Social networking or social media marketing remains a hot topic in the real estate industry. The belle of the ball is Facebook. It has over 600 million users world wide and experts believe 1 billion is right around the 
corner. Twitter, that whimsical little site with tweets, tweeps and twits is nearing 200 million users. The oldest of the big three networks is the least talked about. LinkedIn, launched in May of 2003, is experiencing a bit of a resurgence. It recently passed 100 million users, and is adding about 1 million users per week.
LinkedIn is a business-oriented social network. It is heavily used in job seeking and recruiting. Over the last few years, however, LinkedIn has developed into a more “social” site with status updates, applications, and integration with Twitter and Facebook. There are quite a few opportunities for real estate agents to utilize these new social tools to engage and expand their network.
If you have not looked into LinkedIn lately, why not stop by the Paradise Valley John Hall and Associates office on Friday May 6th at 11am. A LinkedIn Lunch and Learn will run from 11am to 1pm. As with all of the John Hall Friday Lunch and Learns, you are encouraged to bring you laptop and work along with the instructor. Some of the topics covered will be LinkedIn Profiles, Groups, Answers, and Applications. We will also look at some of the newest tools just added like Today and Skills.
If you do not have a LinkedIn account, got to LinkedIn.com and create your account. Complete as much of the profile as you can, and we will see you on Friday, May 6th.
Bill Risser is VP/Director, New Media and Education for Chicago Title. You can find him at CT-Gilbert.com and on Twitter at @billrisser, that is, when he’s not on a local golf course with his son, at the movies with his wife, or tending to one of his four fantasy leagues (NFL, MLB, PGA, and NASCAR).
Hearing him speak will be worth the drive from Tempe!!