One of the most popular social networking sites is LinkedIn. While it doesn’t have all the features of its “more fun” counterparts like Facebook, it’s recognized for its purpose, which is completely professional.

LinkedIn is the way to gain exposure for your business, whether that means finding the best talent, joining a professional organization, or just getting recognition. Joining is the first step to achieving any or all of these goals for your home inspection business.

Getting Started

Click here to get started.  You’ll be asked to supply a name, contact email, and password. Click the “JOIN NOW” button and you’ll be taken to a series of windows asking for various details until you reach a screen giving options on where to go next.

At that point you may as well quit and go to the email account you gave, since you’ll have to click in a confirmation email before you can log in and get full access. Once you’ve done that, you’re ready to continue.

Before you add anything, be sure to change your Privacy Settings so your information isn’t visible until you’re ready.

Remember, you’re marketing yourself online here, so think about keywords. These are the relevant skills and attributes you consider your chief selling points as a home inspector. These are the things potential clients will search by.

Use a free keyword search tool to find most-used phrases like “home inspection NY” or “certified home inspector”, and use them several times in your LinkedIn profile.

Next, update and add your resume. You may not be a job seeker, but this will let interested parties know you have an extensive background of experience and qualifications are. Just make sure it’s accurate, organized, professional, and clearly lists your skills, qualifications, and accomplishments, without mistruths or needless hyperbole that could come back to haunt you.

Now that you’ve got your profile filled out, it’s time to update it. A photo is the first thing people see, so make sure you post one that’s both welcoming and professional.

Add information about your company, your market, and your mission. Be positive and informative, but don’t dwell on detail. You can also post other files and images as you grow your profile, or links to sites that you think would be helpful in promoting your business.

Professional Presence

When your profile is ready, make it public and start sharing it. Let friends, family, business contacts, and real estate publications know where to find it. Add a link to your profile on printed business material and other social media sites. You can even send out an email blast to your colleagues letting them know you’d like to connect.

If you want to grow your reputation, it’s a great idea to write a few blog articles related to home inspection. If you already have a blog, you can cross-post your existing blog posts on LinkedIn. Add a link to your blog in your profile and at the end of each post you create on LinkedIn, as well.

One great tool is LinkedIn plugins, which are buttons you can add to webpages directing users to your LinkedIn profile.

LinkedIn Groups

Finally, it’s time to connect with others using LinkedIn Groups.

There are hundreds of groups you can find and join to increase your presence among fellow home inspectors and potential clients. A few that we participate in are Home Inspectors Forum, Home Inspectors for a 21^st Century, and Business Owners, Entrepreneurs and Startups.

You can search for others here.

Home inspection turns up 113 million results on Google, so don’t expect droves of people to be filling up your inbox from day one on LinkedIn. Just develop the good habits of logging in periodically to update your information, add links to great content you’ve discovered and promote it to the online community. The idea is to build your professional presence into a network of positive recognition.

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