How Agents Can Refresh Local LinkedIn Marketing

The holidays are an excellent time for real estate agents to review marketing campaigns. Since these months are usually on the quieter side, you can take advantage of the extra time to look at what is working and what is not in marketing.

A robust real estate marketing campaign includes social media. The National Association of Realtors found that 76% of female agents and 73% of male agents use social media for professional use. Furthermore, of the top technology tools that gave the highest quality leads, social media scored the top spot.

Real estate agents have to dedicate time to making a social media campaign work well. Part of the success comes from choosing the right social networks. LinkedIn is a clear choice for real estate agents. With 690 million active users in 2020, LinkedIn has long been considered a top network for professionals. You can use LinkedIn to connect with current and potential clients and position yourself as a trusted thought leader in the real estate space.

It’s important to maintain an updated LinkedIn profile and post relevant content in order to attract more prospects into the sales funnel. However, one feature of LinkedIn often missed is local LinkedIn marketing.

Local LinkedIn marketing

Real estate agents typically work in a specific market. It makes sense to focus on particular geography on LinkedIn as well. This tactic ensures that efforts result in more qualified leads — not leads that may be across the country.

Getting started is simple. You should be sure to update your geographic information. LinkedIn allows you to update your country, zip code, as well as “locations within this area,” which includes metropolitan areas. The first step is to make sure all of this is accurate to reflect where you work (and keep this updated regularly). Once this is done, there are tips to make local LinkedIn marketing work to find and engage with new prospects.

Mastering local LinkedIn marketing

Once potential clients know you work in a specific area, it’s a good idea to start connecting with other locals on LinkedIn. You can search your connections to find out who lives in your area, as well as search for new local connections. If you want to send a useful post to them, you can segment your list by location. This feature is helpful to make sure you reach the right people.

Agents can create pieces of content with a local spin. Perhaps it’s a list of upcoming holiday events (socially distant and virtual) that these contacts may like to browse. Avoid sending anything overly promotional and aim to create content that these local contacts will find interesting and engaging. You can also find new local contacts to add to your list of connections through filters on LinkedIn.

Local content on LinkedIn

Real estate agents can share local articles on their LinkedIn page or write articles about local ongoings or events. It’s essential to maintain this local angle to appeal to a nearby audience. These connections may also be interested in local imagery, such as photos of videos highlighting a beautiful part of town. 

Agents can share uplifting local news stories or write their own pieces that discuss a local angle. Of course, agents can also post listings in the area as well as the occasional promotional content. It is crucial, however, to make sure all the content is not sales-focused. This will likely annoy followers.

Local LinkedIn Groups

Another useful feature on LinkedIn is Groups. LinkedIn Groups center around a certain topic, such as commercial real estate; there are also groups for alumni of specific schools, jobs, and more. Agents should search for local groups or start one of their own and invite local contacts. In the group, it’s important to not only post promotional content. Instead, aim to post and discuss engaging topics about the local area. These groups serve as a way to network online, which is especially vital with COVID-19 restrictions.

Networking Virtually

LinkedIn is an excellent substitute for live events. Since many real estate agents use traditional methods to meet new prospects, LinkedIn can take the place of networking in-person. Since agents work locally, it makes sense to use LinkedIn on a local scale as well. By connecting with local contacts and using best practices for LinkedIn marketing, you can find and engage with new real estate prospects.