LinkedIn is more than just a job search engine. Although it may seem like job-seekers and recruiters dominate the platform, LinkedIn is a social network full of opportunity for any real estate agent.

While it is true that many people log on to LinkedIn when they are in business mode, LinkedIn also has an incredibly high Google search engine ranking. If your clients Google you, your LinkedIn profile is probably going to be at the top of the search engine results page — maybe even above your own website. And when they get to your page, what is it that they’ll see?

Hopefully, you are already using LinkedIn in your real estate social media plan, keeping your profile up-to-date, and regularly posting content that is informational, educational and entertaining.

But as with any social network, if you want to get engagement you need to give engagement. Here are some tips to help you build stronger relationships on the all-business social network — tips that can actually help you nurture and in time, generate leads.

Get a little personal on LinkedIn

Just like on Facebook and Instagram, your connections on Instagram want to get to know YOU. 

The content you share on LinkedIn should not only share glimpses of who you are professionally, but also who you are personally and what values are important to your brand. What is your “why” in life? What is it that will make your contacts like you and want to get to know you more? 

LinkedIn may not be the place to share your family vacation photos, but you could share a photo of some amazing architecture that you spotted on your trip, or a beautiful interior photo of your Airbnb. You might not post daily photos of your pet the way you would on Instagram stories, but you can post an article about tips for home sellers who have pets and include an anecdote about your dog.

There are plenty of ways to share glimpses of your personality on LinkedIn to make genuine connections with your contacts, all the while reminding them that you are a real estate agent who will guide them with expertise and professionalism.

Use LinkedIn notifications to engage

One of LinkedIn’s super powers is that it will tell you things about your contacts that other social networks will not: promotions, job anniversaries and career moves, to name a few. These milestones are all excellent opportunities to leave comments or send private messages to your contacts to inquire or congratulate them and start a dialogue. 

People may not always remember what you say or do, but they will remember how you make them feel. Simply reaching out to say congratulations or to ask them how they are doing will make them feel noticed and appreciated. It will help keep your brand and business top of mind, too.

Perfect your elevator pitch

The most important thing about finding and engaging prospective clients online is to focus on the relationship first, the sales pitch second. 

With social media, you can laser-target your prospective clients by establishing and building a rapport with them and their networks — no cold calling or door knocking necessary! Once you have spent some time engaging with a prospective client or contact and you’re ready to send an email or a direct message to make that 1-1 connection, be sure you have a quick and concise note prepared to send. 

Your elevator pitch should include three things:

• Who you are. Introduce yourself in a way that connects you to your client or prospect.  I’m Joe the real estate agent, Joe the father of two, Joe the golf lover, Joe the U of I sports fan, Joe the avid traveler.
• What you need and where you are going. I’m building a real estate team in Chicago, I’m offering my clients cutting-edge sales and marketing programs and I want you to connect with me on social media so we can stay in touch, or subscribe to my email newsletter. 
• What is your secret sauce. I’m doing this because I love to help others, I believe in helping people achieve their dreams and I have a strong work ethic that has been instilled in me since I watched my own parents save to buy their dream home when I was 11. 

When you reach out to your prospects, you might not include all of these details, but you should be sure to address each point in some way. 

Get social with direct messages

With your basic LinkedIn account, you can send direct messages to the people you are connected to. If you want to use LinkedIn’s InMail feature, you can message members that you aren’t connected to.

Our suggestion? Use LinkedIn to send messages to your contacts, and personalize them for each individual. When you send a contact a message, don’t jump right into an ask or a sales pitch, but use your refined elevator pitch to introduce or reintroduce yourself.

In that initial email, remember to include the following: 

• A friendly greeting — don’t jump right into business! 
• An introduction/identification – who are you and why should this contact know you? 
• A request — what is the ask for the prospect? Sign up for your email list? Trade marketing ideas? Recommend a candidate for your open assistant position?
• Link your need to their work or situation. If you notice someone has just taken a new job in another city, mention that you noticed this and volunteer to offer them a referral to a local agent. 
• Suggest the next step. If you’d like to meet for coffee, have a Zoom chat or link up otherwise, provide a suggestion that they can say yes or no to, making it easy for them to reply with an answer.

Do you use LinkedIn for marketing purposes? Tell us about your winning strategies in the comments on our LinkedIn post.