Twitter is transforming the way that people communicate and network, and commercial real estate is taking note. Whether you’re looking for inspiration on how to grow your social following or just want to network with some of the best CRE firms in the game, follow these 20 NAI Global firms on Twitter to start exploring:

Retailers are pulling out all the stops in 2017 to attract new customers and keep existing customers coming to their brick-and-mortar retail locations. New and innovative marketing ideas are going to flood consumers email boxes in 2017, as retailers try to catch up with online businesses, such as amazon.com who have already mastered this approach to direct marketing the consumer. Traditional retailers have to catch up in terms of marketing to consumers, but their locations also must attract today's modern consumer in terms of offering the best price and selection options.

In today's competitive multifamily market, apartment communities are looking for more advantages than ever to attract new tenants to their complexes. Landlords are looking to add value to their properties by adding new features and amenities that not only attract new tenants, but that also help increase rents.

The high cost of developing commercial real estate has started to impact the amount of parking developed with new office buildings, thanks to the popularity of rideshare services Uber, Lyft and others. Employers have begun to offer incentives to keep their employees from driving to work, such as discount cards, passes and other financial incentives. And, apartment communities are offering a rental discount to renters that use the ride sharing services, opposed to parking a personal car on the site.

Hot office markets traditionally follow cities that have the hottest housing markets, since new home buyers need jobs to make their mortgage payments. Here are a few of the cities that look to be hot in 2017 in providing office space for new businesses, in addition to having strong housing growth according to Business Insider.

The largest generation in the workforce, Millennials impact everything from commercial real estate to media, food and more. If you’re not keeping an eye on this demographic, you’d do well to brush up on your research.

Retailers are trying every new technology to gain advantages over the competition in the slim margins of the retail sales world. Amazon, who is no stranger to innovation, is leading the way in 2016 with exciting new ways to get products to consumers faster and with lower shipping costs. In fact, Amazon recently announced the use of drones to make some deliveries, which will further improve delivery times.

The Urban Land Institute or ULI just released its Emerging Trends Report for 2017. These are the biggest trends to hit the real estate market and promise to impact the way agents do business in the next twelve months.

Real estate agents are always trying to maintain a competitive edge over the competition. These productivity apps will help you work more efficiently and easily, to close more deals. If you are looking to make a New Year's Resolution, or just make improvements in the way you are doing your business, here are 4 apps to help you make 2017 a great year for business:

The idea of an open workspace has been around since the early 20th century. It began to evolve from a single large room with rows of desks or benches in the 1950’s, when the German Quickborner design group began adding partitions for privacy, creating an “office landscape.” Modular room components appeared in the 1960’s, and soon companies were moving everyone out of private offices and into a shared space

Few of us have not been touched by the rise of e-commerce in recent years. The ability to shop and make purchases from virtually any location is quickly becoming a routine expectation for most Americans. Online retailers are taking advantage of the ways that technology enables more targeted marketing, creating a personalized shopping experience for customers that’s based on their past searching and purchasing behavior.

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, holiday shopping predictions are looking strong for 2016. The National Retail Federation said it expects total holiday sales (excluding autos, gas and restaurant sales) will increase 3.6% to $655.8 billion, slightly higher than the post-recession average of 3.4% since 2009.