I had a great opportunity to address a group of multi-disciplined real estate professionals a couple of weeks ago and they asked that I speak about the role of social media and how to manage their social media presence. It was a tough subject for me to address in a very short luncheon keynote and I'm sure I left them with more questions than answers. It did however cause me to stop and think that it might be a good thing to talk about here with you. The benefits of social media for commercial real estate professionals are clearly there and in my humble opinion have been narrowed a little so they are almost, (note, I said almost), manageable.

The key is to focus on strategies for using social media most effectively by learning from how the others you interact with use it, and making sure you have a plan to measure your social media success. If you don't keep things in the right focus such as, social media tips, tricks, training and tools (which are everywhere) they will kill you. And you know as well as I do that not a day passes when there isn't someone exhorting us to market ourselves via social media. The onslaught leaves many feeling overwhelmed by the seemingly impossible task of making social media pay off and working it into an already tight schedule.

Have a plan. Agents who don't identify their goals for social media marketing or don't assign themselves a consistent schedule are doomed. Yep, doomed. Too much or too little time spent is the biggest issue. No matter what you plan to do, it must be scheduled and measured even if it's "I'll tweet 15 times a day only at stoplights." Ok, I'm just kidding about the stoplights. Oh, and I'm kidding about the 15 times a day, but you knew that! There is no specific number of hours that I recommend; you have to look at how many hours a week you set aside for business development, prospecting or selling and pick a percentage of that time and work with trial and error. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time before you decide you've "erred." I'm thinking you should stick with your plan for a minimum of 3 months and 6 is probably best.

Know what you want to do. I think deciding to add X number of people to your sphere of influence is a good goal, so make sure you pick a "sphere" that you can make a difference in. Having a goal of 500 "fans or likes" may mean a lot, or it may mean nothing depending on your determination of who you are trying to influence. Know the people you want to relate to already, congregate and go there. See? Social media isn't any different than other forms of networking. Go where the people are who will be vital to your business, as potential clients or referral sources. And don't forget some may be friends, some may be colleagues, and some may be your competition. Be helpful, thoughtful and show and share your expertise. Approach it from a point of how you can help and what useful information can you share. LinkedIn is particularly good for that through online discussions, Q & A forums and groups. Be an active participant. Participate only in as many platforms as you made time for in your plan. Being on a lot of platforms in a superficial way is going to be far less productive than becoming a well-respected and trusted resource on a few. If you're not going to be part of the community and interact, you might as well not bother.

Please remember and respect that social media isn't an advertising channel. It's a communication channel. If you talk, you have to listen. If you take, you have to give. I sound like my mom or dad, don't I? Of course I do. And if you follow that advice you'll never go wrong.

So there you have it. Make a plan. Work the plan. And do the things you learned from your parents about "socialization." Social media is really easy. If you have more tips, please share them. I'm sure you're a lot smarter than I am about this topic!  

I welcome your feedback through email.