Back in 2018, following my first trip to MIPIM, I shared some reflections on what I’d learnt from attending one of the biggest conferences in the global property calendar.
Looking back on it now, and with a few more trips to Cannes under my belt, it’s interesting to see how things have changed (and how they haven’t.)
While a lot of the learnings I took from my first MIPIM still stand today, especially around diary management and creating meaningful content that can be shared with prospective new business contacts (check out that blog if you missed it), one thing that has evolved since then is the rise of LinkedIn.
Don’t get me wrong, of course LinkedIn was still a popular platform in 2018 and had 556 million users worldwide, but with Twitter, as it was then called, still going strong, this was often a preferred channel for B2B communications. Now in 2025, LinkedIn has over 1.1 billion users, with more than 42 million being from the UK.
The danger with social media though is that it can often be dismissed as an afterthought, something that you use to scroll through news from key contacts and you might update from time to time. However, use it correctly and it could become one of the strongest tools in your comms armoury.
Building your strategy
Like all tech platforms, they evolve (and hopefully) improve with time, and compared to 2018, LinkedIn today is used for longer form content and video, just as much as a quick update or sharing a link to an article you found interesting. This has enabled more opportunities for creating content that is both engaging and informative.
One thing that hasn’t changed though, is that people still relate to people. Content from personal accounts often results in higher engagement than corporate company pages, but by leveraging the two, you can build your own personal brand, and in turn become a brand ambassador for your business.
So, how do you get the most impact out of your LinkedIn channels and give your newly acquired connections an instant overview of your expertise? Your social media content plan should fit within your wider comms strategy, but here are some pointers to consider to get started:
In the weeks leading up to MIPIM, or any key industry event, create a pipeline of relevant content that can be shared via company profiles – think big news stories, longer form blogs, case studies, infographics or video.
Think about what you want to be communicating and known for at the event, as this will help create a consistent and bold point of view that will help both your company, and your employee posts stand out amongst the noise of the event.
Encourage employees, especially event attendees to share company news to their personal accounts and give personal insights and opinion too – let people know the people that make your business what it is.
If you’re the one attending events, consider what meaningful takeaways you can share at the end of each day – what sparked your interest and why might it be relevant to your followers?
Meeting people at an event doesn’t always mean instant new business, it often means playing the long game. Even though the conference is over, what can you be sharing in the weeks and months to follow that will keep you front of mind for those contacts when an opportunity arises?
Of course, like your MIPIM diary, sometimes the best things happen when you’ve not got something scheduled in. Having pre-planned content is great, but one of the best parts of social media is people capturing and sharing things as they go, so don’t feel you can’t add to or stray from the plan to share something new. (Although if you’ve had a few drinks along La Croisette after a long day, maybe log out for the night.)
It’s not just MIPIM you need to think about... With UKREiiF fast approaching and a packed calendar of real estate events happening this year, it’s more important than ever that you have a strategy for your pre and post event comms to help you stand out amongst the crowd.
If you need support with your pre and post event comms, especially with how you can craft a unique point or view, and ideas to create engaging content that you can use across a mix of channels, get in touch with our team.