First Word in Social Media is "Social" - You Must Engage to Be Successful

By Savannah Duncan, Wilbert News Strategies

ATLANTA (October 11, 2012) — With so many different forms of social media out there, it’s hard to know what forum would be best for your company. While Facebook and LinkedIn are popular outlets, Twitter seems to be the dominant forum among the commercial real estate community. 

At the 2012 ICSC Southeast Conference, Tony Wilbert, president of Wilbert News Strategies, moderated a panel discussion on learning to become a social media mogul in only minutes a day. Panelists included Kristen Smith, CFO of Abbadabba’s Cool Shoes; Sarah Malcolm, manager of new media for the International Council of Shopping Centers and John Orr, vice president of Colliers International’s retail services group.

Orr  spends between 30 and 45 minutes a day on Twitter. He has both a personal Twitter, @JohnOrrCCIM, in addition to tweeting for Colliers International under @ColliersIntlSC. “You must be current, relevant and consistent,” he said.

 On his personal Twitter, Orr balances a mix between personal tweets and commercial real estate related information. However, on the Colliers International Twitter, he tried to keep the information more company-oriented.

Smith, who tweets as @Abba_KS, said she uses Twitter to help build her personal brand, as well as a resource to find new products and brokers. “It is marketing but it’s also important to have your voice out there,” she said.

As the voice of ICSC, Malcolm tweets under both @ICSC and @MrsSarahMalcolm. “It’s important to know your audience,” Malcolm said. “Use Twitter to build relationships and talk about what your customer cares about. Don’t talk about yourself too much.

Wilbert added that Twitter and other social media outlets such as Facebook can be an important tool in communicating with your customer base. For example, when Atlantic Station (a Wilbert client) was considering imposing a smoking ban, the mixed-use development took to the Internet to find out the opinion of its guests.

While it may seem overwhelming at first, “The key is just to get started,” Orr said. “The first word in ‘social media’ is ‘social.’”

Wilbert News Strategies is a PR, communications and social media company with clients in economic development, real estate, destination/mixed-use, hospitality, retail and financial services. In addition to clients across the U.S., we are the agency of record for the Town of Camana Bay, a destination in Grand Cayman.