Strategic Social Media for Personal Branding & Influence

As a business professional, your online presence is everything these days. Every post, comment, and connection either reinforces or weakens your standing, and this is particularly true in our primary vertical: commercial real estate (CRE).

CRE is an industry that demands intentional networking, so ask yourself this: Are you shaping that online reputation strategically—or letting it happen by default?

At COHN, we say Every Interaction Matters. That goes double for digital interactions. Whether you specialize in office, retail, industrial, multifamily, or land deals, how you show up online can create new opportunities, elevate your perceived value, and build influence far beyond your current network.

Let’s walk through how CRE professionals can harness social media to establish a compelling personal brand, communicate expertise, and grow meaningful relationships across the industry.

Clarify Your Personal CRE Brand First

Many of us know this intuitively, but branding is no longer just for businesses—it’s for people, too. And as experts in brand strategy, let us just say that the thing that matters most in brand is clarity in point of view. This is the foundation of successful real estate personal branding.

Who are you in this industry? What makes your perspective valuable? Are you an analyst with unmatched data fluency? A connector of tenants and landlords? A creative problem-solver in distressed assets? A champion for sustainability in industrial design?

Define your niche and your unique point of view. This is an exercise that will really force you to pause and get intentional about your digital presence. Then make sure your brand, across platforms, reflects this POV consistently: professional headshots, bios that explain your role in the ecosystem, and messaging that mirrors how you show up in real life.

This is one of the places we help clients most. At COHN, we work with real estate brands and professionals to translate real-world expertise into digital brand strategy, ensuring their online presence supports both business development and reputation-building goals.

Choose the Right Platforms (and Use Them Intentionally)

You don’t need to be everywhere. But you do need to be strategic. Here’s how to think about your options:

LinkedIn: Your Professional Hub (Non-Negotiable)

This is your digital HQ. Every CRE professional—regardless of sector—should treat LinkedIn as a place to showcase credibility, stay top-of-mind, and build a network that extends beyond geography. It’s the cornerstone for LinkedIn real estate professionals looking to build authority.

Optimize your profile to clearly communicate what you do and what you know.
Share your take on market movements or development news.
Post photos from events, webinars, or site tours that reinforce your authority.
Write and publish articles when you have something deeper to say.

Even 15 minutes a week of intentional activity can drive visibility.

X (formerly Twitter): Your Real-Time Feed

For CRE pros who thrive on speed, X is where you can join fast-moving conversations. This is where you react to interest rate updates, share links to press coverage, and engage with journalists or influencers in real estate and development. It’s more informal—but no less strategic.

It’s worth noting that users are leaving X en masse due to hate speech, bots, and other political “rage bait” considerations, and advertisers have all but abandoned it entirely. In fact, many of our clients have pulled back their ad spend entirely on X, and this could be a canary in the coal mine for its future viability. We suggest you spend the majority of your time on LinkedIn, but check in on X from time to time.

Instagram & YouTube: When Visuals Tell the Story

If your projects are highly visual—new builds, architecture, or before-and-after transformations—these platforms help showcase your work in compelling ways. Just be intentional: your tone and quality should reflect your professional brand, not compete with lifestyle influencers.

Post With Purpose: What to Share and Why

You don’t need to post every day. You just need to make it count. Here’s the kind of content that works in CRE and supports your overall real estate marketing strategies:

• Market Commentary: Don’t just repost headlines. Share your POV. Why does this deal matter? What does this trend mean locally?
• Case Studies & Project Wins: Talk about a deal that recently closed or a leasing success—without giving away anything confidential.
• Behind-the-Scenes Process: Walk your audience through the steps of due diligence, construction phasing, or tenant mix strategy.
• Conference Highlights: If you’re speaking or attending, share takeaways that spark conversation.
• Thought Leadership: When you have an opinion, a framework, or a prediction—write it down and put your name on it.

And don’t forget to engage!! Commenting thoughtfully on someone else’s post, and re-sharing their content when it’s good, can build just as much visibility as publishing your own. Remember, effective social media for real estate agents and all CRE pros involves interaction.It’s called social media for a reason.

Use Social Media to Network Like a Pro

Connections aren’t just about who you know—it’s about who knows you. Social platforms are excellent tools for expanding your visibility within the right circles, enhancing your social media branding. But quality beats quantity every time.

• When you send a LinkedIn connection request, personalize it. Mention a mutual colleague, event, or shared interest.
• Don’t just like posts—comment on them, and reshare them when possible! Add your perspective. Ask a question.
• Share introductions. Offer useful links. Be the person people are glad to have in their network.
• Move conversations offline when appropriate. Some of your strongest partnerships might start with a comment and end with a signed deal.

Social media should amplify your ability to build trust, not just your follower count.

Protect and Polish Your Presence

An outdated LinkedIn headline. A forgotten Twitter account. A typo-ridden post. These small missteps can create a disconnect between the reputation you want and the impression you leave.

Consistency, professionalism, and polish matter. So does accuracy. Avoid posting unverified market data, overly promotional content, or confidential information. The CRE world is small—and reputations are built (or broken) quickly.

COHN helps clients audit and realign their digital presence to ensure their brand isn’t just visible—it’s respected.

Measuring What Matters

Social success in real estate isn’t about likes. It’s about influence. Pay attention to:

• Connection requests from people in your target market.
• Messages asking for your thoughts or inviting you to participate.
• Mentions from peers who value your input.
• Website visits or inquiries that tie back to your content.

Influence often grows quietly—but it builds real credibility over time.

What Success Looks Like

We’ve seen CRE professionals evolve from under-the-radar players to regional thought leaders by committing to a social media strategy. One client built momentum simply by posting once a week with consistent local market insights. Another leveraged project photos and leasing highlights to position themselves as the go-to retail broker in a specific submarket.

None of them went viral. But all of them became more visible, more respected, and more in-demand.

Your Voice Has Value—Use It Strategically

There’s no one right way to “do social media” in commercial real estate marketing. But there is a smart way: be intentional, be consistent, and be authentic. Know who you are, what you bring to the table, and how to communicate that to the people who matter through strong personal branding and effective social media branding.

You already have the credibility. The track record. The expertise. Now’s the time to show it—strategically, consistently, and with confidence.

Want help refining your personal brand strategy or optimizing your LinkedIn presence? COHN partners with real estate professionals to elevate their visibility, credibility, and deal flow. Let’s talk—schedule a call with our team today.