Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Social Media in CRE No Longer Just for Socializing - CoStar Group
While late to the social networking scene and still in a fledgling state of using websites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, many in the CRE industry have started trying to harness their reach in hopes that one day it will lead to deals and dollars. At the same time, many others still refuse to join the fold and flat out state they will resist until they're the last ones online.
"Clearly social media is still a divisive issue in commercial real estate - the difference in sentiment between enthusiastic adopters and major detractors parallels the sentiments in other industries driven by client relations, such as nonprofits and law firms," said Angela Brown, external communications manager for CoStar Group. "What is interesting in the similarities is the fact that many of the perceived challenges involved with social media are not insurmountable - platform selection, time management and measuring ROI are actually relatively simple with a bit of education and practice."
"I also think there is a misperception out there that social media is a magic wand that is meant to replace traditional relationships. It doesn't work that way," Brown said. "It should be seen as an inroad to establishing new online relationships and as a bridge to building offline relationships."
Brown and Coy Davidson, senior vice president of Colliers International - Houston will be hosting a live webinar on costar.com entitled Social Media for Brokers next Wed. Feb. 29 at 12 noon EST. The two will tackle many of the issues raised in our survey and techniques for success in social media. Register here to participate.
In preparing for that webinar, CoStar updated an informal poll it did a year ago to find out what successes, challenges and strategies the industry has adopted in the past year.
"The commercial real estate industry still seems to be trying to get its arms around the basics of social media," Brown said. "It is not surprising then that the default use of social media is marketing and public relations - social media lends itself to broadcast messaging and people aren't quite sure how to use social media for business development purposes and that's the sweet spot. Promoting news and listings are one thing, but people want dollars and sense. That's why education and information are so important. Most marketers and salespeople know how to evaluate ROI for traditional channels like email campaigns and phone calls, but measuring social media return is a special skill."
CRE marketing and communications executives have become huge advocates for social media.
Amy Schenk, marketing manager for Cassidy Turley in Cincinnati has the firm all over the Internet on sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and is researching the use of Pinterest.
"Over the past year, I have seen a huge increase in CRE professionals accepting social media and becoming more open to utilizing it for business," Schenk said. "The CRE industry as a whole is very conservative and set in its ways of operating and therefore usually follows behind other industries when it comes to adapting to new business tools. However, it seems there is finally consensus that social media is here to stay which created a sudden rush to become involved."
"Referrals are a huge source of business in CRE and social media is all about referrals," Schenk said. "By sharing, tweeting, posting, liking and pinning, people have built a universe of over a billion people that could be referring your services. At Cassidy Turley we have found social media to be a vital part of our CRE business development, customer service and marketing platform. The statistics prove that it's critical to have a place in the social media arena since it is now where the majority of people spend their time to socialize with friends and business acquaintances, find the latest news, research companies and professionals, and share information.
Gail Donovan, Director of Communications at Ariel Property Advisors in New York, said commercial real estate professionals will be more effective if they can reach a wider audience of buyers and sellers.
"We believe in reaching members of our target audience of current and potential clients and investors by using the communication tools they are most comfortable with. For this reason, we use a full menu of delivery options -- email, mail, fax, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, RSS news feeds, and LoopNet," Donovan said. "At Ariel Property Advisors, we see social media as another distribution tool with which to sell properties for our clients, share our research, and market and brand our firm."
Alicia Miller, director of marketing at Rock Commercial Real Estate in York, PA, said social media allows instant conversations to take place.
"We have had direct property inquiries and referral leads come from social media," Miller said. And "social media is a wonderful way to pitch news to media and promote clients successes."
"Brokerage advisors use their own LinkedIn accounts for social networking and as a referral source. Marketing uses LinkedIn and Twitter to communicate settled listings, ratified leases, available properties, changes to available properties, client success stories, CRE research trends, team updates and successes and carry on conversations regarding CRE interests, both local and national," Donovan said. "We currently integrate several easy to use tools that allow marketing to monitor, publish and analyze our social media channels allowing more time for content creation."
Caitlin Luebbe, lease and marketing administrator for Ironwood Investments in Shoreline, WA, said social media can be an advantageous method of expanding your network, increasing brand awareness, and deepening your customers' sense of brand loyalty, especially if your company's drivers are aimed at directing business to your company website.
"A focused online marketing strategy that's aimed at effectively engaging commercial property owners and real estate investors within the target market can help a company to access hard-to-reach market consumers and generate favorable word-of-mouth advertising," Luebbe said. "Every post and blog update is ultimately an opportunity to reinforce your company's official brand and corporate identity and differentiate yourself from the competition. Such online activity also helps to positively impact your placement in organic search-engine rankings and make sure that you get noticed on sites like Google."
Real estate executives and brokers too provided feedback on their individual experiences using social media. We present those here.
Sourcing Capital
In short, I feel strongly that social media impacts my business in four major ways: it boosts visibility, fosters relationships, leverages media dollars, and builds brand equity. Recently we connected with a new capital source looking to invest in distressed properties as a direct result of a "re-tweet" from one of our followers on Twitter. The principals of our firm, Kinetic Companies, take a very hands on approach to using social media. Our biggest challenge has been training brokers, stakeholders, and employees to "think before they click" and recognize the impact blast style via social media messaging has on our company brand.
Joel Moyes, Principal, Kinetic Companies, Phoenix, AZ
An Everyday Tool
Our team currently uses multiple social media mediums as both an informational gathering tool as well as a way to build awareness of our brand / market activities that demonstrate good implementation of our service lines. We regularly rely on social media like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook for everyday activities in order to improve our business development and maintain existing client awareness. I do not believe you can quantify the gains on a specific basis as our experience has been more abstract as a research tool in-order to connect dots or some type of PR regarding information about an industry sector.
Albert Ellis, Senior Associate, Colliers International, Southfield, MI
Finding Us in New Ways
Social media is changing how America does business. It has a greater effect on the millennials, and Gen Y that are the early adopters when it comes to how they are handle consumption. At Velocity Retail Group we use social media to reach the smaller growing percentage of the population that tweets and follows. But we still have to rely heavily on traditional methods because so many in the industry, mostly baby boomers are obtuse to the newer tools. One of the main successes is the power of the Internet and search engines allows people to have access to the information that we put out there on blogs, tweets and our Facebook page, and LinkedIn and enables them to find us in ways that were not as likely before.
Dave Cheatham, Managing Principal, Velocity Retail Group, Phoenix, AZ
Connecting with Information
I am a newbie to social media. I use it but try not to let it run my life. I use social media (Twitter) to feed information which I find interesting and important to what I do. It has allowed me to connect with some pretty interesting information sources when I need information.
Greg Rutten, Principal, GRu Ventures Inc., Del Mar, CA
Success Is Measured by Amount of New Information
Social media has enabled me to casually "meet" new CRE members and have enabled me to exchange meaningful ideas and find information about trends, fact, articles and information about software products that I may have never been aware of or known about the capabilities of the same. My successes have been measured by the advice, information and experiences that I have shared and received by others in CRE, that I may not have had access to before.
Howard Applebaum, President, Corporate America Realty & Advisors, Rutherford, NJ
Keeping Track of Contacts
Social media provides an easy way to see what people are up to and a great way to get introductions to people you may want to meet and discuss things with. I have used it to make people aware of new listings and real opportunities I have. But mostly I use it in just getting my name out and letting people know what I do. I have over 600 LinkedIn contacts and release information to them on a very selective basis. Undoubtedly the biggest challenge for social media in a business application is the lack of time most people have to learn something new.
Ray Rosado, Broker Associate, Cassidy Turley Fuller Real Estate, Denver, CO
The Interaction Shows You're Interested in Your Clients
Social media isn't important just to CRE but to any business looking to expand their client base and reach more customers. As far as social media directly relates to CRE, you aren't going to find a head of real estate for very large companies that will be following you on Twitter or something, but you can use social media as a way to keep clients more updated on the news and trends in the market place as well as deals big and small that have closed in the marketplace. Lastly, I think the more you have your own social media interacting with your own client's (because they almost 100% will have their own as well), it shows that you are interested in their expansion and their business doing well too.
Joshua D. Arcus, Broker & Managing Director, The Siderow Organization, New York, NY
Generating Buzz
In my area of specialty (multifamily), I figured out early on that social media is a great tool for generating buzz about a particular property. Using my Facebook page, I have been able to secure additional listings or at least generate conversations with owners and lenders regarding either the property I am highlighting or one of their properties near mine. I don't think it will ever replace direct communication but it will reduce the need for paid advertisements.
Kevin Rocio, Broker, @properties, Chicago, IL
A Foot in the Door
I am an avid user of LinkedIn and use it to actually drive business not just see how many contacts I can get. Whenever I am trying to break into an account I will try to research LinkedIn accounts to see who works at that company. I'll scan through each employees profile and look for common ground. Once I can find common ground, reaching out is usually easier. I also reach out on the phone, not through LinkedIn as it's so much warmer. I simply use LinkedIn to do the research, not to try to conduct business. This can be an excellent way for tenant/landlord rep brokers to get their foot in the door with companies they are trying to secure business with but don't know many employees.
Marty Busekrus, Senior Associate, CBRE | Capital Markets, Boca Raton, FL
As Close to Free Advertising as You Can Get
I am an active blogger as well as contributing columnist to the Savannah regional business journal. The ROI in social media specifically, being recognized as a local industry expert, is by far a better investment than the traditional route. That is the great thing about social media, if you have the time to commit, it is as close to free advertising and as you can get.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
GlobeSt.com - Office Could Be CRE's New Problem Child - Daily News Article
greater than in the metro
Monday, February 13, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
The Simple Reason Brick-And-Mortar Stores Aren't Dead
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-exec-on-the-simple-reason-that-brick-and-mortar-retail-stores-arent-dead-2012-2#ixzz1lpNwn8a2
Friday, February 3, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Construction Executive Magazine - Features
On the Fast Track
Construction Apprenticeship Programs Put Young Workers Ahead of the Game
By Lauren Pinch
The average college graduate enters the real world with no job, not much relevant work experience and a pile of debt. For high school graduates who don’t pursue a degree, the options in today’s economy can be even more limited. The construction industry offers an alternative.
A plethora of apprenticeship programs, two-year degrees and specialized, on-the-job training tracks are a gold mine for young people with an inclination toward technology, engineering, craftsmanship and teamwork.
As the economy edges toward recovery, construction employers and their education partners are ramping up efforts to appeal to the next generation with new training incentives—from general industry education to niche certification programs—to prepare for an exodus of skilled labor as baby boomers retire within the next 10 years.
Educators and construction workforce advocates are focused on creating a start-to-finish career track for young people seeking high-paying jobs with room for advancement, from entry level all the way into upper management.
Associated Builders and Contractors’ (ABC) Indiana Chapter offers just that through a partnership with Vincennes University (VU). Upon entering its four-year apprenticeship program, a student completes 8,000 hours of on-the-job training, combined with 156 college credit hours for lab learning in a chosen construction trade.
“All of our apprentices graduate with a four-year master craftsman degree from ABC, plus a two-year applied science degree,” says J.R. Gaylor, president of the ABC Indiana Chapter.
“Essentially, a student is getting a Vincennes University degree for free; they leave the program with all of these credentials, a job and very little debt,” Gaylor says. “It’s pretty rare to leave a four-year college with a job lined up, and no debt.”
In addition, students take general education courses at VU in economics, communication, English composition, earth science, and health and wellness. “We try to make the academic experience relevant to their job; for example, there will be assignments about writing job reports and communicating with supervisors,” Gaylor says.
Because employers often provide tuition reimbursement to young employees just starting out in the trades, the situation becomes a win-win. The employer gains a more highly skilled workforce, and the apprentice gains a career for life.
The model demonstrates measurable success in providing a seamless career path. Now, the challenge is getting students to start the education track sooner—shortly after high school or college graduation. Often, Gaylor says, an individual will find himself underemployed in other industries before finding his way into the ABC/VU program in his mid to late 20s.
“The upside is that the older students tend to be more committed and focused on their training. The challenge is we need to try to get people sooner, before they knock around for a few years deciding what they want to do,” Gaylor says.
Gaylor is proud of the apprenticeship program’s growth in the state. In 2004, ABC’s Indiana Chapter married its apprenticeship program with VU’s as a way to demonstrate to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development that training grants were being applied to an upwardly mobile process for the individuals being trained. In 2006, ABC won a victory in the Indiana legislature, with a law passed that guarantees training dollars will be available to the university year after year.
Last year, ABC received $1.5 million from the department, allowing it to continue training nearly 700 apprentices enrolled at seven regional education sites. The apprenticeships in electrical, carpentry, HVAC, lineman, pipefitting, plumbing and sheet metal all are approved by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Apprenticeship Training.
Funding is essential to the life of the program. “If we didn’t have that grant money, our tuition would have to be higher, and we wouldn’t have the flexibility to offer the resources that we have. It is crucial for our ability to continue to improve the program,” Gaylor says.
Of the $1.5 million awarded to VU, $1 million is applied to apprenticeship training, $250,000 is applied to a journeyman upgrade program, and $250,000 is applied to a minority recruitment program.
ABC’s Indiana Chapter partners with 105 companies that administer on-the-job training opportunities for apprentices. Some of the larger companies include DEEM, LLC, Indianapolis; Dilling Group, Inc., Logansport, Ind.; Gaylor, Inc., Noblesville, Ind.; L-A Electric, Fort Wayne, Ind.; SSI Services, LLC, Indianapolis; and Votaw Electric, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.
The benefit for the firms that sponsor apprentices is loyalty. “It allows a company to grow an individual from their high school graduation into whatever role they want to have in the company,” Gaylor says. “It allows the individual and the company to have an entire life cycle of growth into a career.”
And, the benefit for the industry is a higher level of professionalism. “The individuals in the companies are more educated, better trained and safer. All of that adds to improving the image of construction,” Gaylor says.
Making Students Job Ready
ABC’s Western Michigan Chapter has a similar relationship withGrand Rapids Community College (GRCC), offering electrical, plumbing and mechanical apprenticeships that combine field and classroom training.
Recently, the ABC chapter and leaders at the community college decided more could be done to encourage and develop individuals who aren’t ready to commit to a traditional four-year program, but are seeking flexible training options in other construction trades, such as carpentry and masonry.
Last year, John Doherty, president of the ABC Western Michigan Chapter, met with local industry stakeholders, including Brian Van Haren, president of Van Haren Electric, Inc., Bryon Center, Mich. They conceptualized a new, flexible training model offered through GRCC that would give students some foundational skills to take to prospective construction employers.
The new ABC pre-apprenticeship program, still in the developmental stages, would be incorporated into GRCC’s 18-week basic construction curriculum, which offers three tracks focused on residential, commercial or green building and requires 612 hours of lab work.
In the new program, students could enroll with or without a job. They wouldn’t need to be sponsored by ABC or an employer, but could use this opportunity to position themselves as job-ready. A student would learn to take on more responsibility before choosing to pursue a higher education, or before committing to a full-fledged apprenticeship program.
“We asked, ‘Is keeping a student in one place with the same employer for four years a practical model? Or is that outdated?’” Doherty says. “Students might not want to be locked into school for that whole time, or they might want an online learning component.”
A more flexible learning model would allow an individual to choose when it’s best to attend classes. For some, evening classes are ideal, but for others, attending classes at night after a full day of work is not practical.
Doherty, Van Haren and GRCC are currently seeking more industry input. “We’re in the process of trying to reengage our commercial contractors, who can help the program make the candidates better suited to what they need as employers,” Van Haren says. “We hope to improve, change and expand the offerings that the community college already has.”
In addition, a financial incentive is imperative to attracting the younger generation. “My hope is that employers will step up and provide some scholarship money and internship opportunities,” he says. 
The rewards are two-fold. “For students, it gives them a jump-start into the industry, and hopefully connects them with jobs. It gets them the foundational skills to be immediately transferrable to a job,” Van Haren says.
“For an employer, it provides some of the initial orientation and training that a good construction employee should have, such as safety knowledge or the use of hand tools,” he says. “It gives an employer a sense that the student has more than just an effective interview under his belt. And with the feedback from the college about how the student did in class, you increase the odds that you are finding someone with the right skills to become a construction worker.”
New Training for TAB Technicians
ABC’s Pacific Northwest Chapter, Beaverton, Ore., recently introduced a new training initiative catered to a niche sector of the industry: testing, adjusting and air balancing (TAB) technicians.
An important distinction must be made: TAB technicians are not the same as HVAC craftworkers or sheet metal installers. Rather, TAB technicians are the third-party testers that measure the air flow of a newly constructed system to ensure it complies with quality control requirements.
“There needs to be a go-between to see objectively if these systems work properly,” says Joe Helm, president of Northwest Engineering Services, Inc., Tigard, Ore. The company recently performed air balancing tests for the Port of Portland’s new corporate offices, as well as the University of Oregon’s Matthew Knight arena.
ABC and a handful of local companies that perform third-party TAB work realized the need for a separate apprenticeship program when union sheet metal workers began advocating for TAB technicians to be paid under the same prevailing wage scale as sheet metal installation craftworkers. In the state, a craftworker on a public project must be paid the prevailing wage; if not, the worker must be a member of an approved apprenticeship program.
In 2007, following a lawsuit, ABC successfully convinced the Wage and Hour Division at Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries that TAB technicians must be categorized independently from HVAC installers when determining wages on public projects.
“This niche of construction has been around for 50 years,” says John Killin, president of the ABC Pacific Northwest Chapter. “This was simply a political push by labor to change the definition of TAB to make it a part of the installation trade.”
In 2009, the ABC chapter partnered with Portland Community College (PCC) to launch its apprenticeship program, which is approved by the Oregon State Apprenticeship and Training Council.
The TAB training curriculum was developed from existing third-party certification models offered by the National Environmental Balancing Bureau and the Associated Air Balance Council. ABC added a hands-on mechanical training component—6,000 hours of on-the-job training in addition to the 490 related training hours required to take the certification test.
TAB training is becoming increasingly relevant as more public projects require third-party testing of air systems. Projects seeking green certification often require independent verification of energy savings as well.
In addition, a specialist must keep up with current technology and engineering standards. “A driving force is that today’s HVAC systems are becoming much more complicated, and therefore the need for an advanced training program has grown,” says Cindy Regier, apprenticeship director for ABC’s Pacific Northwest Chapter.
The program, she says, is a great match for a student who has a mechanical aptitude and a desire to test and troubleshoot equipment, or an individual with an inclination toward engineering. “It’s a way to a career path, with the first step being to gain certification through one of the air balancing associations before becoming a technician,” she says. “This is complex work, and you have to be pretty sharp to do it.”
Helm agrees that despite the current economy, niche apprenticeship programs are a boon for the industry. “It’s been a good way for our company to put people on a professional growth path,” he says. “It also helps us recognize people who have been working for us a long time through merit raises and performance evaluations tied to training.”
The apprenticeship program is the first of its kind in the nation. Only about 1,000 companies specialize in TAB testing in the United States, and only 12 companies in Oregon perform the work. Although just seven apprentices currently are enrolled, Killin and Regier say the program has strong growth potential, as more and more projects nationwide will require third-party energy testing.
“I think our training has an opportunity to gain some momentum when the industry comes back,” Helm says. “Making it a little more uniform and more formal is an important step going forward.”
