Dishing social media - Social media & RECon

Have you noticed a couple less people walking the bustling ICSC RECon hallways with overflowing binders the last year or two? Like it or not we are living in a new technological world where iPads are the new binder, Facebook is the number one ranked website, we get our news via 140 characters and conducting business is now largely handled on a 4 by 2 inch device. With social media being the number one activity on the web it's time to dive in or get media swept away. The fact is that whether you are involved in social media or not, people are talking about you and your brand, it's up to you whether or not you want to control the message. Nervous? Don't be, embrace change! This year at RECon, ICSC is helping to educate our industry with a dedicated Social Media Pavilion. I was able to catch up with ICSC's New Media manager, Sarah Malcolm and got the scoop. The Social Media Pavilion will hold double the sessions as last year including topics like SEO, Google Analytics, B2B, the power of LinkedIn and plenty of others. Also expected is the launch of a new and improved ICSC App. Sarah notes, "We went about building the new app at a completely different angle; it can be utilized 365 days a year." Mobile applications really only need to include the basics, the information people want right away; it should not be a re-write of your website. The improved app has a member lookup with profiles and pictures, click to dial phone numbers and email addresses, meeting information, floor plans and other helpful items. It also incorporates a live Twitter feed so you can keep up on what's happening around the show (@ICSC_RECon #REConSocial). Some companies to check out on Twitter as examples of using social media well are: @SCTNews, @ChipotleTweets, @JLLNews, @ColliersIntl, @DLCManagement, @WalmartRealty, @LinearRetail (company I work for). After RECon you can learn more about social media at the first ever ICSC social media/mobile conference called MOCIAL (Mobile+Social) in Orlando on September 6th and 7th. There you can meet social media experts in the retail real estate industry, learn about new technologies and best practices. Diana Podaski is marketing and social media manager at Linear Retail, Burlington, Mass.