As the coworking and shared space industry continues to grow and evolve, it’s becoming much more evident that profitability is not only viable, there are ways to maximize and continue to grow your profits as an operator. Let’s dive in detail into the best coworking marketing strategy for maximum growth.
Host Events
You’ve likely heard about the potential for fantastic events at coworking spaces. One of the major keys to building your brand is to hold events that are open to the local community. It’s free advertising! People who would otherwise have likely never stepped foot in your space get firsthand access to all the benefits your space provides. Even if these guests are not candidates to work out of a coworking space, word of mouth is one of your biggest assets. The more people know about your location, have been inside and can speak to its benefits, the better for you of course.
Here are some ideas for events that you could organize within your space:
- Community panel discussions
- ‘Breakfast and Learn’ / happy hours
- Singles’ meetup events
- Yoga classes
Also, keep in mind, if your space does not have 24/7 access, a great way to increase revenue is to host private events after hours. Whether it’s birthday parties, receptions, sporting event watch parties, or just about anything else that you have the room for and would take place past typical working hours. Last year’s Global Coworking Survey revealed that 21% of operators found organizing events to be a top challenge for them, and 50% said attracting new members was a top challenge. These events, whether during or after hours, will solve for a large part of both of those obstacles.
Membership Bonuses
There are numerous ways to provide bonuses or perks for your members. One of the most common is a member referral program. Give discounted rent or membership fees when members bring in a successful referral.
One way to save on expenses and simultaneously incentivize and promote your members’ work is to offer to waive or discount membership fees in exchange for their talent. For example, you may have members willing to build out a website, run social media, do graphic design, event promotion, or anything else you consider fair.
Guest passes are ideal as well. Members can bring in a guest for free on a day pass so they can explore the space and see what coworking is all about. In this testimonial, one of the operators states that over 20% of their inquiries come from referral traffic.
Wellness Benefits
The coworking revolution has, in a way, grown alongside a health and wellness movement in millennials and other generations of workers. Benefits like fitness classes, child care, and massages are a huge draw for many coworking members. If you could include, or discount, some of these perks as part of your membership, it would help draw a sector of prospects you may not have attracted otherwise. Of course, this largely depends on the fit out of your space and how much vacancy you have available, but it’s a great membership benefit to explore.
This study revealed that 89% of workers at companies that support well-being efforts are more likely to recommend their company. Also, an incredible 91% of workers say they are motivated to perform best at a company that promotes well-being.
Content Marketing
Create and maintain a blog for your coworking space. Focus on member centric topics. The best way to achieve this is by learning a great deal about your members needs and individual businesses. Include a focus on community events, individual member spotlight, business growth tips, and news and updates regarding your space specifically.
Keep a social media presence. Build it organically with your members first and foremost and encourage every single lead that walks through your door to follow your accounts. Don’t take a sales driven approach. Focus on members and community like on the blogs, which you should promote via these social accounts. Showcase member work and achievement. Take professional style pictures of your space, while vacant and when filled to capacity. Promote events consistently and take pictures and videos during these events.
If you’re located in a high foot traffic area of your city, place flyers and any other form of promotion in local businesses surrounding your space. Coffee shops, bars, snack shops, libraries, residential building lobbies and any other venue where prospective members may walk into.
For every dollar spent, content marketing generates three times as many leads as traditional marketing strategies… while costing 62% less!
To find out more about how Yardi Kube is the platform of choice for growing coworking spaces, please click below.