LinkedIn has become an invaluable platform for real estate agents looking to build their personal brand, establish themselves as an industry expert, and generate new business leads. With over 722 million users worldwide, LinkedIn offers unparalleled access to connect with potential clients and networking opportunities.
For real estate agents, a strong LinkedIn presence is crucial for succeeding in today’s competitive market. Your LinkedIn profile serves as an online resume, portfolio and marketing tool all in one. But crafting an impactful LinkedIn profile as a real estate agent requires some strategy and know-how.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover the essentials of what real estate agents should be posting on LinkedIn to maximize their success on the platform.
Post valuable industry insights and news
One of the most effective ways for real estate agents to establish themselves as an authority is by regularly sharing valuable insights, perspectives and news related to the real estate industry. This provides a way to organically attract more eyes to your profile and position yourself as an expert.
Some examples of valuable content to share include:
– Commentary on new real estate trends, whether locally or nationally
– Perspectives on mortgage rates and how they impact buyers/sellers
– Local market updates and analysis
– Relevant articles and reports from industry publications
– Tips for home buyers and sellers
When posting industry insights, it’s important to provide added analysis and perspective versus just sharing links. Offer insights on how any news or data may impact your local market. Comments that provide unique takes will be more likely to spark discussion.
Share listings and sales updates
While you don’t want your LinkedIn feed to become solely focused on properties for sale, incorporating some high value listings and sales into the mix can be beneficial. This shows you have your finger on the pulse of inventory in your local market.
When showcasing listings, use attractive photos and describe not just property features but lifestyle aspects that make it enticing. For sales updates, noting a competitive sales price or share an interesting detail on the buying decision process.
Listings also make for great content to advertise via LinkedIn’s sponsored updates. With geographic targeting capabilities, you can laser focus these to homes likely to appeal to your ideal clients.
Spotlight client testimonials and reviews
Positive testimonials can go a long way in establishing trust and credibility with potential clients evaluating you on LinkedIn. When happy clients leave you glowing reviews, ask if you can share their comments via your profile updates.
Testimonials that reference specific details of working with you and how you went above-and-beyond are most compelling. If including the client’s name, always ask permission first.
Also consider giving recognition or shoutouts to clients when they’ve had a major life event such as purchasing their first home. This shows appreciation for your existing relationships.
Share market and community involvement
LinkedIn also provides a platform to highlight involvement and leadership within your local real estate community or market. This can include:
– Mentions of speaking at, attending or sponsoring local real estate conferences and events
– Leadership positions held in real estate associations and community organizations
– Charity events participated in or fundraising efforts
– Local awards and recognition received
Not only does this showcase additional sides of you as a real estate professional, but it organically connects you more locally.
Post other business and lifestyle content
While real estate related updates should make up the bulk of your LinkedIn activity, incorporating some other business and lifestyle material can also be beneficial. This extra dimension allows connections to get to know you better as a whole person.
Additional topics you can cover include:
– Quick tips for improving business productivity
– Examples of excellent customer service and how to wow clients
– Thoughts on work/life balance for busy professionals
– Hobbies and personal interests outside real estate
– Causes or charities important to you
Just aim for no more than 20% of your content to focus on these supplementary topics.
Best practices for real estate LinkedIn posts
Now that we’ve covered the top types of content real estate agents should share on LinkedIn, here are some best practices for making your posts as effective as possible:
Keep it visual
Eye catching photos, infographics and videos will always garner higher engagement than plain text updates. Use visual assets to draw attention and illustrate your updates.
Write catchy headlines
A compelling headline is critical for getting your post noticed in crowded newsfeeds. Use buzzworthy phrasing, incorporate numbers/stats, ask questions, or highlight value in the headline.
Post consistently
The LinkedIn algorithm favors profiles that maintain steady activity over those that post sporadically. Set a regular posting schedule for yourself.
Follow the 80/20 rule
Aim for about 80% of your content to provide value for your audience with only 20% being more promotional. Overt self-promotion can turn followers off.
Embrace brevity
With limited attention spans, shorter posts often perform better than lengthy articles. Use 250 – 300 words as a good target range for LinkedIn updates.
Time it strategically
Pay attention to when your followers are most active on LinkedIn and aim to post your most important updates during those high traffic windows.
Include a clear CTA
Every post should end with a specific call to action to drive engagement, whether it’s to comment, like, share or get in touch directly.
Personalize when possible
Including names, locations or other personalized details in a post can help it resonate more compared to generic content.
Engage and respond
Don’t just post and walk away. Proactively like comments from others and respond to any discussions sparked by your updates.
Best post types and frequency
Determining both the ideal mix of content and posting cadence for your LinkedIn activity is important. Here are some best practices to follow:
Industry insights: 1x per week
Aiming for one quality industry post per week provides a good foundation. Vary your topics from local market updates to mortgage outlooks to buying/selling tips.
Listings/sales: 2x – 3x per month
A few highlighted current listings or noteworthy sales per month strikes the right balance. More frequently and it becomes too self-promotional.
Testimonials: 1x – 2x per month
One or two posts spotlighting satisfied client reviews over a month effectively conveys social proof.
Community involvement: 1x per month
One monthly post focused on community participation allows you to share this aspect without overdoing it.
Other content: 1x – 2x per month
Sprinkling in just a couple general business or lifestyle posts keeps your profile multi-dimensional.
This breakdown results in an ideal blend of valuable, engaging content customers want to see from industry experts. Consistency and quality matters more than sheer quantity.
Optimize your LinkedIn profile
While your posts are critical, also make sure to continually optimize your overall LinkedIn profile with these best practices in mind:
Professional headshot: Use a high-quality, friendly professional photo. It’s the first thing visitors notice.
Headline: Summarize your value proposition, specialties and clientele in your 120 character headline space.
Background photo: A banner photo subtle communicates your brand personality.
Contact info: Include links to your website, blog, Facebook and other profiles. The easier you make it for visitors to find you, the better.
Location: Pinpointing your specific geographic service coverage area increases local visibility.
About summary: Share your full bio, experience, services, approach and why you love your work.
Skills: Carefully choose 50 relevant skills to showcase so the right members can find you.
Recommendations: Gather recommendations from satisfied clients to build credibility.
Media portfolio: Upload sample presentations, charts and videos to bring your profile to life.
Regularly revisiting your profile to keep sections polished and filled out improves the experience for visitors evaluating working with you. An optimized profile combined with stellar posts is a winning formula.
Leverage analytics to refine strategy
LinkedIn provides robust analytics so you can see which types of posts and activity drive the most profile views, engagement, shares, reactions and clicks. Study these metrics consistently to learn what content resonates best with your audience.
You can then refine your posting strategy based on these learnings to maximize impact. Always keep experimenting with different post formats, topics, CTAs, images etc. to improve performance. Track changes over weeks and months as you optimize.
Some key LinkedIn analytics to analyze regularly include:
- Impressions: Total number of times your posts entered someone’s feed
- Clicks: Clicks on your profile, content or call-to-actions
- Reactions: Likes, comments, shares etc. on your posts
- Followers: Follower growth over time
- Profile views: Views of your LinkedIn profile
Digging into the data helps move your approach from guesswork to data-driven decisions.
Advertise on LinkedIn
While organic content is invaluable, you should also consider putting some marketing budget behind LinkedIn ads to expand reach. With its targeting capabilities, LinkedIn ads allow you to get your content in front of relevant prospects who may not yet be following you.
Some of the best real estate ad options include:
Sponsored content: Promote your best updates into the feeds of targeted audiences looking to buy/sell.
Sponsored InMail: Directly engage your ideal prospects via targeted emails.
Text ads: Eye-catching text ads to compliment your organic presence.
Message ads: Send targeted messages to customize connections at scale.
The combination of organic and paid activity is powerful. Lean on your analytics to calculate the ROI of ads to make sure your spend is worthwhile.
Leverage LinkedIn Groups
Here are some additional tips for real estate agents looking to maximize their success on LinkedIn:
Join LinkedIn Groups: Become an active part of niche Groups focused on real estate, mortgages, home buying/selling, and local areas. Comment, share insights, and build connections.
Follow leading brands/voices: Stay on top of industry news and trends by following authoritative brands, companies, and thought leaders. Like and react to their updates.
Cross-promote content: Repurpose blog posts and other real estate content on LinkedIn as another distribution channel.
Use hashtags: Insert relevant hashtags like #realestate, #realtor, and #realestateagent to expand discoverability for posts.
Give endorsements: Endorse connections for their skills and expertise to build your network.
Recommend connections: Help colleagues by giving them recommendations highlighting their strengths.
Conclusion
Crafting a compelling and impactful presence on LinkedIn is no longer optional for real estate agents looking to thrive in today’s digital era. Your activity in sharing valuable insights, showcasing listings, highlighting your market involvement, and optimizing your profile all influence how prospects perceive and trust you even before meeting in-person.
By consistently posting valuable and engaging content, analyzing performance data, running complementary ads, and fully leveraging LinkedIn’s features, agents can drive brand awareness, establish expertise, stay top of mind with clients, and ultimately generate more qualified leads over time. Making the most of LinkedIn alongside traditional lead generation and marketing tactics is key to maximize success in real estate sales today.
