On Monday, I had the opportunity to attend Social Fresh, a conference in Charlotte that covers all things social media. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Email Marketing, Blogs and LinkedIn. The day-long, six-session, jam packed conference featured some of the best, brightest and most adventurous social media panelists including, Bert Dumars of Newell Rubbermaid, Greg Cangialosi of Blue Sky Factory, Amber Naslund of Radian 6, Lisa Hoffmann of Duke Energy, Jennifer Ecclestone of General Motors and many, many more.

Events such as Social Fresh highlight how important and beneficial social media can be when it’s used correctly. When used incorrectly…well let’s not even go there. It was a day of information overload but a piece of advice that truly resonated with me was that LinkedIn is overlooked and underused.

When we hear the terms “social media” or “social networking”, we automatically think Facebook and Twitter. Why? If you go by numbers, Facebook and Twitter have the most users and are two of the most active and user-friendly social networking platforms available to consumers. While both of these web sites are impactful, real estate agents should not forget about LinkedIn – the number one professional social networking website that offers numerous benefits and opportunities.

So where should you start?

The most important place to start is your profile. Your LinkedIn profile is more than just your resume, it is your cover letter, references document, database of contacts and, above all else, your personal brand. It speaks volumes of who you, as a real estate agent are. So make sure they are the best volumes.

Here are a few insider tips to better brand your LinkedIn profile:

Custom URL: Your LinkedIn URL should appear as http://linkedin.com/in/yourfullname.

• This will help your Google ranking
• Go to your profile and click “edit” and then next to where it says “public profile”, click “edit” again. At the top, you’ll want to click “edit” one more time next to “your public profile URL”
• When in doubt go with your full name because it will make much easier for people to find you (a “witty” name will make it harder)

Headline: This will automatically display the last job you’ve had unless you change it manually.

• Brand yourself for your profession, not your exact title. Is your focus on homes, condo’s or townhouses? What market do you serve?

Keywords: This will help you stand out when people are searching for your profession or area of expertise.

• By selecting a few keywords (how do people search for you?) that are also found in your headline, and sprinkling them throughout your profile, you will rank higher for those terms when someone conducts a LinkedIn “people search”
• Key places to sprinkle the keywords: Headline, current work experience, past work experience, summary, specialties

These are just a few ways to get started. Next time, we’ll discuss how to establish leadership on LinkedIn!