(RealShare Student Housing will take place May 14-15 at the Four Seasons Resort & Spa in Las Colinas. Click here for more information.)

DALLAS-Student housing is becoming a hot commercial real estate topic and those involved in this sector are turning to social networks to learn about their desired demographic. After all, what better way to connect with students than to speak on their level, using their preferred channels of communication?

Twitter, Facebook and even newer platforms like Pinterest are becoming increasingly prominent even in the commercial real estate industry. This opens up opportunities to take relevant discussions onto new platforms. To find out what’s most important to those in student housing, GlobeSt.com is hosting a TweetChat to allow industry professionals to have their say and pose questions to a representative from Greystar.

So what’s going to be the theme of this discussion? The topic at hand will focus on whether using Facebook or Twitter is  a better way to reach students. How do professionals learn about student housing trends? Which is the most popular platform? And which site will be better for this sector going forward?

Participants can either ask questions, or simply follow the conversation with the hashtag #FBvsTw.

As not everyone is experienced with social media – and this may be first Twitter chat for many - the following tips will help make the most of the experience and provide some insight into the process.

Starting at the very beginning, just what is a TweetChat?

While social media can seem intimidating, it’s not. And a Twitter Chat is simply an opportunity for individuals to pose their questions to an authority – in this case, a student housing and social media expert from Greystar. Everyone who has something to ask needs to tag their Tweet with #FbvsTwitter so we can see it and respond.

Post-question and answer the moderator (myself via @GlobeStcom) will ask participants some of the same questions – with a few others thrown in to generate discussion.

How will this TweetChat work?

The TweetChat will be divided into two segments: the first 15 minutes will give participants the opportunity to put their questions to the Greystar representative. After that, the moderator (@GlobeSTcom) will turn around and ask participants some of the top questions for their insight.

How do I participate?

Sign into Twitter a few moments before the scheduled start time. To follow the discussion, search for the hashtag before the discussion by entering #FBvsTw in the search box. Whenever you want to chime in, compose a Tweet with the hashtag either at the beginning or the end and watch for a response to your question.

Where can I see information after the TweetChat is over?

Post-event, we’ll be wrapping up key takeaways and thought-provoking Tweets in an article to run on GlobeSt.com  as part of a larger effort to unite commercial real estate and social media. As such, it would be great to hear from anyone and everyone involved in student housing and social media – or even the broader industry itself.

When is this TweetChat taking place?

Hop on Twitter at 2:00 PM EST on April 24 for the chat which will run for a half-hour.

This sounds great – but I have ANOTHER question!

Feel free to reach out and email [email protected]