If you've ever clicked on the "share" icon at the top of an article and seen the long list of social media platforms to share on, it can seem pretty overwhelming. You may feel like you are in the dark, wondering what the red and white squiggle icon means or the orange B or goofy alien figure. For now, focus on the mainstream social media platforms and spend your valuable time on the mediums that are best for your brand and role in the industry. Below are my suggestions of which social media platforms to spend your time networking on, based on your function in commercial real estate.
Brokers and leasing representatives spend a huge percentage of their time on the road, constantly on the go, which is why my recommendation of the best social platform for this group is Twitter. The Twitter platform only allows 140 characters per post, perfect for small spurts of information for both absorbing and sharing. Twitter has a very user-friendly mobile app as well. Its search capabilities make it easy to follow retailers, landlords and CRE events. Build your followers list by following these groups and commenting on their tweets. A local Boston example of a broker to follow is Jon Martin, @jzmartin. I also like the idea of a video blog, if you can commit to it.
Owners should have a LinkedIn company page. Post daily on your LinkedIn page and have employees repost your posts. Especially with the Boston CRE community, I'd say 80% of us are on LinkedIn and check-in frequently. Another network to pay attention to if you are an owner is Facebook. If you have shopping centers of considerable size, create Facebook pages for each center and post daily center and retailer happenings, events and news.
Retailers have a tough job because they need to attract customers but also attract owners. To build your brand on social you should have a Facebook, Twitter and Instagram account. If you can create valuable content, utilize YouTube too. Facebook is still king of social media so having a presence there is a must. Twitter is a necessity for posting up to the second news like day-of promotions, store closings etc. Instagram is the fastest growing social media platform right now, so to stay current, you've got to get in the game here. Instagram is about posting beautiful photos of products and building your following. YouTube is great for service-oriented businesses to show off the store, customer testimonials, or a simple "about us" video.
Architects should have a presence on any social media platform that focuses on photography. The best are Instagram, Pinterest and Houzz. Be sure to tag your content appropriately by scene/room/retailer, product and region so that people can find you in searches.
Construction is such a hands-on process, so I'd suggest focusing on video. I think YouTube and Vine are good ones for time lapse video and daily construction updates. Also, create a LinkedIn company page and share your videos there.
Fun Fact: To maximize your phone's volume, put it on the speaker phone setting and place it in a drinking glass or glass bowl.
Diana Podaski is VP - marketing and social media at Linear Retail Properties, Burlington, Mass.