefcases into closets, dusting off end tables and picture frames, and replacing your fall decor with wreaths and mistletoe, you made your home inviting for all who visited.

Take that same approach with your social media profile. It’s like your online home. As your first impression to people online, you’ll want to make it a good one. Your LinkedIn profile should be crisp and up to date. Update your job history, location, and profile picture (making sure it’s a professional headshot of you). Your top skills should be in an order that makes sense, appealing to what your clientele looks for in an agent. Then, you’ll want to do some keyword research and fill your profile to the brim with these words. Your job title and description especially should contain these precious keywords because they unlock doors to opportunities beyond your wildest dreams.

Huh? Yes – if those dreams are to show up higher in LinkedIn’s search results for “real estate agent”, then yes. We won’t delve much into this concept here, but it’s related to ideas covered in the last blog post about exposure. Essentially, if you want to show up when people search “real estate agent”, you need to use the right keywords!

Put Yourself Out There

Once your profile has had a facelift, you can start putting yourself out there. Participating in meaningful conversations related to your business is crucial in this process. Facebook Groups, Twitter Lists, and LinkedIn Groups can be utilized strategically to this end. Note: this, like other types of networking, will involve some legwork. (That’s meant in the metaphorical sense… save the squats for your new gym membership.)

LinkedIn Groups are great because they allow people with a common interest to have their own space. Here, you’ll be able to join conversations related to your business.

A good approach to LinkedIn Groups is to join some groups that are for professionals in your field and others that include prospective clientele. In both types of groups, you’ll have the opportunity to build relationships and eventually make new connections.

Also, if you recall the first blog post of this mini-series, you’ll remember that engagement is key to a good social media presence. Well, when you post in a LinkedIn Group, you’re likely to get good engagement because the people in that group are there for a common cause. As long as your post is on-topic (and not something spammy), those people are likely to engage with it because they’re in the right mindset. Moreover, be sure you are engaging with other people’s posts! React, comment, and share to spread the love.

Referring back to the second blog post, LinkedIn Groups also gain you exposure because you likely aren’t connected with everyone in that group. So, when you post in the group, people with whom you aren’t yet connected will see your post. This is a special kind of power that you don’t have when posting in your main feed.

Connect

Alas, you’ve cleaned up your profile and put yourself out there: joining groups, participating in conversations, and posting your own content. Now it’s time to connect.

Don’t just click on someone in the group, go to their profile, and select “connect”. Again, nobody likes to be cold-called. Instead, be personal. Send them a message starting with what you have in common. Then, share why you want to connect. Or sometimes you may sense that it’s better to start a conversation without asking to connect at all. In any case, keep your message friendly, concise, and honest. This simple personal touch goes a long way beyond the default connection request message. Here’s an example.

Hi Anthony, Happy Thursday! We’re part of the same LinkedIn Group, “Inman – Smart About Real Estate”, and I wanted to reach out and introduce myself. I’ve been a real estate agent for 15 years now, and I’m currently working with Compass in New York. I noticed you’ve done real estate in the Chicagoland area for some time, and I’m considering transferring there. Your recent post in the group was really informative, and I would love to hear more about your experience as a real estate agent in Chicago and gain a sense of the market. Looking forward to connecting with you! – Brandon

Voila! Succinct, straightforward, and personal. Now, that example was clearly a hypothetical message to a real estate colleague. One to a prospective client would feel similar but with more of a sales-pitch to it. This would be especially appropriate if this person said or suggested in the group that they were looking to buy/sell a home.

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That’s a wrap for our blog mini-series on Social Media for Real Estate! Double high-five for finishing strong 🙌 Comment your thoughts below, and share what you found helpful! Be well!

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