Three social media/tech predictions for retail real estate in 2017 - by Diana Podaski

Diana Podaski, Linear Retail Properties

Now that I’ve signed my last Linear holiday card (1,300 literally), I can focus on my predictions for social media and tech in 2017. I like to reflect on all the conferences and sessions I’ve attended, videos watched and articles read over the past year and help give you suggestions on how to plan for 2017 based on my own analysis. 

Earlier this year we saw some new trends with augmented reality (Pokémon Go), Snapchat Spectacles (glasses that record 10 sec videos), a new circular video format, geofilters for businesses and custom events, new social media algorithms that have the potential to bury your posts, and malls that have turned into experience-driven destinations vs. places where people go to simply buy something. A lot has changed and is going to change.

Video, video, video

I think that video will be the number one piece of content shared on social media in 2017; it’s the most engaging and fun, and you can tell a story in a few seconds. Video snip-its or “sneak peeks” helps make people feel like they are part of the experience as it unfolds vs. one video at the end of the experience. It’s all about “in the moment” marketing right now – think Facebook Live and Instagram Stories. Many retailers are using Snapchat as well, but I believe it to be less beneficial to CRE owners. I think drone videography will also grow (mostly to showcase development projects) utilizing new drone professionals (now that there are so many stipulations/restrictions). Drone videography is a new, modern, encompassing angle we are still getting used to seeing.  You have eight seconds before people choose you or leave, so be sure that any longer format videos provide insight right away.

Better customer experience via Chatbots

After watching seven episodes of Black Mirror, the incredibly addicting, yet terrifying futuristic techno-paranoia Netflix TV series, I can’t shut my mind off to AI (artificial intelligence).  The British TV series, scoring a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, focused one episode around extracting part of your conscious from you and putting it into a bot and uploading it to a computer. It’s essentially a copy of yourself as your own personal assistant that knows exactly how you would respond, can control all your kitchen electronics and cook the way you like it etc... It was pretty wild. On a much smaller and trivial scale, we have the Chatbot – this is AI that can answer common questions people have and provide better customer experience – leaving the tougher, longer answers to leasing reps. 

More Social Media Education

There really aren’t too many social media “experts” in our industry, therefore there has been a lack of education on the subject. However, as Gary Vaynerchuk put it, “Social media is an equal playing field, you don’t have to have grown up with it; you just have to learn it.” If you don’t have the discipline next year to spend a weekend learning the ins-and-outs of Facebook, I think you’ll be able to find more social media education next year. ICSC MOCIAL alone is on its sixth year, so that is definitely telling you something.

Social Media Fun Fact: “2016 has been another record-setting year for Facebook. In their latest earnings report it earned $7.01 billion in revenue during Q3 2016” - Buffer Social.

Diana Podaski is VP - marketing and social media at Linear Retail Properties, Burlington, Mass.