You’ve heard of it – LinkedIn… but are you Networking with LinkedIn effectively?
Networking with LinkedIn can be a very powerful way to quickly build out your network.
If you haven’t gotten one already, go to LinkedIn.com and get signed up. It’s free – go do it.
Here are 6 ways you can be sure that you can use your LinkedIn profile to help you grow your network.
- Add details about your business on your page and create a great profile. With LinkedIn you can add as many details about yourself and your business that you want. The things that I look for most when looking for new contacts are the description that is next to your photo and your summary. I look for what you are doing in the Real Estate world. Tell them why people should work with you and include any expertise you have; such as you work with other investors, you pay cash and close quick, or you work with Hedge funds. Be sure to set your profile to public so it shows in search engine results and people you are not connected to you already can easily find you. Aim for fully populating your profile page until the little status meter on the side shows at 100%. This is critical.
- Connect with others like you. This is what networking with LinkedIn is all about! You can simply search for people that are involved in the Real Estate industry in your city and connect with them. When you find people of interest, try sending them a personal message. Get to know them by asking questions about their business or background. Let them know your are always looking to connect with locals who are buying and selling in the area. Get to know as many people as possible. Each week make time to build your network bigger and stronger.
- Join as many groups that you can find that relate to your business. Participating in groups will help you grow your network and help you stay up to date on topics of interest. Some groups are private, so you will need to ask to join and be approved. Others are public and as soon as you join you can get involved. Also, you may want to start your own group and invite other like minded people. Start a discussion in the group about something that interests you. Ask others to get involved in the discussion.
- Get endorsements. Encourage past clients or others you have worked with to write recommendations on your profile. This will boost your credibility. Your contacts can also weigh in on the skills in which you are strongest. This will show others that you are serious about Real Estate. Make a trade, ask someone you know to write you a recommendation and in exchange you will write them one.
- Publish a lot of fascinating content. You can do this by sharing others work and by writing your own. Look at other Real Estate professionals pages and see what they post, most of them are posting links to their blogs, their opinion on something happening in the Real Estate world, news articles, or even properties that they have for sale. You can even share blog posts written by other investors that you find interesting and then comment on it. Ask your contacts and groups for their opinion.
- Add social media buttons to your other pages. Having social media sharing buttons on your Real Estate blog or website and in your email signature will expand who sees your profile. If someone reads something on your blog that they enjoyed, they will probably want to go to your profile and get to know you better. Also your followers can easily share your profile and content with their friends and followers. You want to add LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter etc. share buttons to your websites and blogs to get more traffic to your sites. You may also want to put your other social media links on your LinkedIn profile so that visitors can find your other pages easily.
So the bottom line is this, if you’re already on LinkedIn – leverage it.
If you’re not – get your account set up to 100% right away to start networking with LinkedIn. I’ve gotten a huge portion of my network from LinkedIn.com and you can do the same.