ULI: Social Media in the Property Industry

I feel as though I have been caught in the winter of social media – there is always a flurry of activity. The one breakout session at the ULI Annual Conference that I attended that was not about sustainability was about social media.

On the panel were Brant Long, Global Head of Branding for Jones Lang Lasalle; Marthijn Pool from architectural and design firm Space and Matter in Amsterdam, Iain O'Neill, Assistant Online Editor of Property Week, and Craig Killick, Managing Director of design, marketing and web agency The Escape. The session was moderated by Charles Doyle, Chief Marketing Officer at Jones Lang Lasalle.

There are a lot of social media tools. Which ones are you using and how?

The session featured a number of different social media and online digital tools. It was recorded for download as a podcast on Property Week's network (which I found via Craig Killick on Twitter, but cannot seem to locate via Property Week). A clip from a very popular video produced to promote Erik Qualman's Socialnomics that is available on YouTube and used by many to herald the coming of the social media age was shown. Martijn Pool used web-based, dynamic presentation tool Prezi (which is advised by Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter) and Iain O'Neill presented The Property Network, Property Week's “social network” for property professionals which was created on the Ning social network platform. Craig Killick designed ULI's Energy Efficiency Exchange, a website and pilot project to help property professionals “learn and share information to increase the uptake of energy efficient retrofitting”.

A long way to go for the commercial real estate sector.

The ULI also conducted an online survey via Survey Monkey posing close-ended questions about social media use in advance of the conference. 39 people responded and based on such a small population of respondents, the results cannot tell us too much. It appears as though small companies responded more and of the professions, those in architecture or design were the most represented group at 23%. The largest age group represented were 26 to 35-year olds (41%) and 46-55-year olds represented 31%. 69% of respondents found social media valuable for personal use. 50% used social media for professional use, but had as yet to define business value.

The commercial real estate sector has a long way to go and it would only happen if there were a change in attitudes and behaviours. Brant Long described the sector as being isolated (starting with an asset), sensitive to local customs, built upon a belief that information is powerful, it is cyclical, hierarchical, based on precedent and backward-looking, and focused on institutions. He compared it to the web which he described as being connected, subject to global standards (open source technology), premised on information being promiscuous, it is instant, distributed and novelty-obsessed, and focused on individuals. This is a reasonably painted picture although instead of information being promiscuous, I would describe it as being accessible and most often free. Rather than novelty-obsessed, I would say there is greater use of imagination, innovation, and forward-looking approaches. And instead of focused on individuals, I would describe the future as being focused on communities and inclusion.

What does CRE 2.0 look like to Brant Long? It would have 1) interesting co-operations with competitors and new markets, 2) greater transparency, 3) more cross-border activity, and 4) an increasing number of emerging competitors. I wondered what feedback from the real estate community there was in deriving this picture or whether this was a vision of what CRE 2.0 could or should look like. That is somewhat symptomatic of organisations that are still wondering what is going on with social media. They still wonder and guess (or perhaps they are certain of their own guesses) what people, customers, clients, the community want.

Architects and designers use social media for collaboration - involve end users early on. Can other property professionals move beyond just networking?

Martijn Pool, presented a promising view of the future of online collaboration. He has been working on development projects that involve end users right at the start. His projects feature collaboration amongst the developer, designer, and customers and he uses social media to connect people early on in the project. In the context of a new residential development, people could be talking to their neighbours before homes are even built.

Iain O'Neill put The Property Network up on the screen. It is a property-specific social network created on the Ning system, on which anybody can set up a social network of their own. Members can join, create a profile, find other members with similar interests to chat about, send messages, post weblog-type articles, and post status updates of 140 characters or less mirroring the construct that was defined by Twitter. Iain pointed to an article that a member had written earlier, co-incidentally on the topic of social media. Iain stated that he didn't even know the author and member, but it was a convenient co-incidence. A more compelling display of the application of social media would have been if Iain had contacted the member ahead of the presentation and connected with him, shared views about social media, and demonstrated a mutual benefit gained from being members of that network. I happened to know the member he mentioned and I duly posted a tweet on Twitter from my Blackberry letting him know that he had been mentioned at the ULI Annual Conference.

I will be finding out more information about the ULI's Energy Efficiency Exchange and am curious about the sharing of information and potential collaborations. Craig Killick thoughtfully pointed out that using social media effectively was more about listening than about talking, which is frequently mentioned by some social media experts as well as good marketing professionals. Craig also believed that it was about creating communities online. I support this belief and would take it a step further. Introductions may be made online and communities are formed on the basis of common goals, connections, and commitment. Some form of one-to-one personal interaction, be it in person, on the phone, by email, Skype or a combination, is helpful for strengthening connections and establishing authenticity.

The real power of social media is in sharing information and collaboration, but people can't help from using it for push marketing.

Marketing products, services, corporate and personal brands, information, and opinions via social media is inevitable. Social media joins the ranks of television and radio, but it is much more than that. It combines telephony, messaging, multi-media, forums, and bulletin boards making it a compelling, scaleable medium for connecting people. Choice is placed in the hands of the individual. We are no longer forced to listen about what products, services, and information are available to us. We can go and find them. Although, advanced algorithms feed us advertising we didn't ask for – on Facebook, on websites, on Google, we can ignore them. If we want something, we go find a community of like-minded people and asked them where to find what we're looking for.

It isn't sufficient for organisations to be present on the internet and announce that they are listening. People only volunteer information and feedback to people they trust, when they feel empowered and engaged in the conversation, in an environment that is welcoming. Information is free and deriving value from proprietary information will become increasingly more difficult. People will still pay for information, but only if it is coming from a source they respect and trust. We have seen this in technology, software, and in business. People support the businesses they like because they want to help ensure their survival and sustainability. People will pay for services that have value to them because if they don't, there may be an end to the provision of those services. There is value in creativity, original thought, insight, and analysis. There will still be room for journalism because insightful reporting and talented newsmaking are valuable and uncommon skills. Social networks and social media are great tools, but there is value in people helping to join up the dots, facilitate collaborations and conversations, and help people meet their needs. There is no real point in joining a social network if you cannot find the people you want to be sharing with or do not have the right skills to engage the community. It is just a piece of software at the end of the day, it won't build the relationships for you.