(RealShare Student Housing will take place May 14-15 at the Four Seasons Resort & Spa in Las Colinas. Click here for more information.)
NEW YORK CITY-For those in the social media sphere, trying to unite the newest platform Pinterest with the commercial real estate industry sounds as bizarre a marriage as last year’s union between Kim Kardashian and Chris Humphries. Unsure of just what Pinterest is? Here’s the Cliff’s Notes: Pinterest is a female-centric, photo-heavy network where users are invited to add – or "pin" – images, inspirational sayings, quotes, pictures, landscapes and so on to their own “pinboard.” This page, which can be considered the user’s homepage, can then be shared and others can comment on the uploaded images.
At first glance over the site, it’s a formidable jungle of baby pictures, food pictures, weddings, hair and makeup pictures, and the occasional slightly inappropriate quote which can send one into sudden gales of laughter. None of these are exactly conductive to commercial real estate professionals’ attempts to promote their company, brand or – in this case – news articles, never mind the fact that there are been internet whisperings concerning legal issues and image sharing on the site.
However, like the sunshine breaking through the proverbial overcast day, one industry sector suddenly found an industry-specific use for Pinterest. When a call was put out via Twitter, another popular student housing marketing tool, to see just who in CRE bothers to "pin," Alexis Krisay of Serendipit Consulting, responded. Her company is a marketing and PR firm that specializes in marketing for real estate and student housing. Krisay found that some student housing companies can use Pinterest as a specific way to target, market to and interact with their key demographic: late high school and college-aged kids.
Via email, Krisay explained, "We are seeing a tremendous increase in social interactions on Pinterest with our student residents. We create boards to share design/ architecture ideas and to receive input from students in the early stages of development. In a way, Pinterest has allowed us to create virtual focus groups. For community events, we involve residents in the planning process by asking them to pin their favorite decor, theme ideas, etc."
Not all commercial real estate sectors are as creative, however, but it seems that others may be adopting social media platforms for promotion and further sharing of information. Tomorrow, we look at another Pinterest case. 365 Connect, a New Orleans based, online technology platform provider for the multifamily industry has found a way to integrate this field and Pinterest itself. 365 Connect CEO Kerry Kirby will weigh in on Pinterest and how it can benefit multifamily going forward.
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