340. The Ad Strategy Guide for Coworking Spaces: Choosing Between Google and Facebook
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340. The Ad Strategy Guide for Coworking Spaces: Choosing Between Google and Facebook
00:00:00,"Welcome to the Everything Coworking podcast, where every week I keep you updated on the latest trends and how tos in Coworking. I owned and operated Coworking spaces for eight years and then served as the executive director of the Global Workspace Association for five years. And today I work with hundreds of operators and community managers every month, allowing me to bring you a thought provoking operator,"
00:00:26,"case studies and inspirational interviews with industry thought leaders to help you confidently stay on top of what's important and what you can apply to your own role in the Coworking industry. Welcome to the Everything Coworking podcast. This is your host, Jamie Russo. Thank you for joining me. We are going to talk about another marketing topic, customer acquisition. We are in the lots of businesses,"
00:01:02,"the hospitality business, the space business, but really we need to acquire customers in order to deliver on whatever our why is. Whatever our promise is to our members first, we have to attract them. So marketing is an important topic and we've had a couple of topics recently with an awesome interview squeezed in between with John Egan. If you didn't hear my interview with John from Lucid Private Offices,"
00:01:29,"definitely give that a listen. It was the episode right before this one. So this week we're gonna talk about kind of the differences between when you would run Google ads and when you would run Facebook ads. This came up in our operator mastermind call, our academy program. We do a call once a month and we have an operator that was trying to sort of get back into the game around more actively managing customer acquisitions and getting more leads into the top of the funnel."
00:02:01,"And so he wanted to know like, where should I start? Should I start with Google ads or Facebook ads? And I hear this question a lot. If you aren't sort of studying paid ads, it can be hard to sort of understand what, what the landscape looks like. By the way, when I say Facebook, I don't know why everyone does this,"
00:02:21,"but it's really shorthand for the meta platform, which includes Instagram. So I can't remember who I was talking to the other day. Somebody was like, well, they're not talking about Facebook because it's, it's only, you know, people over 40 on Facebook. I was like, okay, fine. They must get their leads from Instagram, but I meant the Facebook platform and we actually run podcast ads."
00:02:43,"Maybe you found us on Instagram or Facebook, and I have one kind of running and I need to update it. But we've done both and we'll do both. Again. Right now we're just running Facebook ads, which I set up taking a course. I have taken a couple of courses on Facebook ads. I would never attempt Google ads on my own."
00:03:04,"That feels like a deep, dark hole of lost money. So Facebook, though, I think you can and maybe should learn to run yourself and understand how the platform works and the strategy behind ads before you outsource them. It could, it's expensive to outsource ads. And so you wanna know what you're doing and how to evaluate the vendor. Anyway, let's go in order."
00:03:30,"So we are going to dive into this topic of Google versus Facebook slash meta slash Instagram. Now, each platform offers some unique advantages, whether you're looking to catch those who are actively searching for a Coworking space or you're looking to build your brand's visibility, take the customer on a longer journey from awareness to solving a problem and actively searching. So we're gonna help you dip your toes into the world of online advertising and hopefully give you some insights in this episode that will help you think about whether you want to run ads and which platform you would like to start on."
00:04:18,"So let's dive in. Okay, let's start with the basics. Okay, so Google Ads operate on the principle of capturing active searchers. So this is really important. These users are, or potential members are aware, they are solution aware, they know what Coworking is and they know enough about it to be typing it into either their browser on their computer or their mobile app."
00:04:50,"So we could go down a rabbit hole about what chat GBT or other ai, what are they called, like LMS interfaces, how that's going to impact search. And that is a topic I wanna cover. What I don't think is gonna go away anytime soon is the way Google operates on a, from a mobile perspective. So it might, we could talk about that,"
00:05:15,"but Google really owns local search. So if you're looking for anything, you're gonna pop open your phone and you're gonna type in the name of a business or you're gonna type in Coworking near me, and that's where Google comes into play. So you want to make sure you're showing up first. Running ads can help with that. Having a really solid Google Business listing will serve you well with the algorithm."
00:05:42,"April is Google Business Month in our Community Manager program. So if you are not fully optimized, it's a great month to sign up because we're talking everything Google Business listing from reviews to optimizing your listing to what do you do if people are using your address and you don't want them to be using your address. So back to Google. Google is for active searchers."
00:06:07,"They already are on the hunt for a Coworking space. So they might type something like Coworking spaces near me, or Best Coworking spaces for startups, or Coworking spaces for attorneys or for therapists, keywords like that. So depending on whether you or not, you have a niche, you'll wanna really learn what the keywords are for, and the professionals can help you do that."
00:06:29,"There are services online that help can help you research keywords too. But again, I do not recommend that you try this at home. You should hire a professional for running Google ads. So Google ads are fantastic for tapping into a high intent audience offering your space as the answer to their search query. So this is like the easy button. And I remember Jeff,"
00:06:54,"if you're listening from Roseville, he was like, I just feel really at ease running Google ads. And he runs them with, he was running them with Reuben, I don't know if he's still running them now at saying like, look, I know they're always on so I can go to sleep knowing that my sales funnel is working and delivering consistent leads."
00:07:14,"So it depends. If you're in a market with a lot of competition, good news, bad news, good news, there's more awareness, bad news, there's more competition. But you might look into running Google ads if you're in a very small market with no competition and no awareness. That is where other types of ads may come in. Okay, so on the flip side,"
00:07:34,"we have Facebook and Instagram ads. So unlike Google, these platforms are not about the active search, but about about sparking interest or awareness. With Facebook and Instagram, you're targeting based on demographics, interests and behaviors. So you're not just waiting for potential members to find you, you're putting your space in front of people who might not even realize they're interested in Coworking."
00:08:00,"So I'm talking to you, if you're in a smaller market where people like there's no industrious, there's no WeWork, there's no Regis, they don't know about this concept. So you are groundbreaking, you are bringing, you are innovating, and you're bringing a new idea to the market. Google ads are not gonna be for you because folks are not typing in Coworking near me."
00:08:22,"They need to have their interest sparked around this solution and what problem it might solve. So it's a powerful way to build awareness and cultivate a brand presence. Okay, so let's talk a little bit more about what sets these two ad types apart. The main difference, again lies in the user intent and the stage of the buyer's journey that they cater to."
00:08:47,"So Google Ads is perfect for capturing those ready to make a decision, which is dreamy, right? They're looking, all you have to do is have the right product and execute. We're gonna talk about the topic of executing soon, execute really well on the customer journey and your sales funnel. But Facebook and Instagram excel at nurturing and creating awareness gradually guiding potential members into your sales funnel."
00:09:18,"So it's a slower, it's a slower process, it's a pipeline and someone might move more slowly through your funnel than if they come from Google and I need an office and I'm ready to go. So the concept of user intent cannot be overstated. This is really like what differentiates the two. So understanding whether your target audience's actively searching for Coworking spaces or could be swayed by your brand's appeal is key to choosing the right platform."
00:09:52,"This is about meeting potential members where they are in their journey. So you wanna really understand your ideal customer, your market awareness in your market, et cetera. So a little gem that's not talked about enough is the Facebook ads library. So I have some like little watch outs for this, but this is a free tool that allows you to peek behind the curtain and see the ads that other Coworking spaces are running."
00:10:25,"I do think I've mentioned this before and maybe only in like one of our Community Manager trainings, it is a great place to go for insights, giving you a glimpse into the competitive landscape. So what are others in your market doing or sparking ideas for your campaigns? What's really, really important here though is that you have no idea by looking at someone's ad and and sort of hacking their funnel,"
00:10:55,"whether it's converting or not. So I see people do this all the time. They walk into a Coworking space, they think it's beautiful and they assume it's also profitable. You cannot tell until you look at someone's p and l. You cannot tell if a Facebook ad is converting. You might think it's a great ad because you understand the industry and you are predisposed to like things that are related to Coworking,"
00:11:19,"but you do not know if it's converting or not. And so by converting, we talked about conversion rates and landing pages in a previous podcast, not the last episode, but a couple before that and go back and listen to that one if you did not listen to it. But you are trying to get a user to take an action, probably book a tour,"
00:11:43,"book a free day pass, get on, subscribe to our newsletter. You're trying to get them to take an action. We're rarely spending money as a small business only to build our brand. So we're not only putting ourselves out there, we're trying to educate and get the user to take some sort of small action. So we cannot tell if these ads are converting,"
00:12:10,"meaning is the user taking the action that's desired when they see this ad? And is that really driving more leads into the top of the funnel and are those leads converting? We don't know. So you have to create your own ads using these as inspiration, but not as a hundred percent truth. Use them as inspiration and experiment with your own text and your own images."
00:12:34,"And this is where ads, Facebook ads, Google ads alike are challenging to those of us with entrepreneurial brains is that you cannot just put them up and walk away and move on to the next thing. You really have to be willing to test the creative test, the text test, test, the call to action. So usually when you set up a Facebook ad,"
00:12:57,"for example, you might set up multiple ad sets and sort of test them against each other like a, a, b, test them a little bit to see if your audience, and you can, but then you even have to test your audience. There's a lot to test here, which is why you really wanna take a class and really break down how to approach ads and how to te test them,"
00:13:18,"and then how to evaluate them, how to look at the metrics and tell what's working and what's not working. And you can outsource this at some point, but there are a lot of not so good ads managers out there who will not get you results and who will not understand your business and you will not know if they're doing a good job or not."
00:13:36,"You will not know if your campaigns are not doing well, if it's something to do with your business, if it's something to do with your offers or if it's just they're not really good at what they do. So you wanna get educated as much as possible around ads. And there are lots of good approachable courses that you can take to run Facebook ads."
00:13:55,"You can even start with watching some free videos on YouTube. I like to take courses because they're very organized and very efficient. So, but there are some really good campaigns. Industrious rate at the time of this recording is running a really stellar, I think, brand building campaign for their brand. It shows up in my feed because they have a location in San Francisco."
00:14:22,"Actually, you know what I show up in on all ads? I get ads for Hub Australia, if you're listening, tell them to exclude the us. I think I'm getting their ads probably because I, you know, my, the keyword Coworking is attached to my profile on all the platforms. So Industrial is doing this fabulous video series with their members and it's very authentic and natural looking,"
00:14:44,"and they talk about why they're members and about their businesses and it just, you know, you get really good vibes and I have not paid enough attention to see what the call to action is. That may be a case of brand building and then you would book a tour, but it's the, the ads are very compelling. Again, I don't know what the return on ad spend is for those campaigns,"
00:15:06,"but you could check those out in the Facebook ads library. So back to the Facebook ads library, Google, Facebook ads library and you will find, and then you have to search in there for co, like you can use the term Coworking office space fi, play around with some keywords and and see what shows up. Okay, so let's talk about a couple of best practices."
00:15:29,"We've covered some already, but again, for Google Ads, it's all about relevance and intent. You wanna use keyword research or have someone do this for you to align your ads with what potential members are searching for. And this is not as simple as it sounds. They might be searching for Coworking, they might be searching for office space, they might be searching for shared office space."
00:15:50,"You wanna figure out what the keywords are that they're using. And then for Facebook, you wanna focus on captivating visuals and stories that are gonna re resonate with your target demographic, like the industrious videos that I mentioned. So personalization and testing are gonna be really critical for both platforms. So again, make sure you're following a really strong process for understanding your ideal customer and the keywords they're using and how to target them on each of the platforms."
00:16:21,"Okay, so a couple of just specific examples of running ads in our industry. Facebook, to be honest, is much less used. I know operators who use it, and I think most operators feel not very well equipped to set up the ads and to evaluate the ads. And outsourcing ads management again, tends to be, you might pay more for the ads management than you're going to pay for the ads themselves."
00:16:55,"If you're running a hyperlocal campaign, your audience is just not going to be that large. So you would target like Las Vegas and then you would, you know, pick some interests or you know, sort of demographics like people who own their own business or people who are attorneys or, you know, you would find de demographics and interests that make sense for your space."
00:17:25,"And then you would put some ad dollars against that. And now Facebook is going to use as much budget as it can to find relevant people that match the profiles that you've set up, that they may not have that much budget, they may not be able to use all of the budget that you'd even like to spend. So, you know, even if you got really great return on your ad spend,"
00:17:50,"you may not be able to scale that spend very high because the number of people who match your criteria in a market may just not be that large, right? It's not like you're targeting women in the US with children. You know, that's a really big market that's, you know, a big advertiser on Facebook or Instagram might use. So paying for ads management,"
00:18:12,"you might pay the manager a larger fee than what your actual ad spend is going to be. So I think that it's a limiting factor. And also just like the lack of return on ad spend case studies that we have in the business, which is challenging. So I do have qualitative examples of ad spend that has been effective. We had a group go through our Coworking,"
00:18:36,"Startup School and the gentleman had a son who has a Facebook ads business and he ran all their ads and he was a magician and they did really well with their sales funnel and I think they were just getting people to book a tour. They were also all over the execution of their sales funnel. So they would contact those folks right away, they would call them,"
00:19:00,"they would email them, they were really following up with their leads very consistently and very persistently. So they got a lot of leads that helped fill their space and they were filling office space. And this was, this was in 2020, so that's a while ago now, and I'm gonna assume that Industrious has a return on their ad spin. I, but I don't know that for a fact."
00:19:24,"And maybe they're brand building and don't get a, they can't, maybe they can't track leads very well for that platform. So I do think that it makes a difference in a smaller market when you're trying to educate that learning how to run Facebook ads and putting some consistent ad spend behind even just having like the same ad kind of run in the background can be worthwhile."
00:19:49,"But we don't have a lot of evidence yet. Google ads, on the other hand, if you're in a market with competition, is almost a requirement because the, some brands will spend many thousands of dollars when they go into a market to fill up a space. If you are opening a 20,000 square foot space and you have, you know, a hundred offices to fill,"
00:20:14,"I did not do the math on that, that may be totally off, but you have a lot of offices to fill. Those offices being empty are a giant opportunity cost for you. So if you are starting to incur costs, hopefully you've negotiated a long term of free rent, but your ad spend return is likely positive even if you need to spend a lot."
00:20:38,"So 22, sorry, a hundred offices that sell for a thousand dollars each, let's just say that's easy math, that's a hundred thousand dollars a month in revenue. Is that right? A hundred offices times a thousand, yes, is a hundred thousand dollars in revenue a month. Now there's no way you can spend that on Google Ads. So even if you spent $10,000 a month to fill those offices,"
00:21:07,"that's recurring revenue. That's recurring monthly revenue and that's the the metric that you care about. And so you want to get to that a hundred thousand dollars as soon as possible so it makes sense all day long to spend, you know, almost as much as you can, as long as there's a return and the lifetime value of that member is higher than what it costs you to run the ads."
00:21:30,"So big brands will spend a lot of money to open in a market. You may not have that kind of ad budget, but you should plan to run some ads and have some ad budget in a market where it makes sense. And somebody like Ruben from Space fully will do a blueprint for you to see, does it make sense in your market? Does he think you can get a really positive return on ad spend for offices or for meeting rooms or for event space?"
00:21:58,"Those are all sort of different campaigns that you would run. You don't run the same ads for all three of those categories. So you wanna have, if you are planning a Coworking space or you've never run ads before and are having trouble getting leads into your pipeline, or think you could scale the number of leads that you're getting, consider looking into Google Ads because again,"
00:22:22,"those are folks with high intent, they're aware, they're actively searching, and you just wanna be a part of that consideration set. And if there's a lot of competition, then it's gonna pay big dividends to be in the top three search results. You know, not seven, not 10, et cetera. So, okay, let's wrap this up. Whether you're leaning towards Google Ads for its direct approach,"
00:22:45,"or Facebook and Instagram for their brand building prowess, the key here is to align your strategy with your Coworking spaces goals and your target audience's needs. I'm not handing out a one size fits all answer, but with the right approach, both platforms can be incredibly powerful tools in your marketing arsenal, and you should not open a space with no marketing budget. Hustle will get you some places,"
00:23:13,"but it will not probably get you the output that you're looking for. Okay? So I'm gonna wrap up for today on Google versus Facebook ads for Coworking Spaces. Hopefully you got some nuggets and at least like kind of a mental map of how the role that Google Ads play in the role that Facebook and Instagram plays to help you think through what might work for you and what you'd like to incorporate into your digital marketing strategies."
00:23:41,"So if you have any stories, if you have some Facebook or Instagram ad success stories, I would love to hear them. So reach out, DM us on Instagram or send me a direct email. I would love to hear your experiences and share them and help others learn as well. Okay, that is it. We'll see you same time, same place next week."
00:24:02,"Thank you for listening to today's episode. If you like what you heard, tell a friend, hit that subscribe button and leave us a rating and review. It makes a huge difference in helping others like you find us. If you'd like to learn more about our education and coaching programs, head over to Everything Coworking dot com. We'll see you next week."
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