Here is an interesting article by Jeff Segal from www.brokersavant.com
Remember the QR code? A few years ago, those chunky matrices were going to revolutionize social media for commercial real estate. But making people scan a code just to link to a webpage turned out to be a dead end for many CRE brokers. Today, social media for commercial real estate is all about engagement—connecting with people through topics they find interesting, and rewarding them with content they’ll want to share.
Here are a few ways savvy CRE marketers are doing just that:
All Hail the King!
Content marketing isn’t really a trend anymore—Content is King. Content (a.k.a. inbound) marketing has moved social media beyond “likes” and “hits” to meaningful engagement with online communities. Engaging your audience with informative, entertaining material doesn’t just convert prospects to customers—it converts customers into evangelists for your brand.
Content Marketing for midsized businesses, return on investment
Research shows that B2B companies that blog generate 67% more leads than those that don’t. Why do you think Yahoo paid more than $1 billion for Tumblr?
But there’s more to content marketing than blogging. You can share slide decks, video interviews, infographics or even your key strategic documents. Anything to keep your Twitter feed fresh!
#HashtagsRule
You’ve probably tracked hashtags on Twitter, but did you know Facebook now supports hashtags? Yes, those weird phrases with the # sign are now a bona fide online marketing tool.
Research hashtags like #CRE with Twubs
Tracking hashtags is a great way to follow trending topics about your business, your community or anything else that might be relevant. Don’t know what to track? Join a free service like Twubs, search for a category or a name, and you can watch real-time feeds of everyone who’s talking about your subject.
Want to focus interest on a topic near and dear to you? Create your own hashtag and include it in everything you post online.
Information Recon
Social media isn’t just for sharing information—sometimes it’s about getting information before anyone else!
Consider Yelp. You might just think it’s a good place to review restaurants, but Florida broker Matt Romero—who represents mostly restaurant owners—pores over those reviews for leads, introductions, tips and client advice.
Yelp for commercial real estate?
Or there’s Quora, the online question-and-answer community. Create a free account, let your curiosity be your guide, and see what you can learn. For instance, searching for “retail property” turns up questions about surrounding property valuation, fashion e-commerce shops and the North Korean startup scene. Have something specific in mind? Ask a question of your own.
Heavy Pinterest
You might dismiss Pinterest as a “pretty pictures site”—but you’d be wrong. The visual powerhouse drives more referral traffic than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined. And it’s a natural for CRE marketing.
Why? Hello! Pictures!
Promoting your listings by “pinning” property photos should be your automatic first step (after completing your profile, of course). But you can create interactive boards around anything that interests you, your clients or your community, and they all keep your social media presence prominent and fresh.
Can You Make a Sale in Six Seconds?
Probably not, but you might be tempted to try with Vine, the free smart phone app that lets you shoot, view and distribute 6-second videos.
If you’re thinking that sounds like the Twitter version of YouTube, you’re right—in fact, Vine is owned by Twitter. Available less than a year, Vine is already the most-used video sharing app on the market.
So what can you show in a 6-second video? A quick montage of property photos. A weekly scroll of your current listings. Your winning putt at the charity golf tourney. A teaser for a big new property you’re about to list.
Have fun, be creative, and connect with your mobile community like never before.
What’s your favorite emerging social media trend? Let us know with a comment below!