Twitter or LinkedIn: Which is Better for Commercial Real Estate Conversations?
A group of commercial real estate agents recently met in Lake Tahoe, California for the CREI Summit, the industry’s first annual gathering of social media influencers. At the same time, a group of commercial real estate investors across the country met in Los Angeles for the two-day real estate investor conference REconvene. This year’s conference season is short and crammed with a number of events that have been postponed due to the pandemic, so two competing conferences are not news. What makes these two conferences remarkable, however, is that they were both launched by industry professionals thanks to their heavy Twitter followers.
The CREI Summit is a conference on the impact of social media, so the event is mainly promoted through social platforms. CREI founder Ken Ashley told me that Twitter is an authentic way for people to share an industry experience. “I landed on Twitter in 2009 when things were really bad for my business,” he said. “I had four children at home and an income, and I felt like I would try anything to get a foothold in a difficult business environment. I was frank about my experiences at the time, and while it didn’t immediately lead to business as I had hoped, it helped me connect with others in the industry in really valuable ways. “
Correctly!! @creisummit was the #CRE most donating and sharing event I’ve ever been to! People were more interested in how they could contribute rather than what they could get – #curvebenders
– John Orr, CCIM Retail CRE Expert (@JohnOrrCCIM) October 12, 2021
Overall, Ashley’s experience with what he called RETwit has been positive: “I can see in real time what other people in my industry are thinking. I will never neglect the value of personal experience, but sometimes it helps to listen to others doing something to get better. “
Ashley believes the egalitarianism of a public platform spills over into their live events. “Most conferences have a pecking order, but it wasn’t; There weren’t any cliques, ”he said. Social media has created an incredible microphone for commercial real estate professionals who take the time to grow it. But it also creates skin in the game and what he calls an “abundance mentality”.
The REconvene conference brings together an even less likely group of employees, namely commercial real estate investors. Brokers rely on working with one another, but many investors see others in their field as competition. None of this seemed to play a role in this Principle of Adaptive Realty conference put together by Moses Kagan. Kagan’s openness and “public awareness” mentality have earned him over 54,000 Twitter followers and some attraction among his colleagues.
I love finding other deal junkies who are into structuring, sorting through messy trxs, etc. @MarcSGIlbert…. your energy is contagious. Have fun listening @REconveneLA.
– Jillian Jaccard Murrish (@JillianMurrish) October 7, 2021
When it comes to a business-to-business social media platform, LinkedIn is the obvious choice. But while LinkedIn is a powerful branding and lead generation tool for many commercial real estate firms, Twitter appears to have emerged as a superior platform for working with the industry. “LinkedIn has a lot of people trying to sell you, so you usually don’t want to come across as spammy,” said Ashley. “Twitter is so massive and pushed through so many posts that you feel more free to say what you want, as much as you want.” It’s true that Twitter seems to reward quantity. Almost everyone on Twitter with a large following, at least those who haven’t just paid for their followers, post very regularly. There are studies that show that the “sweet spot” for Twitter is between three and seven posts per day.
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As these online communities become real gatherings, the transition may seem unlikely, but it has worked. “I never thought people would want to pull out their wallets and tour the country,” said Ashley. He believes that the fact that people were happy is a testament to the importance of connecting with people in real life in a relationship-based industry. Authenticity is the name of the game and it’s hard to say that you know a person’s authentic self without ever meeting them face to face.
Conferences have always been part of the commercial real estate industry. The size and intimacy of the transactions carried out often require a personal connection, which is often consolidated over drinks and sealed with a handshake. These conferences used to be a way to meet new people. They certainly still are, but in-person events have also played another role, which is connecting old internet buddies. Twitter may not always be the platform of choice for making those Internet friendships, but it is becoming clear that real estate networking, as well as shopping, has become an “online first” activity.