It’s no secret that social media has taken over most of our lives. Just stand in line at any grocery store or movie theater and you’ll likely see more people glued to their phones on a social media app than actually talking to another human being in person. For Commercial Real Estate (CRE) professionals, this is something to keep in mind. Social media should be more than just a blip on your radar.
Gone are the days when the majority of commercial real estate buyers used offline sources to inform their purchasing decisions. Now, it’s all about the convenience and lack of pressure that shopping on the Internet provides. In fact, “78% of adult Americans look for information online about a service or product they are thinking about buying,” according to LoopNet’s Commercial Real Estate Consumer Online Behavior and Trends report.If an appealing photo of that next commercial property you’re trying to sell pops up in the feed of a prospect’s social media feed, there’s a good chance they’ll click on it to find out more information.
So, how should CRE professionals leverage social media? Here are three ways:
1. Get Active
As a commercial real estate professional you may have the confidence to blaze your own path on social media pioneering new ways to market yourself and your business. Many CRE professionals may wish to borrow cues from their peers who are nailing it on social platforms such as Instagram. So what’s the main point here? No matter your confidence level, get active! If you’re a CRE professional, share photos of your commercial listings (with links to them) on your social media channels. If you don’t have any channels, they’re easy to create and you can set them up so they automatically publish across multiple channels at the same time. Put simply, you can’t leverage social media if you aren’t using it.
2. Use the Right Channel
Some social channels are more appropriate for CRE professionals than others. Why? Because they have different demographics. For example, people ages 13-24 make up 60% of Snapchat’s active user base, meaning the majority of people using the apparen’t likely in your target demographic. You’re better off targeting social media channels with established, diverse audiences like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn than channels with younger crowds or informal content like Snapchat, Tumblr and Reddit.
3. Embrace Video
Did you know that YouTube is the second-biggest search engine after Google? More and more CRE professionals are embracing the channel to showcase their commercial properties and, specifically, give video tours of them. Going on physical tours with your prospective buyers can definitely showcase your selling abilities, but it’s far less efficient than giving a larger audience a video they can easily access without taking up your time. Videos don’t have to be professionally produced, either. Even informal videos can engage your prospects and give you more ways to creatively show off your properties.
These are just a few ways CRE professionals can leverage social media. Using this popular channel can open up a whole new world of promotional opportunities for your commercial real estate brand.So next time you see people glued to their phones, make sure there’s a chance they find you!
