LinkedIn - Much More than a Simple Networking Site

According to its own statistics (March 31, 2012), LinkedIn operates the world's largest professional network on the Internet with 161 million members in over 200 countries and territories, with two new members signing up every minute. Members create a profile and can access information about colleagues or even the person who is about to interview them for a new job.

If you only use LinkedIn to allow access to your resume online or connect with former colleagues, you may be missing out on some powerful opportunities to promote your commercial real estate business, many of which are surveyed below.

Should You Have a Company Page?
LinkedIn is not Facebook or YouTube. The site is designed for the business community whose members use this site to network via email or in special interest groups.

Because members are serious about appearing professional, you may not want to put up a page for your company immediately, especially if you have not used LinkedIn extensively or observed its particular style. You are more likely to make a good impression initially by encouraging your colleagues, agents, and other employees to become members with updated profiles where they can post their personal (and your firm's) successes freely. If you are a building owner, your facilities managers should be members.

Also keep in mind that members are free to post articles, property descriptions, videos, audio interviews, or any material about themselves or their businesses on their profiles. Once you have a cohesive content strategy, you will be ready to create an effective "Company" page.

You can also add apps to your profile. Simply go to the LinkedIn Applications Directory to view all the possibilities. For example, you can link your profile to blogs and presentations, promote upcoming events, and include polls for market research.

Premium Subscription Levels and Advertising on LinkedIn
If you find that your LinkedIn strategy is working well, you might want to consider a premium subscription. For a monthly fee, you can email anyone on LinkedIn whether or not they are in your network, access more profiles, filter your searches, view expanded profiles, see who viewed your profile, and more.

You can also advertise on LinkedIn Home, Profile, Inbox, Search Results, and Groups pages, and segment your ad by industry, job level, geography, job function, age, and gender to target specific groups or types of prospects.

Start a Group or Spotlight Your Expertise
If you are a member, LinkedIn will occasionally email you with a list of groups related to commercial real estate that you might be interested in joining. If you don't find an appropriate group, you can start your own as long as you are willing to monitor it. Creating the right group can allow you to be seen as a thought leader and provide you with a wealth of new connections and valuable information.

If you would like to share your expertise, you can become active on LinkedIn Answers. Simply log in and click on "Answers" under the "More" tab in the main navigation on the home page. You will see the current list of "New Questions" and "Top Experts" along with the number of questions they answered that week.

Connecting on LinkedIn Can Mean New Business
Many professionals find LinkedIn invaluable for keeping in contact with former colleagues. You can also take advantage of tiered networking to grow your personal network. Ask your first-level connections to introduce you to their "connections," which LinkedIn labels as second- and third-level connections.

Contact us to share how you are using LinkedIn in an innovative way.

Also in This Issue

• Use Blogs to Stay Up-to-Date in Commercial Real Estate
• Five Popular Apps for Commercial Real Estate
• Read Me! Answer Me! Buy Me! - Stop the Email Flood Now
• Network, Heal Thyself!