Internet update

Citation

Almond, N. (2010), "Internet update", Property Management, Vol. 28 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/pm.2010.11328eag.001

Internet update

Article Type: Internet update From: Property Management, Volume 28, Issue 5

Look at any recent survey on internet usage and you are bound to find social media sites cropping up at the head of the lists. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn will be familiar to many, though predominantly from a personal, rather than in business focus. But many of these sites and others have business potential.

I recently came across a paper authored by Andrew Waller and Bob Thompson of Remit Consulting for the RICS entitled “The role of social media in commercial property” (see www.rics.org/site/scripts/documents_info.aspx?documentID=731 for the full paper). It is a really useful paper as an introduction to social media sites. The paper is neatly broken down into four key sections. The first explores social media before looking at the opportunities for real estate in the second section. The third section considers why the real estate industry should engage with social media before finally looking at the first steps the industry should take. For the purpose of this editorial I will pick up on a number of key areas and relevant websites from the report and overlay some personal experiences. Of course, within the confines of this article it is not possible to cover everything, so it’s worth taking the time to read the report in more depth.

To date the use of social media in commercial real estate has not seen any significant uptake; as the above report highlights “most of the uses to which has been put are Business to Consumer (B2C) rather than Business to Business (B2B)”. The former have relied upon attracting a huge number of users as they rely on revenue through advertising.

The authors have broken down the array of current sites based on their content. The first they refer to is blogging and microblogging, the latter embodied in sites such as Twitter. Blogs can make or break careers and many celebrities have avid followers to their blogs. Blogs are increasingly used by journalists to report on key news events – Robert Peston’s scribbles had many followers in the wake of the recent financial crisis on the BBC (www.bbc.co.uk/news). Both Estates Gazette (see www.estatesgazette.com or www.egi.co.uk) and Property Week (www.propertyweek.com) have blogs on their sites, although these are sometimes focussed on matters such as sporting events like the world cup rather than specific day-to-day business. You may need to subscribe to access some of these services.

Images are a further form of media. Many will be familiar with the growth of YouTube for example as individuals post video footage from video cameras or mobiles. The improvements in image quality on mobile phones has helped spur growth in this area and sites such as the BBC encourage people to send in their footage of events. It has also gained popularity as the technology use to share video and photo is free, therefore there are few restrictions to firms using sites to share content. The main barrier with video is ensuring quality of the output.

The real estate profession is also using images to promote themselves. Both Estates Gazette and Property Week have TV casts to discuss topical issues and market updates. They were frequently updated at events such as MIPIM to discuss topical issues or research with key players in the industry. Similarly, my company DTZ (www.dtz.com) like many of the other top agents including Jones Lang LaSalle (www.joneslanglasalle.com) has added video footage to their web sites to promote research. Some of these presentations can also be found on YouTube (www.youtube.com).

It is not just images, which are used to good effect. Audio files are also becoming common-place in the industry. Live or pre-recorded conference calls, often with added files such as PDF or PowerPoint are also being introduced for users to listen on line or some to download as podcasts, which enable users to download files to their iPod or similar mp3 device and listen at leisure.

The other content area is knowledge. The report refers to this as “Wiki”, which is “a piece of software that allows users to create and edit webpage content using any web browser”. Most users will be aware of Wikipedia (www.wikipaedia.com), the only encyclopaedia of absolutely everything online, which allows individuals to post new content. Of course, those relying on such content should always take their own steps to ensure facts are correct if they are relaying on such media, or even allowing others to post content on their site. In real estate, Real Estate Wiki (www.realestatewiki.com/) is an online encyclopaedia for real estate professionals, which provides entries on buying and selling, links to other sites. To gain full access you need to complete a simple registration form to activate an account.

Networking sites will be familiar to many. Early applications include Facebook and Linkedin. These are powerful sites and have a number of applications. In the first instance they enable individuals to stay in contact/network with each other. I use both sites on both a professional and social level.

Facebook (www.facebook.com) has a broader appeal and is more for social networking, but is a good way to keep in touch with individuals, share thoughts, images, links to other sites. A number of companies are also now establishing a corporate presence on Facebook. Of course, having such a mass audience, individuals can connect and share both good and bad experiences. Depending on the audience, Facebook can appeal for some users. Of course, with Facebook having many users – companies need to be aware of the negative publicity from user groups of the services offered. In this respect, Remit Consulting recommend that forms develop a social computing policy, rather than relying on their IT policy.

There is potential from a property management perspective. The RICS report highlights how Aviva Investment Management have set up a web site to help manage their Beach Student Accommodation Fund, allowing tenants to communicate with the landlord, but is also a marketing tool for the landlord to secure new tenants. In this example the posting of criticism can be put to good effect if managed properly. Hammerson also actively uses sites such as Facebook and Twitter for marketing purposes.

Linkedin (www.linkedin.com) on the other hand is more of a business networking site. Users can register and connect with individuals. By linking your existing or past organisations you can search for colleagues. You can also e-mail non-registered individuals to get them to join in. The site also has various interest groups to join in. Users can add links and comment on news or even comment on individuals. This site is essentially for career building, although others, such as Plaxo (www.plaxo.com/) which brands itself as your online address book with secure access wherever you are – assuming you have an internet connection! This site is more socially orientated and may appeal more to the agency community.

This is just the tip of the iceberg and no doubt through time we will see increasing use of applications by the industry. For an industry that is slow to adopt new technologies and with some companies literally switching off certain applications in the fear their employees will abuse their services. I suspect come 2020 the world will be a different place.

Finally, I would like to thank Andrew Waller of Remit Consulting for his input into this article.

Acknowledgements

The views expressed are those of the author and not those of DTZ.

Nigel AlmondAssociate Director, DTZ. E-mail: nigel.almond@dtz.com