If you've been on Pinterest before, chances areit looks like an overwhelming mess of food, wedding, clothing andfitness images. Not really much use for those in commercialreal estate, is it? (Except for taking breaks betweenprojects, of course.) However, when you delve a little deeper, itquickly transpires that many brands and companies have put theirsmall stakes into this highly visual corner of the internet. Forinstance, brokers and developers can use the platform to showcasetheir properties. Multifamily building owners can put up picturesof new apartments and design ideas for potential tenants, thuscreating buzz surrounding their buildings.

As for student housing, designers and developers can use thesocial network to present dorm amenities, dorm room design ideasand even reveal the progression of construction on certaincampuses. We all know college kids love the internet, why wouldn'tthey love to pin and repin images of the next hot student housingfacility, not to mention media and architecture firms sharingimages to promote their companies or stories?

Case and point, Rockrose, New York City-baseddevelopers, make excellent use of Pinterest, sharing dramatic shotsof Manhattan, interiors of apartments, neighborhood events andanything else they deem relevant to their audience – a group thatseems to be a mix of tenants, commercial real estateprofessionals and curious users. The goal here, and withother boards, is to get people to share images, get excited aboutthe company in question and, eventually, convert these users toactual leads for future business.