For many, LinkedIn has become the “party” that everyone wants to go to. Getting an invitation is rather easy. Log into the site, find peer professionals you know or don’t know and connect.
Designed as an employment networking platform, apartment industry professionals (not to mention millions of others) are finding it to be more than that. It’s a chance to “find your voice” as a writer, offer daily news updates, inspire others and create bonds that were thought to be not possible.
Given the number of posts of people attending industry or work events (yes, networking), some are finding it a more viable version of Facebook in the personal sense.
Tony Sousa and Moshe Crane hosted a live webinar in January discussing LinkedIn strategies, tips, hacks and how they leverage the site.
Sousa is Vice President, RPM Living. Crane is Vice President of Branding and Strategic Initiatives, Sage Partners.
‘Expanding Your Network Far and Wide’
Joining and participating on LinkedIn is intimidating to some. Professionals can become too self-conscious about what they share and who might see it. Choosing an image can also become a roadblock because who really likes stock images?
But the site has proliferated, especially post-pandemic and now serves as a place for mentorship. Its LinkedIn Live video tool is gaining share from traditional webcasts and podcasts, whose growth might have peaked a year ago.
Because of its convenience, LinkedIn became a de facto networking choice in place of in-person events due to social distancing. That alternative has seemed to stick in smaller or tertiary markets.
“Early on, I didn’t accept connection requests unless I knew the person,” Sousa said. “But I’ve now realized, it’s about expanding your network far and wide.”
Sousa posts regularly – anything from what’s going on at his company and industry connections to how he spends time with his family.
Crane said, “Posting forced me to clearly articulate my thoughts. The hope was if people saw my thoughts and liked them, they were more likely to schedule a call with me.”
For both, and for many, the site evolved into a great platform for learning about what was going on in the industry.
Sousa said he uses the platform as a way to find out what is going on in the industry first thing in the morning. “It’s almost like The New York Times for our industry,” he said.
“At any time, if I was curious, I could reach out to contacts and do survey posts to see what people were thinking about given topics related to apartment management,” Crane said.
Now more firmly established, Crane suggests a posting cadence – such as doing so regularly on a certain day or days – and Sousa said he’s more spontaneous about when to post. “Really, it’s okay to not post some days if you don’t have anything,” Sousa said.
Don’t Barge In
Sousa equated getting started on LinkedIn to being invited to a party.
“You don’t just barge in and start talking to everyone about yourself and sharing your opinions, especially to people who don’t even know who you are,” he said.
Crane said it’s best to act on the site as you do in real life.
“You wouldn’t just walk up to any stranger and immediately say let’s have a 15-minute conversation.”
Sousa said the first step for those new to the site is to listen.
“Read posts and see what works and what doesn’t and what you are comfortable with,” he said. “Get involved in comment boxes.”
It is here where active users can support others or offer ideas and solutions. Having a sense of humor isn’t a bad thing, either.
Crane agreed, but “Don’t just reply, ‘Congratulations’ to everything.”
Sousa said that when a person takes the time to engage with your post, return the favor.
“You can ‘like’ their comments or reply in an authentic way,” he said. “I make it a point to never give the same response twice. Positivity is huge on LinkedIn.”
When doing just that, Sousa called himself a ‘fire starter’ on the site for his co-workers, in a good way. His company has nearly 5,000 employees. “I ‘fan the flames’ of their posts and comments to hopefully drive more engagement.”
The two said it’s important not to commit “LinkedIn fouls” while being on the site. Examples being:
- Don’t connect with someone and then immediately direct message them to pitch your business.
- Don’t say anything poorly about your company, your competitors or be rude in the comments.
- Stay away from political topics. Keep it “business casual.”
Posts that Draw People In
Sousa said a post’s opening line is important because it can draw people in. This is where LinkedIn visitors can see who’s creative and who has savvy writing skills.
“If you are trying to stand out,” Crane said. “You might not want to do the same kinds of posts that everyone else is doing. I try to zig when others zag.”
Primarily, LinkedIn is designed to make it easier to network for jobs to advance one’s career or for those unemployed who are looking for a job. As many career advisors will say, this is how ideal jobs are found – not by randomly blasting out resumes to job boards. Companies tend to hire people they know or based on referrals.
Sousa said joining LinkedIn after being laid off is not an optimal way to land that next job. After all, the best time to network is when you have a job, many say.
“If you are laid off, ideally, you’ve already created a network of people you can lean on,” he said.
Sousa said that posting about personal things such as family life and being vulnerable, personally, can be effective content subject matter.
“I find that the higher a person is in the company, the less likely they will post vulnerabilities,” he said. “It’s kind of an unwritten rule in management.”
Ultimately, effective LinkedIn participants learn to leverage the site’s algorithm, they said. This can come from using hashtags and tagging others appropriately to spur engagement, which drives more engagement.
“But don’t just make up lots of new hashtags and load them up on your posts,” Crane said. “It doesn’t help. It looks bad. Don’t over-tag people. If you tag someone, and they don’t engage, it can hurt your algorithm. And try to make sure they are okay with being tagged.”
No one has time to be bogged down by excessive notifications on their LinkedIn profiles about topics they aren’t interested in.
Instead, professionals are finding time to help make LinkedIn an ideal resource for their careers.
Reach out to Tony Sousa and Moshe Crane on LinkedIn for more information.