As a real estate agent, you already know just how important it is that your online presence stands out among the sea of competition out there. The thing is, this seems simple as a concept, but the execution is anything but.
Your LinkedIn profile is just one piece of this puzzle, but it’s a significant one. It’s of particular significance if a large percentage of your business is commercial or B2B. Responsible professionals all have quality Linked-In profiles, and they want to know the people they trust with their own businesses are worthy of the responsibility.
In residential terms, you want to be able to proudly send potential buyers to your LinkedIn page, confident that it represents you and the quality of the service you provide. We are going to take a brief look at six things that every agent or agency should be highlighting in their Linked-In profiles right now. Which of these could use some improvement on your end?
1. Improve Your Headline
Doesn’t every article about this subject start out like this? “Write a better headline.” Great! How do I do that? There are as many opinions on this as there are marketing “experts” to offer them. That’s why I’m not going to directly answer the question. Rather, I want to give you a few things to consider.
First, what kind of image are you trying to create with your profile? Personality and perceived likability are huge considerations for real estate agents. After all, your name and face are on everything. What does that tell you? It tells me that when people are making decisions as important as purchasing properties, they need to trust the people guiding them through the process. Your headline needs to convey that concept. Trust.
Don’t use catchphrases or clichés. Speak through your headline but keep it professional. Need help getting past the whole static greeting/slogan trap? Contact us at Beez. We have even more good advice when you work with us directly.
2. Your Profile Photo
I backspaced over my original choice of “pic” above. I admit it. “Pic” has a certain connotation to it that doesn’t belong in a professional profile. A photo, on the other hand, is vital. It needs to convey the same level of trust.
Since this isn’t a copywriting issue, I’ll just restate what I’ve said many times about visuals: Write copy around your profile photo. What tone and style best matches the messaging in your photo? Say in your profile what people would expect to hear from the person in the picture.
3. Communicate Confidence
While researching this part I came across a profile from a real estate agent with an Eastern European surname that was, even for someone who writes for a living, quite the challenge to piece together. Since I don’t want to steal her SEO thunder, I won’t directly quote her, but the sentiment was, “My last name will stress you out enough — that’s why I make homebuying easy!” A little humor can go a long way … if that is your normal personality.
4. Be Able to Do It in RL
Your profile needs to be genuine and realistic. In reference to my last comment, don’t put up facades. People catch on quickly. If your profile is light and humorous but your approach with buyers is more professional, that creates a paradox in the mind of the buyer. It also affects trust and, in marketing, there really is nothing more important than establishing and maintaining trust.
When people meet you, they need to feel like they already know you. Don’t let them down. Present yourself online the way you intend to interact with people face to face. The use of language here is a fine line between personal and professional, and many agents have a hard time finding that balance. This is where working with real estate copywriters is a real advantage. Writers with marketing experience can also give you a real advantage.
5. Let’s Talk SEO
Another thing that professional copywriters consider that the average agent doesn’t is how to quickly propagate information to the advantage of the client. That means we know how to get your profile seen by more people just by using the right language in the right places.
Just for the sake of example, LinkedIn allows users to customize their URLs. Most professionals have a hard time with this. They go for obvious over effective or simply don’t know how to do effective. Professional writers know how to make that URL match the messaging in the profile. I cannot emphasize how important this is for long-term online marketing success.
6. Beyond LinkedIn
There are also many other considerations that go way beyond just your LinkedIn profile. If your content lacks congruity or poorly reflects your brand, it can work against you. Actually, it will work against you, which is why a little help is always recommended, especially in the early stages of any marketing plan. Professional copywriters can increase your odds of success significantly when properly vetted and educated about the specifics of your brand message.
When you work with professional real estate copywriters, you have a much better chance of reaching the right people and building long-term back-end SEO that drives more traffic to your content with less direct effort. Contact BeezContent today to learn more about how we can manage your real estate copywriting needs.
