3 Benefits of Social Media in CRE

Remember in the 90s when businesses realized they needed to have a website to stay relevant and keep up with the times? In the grand scheme of things, the internet is still relatively new as it only became publicly available in 1991; that was just 31 years ago. Since the beginning, however, a lot has changed on the world wide web. Just as businesses needed to create a website back then to stay relevant, today it is important for businesses to have a social media presence.

The Commercial Real Estate Industry is no exception; social media can greatly increase deals completed, connections made, and opportunities discovered. Our marketing department has heard time and time again from our brokers about the positive feedback they’ve received regarding their market activity that is shared on social media. When executed well, social media can increase traffic to your website by 75% (Social Media Examiner), allowing for growth and increased brand awareness.

While there are many benefits to integrating social media in your daily Commercial Real Estate business, we will go over 3 of the most important benefits to persuade you to take the plunge.

Grow your Reach and Brand Awareness

Referrals play a huge role when searching for new business in CRE. Being able to reach out to current and past clients through social media is a highly efficient way to network and receive referrals, which can lead to new business. This can only be achieved however, if you put in the effort to post content that your targeted audience would want to engage with. Opening an account and not posting or updating your profile will not produce the results you want.

As of December 2021, there are more than 875 million members on LinkedIn, one of the best social media platforms for business professionals. If done with intent and dedication, you can increase your reach way more than any other form of networking. By staying in contact with existing clients on social media, they will continuously see your market activity, keeping you as top of mind for future referrals.

Build your own Personal Brand

Within the competitive CRE environment today, it is important to nurture and develop your own personal brand. A personal brand helps to showcase who you are, what skills you bring to the table and your unique offering, this can be achieved through consistent posting of good quality content. When you’re intentional about developing your brand, you will see an increase in the connections you make and the opportunities that are opened to you because relevant people will want to follow you for your content.

The content you want to post on social media should reflect you and your personal brand. It should consist of new and current listings, deals completed, articles, CRE-related events, personal posts, and more. A good rule of thumb to follow is the 80/20 rule. 80% should be about your business, showing off your expertise and portfolio; and 20% should be about your personal life, making you relatable to your followers. You want to keep your followers interested and become established as a thought leader in your market; whether that is retail, industrial, office, multifamily, or any other branch of CRE.

Developing a personal brand will allow you to be more discoverable to prospective clients, help reel them in with your knowledge and skills, and give them a clear picture of what you can offer them. Creating a clear personal brand allows you to be in control of your reputation, messaging, and services. Just as a Starbucks coffee costs double what it costs at your local gas station, brand matters. People typically are willing to spend more on a brand they know and recognize as consistent quality; just as that brand will normally be top of mind. Crafting a personal brand your targeted audience will want to interact with will help to create the brand awareness that will make you top of mind.

Increase Search Engine Optimization

As discussed in the first benefit, leveraging social media allows for an instantaneous connection with your audience. It is at that point when you need to decide what it is you want them to do next. For many if not all brokers, the obvious answer is to have the prospective client contact them directly, or redirect to their company website. From there, their audience would be able to learn more about the broker’s company, their services, available properties, and more.

Search Engine Optimization, SEO in short, is crucial because it makes you and your brand more visible to those searching for the services you offer. In turn, this means more traffic to your social media page and ultimately more opportunities. This can be achieved by several different ways, however, the method pertaining to your social media SEO is content. Content is a vital part of SEO, because it acts as the vehicle to reach your targeted audience. A way to take your content a step forward would be to link to your website as much as possible – but strategically. This can be done by linking to listings, blogs, or anything else you want to highlight on your company website. You also want to use key words within your posts in order for your targeted audience to find you during their searches. For example, if you want to be established as an office expert, you may want to use keywords such as office, lease, sale, and CRE. Staying strategic about your key words and content will help to ensure that your SEO will increase.

It’s not enough to hope a potential client will somehow stumble upon your social media account or website accidentally. You must help them find you, and if you consistently post good quality and relevant content, your search engine optimization will increase allowing your audience to find you.

Social media should be a part of your business toolbox. It is necessary to have a digital presence to stay current in the market. Whether you’re new to the CRE world, or a well-established Marketing-Smart Broker, being able to leverage the benefits of social media will help to boost your reach, increase brand awareness, and strengthen your search engine optimization.