Noteworthy

Getting more value out of your LinkedIn connections…

A few years ago, I wrote a post about how to get more value out of LinkedIn, but I really haven’t given enough love to the site since them…  And I have an idea for how to change that.  Starting this week, I’m going to start writing one recommendation each week.

I’m starting this “recommendation” project with Kris Berg because she’s one of my favorite people in the world of real estate…  (Plus she doesn’t have many recommendations on LinkedIn which is a true shame!   If you know and like her, you should stop reading this post and head over to her profile and write a recommendation for her as well!)

Why commit to writing a weekly recommendations?

I have two purposes:

  1. It’s fun.  I really do enjoy the process of complementing folks who I’ve enjoyed working with and wish I did more of it.
  2. I want to play more with LinkedIn as a sphere building tool, but don’t want to dedicate a ton of time to the project.  I’m guessing I can knock out a solid recommendation in less than 20 minutes a week.

With that said, there’s so much more to LinkedIn these days with groups, Q&A, job opportunities, etc. that I’m sure there’s much more I *could* be doing.     If you have a more effective way to use LinkedIn, please share!  😉

Related posts:

  1. How to Jump-start your social networking with LinkedIn
  2. LinkedIn just got…
  3. Implementing Facebook’s Recommendation Social Plugin

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17 responses

  1. Alex Cortez Avatar
    Alex Cortez

    Heading over to LinkedIn to write Kris a recommendation. She’s one of those RE bloggers that is really leaps ahead of the industry. I have to say, of all the SM sites, LI is one that I just can’t get motivated to put much effort. Can those who have had success as a direct result of LI provide some input?

    Reply
    1. Dustin Avatar
      Dustin

      I hear you… I haven’t been very motivated to play on LinkedIn… but I think it’s worth the occasional recommendation. At least that’s my hypothesis. We’ll have to see how it works out! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Ricardo Bueno Avatar
    Ricardo Bueno

    You know, to this day, LinkedIn happens to be one of my favorite networks.

    Reply
    1. Dustin Avatar
      Dustin

      Really? One of your favorites, huh? Care to give some tips on how you use it?

      Reply
  3. Irina Netchaev Avatar
    Irina Netchaev

    That’s a great goal Dustin! One recommendation a week is really doable… puts a smile on someone’s face and most likely you’ll get a reciprocal recommendation. Easy to implement… very smart! Like it!

    Reply
    1. Dustin Avatar
      Dustin

      Well thank you! I just wrote my week 2 recommendation. So far, so good! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Teresa boardman Avatar
    Teresa boardman

    I am a linked in failure. My profile is kind of a mess and I rarely go to linked in. Maybe I should clean up my act . . oh I think I said that last year. 🙂

    Reply
    1. Dustin Avatar
      Dustin

      Yeah… My profile could use a ton of love, but one step at a time… and I’m starting with recommendations for others! 😉

      Reply
  5. REtechReport for September 3, 2010 — REtechSource

    […] for real estate agents. Sure most agents have an account, but how many use it on a regular basis? Getting more value out of your LinkedIn connections is a new series starting that is going to give advice to agents on how to best use […]

    Reply
  6. Carmen Brodeur Avatar
    Carmen Brodeur

    I have put a some effort into my linkedin profile just to make it look presentable (500+ connections, 10 recommendations). I don’t really see a lot of benefit in it. I consider the recommendations to be the most important part of the site. We just made it a part of our regular procedures that after we close a transaction my assistant checks whether the clients are on linkedin. If they are we ask for a recommendation. Being systematic about it is the easiest way to build the profile.

    Reply
  7. Marc Brodeur Avatar
    Marc Brodeur

    I signed up for Linkin during the Devonian era. I think there was 6 of us on Linked in then. I was the only non employee. Ok, I am being a bit facetious, but I didn’t pay attention to it for a few years, and then about 2 years ago I got into it a bit more, and filled out my profile. Then a few months ago I decided I would go beyond friends and family and try to actually meet people on linked in. And it has been successful if I apply 15 minutes a day to it.

    Today I discovered a cool ap for facebook called rofo. I am a commercial realtor and this will appeal to Realtors primarily, perhaps investors or owners looking to sell their property too. You can post your listings on Linkedin via rofo. Its a Linkedin ap (I didn’t know they even existed). So its another place to showcase your properties. I don’t know much of the company other than what I read on their profile on Linkedin. They are out of the bay area and look pretty new, only 10 employees. I thought I would share this with everyone. Let me know your thoughts after you give it a shout!

    Reply
    1. Dustin Avatar
      Dustin

      Great stuff! Feels like I signed up for LinkedIn so so long ago too… 😉

      I got a demo of Rofo at Real Estate Connect in SF this summer and it’s definitely an interesting idea. I’m a bit skeptical that enough realtors will go through the work to update their listings consistently on LinkedIn, but assuming they get through that issue, it should be interesting to see how they build a business on top of LinkedIn!

      Reply
  8. max Avatar
    max

    I learned about LinkedIn only recently and I’m definietely going to use this site to establish new contacts and maintain old ones. It may be worth of the effort.

    Reply
  9. David Losh Avatar
    David Losh

    Linked In has a Groups feature. Here in Seattle, Michael Surkan started a Seattle’s Group, or he discovered one, and set up the first networking event in August. I went by an invitation he wrote in the comments of the Seattle Bubble, a Real Estate blog.

    There were 300 people packed into cocktail slash dance floor in a down town restaurant. The September event was is Renton and 700 showed up. The October event is in a theater, again in down town Seattle. That is a lot of people thrown together in a couple of months of networking for the events.

    Linked In is a powerful tool that I ignored for the years my profile has been up. Now I’ve joined a couple of other groups. That seems to be a great feature.

    Reply
    1. Dustin Avatar
      Dustin

      Good call about the groups… I’m not part of any that are active, but would be interested in finding a relevant one. On my todo list to search for a good, quality wordpress/blogging/social media group on my LinkedIn! 😉

      Reply
    2. Annette Forsberg Avatar
      Annette Forsberg

      Hi David,
      I am a realtor with Keller Williams and saw your post about a networking event you went to. You said the next one is in October at a theater. Is it possible to get an invitation? The area I cover is Bainbridge Island to Gig Harbor and I am always looking for networking opportunities.
      Annette

      Reply
  10. Ariel Bierl Avatar
    Ariel Bierl

    Thanks for this post. It reminded me I really need to be more active on Linkedin.

    Reply

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