Apto Commercial Real Estate Blog

Commercial real estate brokers aren’t typically slackers, but for “March Madness” now under way, slacking may be allowed if not acceptable. Hey, you have to relax some time!

In a rarity for high-performing real estate pros, most brokers expect to be fixated on their brackets, and thus are less productive, during the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. A significant number also plan to sleep less during the tournament in order to watch the games, according to the latest Apto National Broker Buzz Poll, which was conducted last week by Apto.

Here’s what we learned from the broker survey:

If PR is a prime strategy to raise your profile in the market — think speaking engagements, community relations and attention from third-party media — social media can be a powerful complement to build relationships and enable others to spread the word on your behalf.

Social media is “shared” media. You and everyone else participating jointly share the platform. The downside is negative feedback exposed widely, which can set back your marketing efforts. The upside is the opposite: a multiplier effect for positive interaction, with the information and conversations shared with many more people than through one-off interaction.

The big question to ask first is whether this tactic suits you. Most brokers are sociable, to be sure. But for some people being social on demand is a stretch. Likewise, receiving negative feedback from total strangers isn’t fun, and that can happen on social media. If that makes you uncomfortable, social media marketing may not be a good fit.

All that said, if you’re prepared for the interaction and accept the risk, here are 8 tips to make the most of social media.

PR, short for public relations, is a prime strategy to raise your profile in the market and create goodwill that can be leveraged to support your commercial real estate business marketing.

PR is a great complement to Apto’s CRE Digital Marketing Checklist, which includes useful tips on website marketing, content marketing, social media and online advertising.