This article originally appeared on catjohnson.co.
You know about all the connections, collaborations, and transformations that happen in your coworking space, but does your local community?
I see three challenges space operators have when it comes to a lack of local awareness, whether you’re in an urban, suburban, or rural area.
- People don’t know you exist.
- People have driven or walked by your space and may have a general idea that you can rent a desk or office there, but they’re not tuned in to all that your space and community offer.
- People think you’re a place to rent offices, like the old executive suites.
Rather than give you a long list of things you can do to combat each of these, I’m going to give you one simple task to get the ball rolling for each of these. That way, we can avoid overwhelm and analysis paralysis and get you moving.
The Problem: People don’t know you exist.
One Solution: Get out of your space and into your neighborhood. Go into your neighboring businesses and organizations and start a conversation with them. You’re not selling, you’re not pitching, you’re not gathering leads, you’re connecting with the people in your community.
See what they know about you and your space, see if there are any gaps in their understanding that you can fill, and see how you might be able to help them.
Invite them to an upcoming event you’re hosting, or to come by to have a coffee and see the space. Word travels around neighborhoods and towns and the more connected you are, the better.
The best coworking spaces are an engaged and visible part of their neighborhood and extended community, so make connections where you haven’t already.
The Problem: People are not tuned in to all that your space and community offer.
One Solution: Create content that has nothing to do with sales and everything to do with educating people about your vision, values, and vibe. Good places to start include your origin story, your purpose beyond making money, your core values, wins coming out of your community, your “why,” etc.
Shift the focus from “We’re a workspace where you can…”
to
“We’re a community of people who…”
The Problem: People think you’re a place to rent offices.
One Solution: Take a good look at everything public-facing. From your website to your Google Business Profile, to your newsletter, ads, signage, copy, photos, social media profiles, blog, etc.
If there’s a sniff of “executive suite” vibes and you’re working to create an extraordinary coworking space, fix that problem immediately. If you want to create an engaged, collaborative community but you’re giving off vibes that you have a collection of professionals behind closed office doors, you’re giving off the wrong impression.
This is less of a quick-fix and more of a strategic planning exercise. What people see, hear, and read from you is all they have to go on. So if you’re giving off office rental vibes, you’ll attract people who want an office and nothing more.
Fix your copy, humanize your website, revisit your marketing channels and strategies, and, most importantly, talk with your existing members about what you’re working toward and bring them along for the journey, because it benefits them in a big way.
Everyone has a better coworking experience when you layer community, connection, and opportunities to collaborate on top of a nice space.
