An introduction to the use of LinkedIn for commercial real estate brokers and marketers. Co-presented with Barbi Reuter, RPA of Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR Commercial Real Estate.

1. Social Media for Brokers:
LinkedIn
June 26, 2012

2. Today’s Presenters
Barbi Reuter, Angela Brown
RPA External
Communications
Principal
Manager
Cushman & Wakefield
CoStar Group
| PICOR Commercial
Real Estate

3. Today’s Presenters
Barbi Reuter, RPA
Principal
Cushman & Wakefield |
PICOR Commercial Real Estate
picor.com
facebook.com/PICORcres
@PICORcres @BarbiReuter
linkedin.com/in/barbireuter
blog.picor.com/
gplus.to/barbireuter

4. Today’s Presenters
Angela Brown
External Communications Manager
CoStar Group, Inc.
costar.com
facebook.com/CoStarGroup
@TheCoStarGroup @angelambrown
linkedin.com/in/angelambrown
Youtube.com/costargroup
gplus.to/CoStarGroup

5. Housekeeping
Recording and slides
A link to a recording of today’s presentation will be available
tomorrow – keep an eye on your inboxes for the link and a PDF
of today’s presentation
Questions
Questions will be addressed at the end, but you may submit
them at any time both through gotomeeting and Twitter
Twitter
Please use the hash tag #CoStarSocial when live-tweeting
during this program or submitting questions via Twitter. Send
questions to @TheCoStarGroup.

6. Disclaimer
All information provided is based on the best
research available to CoStar. CoStar provides
no guarantees concerning the effectiveness of
the methods or advice presented herein.

7. What We’ll Cover
LinkedIn… …for brokers
 What you can do with  Testimonial: Is it worth your
LinkedIn time?
 Which account type is  Nailing your strategy
right for you?  Do’s and don’ts
 Is your profile up to par?  Getting engaged
 Third-party apps  Next-level networking:
 Navigating groups Recommendations
 Building your network  Testimonial: Group
participation

8. LinkedIn…

9. Quick Facts About LinkedIn
 161+ million users in over 200 countries and territories
 87 million monthly visitors
 61% of companies have acquired a customer through
LinkedIn
 LinkedIn, more than any other social media site, is
driving customers for B2B organizations
 80% of LinkedIn members influence business decisions
Sources: LinkedIn website, June 2012;
Hubspot’s The State of Inbound Marketing, March 2012

10. What Can You do with LinkedIn?
 Build your personal brand
 Promote your company
 Expand your network
 Become a thought leader
 Generate and nurture leads

11. Which Account Type is Right
for You?

12. Which Account Type is Right for You?
 LinkedIn currently offers four premium
account types for:
– Business Users
– Recruiters
– Job Seekers
– Sales Pros

13. Which Account Type is Right for You?
Basic
 Free
 Ideal for lightweight LinkedIn use
 Simpler, more limited search capabilities
Business
 $24.95 - $99.95/mo
 More powerful search with higher results and
premium filters
 Ideal for open, aggressive networking and research
 See full list of who’s viewed your profile
Source: LinkedIn website, June 2012

14. Which Account Type is Right for You?
Sales
 $19.95 - $99.95/mo
 Similar to Business, but entry level option
does not offer InMail
 Offers “Lead Builder,” which allows you to
create and save lists of prospects
Source: LinkedIn website, June 2012

15. Which Account Type is Right for You?
Think about…
 Your individual and business needs – what is
your role within the company?
 How open do you want your network to be?
 How often do you need to connect with
people outside your network?
 What are you trying to achieve? Who do you
want to connect with?
 How might your needs change in the future?

16. Is Your Profile Up to Par?

17. Is Your Profile up to Par?
Did you spend
enough time setting
up your profile?
A good rule of thumb is
to spend at least two
hours on initial set up.

18. Is Your Profile up to Par?
Have an informative
headline (be specific)
Use an appropriate photo
Keep your status up to date
Make sure education and
work info are complete and
current
Take advantage of
opportunities to highlight
other sites
Use a custom URL

19. Is Your Profile up to Par?
The summary statement, specialties and skills & expertise fields
give more context to who you are – what is your skill set? What
territories do you cover?
Fill the “Specialties” and “Skills & Expertise” sections with
keywords and phrases that you want associated with you and your
areas of expertise

20. Third-party Applications

21. Third-party Applications
 LinkedIn has partnered with companies such as
WordPress, TripIt and Microsoft to develop free
applications to help users enhance their profiles
 A new way to define and showcase what you and your
business have to offer
 Best for business: WordPress, SlideShare, BlogLink
and Box.net

22. Third-party Applications

23. Bonus: LinkedIn Productivity Tools
Outlook Connector
 Build your network from frequent contacts
 Manage your LinkedIn contacts in Outlook
Lotus Notes Widget
 Get your email and LinkedIn updates all in one place
 Quickly learn more about people who send you email
 Search for people you want to contact and work with
 Share your status, see what your connections are
working on
Sharing Bookmarklet
 Share webpages to LinkedIn from your browser

24. Navigating Groups

25. Navigating Groups
Groups are a great way to build visibility and
make new connections, but…
 The simple act of joining a group won’t get you
very far
 You can join up to 50, but only join as many as
you can actively participate in
 One or two are better than ten
 The CoStar CRE Forum is a great place to
start!

26. Navigating Groups
Feeling things out
 Understand that it’s a process – joining a group won’t
result in closing a deal right away
 Read the group rules in the top right corner – is
promotional activity allowed?

27. Navigating Groups
Feeling things out
 Take a look at the group stats (right side) – is
the group active? Who are its members?
 Observe first – participate where appropriate
and take time to build trust with other
members

28. Navigating Groups
Becoming an active participant
 Target the most active discussions in the group for
the most visibility
 Wait until you’ve spent some time participating in top
discussions before starting your own
 Study the most popular posts – what do people
respond to?
 Add value – respond to existing
comments, provide an insight or
opinion or ask a thought-provoking
question

29. Building Your Network

30. Building Your Network
 Start with professional contacts you know and
trust

31. Building Your Network
 Make the effort – include a personal note
when you send invitations to connect
 Follow up with new connections - send a
personal note back when you accept an
invitation
 Have a goal in mind – what types of
professionals do you want to connect with?
Why?
 Did you just return from an event? Take action
with those business cards (and be timely)

32. Building Your Network
 Are you asking for an
introduction or connecting
with someone you don’t
know personally? Explain the
mutual benefit.
 Take advantage of
introductions but tread lightly
- the most effective intro
tactic is to pick up the phone
 Connect with purpose –
focus on quality, not quantity

33. Building Your Network
Remember the social media golden rule:
Take online relationships offline for maximum
benefit.

34. Summary

35. Summary
 Make sure your profile is complete and
professional
 Keep your profile and your updates current
 Get involved in groups but don’t go crazy
 Make note of group rules and stats before you join
 Listen first before engaging in groups
 Actively pursue new connections but make it
personal and avoid spam
 Take online relationships offline for maximum
benefit

36. …for brokers

37. A Word About “Experts”

38. Value Proposition
Is this worth my time?
 Industrial user requirement – found via Search
 State Commerce Authority – connection resulted
in event attendance/key listing tours
 Presentation opportunity – lunch/learn on CRE
 10,000 sf law firm – tenant rep via Groups

39. Know Your Strategy
What do I want to accomplish?
 Visibility and credibility
 Lead generation
 Thought leadership
 Branding
 Network growth
 Research
 Track competition

40. The Do’s
 Engage3
 Be consistent & authentic
 Follow traditional rules of
– Networking
– Communication
– Business etiquette
 Give credit to sources

41. The Don’ts
 Post listings
 Be a taker – give back
 Spam (groups, individuals)
 Over automate

42. Engage!
 Consistency over frequency
 Status updates – personal, company, groups
 Comment and like – keep discussions active
 LinkedIn Answers
 LinkedIn Polls
 Springboard to personal contact

43. Connections
 “People You May Know”
– Always personalize ask
 Second degree connections
 Accepting invitations – which?
 Connecting with competitors – should I?
 When do I disconnect?

44. Connections
Contacts > Add connections > People You May Know

45. Recommendations
 Quality over quantity
 Strike while the iron is hot
 Client testimonials over co-workers
 Personalize requests
 Make it easy
 Reciprocate
 Handling requests

46. Search and Research
277% more effective for lead gen than Facebook
& Twitter for B2B
 Powerful search tool
– Prospecting
– Basic vs Premium accounts
 Company research
 Who can introduce you?

47. Search and Research

48. Get Your Group On
Top source of referrals to PICOR Connect

49. Get Your Group On
Types of groups to target
 Location centric
 Prospect’s business
 Associations/networks
 Companies

50. Get Your Group On
How to interact
 Two way
 Discussions & polls
 Be relevant and user-focused
 Respect group rules
 Control digest frequency

51. Get Your Group On

52. Summary

53. Recap
 Focus and target
– Will this activity drive business?
– Will it expand my network?
– Can we help each other?
 He that gives…
 Resources
– HubSpot – How To Guides
– WindMill Networking – LinkedIn Category
– Social Media Examiner – LinkedIn tag
– YouTube – “InTips” playlist on LinkedIn Channel

54. Questions?