Ioreba Hosts 1st Annual Service Industry Networking Showcase

May 3, 2010 - PRLog -- ISELIN, N.J., May 3, 2010 – The Industrial and Office Real Estate Brokers Association of the New York Metropolitan Area (IOREBA) hosted its first Annual Service Industry Networking Showcase at the Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel & Conference Center. The inaugural event provided more than 30 real estate-related service companies with the opportunity to display their products and services, and more than 200 attendees the opportunity to network and learn about latest industry trends.

“We are very pleased with the success of this event,” said Charles O. Logan, Jr. president of IOREBA and president/CEO of The Aztec Corporation. “This display of products and services combined with the sharing of ideas is designed to provide industry professionals with the latest tools to best assist their clients.”

The event also featured special guest speaker, Dr. Gina Persson, president of Ivory Tower Consulting, addressing the topic of social media's place in the modern business world. “This presentation will inaugurate a series of workshops, titled ‘IOREBA University,’ tailored specifically to the educational needs of commercial real estate professionals,” Logan said.

“Social media have rapidly gained popularity, and the world we live in today is very different from the world we lived in just 10 years ago,” said Persson, who is also a professor of communications at The College of Saint Elizabeth. Describing in detail the impact of such mediums as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, “we are experiencing a cultural shift in how and why information is being shared,” she said.

Addressing the impact of social media on commercial real estate, “it has everything to do with your business,” she said. “It is important to find out and learn how to use these new tools. Social media, an interactive communication tool, can provide an effective means to help you manage and create business relationships with clients, vendors and co-workers. Relationships are the heart of your business.”

Besides building relationships, web-based social media is valuable for everything from simply having an online presence, to branding, to “having the ability to tell your story,” Persson explained. “There are many opportunities to market yourself and your services, and people are utilizing mediums such as LinkedIn to research potential customers and clients, for example.”

Persson noted that social media will likely never completely replace face-to-face contact. “But it is an extremely dynamic means of fostering relationships, and relationships will make or break every business in this room,” she concluded. “If you invest your time and resources now, you will not be left behind in the future. But if you do not start now, you will be left behind.”

With roots dating back to 1927, IOREBA is one of the nation's largest regional commercial real estate groups; the group has grown to more than 300 members that conduct business in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. To assist its members in difficult economic times, IOREBA has cut costs for events and membership to ensure members are able to take full advantage of everything the organization has to offer. For more information, visit www.ioreba.com.


About IOREBA

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With roots dating back to 1927, IOREBA is one of the nation's largest regional commercial real estate trade groups; its more than 300 members conduct business in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.