Tom O’Sullivan is director of interactive marketing and technology at New Jersey-based Coldwell Banker Commercial. He oversees the development and execution of electronic marketing and technology-related platforms.

There is an abundance of prospective clients and new business opportunities available online in today’s commercial real estate arena – you just have to know where to find them. The key to locating and securing such opportunities is called social networking.

Simply stated, social networks are a forum for sharing and uncovering personal interests between a group of people over the Internet. The commercial real estate professional who harnesses the full power of social networking can secure that elusive leg up over competitors simply by creating connections with fellow professionals with a common interest or pursuit.

As is the case with most businesses, commercial real estate at its core is a relationship business. Finding one common interest with another, regardless of experience, age, geography, etc., can lead to an increase in business and personal successes. Common social networking platforms such as MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn are Web sites that allow individuals the ability to voluntarily share personal information. For the marketer or, in this case, commercial real estate broker, this personal information is the catalyst for facilitating a relationship.

Social networks have two distinct but equally important central components: first is their ability to create a relationship with a person with a common interest; and, once a relationship is established, creating a line of productive communication with that person.

In the “first person,” a relationship or “link” is created between two business professionals. That link, which includes such common threads of information like education, prior work experience, skills, talents or associations, is the thread that can be utilized by a broker to facilitate a relationship with a client.

Personal Profiles

The first building block of social networking and one of the most critical elements is the designing of a detailed and updated personal profile. Without the detail or information available, none of the participants in the community can find one another. Key attributes for commercial real estate professionals include:

• Where you are based and where you conduct business;

• Commercial real estate specialty practices and experience;

• Property-sector focus; and

• A list of clients you have done business with (particularly larger clients with national locations).

This first set of key attributes allows groups or other members of the online community to join together and network with each other. From this group, specific targeted relationships can be built.

Language spoken has been an attribute that has made a difference in many commercial real estate social networks. As the influx of international exposure and investment in the U.S. commercial real estate market expands, a wide range of global cultures and languages have become involved in the transactions. Brokers have been able to utilize the network of peers and relationships to find professionals who can serve clients with special language and cultural requirements.

Of course, the end goal of a relationship in commercial real estate between the client and the broker is the need for representation and brokerage services. The same common thread, or link, between two persons also often provides a link to numerous other persons. These ancillary other links are commonly called “second-degree” connections.

Thanks to its ability to go beyond a first-person relationship, social networking online allows the exponential expansion of their network based on degrees of separation. Even before the term social networking was coined, this small-world separation concept that forms the basis of social networking existed.

The early 1990s play “Six Degrees of Separation” argued the point that all persons on earth are only six degrees from each other. This theory was expanded upon even further with the comedic “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” game, popular on college campuses. The trivia game argued that any actor can be linked through his or her film roles to actor Kevin Bacon within six degrees.

This facilitating of common links, however small, is the essence of social networking. While it’s not necessary to network with every person on earth or be in a movie with Kevin Bacon to prove the theory, connections can be made at any level.

Within a network, the reliance upon peer recommendations is vital. As one commercial real estate broker evaluates and works with another, the degrees begin to expand. So in other words, Broker A and Broker B know each other through their social network. Broker C is friendly with Broker A through his network and asks for an introduction with a national client who happens to work with Broker B. The network chain begins to form as Broker A introduces his friend to Broker B as someone who is trustworthy and a good candidate for doing business.

The key to success in social networking are the introductions – a recommendation from a first degree to a second degree is more valuable than any marketing piece. Once you have identified and engaged professionals you deem trustworthy into your network, support them and they will support you in return.

As seen in the music industry, the retail business and politics, the ability to create a relationship allows a linkage between the person and the musician, retail establishment or politician. Just like company branding is measured in qualitative ways, establishing a link via social networking provides the ability for that person to voluntarily choose who they listen to, purchase with or vote for.

Coldwell Banker Commercial, for example, is employing social networking in its day-to-day business. Two of the most common attributes in a social network is a common thread among a community, as well as an industry. CBC is an affiliated business model with independently owned and operated companies nationwide. It has both of these common attributes: the community element was the fact that they all worked for the same company and the common industry was commercial real estate.

The company realized it could significantly expand its commercial real estate business if brokers worked collectively instead of competitively. Thus, it created its own social networking program that was launched in early 2008, and the response has been very positive.

Explore the areas of social networking that exist today – the possibilities are endless and it takes very little time and financial investment to get started. Though each site has its own positive qualities, LinkedIn is the typically the best site for business professionals, as its community is focused on career growth and professional experience.

Once involved in a social network, take the time to catalog your varying experiences in detail, paying specific attention to the specific keywords you use in your profile. Those keywords are what will allow others to find you and should parallel adjectives found on resumes with simple, short statements about your experience. Again, persons viewing your profile likely do not know you, so you must get to the critical points about who you are quickly.

In the end, social networking can be the lynchpin to securing client referrals and winning business.