- Content marketing expert Cat Johnson shares the best content marketing strategies for flexible workspace operators.
- Content marketing is a long-term strategy that encompasses everything from blogs and articles to podcasts, videos, email marketing, and micro-posts on social media.
- Among Cat’s top 13 pointers, she recommends writing about your coworking space’s key differentiators – such as amenities, location or values – to attract your target market.
During a training session yesterday, content marketing expert Cat Johnson shared the best content marketing strategies for flexible workspace operators to get in front of their target market.
Why content marketing?
Because it is the best use of your time and resources, according to Cat. It pays off in the short term and it pays off down the road, providing it is done consistently and correctly. Content marketing encompasses everything from blogs and articles to podcasts, videos, email marketing, and micro-posts on social media.
Suggested Reading: “Why Content Marketing should be a Priority for Coworking Operators”
This type of marketing strategy works because it helps position you or your company as a valuable resource within a community. Plus, it’s a welcomed alternative to traditional advertising and it allows companies to be strategic about who they are trying to reach.
Before we dive into Cat’s 13 strategies, here are a few things you need to keep in mind:
- Before you start creating content, you need to first understand who is your target market and how your service or product adds value to them.
Read “How to Build a Customer Persona for your Coworking Space”
- Content is a long-game. In order for it to work and for you to see results, you need to be consistent and make sure you are posting often.
- Content marketing is not random blogging. It requires that you think strategically about your market, your offerings, and how to get people in the door once you have their attention.
13 Proven Content Marketing Strategies to Attract New Members
1. Become a Resource Hub
Becoming a resource hub will increase people’s trust towards your brand. A resource hub is about providing useful and valuable information to your target market; you can share tips, write product or service reviews, and post round-ups of relevant resources. “The key is to do it consistently so you can position yourself as the go-to person or company when people are looking for information.”
2. Differentiate
Differentiating yourself in a crowded market is not an easy task. So think carefully about what really makes you different. It could be your amenities, your values, or your location. Keep in mind that not every space is for everyone, so don’t try to be all things for all people. Think carefully about who your target market is and how/why you add value to them.
3. Round-ups and lists
People love lists. They are easy to scan, read, and share. They are easy to put together and they are an effective way to catch people’s attention. Basically with round-ups and lists, you’re doing the work for other people, and they love that! Gather information that you know is important or relevant for your target market and consolidate it all in one place.
4. Showcase your community
Cat believes this is something that coworking operators often struggle with. “Keep in mind that usually, you are more excited about your design and furniture than your potential members are.” Content is a great way to showcase communities; you can go visual (a picture says 1,000 words, right?) or write about them. Though member profiles are quite common, Cat believes you can extend your reach and create meaningful content if you allow your members to share their expertise in your blog and social media. “This helps you showcase your community and also lead more traffic to your member’s businesses.”
5. Share your values and purpose
Purpose in business in an increasingly important and valuable characteristic. “People want to work with, and for, businesses that have clear values, values that people or other companies share.” Have your values clearly defined; why do you run a coworking space, why do you do what you do? Find the answers and share them through content.
Pro tip: make sure your values and purpose are also stated on your website and show them in action (if you’re working with nonprofits, if you’re working on a social impact project, etc).
6. Storytelling
Storytelling is one of the most powerful content marketing strategies out there. Stories resonate with people, and when written correctly, they help people engage and relate with specific brands, products, or services. Storytelling can help people understand what you do, your history, your vision, and your projects. When writing stories, keep in mind that the human aspect is particularly drawing, which is why stories about struggles and challenges perform well (we can all relate to having things not work as we planned, can’t we?)
7. Be a leader
Be brave and step forward to your community; don’t be afraid to have an opinion. Being a leader means you care about people and you share your perspective, so engage in topics that you and your community are passionate about. The key driver here, according to Cat, is to be willing to take a step forward and have something to say that adds value.
8. SEO
SEO is all about determining which keywords and phrases you want to be found for and getting creative around them. Long gone are the days of keyword stuffing, so use human language, be specific, and make sure you include these keywords in your content as well as your titles, metadata, alt tags, image names, H2, H1, etc. The right SEO keywords will tie back with your differentiating characteristics, so be sure to have that ready.
Pro tip: think beyond coworking + your location as you’ll be competing with a lot of other spaces for that. Instead focus on an amenity + coworking.
9. Guest posts & content
Guest posts are powerful because they help you extend your reach and get in front of new audiences. You can host webinar sessions, do videos, or workshops. Think about websites/companies that you can partner with and create guest content for. (Allwork.Space accepts guest posts, so feel free to reach out if you have any content ideas you’d like to share).
10. Evergreen content
Evergreen content is content that doesn’t go out of date. It stays relevant for days, months, or years. Google tends to boost and rank higher posts that perform well over time, increasing your website traffic. This type of content can be restored and repurposed indefinitely, so it’ll keep driving traffic and leads to your site for a long time.
11. Benefits of coworking
A lot of people still don’t know what coworking really is and why it’s interesting and valuable. Creating content around the benefits of coworking will help you attract members and also educate a larger audience about coworking. There’s a growing body of research available that shows the different benefits coworking offers to people. Check out Allwork.Space’s Library to get access to industry research.
12. Leverage
Leverage is the superpower of content marketing. Content marketing requires that you leverage people, businesses, and organizations that share your target market. So you have to reach out and engage with them to get them to share your content. Good leverage means you will extend your reach massively. When leveraging, make sure you help promote what they are doing, tag them on social media, and ask them to reshare your content.
13. Call to Action (CTA)
Regardless of the content you are creating, you need to make sure you’re including a call to action; it’s an essential part of content marketing. Call to actions are invitations for someone to take the next step. For flexible workspace operators, this could be a button where people can click to schedule a tour, book a meeting room, attend an upcoming event, or book a free day of coworking. Make your call to action compelling, clear, relevant, and interesting.
Cat’s next content marketing training session will take place May 29th and will cover “Instagram Marketing: an Introduction for Coworking Spaces”. Register here.
