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Does Social Media Work in Commercial Real Estate?

Posted by Stefan Frey on Wed, Aug 12, 2009
  
  
  
  
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  • That's a damn good question. Here's the answer, I don't know... YET. Here's what I do know... I know I can't have a conversation with another business owner without them asking if I'm doing anything online with social media and if it's working or not. My response is YES, I'm involved in social media... is it working? Not sure. I'm on LinkedIn, Twitter and most recently Facebook... and to be honest I feel like a toddler in the baby pool who desperately wants to swim like the big kids... or at least I think I want to swim... or better yet, I'm told I need to swim.
  • There is no question social media is all the buzz these days and there are already 1000's of guru's out there who want to show you how to capitalize on this new era of social interaction and networking for business purposes. I recently bit the bullet and signed on to Facebook, despite my wife telling me I was going to scare young children if I joined. I know it's not taboo to be on Myspace or Facebook anymore but I still can't help feeling like I just signed up for the high school yearbook committee all over again. So far I've reconnected with a whole bunch of high school friends I haven't spoken to in years, which is great... but I still don't have a clue how to use it to grow my business. I have a little bit more of a clue with Twitter but really I'm just on there once or twice a day to try to post something relevant to my business or push my blog out there. I'm not the guy telling you I had grape nuts with sliced up bananas on it for breakfast. I feel the most confident on LinkedIn. I'm part of 30some groups and have networked with some great people. That said I know I still have a lot to learn.
  • In my business, commercial real estate, or more specifically, commercial real estate brokerage in the Boston area, my goal is to network with other business owners and companies who have a future need to either lease or purchase commercial space as well as networking with commercial property owners and commercial investors. But like many business owners I'm always scrambling to find the time. Then, when I do find the time, where is my time spent going to be the most productive? Which social media outlet is going to give me the biggest ROT (Return On my Time)?
  • I'm told, "Rome wasn't built in a day" and "this is a marathon, not a sprint", so don't get me wrong, I'm totally on board (obviously or I wouldn't be sitting here at 9:15pm writing this blog article!), I just hope the conductor points me to the right seat after a few too many cocktails in the bar car and sitting next to me is Warren Buffett who tells me he would like me to be his exclusive commercial broker for all of Berkshire Hathaway's companies.
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Comments

I think you are right as far as "it is too early to tell". We have to get a better handle on which ones are tools and which ones are toys. 
 
 
 
Some of this is just the latest in "Digital Bling". You have to have it to be "in" but believe me some of this will fade out as fast as it came into being.
Posted @ Thursday, August 13, 2009 2:02 PM by JAMES CARLINI
I think Stefan is correct. LinkedIn seems more focused on business, eventhough there are recreational groups available. It is much easier to pinpoint the groups relavent to your vocational goals than with the others.
Posted @ Saturday, August 15, 2009 11:12 PM by Scott Wilmore
Stefan 
 
Social media will not go away anytime soon because it is free advertising! Check out PMADesk.com for help on creating a strong presence in the digital blingdom. 
 
Kevin
Posted @ Wednesday, August 19, 2009 7:10 AM by Kevin Baker
Just wondering if you have revisted or updated your thoughts on Social Media and Commercial Real Estate. I would be interesting in hearing your thoughts on this now that time has passed and (hopefully) you are no longer a babe in the woods.
Posted @ Monday, April 26, 2010 10:12 PM by Tracy Lee Carroll
To quote Kevin Maggiacomo President and CEO of Sperry Van Ness: 
 
By now it should be no secret that I’m a big fan of social media. The statistics validating social media’s ability to positively impact performance more than serve as adequate evidence that commercial real estate professionals should be actively engaged in social media marketing. 
 
1. Real business people don’t use social media: The inference with this excuse is that social media is somehow not worthy of their attention – that “real businesses” simply don’t market using social media. Nothing could be farther from the truth. 
 
2. I don’t have time to use social media: This statement smacks of naiveté at best, or of arrogance at its worst. Since when doesn’t a person have time to engage people in a way that builds trust, engenders confidence, and accelerates the efficiency of communication. 
 
3. It doesn’t work for commercial real estate: News flash – as much as you may want to think differently, our business is not any different from other businesses. Believing that certain immutable business principals don’t exist for commercial real estate professionals is very dangerous thinking. Not only have I personally benefited from social media on several levels, but I am also aware of numerous examples of both service providers and end-users alike that have received benefit from their investments into social media. </i 
 
Benefits for Practitioners 
 
Social media increases your presence and visibility on the search engines, your exposure to deals, prospects and information, your ability to engage in meaningful conversations, the ability to shorten selling cycles and improve relationships, the ability to improve your position relative to competition, the ability to demonstrate subject matter expertise by expanding distribution for your thoughts and ideas, the ability to reach more people with greater velocity, and the list could go on and on…The bottom line is this: It has been said that as high as 80% of all purchasing decisions and diligence efforts begin with an internet search.  
 
Benefits for Clients 
 
Clients and end-users are turning to social media in increasingly larger numbers when looking for information, advice, properties and professional expertise. Clients looking for increased transparency and accountability from their professional advisors will be looking for social proofing that is easily found online in reviewing a professionals social media presence.  
 
The Whole Story: http://www.maggiacomoblog.com/social-media-and-commercial-real-estate/comment-page-1 
 
This all being said I run one of the largest CRE social media sites on the web. 
 
I believe that social networking, media and marketing are like the cell phone in the 80′s; we all knew about it, but did not have a clue whether we needed one or not and how it would effect the way we did business in the future. 
 
I really Believe that the early adaptors will be the winners here. 
 
I would like to suggest the Commercial Real Estate Professionals and Investor Group on Ning. http://www.CREPIG.com. 
 
CREPIG also has a group on LinkedIn with over 10,000 members and is on Twitter with over 20,000 followers. 
 
This sites forum, blogs, events etc are all automatically forwarded to targeted audiences on Facebook, Plaxo, Twitter and LinkedIn. 
 
It also has many compelling services pertaining to the commercial real estate industry
Posted @ Friday, March 25, 2011 4:19 PM by JW Najarian
Social media isn’t a fad. It is a new way of communicating, marketing and networking. With a click of a mouse, you can interact with real estate investors and private money lenders around the world. As per my view, social networking is a good way to create a better real estate investment environment. 
australia property melbourne
Posted @ Monday, June 27, 2011 5:01 AM by australia property melbourne
Using social media for real estate business is a more personal approach for people who are searching online and it can allow people to see a property up close and personal. This also can save from wasting anyone's time on looking at a property. 
Melbourne city planning
Posted @ Friday, August 12, 2011 6:17 AM by Melbourne city planning
One aspect success in any sales job is to be top of mind and in the right place at the right time. Social media can help leverage your time to have your name show up and be top of mind and in the right place when your prospect needs a commercial real estate broker. It also gives you a platform to display your expertise to a broad audience without having to send an article to a newpaper or a press release and hope it gets picked up. It provides more opportunity for all of us.
Posted @ Thursday, August 25, 2011 7:22 PM by commercial realtor
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