LinkedIn content for real estate websites

Use LinkedIn for people, not property data

Listings change status constantly, and buyers expect price, status and photos to be correct. That's the job of your MLS or IDX feed, under your MLS's display rules. A LinkedIn post announcing a new listing keeps saying “just listed” long after the home goes under contract, because nothing in the post changes when the status does.

Where LinkedIn helps is the part of the decision that's about people: which agent knows the submarket, which brokerage closes commercial deals, who manages the building. It's most useful for the parts of real estate that sell to professionals, such as commercial brokerage, investment sales, property management and corporate relocation.

Where it fits on a brokerage site

• Agent pages: a profile card with headline, current brokerage and experience, plus a certifications grid for professional designations the agent lists under Licenses & certifications.
• Commercial and market-report pages: the brokerage's posts with closed-deal announcements and quarterly market commentary.
• Agent recruiting page: the brokerage's company card with follower count and specialties, which tells prospective agents the firm is active.
• Listing announcements, if you show them at all: Selected posts on Pro or Essentials, so you decide which posts appear and can remove them when a property sells.

Fair housing and license-law cautions

The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to make, print or publish any notice, statement or advertisement about the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates a preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin. HUD has charged landlords over online ads such as one describing a unit as “not suitable for children/pets”. A casual phrase in a LinkedIn listing post becomes part of your website's advertising once it's embedded.

State real estate license laws also set advertising rules, such as how the brokerage must be identified. A profile card shows an agent's current company, but a post in a feed shows only its author, so keep the brokerage name and any required license details in the page around the widget.

• On high-traffic pages, prefer the brokerage's LinkedIn Page over individual agents' feeds, so posts go through the same review as your other advertising.
• Get permission before featuring a client's “we closed!” post. It may show their new home, their family or their address.
• Delete or edit a problem post on LinkedIn; the widget follows after its next refresh.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check with your managing broker, your state's real estate commission or counsel.

A setup plan for an agent, team or brokerage

1. 1

   Solo agent

   Free covers one widget: your profile card on your about page. Pro (3 widgets, 2 sources) adds a certifications grid from the same profile and your brokerage's feed as a second source.

2. 2

   Team of up to four agents

   Essentials (5 widgets, 5 sources) fits a profile card for each of four agents plus the team's or brokerage's posts feed on the home page.

3. 3

   Larger brokerage

   Use the brokerage Page for a company card and a feed on about and recruiting pages, and give profile cards to the leaders of each office or division. Link other agents' LinkedIn profiles from your roster.

4. 4

   Match refresh to how fast posts go stale

   Edits and deletions reach the widget at most every 24 hours on Pro and every 30 minutes on Essentials. If you embed listing posts, factor that delay in.