When it comes to business leads, quality is better than quantity. That’s a motto that Combined Property MD, Ellie McKay, lives by, from portfolios right through to social media posts.
“We make people jump through hoops with enquiries. I’d never put a call to action in my LinkedIn posts – you’ve got to show me you’re serious,” says property investor Ellie.
It’s a bold move, particularly when we consider that calls to action have a 285% click-through rate on Facebook, but Ellie has never been one to follow convention. Instead, she believes that education and proximity are the key to success.
The Power of Social Media
In the 18 months that Ellie has spent building Combined Property, she has invested considerable sums into mentoring.
LinkedIn training was particularly crucial for the business. Today, Combined Property has generated £1.5 million through LinkedIn alone.
Likes Don’t Mean Money in the Bank
Based on personal experience, Ellie says those who engage with posts won’t necessarily make a purchase. “Likes don’t mean money in the bank! People need to like, know and trust you.”
This means creating and engaging with genuine, valuable posts rather than chasing likes. It’s a motto that has given rise to Ellie’s influencer status, with over 23,000 LinkedIn connections.
“You need to focus on giving value rather than just taking, and need to be consistent. I’ve had investors approach me who’ve never liked a single post but tell me they’ve been watching me for months”
“Too many people are put off when they don’t get any likes, so they stop posting and invariably lose potential leads.”
To Ellie, a back catalogue of valuable posts is a portfolio in itself.
“If I’m doing a strategy call, I can point the prospect to my LinkedIn page. This demonstrates Combined Property’s value straight away. If they can’t see that, then we shouldn’t work together.”
Different Personas for Each Network
So, what else has Ellie learned in her journey to property influencer status?
Facebook remains a tricky challenge, largely thanks to ever-changing algorithms. As such, she makes sure she switches up her content for both LinkedIn and Facebook.
“We’re still finding the value with Facebook. Things that don’t work so well on LinkedIn might work better on Facebook – it’s a lot more like Instagram.”
For this reason, Ellie focuses on video and image content for Facebook, using it to promote events and other projects. LinkedIn, meanwhile, is Combined Property’s platform for generating conversation, with many posts asking users open questions.
Build a Callous Mind on Social Media
Conversations may crop up more often on Ellie’s personal LinkedIn page thanks to her straight-talking posts.
“You need to be thick-skinned on social media,” says Ellie. “If you go plain sailing, you’re not going to appeal to anyone.”
Two notable examples are Ellie’s no-nonsense LinkedIn articles, including titles such as:
Become the Master
Just as Ellie’s biggest investors silently follow her posts, she too follows her mentors. This comes back to the power of proximity. Not only does Ellie follow her biggest inspirations on social media, she makes it her business to associate with them.
“Even at our lowest ebb, we paid for high-profile events to watch people like Tony Robbins and Robert Kyosaki. It’s a compound effect: make friendships and they’ll give out referrals”
This is just the tip of the iceberg for Combined Property, who are investing even more in their social media.
“There are so many things we haven’t implemented yet,” Ellie concludes. “We’ve just hired a full-time marketing manager. We need to scale up quickly.”
To discover more about Ellie McKay please visit her LinkedIn profile or combinedpropertyltd.com/.
For an accompanying read, please visit Ellie McKay Faces Fears on Her Journey Towards a Personal Brand.