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March 28, 2012

           Volume 14 - Number 13

      
Streamlining the Business of Commercial Real Estate
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In This Issue
Are You Searching for Something or Just Being Social?
Hot Deals/Leads
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TOP OF THE WEEK TO YOU!
(by realwired! CEO, Brenda Dohring Hicks)

Brenda Dohring Hicks

 

Top of the Week to You! is designed to offer the inside scoop and latest of what's important in the world of technology as it relates to the commercial real estate industry.

Are You Searching for Something or Just Being Social?                    


Many times people ask me where I get the ideas for writing this column every week.  While I'm not surprised with the question, the answer sometimes surprises people.  Ideas come at me from everywhere, all the time and when they do I store them digitally so that I don't forget them.  I can't stop myself.  Today's column resulted from a speaking engagement that I participated in last week about development in downtown Tampa and then a news story about digital hoarding.  The two conversations approached two different ends of really big issue.  The first being how active is commercial real estate in utilizing social media and the second one is what to do about people who are paranoid about their digital communications and tend to hoard things to the point of printing a year's worth of e-mail and store it off-site.  Wow that's weird!
So first a little discussion about what people are doing and why are they doing it, and I'm only going to stay focused on the many disciplines that comprise our commercial real estate industry.  Most people in our business are attempting to use social media to increase their reach, either directly or indirectly.  Problem is the reach is so broad that even if you hire a consultant it's hard to know if you're going in the right direction.  If you listen to someone who is totally enamored with social media, you can certainly go in the wrong direction.

So as I set out to answer the question of what are people doing and why are they doing it.  I come back to an old adage that makes a lot of sense.  If you want to be efficient:  Don't just fish where the fish are -- fish where the fish are hungry.  You need to take it one step further and make sure they're hungry for what you are offering.  Many a hungry fish will bypass the wrong bait.  I hesitated to use the word bait because it has a negative connotation associated with luring.  And that's has nothing to do with social media in the context of using it for businesses.

Here's something that I believe is true.  At a minimum, you should have your business branded in a number of social media spots.  If you could just do a couple, use Facebook and Google and possibly throw in YouTube.  But don't confuse these places when it comes to how people find you and finding you is where it's at. Facebook is a place people go to interact with people they know and talk about themselves and their friends. It's self-focused.  YouTube is about entertainment.  And Google is a place where people go to get answers to questions and find information.  See what I'm getting at?  Obviously it makes sense for brands to be in all those places.  But which one of these interactions is a more obvious fit for helping people find out about you and your business?    It's pretty clear.  It's the place where people go to ask questions and find information.  And frankly, that's Google.  So I advise people to start there.  Focus there.  Learn Google or help your consultant stay focused on helping you maximize Google.  And the good news is Google may be getting better - getting better about delivering the right answers for you and just you because there's a layer of social media that goes into the algorithms  when you get a result .  It is based on your activity in lots of cyber areas as well.  But now it's common that a search will bring up your friends ideas and comments in addition to the factual items.  And while this certainly is more personalized,  I'm not sure that it's actually helpful.  Only time will tell.  I can see that if I was searching for information on how to do something like how to deal with an obscure clause that a client might be asking to be put in a lease that having other people who I interact with weigh in could be useful.  For the most part I'm thinking I want to reach out for that information and not have it come automatically to me.  Otherwise,  there's just too many results in small bits of information that need to be sorted and filtered when what I'm looking for is information from an expert.  During my workday, it's just not about finding friends or hearing their stories, opinions and advice.   So until Google can identify whether I'm trying to do a business search or social search I'd rather not have the social layer.  How about you? 

If you would like to join our blog discussion click here   or I welcome your feedback through email.  
Hot Deals/Leads
Zaxby's operates 540 locations throughout AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN, TX and VA. The quick-service restaurants occupy spaces of 3,000 sq.ft. to 3,500 sq.ft. in freestanding locations. Growth opportunities are sought throughout the existing markets, as well as LA, during the coming 18 months, with representation by Snow Properties, Inc. A land area of more than one acre is required. The company prefers to acquire raw land, and is franchising.  For more information, contact Tommy Mitchell, Snow Properties, Inc., 1040 Founders Boulevard, Suite 100, Athens, GA 30606
 
Smoothie King Franchises, Inc. trades as Smoothie King at 615 locations nationwide, excluding the northwestern region, as well as internationally. The shops, offering smoothies and healthy foods, occupy spaces of 1,200 sq.ft. in freestanding locations, malls, urban/downtown areas and entertainment, lifestyle, power, specialty and strip centers. Growth opportunities are sought nationwide, excluding the northwestern region, during the coming 18 months. Typical leases run five years. The company is franchising, and prefers sites with a drive-thru.  For more information, contact Richard Leveille, Smoothie King Franchises, Inc., 121 Park Place, Covington, LA 70433

Focus Brands trades as Moe's Southwest Grill at 441 locations nationwide, as well as in Turkey. The fast-casual southwestern/Mexican restaurants, offering burritos, tacos, quesadillas, nachos, salads and fajitas, occupy spaces of 2,200 sq.ft. to 2,800 sq.ft. in urban/downtown areas and power centers. Plans call for 55 openings throughout the midwestern, northeastern, southeastern and mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S. during the coming 18 months. Typical leases run 10 years. A vanilla shell and specific improvements are required. Preferred demographics include a population of 30,000 within two miles earning $55,000 as the average household income. Major competitors include Baja Fresh, Chipotle, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Salsarita's, California Tortilla and Lime Fresh Mexican Grill. Expansion is franchise-driven.  For more information, contact Phil Russo, Focus Brands, 200 Glenridge Point Parkway, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30342  
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