Skyline Views

CRE Social Media Superstar: The only reason I did it was to get more deals. Period

NEW YORK (Oct. 30, 2013) - The CRE//Tech Intersect show debuted off Broadway earlier this month.

It featured an interesting panel and displays by cool startups seeking to do business with commercial real estate firms. But the highlight of the evening was a monumental meeting between two CRE social media powerhouses.

Coy Davidson and Duke Long, who have established themselves as top influencers on CRE social media, traveled from Houston and Indianapolis, respectively, to attend the event. They meet up in line for beers.

Here's a great account of the encounter from Duke's blog.

I was lucky to capture the moment on my new Nokia Lumia 1020 and then head to a bar to drink with Coy. No word where Duke headed after the event.

P.S. - Duke, you need to give Ralph Bivins some love on your Top This and That Lists. Ralph just met Coy for drinks. Ralph probably should send you some Southern Comfort or Pappy Van Winkle.

Colliers Kicks off Americas Meeting in Atlanta, and Coy Davidson is Ready to Rock

By Tony Wilbert, The Wilbert Group

ATLANTA (Sept. 25, 2013) - Colliers International kicks off its Americas Conference today in downtown Atlanta, and social media star Coy Davidson is ready to talk a lot about how fellow brokers can leverage social media channels to increase their business.

In the past five years, Davidson fortified his personal brand using social media to augment his natural networking skills and real estate knowledge. He has no official speaking role at the Americas Conference but already is being bombarded with questions about how and why CRE pros should use social channels.

The Colliers conference takes place at the Marriott Marquis today through Friday. Formerly known as the Colliers National Meeting, "is the cornerstone of our collaborative culture. This three-day event is where Colliers professionals meet to share knowledge, plan new initiatives, and shape the future of commercial real estate," according to event website.

Davidson, a Colliers broker in Houston, arrived in Atlanta Tuesday and he anticipated being mobbed by fellow brokers who want to know how he became one of the most plugged-in and connected brokers in the country. Coy has more than 17,000 followers on Twitter and has emerged as a sought-after speaker.

I joined Coy, Cushman & Wakefield broker Ken Ashley, a pioneer in CRE blogging, and Patrick Braswell, former Colliers broker and co-founder of Ten-Eight, for dinner last night at The Optimist to talk CRE and social media. I'd share what we discussed, but Urvaksh might be reading this popst at some point.

Next stop: CRE Tech Intersect next month in New York.

 

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.

Realtors Should Use Twitter & Blog to Build Brand

ATLANTA (July 22, 2011) - The Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors hosted a half-day seminar tis week on how brokers can use social media to boost their businesses. The seminar concluded with a panel whose members discussed how Twitter and blogs can help Realtors build their brand.

Panelists also talked about how social media have prompted mainstream media to post their content online ASAP instead of holding it for their print editions.

Here's what I had to say about why and how Realtors, brokers and other business people should use Twitter to build their businesses. (Turn up the volume.)

Status: Facebook Hiring for New Atlanta Office

ATLANTA (July 5, 2011) - News that Facebook is opening a new Atlanta office created big buzz over the holiday weekend. Several media outlets, including The Associated Press, Atlanta Business Chronicle and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weighed in with stories, and Twitter users helped spread the word.

So, Skyline Views figured it was worth a trip to see the new office space being built out at the Midtown West (aka Brickworks) development at Marietta and Howell Mill streets. We took our iPhone with us (as always) and snapped shots of the building exterior and of what we could see inside. The photo at left shows the exterior, which can be described as corrugated-cool-loft-office-chic.

As the photo below shows, work is underway at the address listed on the city of Atlanta building permit (1000 Marietta St., Suite 134), though the name of another company remains at the entry. The permit names Facebook and says the work to be completed includes "Offices Renovation Suite 134" and "Tenant Finish to Suite 134."

Facebook itself says it's expanding in Atlanta: "Everything is just peachy here in Hot-Lanta, where we are one of the fastest growing offices in the East Region and look forward to continue growing this fantastic region for Facebook."

In a statement delivered to the AJC, Facebook says the company has "a growing sales presence in Atlanta and is expanding its offices in order to work more closely with advertisers in the region."

And Facebook is advertising sales jobs in Atlanta that presumably will be housed in the new office. Here's Facebook's ad for one available job, a "Client Partner."

This story will continue to unfold. Hope we're invited to the opening party.

Now is Time for Commercial Real Estate Professionals to Embrace Social Media

By Tony Wilbert, WNS PR

ATLANTA (Nov. 18, 2010) - Commercial real estate, as an industry, is slow to embrace new technology. As a result, CRE companies and professionals have yet to jump into social media and social networking en masse.

Moreover, CRE professionals often cite a lack of time as a key reason for not starting a blog or creating a Twitter account.

This needs to change. It's time for commercial real estate companies and professionals to engage in social media. The tools are cheap (free), and companies and professionals have the knowledge to create the key element (content). Moreover, social media enable real estate developers, brokers and investors to  create a personal brand, which is critical in this relationship-driven business.

This especially is important as mainstream media shrink their news holes (or space earmarked for stories and news content), thus reducing the opportunities to be quoted in daily papers and business journals.

And perhaps most importantly, engaging in social media can help you fortify existing and create new relationships that result in new business.

These are some of the takeaways from a pair of social media roundtables I facilitated today at NAIOP Georgia's half-day education seminar with Childress Klein Properties partner Connie Engel. Childress Klein has hired Wilbert News Strategies to establish and maintain its blog, Facebook page and Twitter account for Atlanta Galleria Office Park in Cobb County. (Connie says she decided to call WNS to help launch the office park's program after following me on Twitter for a while.)

During the roundtable, Connie said jumping into social media has enabled Childress Klein to begin to change the perception of Atlanta Galleria, an office park started in 1978, from an older, established development to a cutting-edge office park in tune with the latest industry trends and with its tenant base.

Atlanta Galleria Now blog and the office park's Facebook page and Twitter account also have helped create a personality for the office park and engage tenants by profiling several and touting good news such as a recent string of renewals.

For real estate professionals, a blog can position them as thought leaders and provide a nice touchpoint with clients and prospects. Ken Ashley of Cushman & Wakefield has a blog that's gained traction, readers and accolades from his company's top brass. Patrick Braswell's blog also has attracted a growing following. When Patrick left Colliers International for Scotland Wright Associates earlier this month, he broke the news on his blog.

During the roundtables, I mentioned Coy Davidson, a tenant rep in Colliers International's Houston office who leverages social media to network and interact with clients and prospects. Though he says he's not a social media guru, Coy has established himself as a thought leader on CRE and its use of social media. His newest Social Media CRE blog post is worth a read as you consider engaging in social media.

One key to making a social media strategy successful is to integrate it into an existing marketing plan. Twitter, Facebook and a blog should not replace your other marketing efforts, they should complement them. Here's how to do that:

Start a blog with several posts that are insightful, authoritative and interesting. Send out a tweet touting the blog entry and link to it on your Facebook page. Then, distribute a link via Constant Contact or a client relationship management program. If you still use direct mail, incorporate your blog entry into the message.

Consider social media another tool you can use to beef up your marketing and personal branding efforts. And the time to do it is now. The slow market has freed up a lot of time. Engaging in and reconnecting through social media will enable you to go full speed ahead with the market rebounds. 

 

 

New iPhone App Won't Replace Tenant Rep, But...

By Tony Wilbert, Wilbert News Strategies

ATLANTA (May 25, 2010) - The commercial real estate industry has been slow to embrace smartphone apps, but things are about to change. A new iPhone app enables people searching for office space, retail shops and warehouses to point their smartphone at a building and learn all about its available space.

Even commercial Realtors and brokers who have been hesitant to get on the tech bandwagon won't be able to ignore this. If they do, they'll miss out on deals and therefore precious commissions. The free app, soon to be available for Android users as well as iPhone 3GS owners, comes from "augmented reality" app maker junaio and works in concert with a subscription from Rofo. This video shows how the works.

Let's say you point your iPhone or Android at Terminus 200 in Atlanta's tony Buckhead district. Icons alerting you to available spaces will pop up on the screen. You can tap on the icons to see the spaces and to instantly e-mail the landlord rep. So, if tenant reps don't jump all over this, some disintermediation could occur.

The iPhone app, of course, is only one tool and won't replace completely wiped out the tenant rep industry. Successful brokers have morphed into consultants who give clients much more than space-available lists and stats. They add perspective, market knowledge and insider info not available on an iPhone.

Here's more on the app from On the Block, SFGate's (San Francisco Chronicle's) real estate blog.

As a huge fan of commercial real estate who prides himself on knowing practically every available office space in Atlanta, I can't wait to go home and test it out.

WNS Celebrates Action-Packed First Year

 ATLANTA (May 18, 2010) - Happy birthday to me. Well, actually to my company. A year ago today, I opened Wilbert News Strategies LLC for business inside Carter's offices at Atlantic Station.

I started WNS, a PR/communications/social media company with several commercial real estate clients, during the worst commercial real estate market any of us can recall. This backdrop made the past 365 days challenging but satisfying. I realized my goal of firmly establishing WNS in time for the next upswing in real estate.

We also expanded WNS' client roster, anchored by Carter, to include a technology, wealth management and valet parking company and a four-star hotel in tony Buckhead. It pleased me to see my fascination/obsession with social media and social networking translate into new business opportunities. I knew all that blogging and tweeting the past couple years wouldn't be time wasted.

The year's been filled with several new business wins, a few losses and exhilarating and perplexing moments. The highlights include:

1) Working as the local communications rep for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger during his May 9-10 visit to Atlanta. It was cool to meet him at a Buckhead party and ask him about the L.A. office market. He showed true class in helping raise awareness of and money for After-School All-Stars.

2) Being in Kasim Reed's room at the Hilton Atlanta when he got the call letting him know he would beat Mary Norwood to win the 2009 Atlanta mayor's race. Serving as mock moderator in the Kasim Reed for Mayor debate prep sessions was pretty cool, too.

3) Landing Carter Chairman and CEO a spot on Bloomberg TV when the national networking broadcast live Dec. 1 from Invesco headquarters at Two Peachtree Pointe.

4) Helping Georgia-Pacific get a story with color art and an info box in The Wall Street Journal's March 31 edition. G-P's $500 million investment in new equipment and technologies in conjunction with the success of Quilted Northern Ultra Plush was big news, especially during the end of the recession.

5) Winning competitive pitches to secure Transwestern Atlanta and The Mansion on Peachtree as new clients. Those calls always are nice to receive. We also received a couple that went the other way.

6) Kicking off Year 2 with great clients, a couple prospects and an improving economy.

As Thornton Kennedy and I embark on WNS' second year, the firm hopes to expand further and is seeking an intern. Come see us.