Getting first-timers through your door is one of the hardest marketing tasks, especially when on a tight budget. As a co-working space, you are vital to your business community.  It’s important that you promote your space so that new business owners look to you to plant their roots.  Let’s go over a few ways to do that.

Promote Spectacular Events

Putting together the right events is all about finding the right audience. There are a ton of meetups that draw a crowd of existing and aspiring entrepreneurs, and a co-working space is a great place to host them. Advertise a fireside chat with a local business founder, or host a lunch-and-learn for professionals. Skill workshops will consistently draw in motivated people while also establishing your co-working space as an educational outlet. If one of your tenants is releasing a new product, celebrate! Parties are an excellent way to build hype for a startup while the venue gets free advertising. 

Partner with local organizations

Your space is a nexus of entrepreneurial activity.  Connect with as many interested parties as possible. Get listed on the Chamber of Commerce website and build relationships with the leaders.  Be aware of any overlap in opportunities that can get your space billed on Chamber of Commerce messaging. It’s also beneficial to build relationships with accelerators and entrepreneurship initiatives. Promote each other’s events and work on becoming an essential and symbiotic part of the local startup ecosystem.

Public Speaking

The best way to build authority in your space is to make personal connections, and the way you do that at scale is by public speaking and publishing content. Speaking at events performs both functions by giving you a platform in front of the present audience and then offering the opportunity to publish that talk later. Take the raw footage and edit it into sound-bites, commercials, pictures, and long-form content that you can re-purpose for years to come.

Sponsor other organizations

Events like Startup Weekends, Startup Accelerators, and user groups are always looking for a good place to host their event.  Instead of charging for the event, give the space for free to be listed as a sponsor.  If you have the budget, sponsor related community events like art festivals, community fairs, etc.  This helps make your brand present and top of mind as your future community members travel to different activities throughout the city.

#BeSearchable

In today’s world, people’s attention is split between the digital and physical world.  There might only be 50 people that come to a tech talk, but there are easily another 50 that will watch the video later on YouTube.  Make it obvious how potential future members can find you on Google, Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube.  Consider adding your coworking name, @twitter_handle, or website url in front of your speaker podium.  You have a space in the real world that will show up in pictures and videos across your community.  Make sure it’s clear where the events are happening to help grow your community.