The power of social media is rewriting the rules for commercial real estate, turning brokers into digital storytellers and transforming platforms like TikTok and LinkedIn into robust deal pipelines. What was once an industry grounded in cold calls and in-person networking is now shifting toward a model where online engagement drives opportunity, trust and real business results.
“Today’s most effective brokers aren’t cold-calling; they’re storytelling,” Aviva Sonenreich, managing broker at The Warehouse Hotline in Denver, told GlobeSt.com.
“Platforms like TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube Shorts allow brokers to educate, build trust, and convert followers into clients.” Sonenreich’s firm, for example, leveraged more than one million TikTok followers to generate multi-property deals and even facilitate a $9.56 million closing—proof that a robust digital presence can directly produce tangible outcomes in industrial, retail and office real estate.
This trend was on full display at the fifth annual CREi Summit, according to CoStar, where Sonenreich and other brokers detailed how social platforms are evolving from mere lead generators to essential components of business strategy.
“What started as a Twitter chat during the pandemic has grown into a full-fledged community,” said Ken Ashley, executive director at Cushman & Wakefield and founder of Commercial Real Estate Influencers, per CoStar.
For Houston-based Colliers broker Coy Davidson, the digital shift paid off with a substantial commission. “I did a 15-year, 38,000-foot deal in Dallas–Fort Worth—about a $680,000 commission—because the company's chief financial officer found my Texas office market post,” Davidson explained.
Others noted that while direct monetization of reach remains challenging, the opportunities created by increased visibility are undeniable.
“If we talk about job offers, if we talk about pulling in new opportunities, getting in front of more people, that's a little bit harder to monetize,” observed Carson Baird, an industrial broker at LQ Commercial Real Estate Services in Fort Myers, Florida.
Sonenreich emphasized that social media’s value extends far beyond simple lead generation.
“Engagement on these platforms—comments, questions, impressions, and click-throughs—provides real-time market intelligence,” she explained. LinkedIn metrics reveal which topics energize the market for warehouse leasing and industrial investment, while TikTok comments unearth emerging tenant needs and sector trends. Even Facebook’s monetization features for CRE content show that these channels increasingly recognize commercial real estate as a category of influence.
Ultimately, as Sonenreich noted, digital influence is shaping decisions not just for brokers, but for tenants, investors and developers.
“Tenants, investors, and developers increasingly make real-world CRE decisions based on online credibility,” she said. Strong engagement and digital reach have become new standards for trust, accelerating transactions and reshaping market behavior across the sector.
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