Given the intensity of competition, commercial real estate marketing requires you to maximize your efforts with every available tool. Social media for commercial real estate firms is one of those tools that is often overlooked or avoided, but is capable of connecting you with your customer base in a unique way. Not leveraging its potential can leave you under-engaged in the market while your competition gets noticed.

With the number of social media sites seeming to increase daily, investigating and learning to use every one of them can be tedious. One of the best ways to get started in social media for your business is to follow the lead of professional real estate marketing firms. These companies have already done the research, and they know how to use social media for commercial real estate marketing and how to put firms like yours in the best light. Rather than trying to hit every site, they start by targeting the ‘Big Three’: LinkedIn,Twitter and Facebook.

Social media marketing through these platforms is useful for your brand because they offer clients and prospective clients an opportunity to interact with you about industry subject matter that is current and relevant. As discussions develop, clients become emotionally invested, and you develop a reputation as a thought leader in the commercial real estate community. Here’s how the ‘Big Three’ can impact your investment.

LinkedIn can expand your horizons by connecting brokers or investors with engaging content that is specially created, by you, to promote your portfolio. LinkedIn caters to professionals more than the other social networks and has nearly 260 million users. The platform enables you to use videos and featured posts, to highlight a property or offer market insights. As an interesting side note, your LinkedIn profile can show organizations and charities that you endorse. This promotes your community involvement, philanthropy, and corporate social responsibility. The community, in general, is relatively tolerant of self-promotion, so it is OK to tout accomplishments, occasionally, or highlight plans for the future.

Users gravitate to LinkedIn to find experts in commercial real. Be sure to use this media outlet to build your reputation as an authority and demonstrate your market understanding.

Franklin Roosevelt used radio in the 1930’s to reach millions of Americans. It was the fastest way to communicate to the masses. Today political leaders and marketers alike recognize the power of Twitter as being that same type of instrument. When appropriately managed, Twitter creates a robust communication platform that commercial real estate professionals can use to construct opinions and influence decision makers. As Twitter boasts some 335 million users, it’s likely to have a few people that are interested in your message.

Incorporating Twitter into your overall marketing efforts provides audiences with another way to engage with you and showcase your relevancy with current market fluctuations. LinkedIn integrates nicely with Twitter and a post shared on the networking site can quickly and simultaneously post as a Tweet by your company.

Whether you’re engaging with Twitter internally or employing a marketing team the frequency and timing of Tweets should be consistent and specific to your needs. Many companies Tweet two or three times a day, but that may be overkill for your organization which may be best served by that many weekly.

The biggest reason for using Facebook in marketing any business is the reach it has. Facebook touts over two billion users. Positively influencing just a small fraction of that number will build your reputation as a go-to authority.

Facebook promotes your firm similar to the way LinkedIn and Twitter do but leverages its enormous user base and a powerful advertising platform. Your brand page allows followers to engage, invite friends, share links and has a deeper potential for multiple connections.

Facebook relies on a more visual concept which can increase viewer engagement so much so that it literally dominates other social media. The similarity with the other platforms in the ‘Big Three’ is that Facebook offers the opportunity for interactivity with your audiences. Timely posts ensure visitors visit your page with regularity, maximizing exposure for your commercial real estate offerings.

Social media is a reliable avenue used by successful marketing teams to sell brands around the world. Taking advantage of the ‘Big Three’ re-enforces your portfolio by sharing blogs, newsletters, and videos while reinforcing your overall marketing plan.

These platforms should launch you into the position of a thought leader by interacting with users and building a strong image for your brand. Remember, if you do not see your brand in your interactions on social media, then neither is anyone else.