7 Instagram Story Ideas for Coworking Spaces

Can disappearing content truly be helpful to market your coworking space on Instagram?

Yes! Despite disappearing after 24 hours, Instagram Stories are a powerful way for brands to connect with their existing and new audience in an authentic way.

Your main Instagram feed is a curated experience for your audience. You post aesthetically pleasing photos of your workspace to make sure potential members see your space in the best light. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Using Instagram Stories is an opportunity to let your guard down and take your audience behind the scenes. Let them get to know you a little. It helps new members get a better idea of your coworking space, should they choose to sign up with you.

According to TechJury, 70% of Instagram users watch Stories daily. Additionally, 25% of Gen Z and Millennials use stories to find products and services.

For coworking spaces looking to attract new members—these numbers alone should help you realize that Stories matter.

 

7 Ways Coworking Spaces Can Use Instagram Stories

To truly succeed at Instagram marketing in 2021—brands must get creative and publish different kinds of content. For small businesses, Instagram Stories are a fantastic, relatively easy way to branch out from the feed. You can do well with Stories even if you don’t have stunning visuals or professionally created social media videos.

If you’re unsure of how to make the most of Instagram Stories for your coworking space—we’re here to help. Here are seven ideas to help you showcase different aspects of your space and give potential new members a sneak peek that goes beyond the feed.

 

1. Show off Your Amenities

What makes your coworking space so awesome? Go beyond the professionally curated photos and show off the space in real-time, on Stories. Every detail matters.

This can be especially useful for new members who are considering using your space. Give them a glimpse of the various amenities your space offers. Some ideas to consider:

• What does the actual workspace (i.e. desks and chairs) look like?
• Do you have any ergonomic amenities such as chairs or stand-up desks?
• Is there a kitchen to use?
• Do you offer free coffee and/or snacks?
• Are there meeting or conference rooms to use?
• Is there a phone booth or special room to take calls?
• Are there any relaxation areas?
• Do you have a cool workspace app that enables members unlock the doors with a smartphone and book rooms/desks on the go?

You could take photos of different areas and add them to your Stories. Better yet, play tour guide and walk through the space while filming. Videos are the next best thing to actually being in your space. It helps give potential coworking members a feel for your space and its amenities.

@deskpass does a great job of showing off their amenities at their various spaces at different locations in their Instagram Stories. They also have these saved to dedicated highlights for each location—making it easily accessible for new members to review in the future as well.

 

2. Introduce the Un-Coworkers

Coworking spaces are a great opportunity for your members to meet other like-minded people. Use your Instagram Stories to highlight your community members.

Featuring real people on Instagram is an excellent marketing tactic. Your audience loves to see them. It works much better than any ad you could run!

Give new members a glimpse into the kind of un-coworkers they can expect to meet and cowork with, should they choose to join your space.

You could make this a weekly feature on your Instagram. Choose a new member each month. Interview them about who they are, what they do, and why they choose to work from your space.

Make it more authentic by adopting the Instagram Takeover approach for these features. In a takeover, you let one of your members run your account and publish regular Stories. Typically, takeovers last a day. Your members can post about their experiences of working from your space for that day.

If you’re not comfortable letting a member run your account, that’s okay too. Simply ask them to record snippets of their day and share them with you. You can then post them to your Stories on their behalf—while still maintaining the authenticity of a Takeover.

Featuring real people on Instagram is an excellent marketing tactic. Your audience loves to see them. It works much better than any ad you could run!

@hubudbali does a great job of featuring its members via its Stories. They ask them about how they ended up at Hubud and why they like working in the space.

 

3. Showcase Event Nights

Do you host events at your coworking space? Feature them in your Stories and show potential members another great reason why they should join your space.

• Start promoting your events and speakers in the lead-up to your event.
• Highlight the topic as well as the speaker.
• On the day/night of the event, post regular snippets from the goings-on at the event.
• If possible, get the speaker to do a pre-event intro or post-event summary.
• Pan around the room to showcase event attendance as well.

Coworking space events are a great way to further engage your members. The opportunity to learn from other members or expert speakers is a valuable coworking perk. By showcasing the types of events at your space in Stories, new members watching can get an idea of what they can expect from their membership.

@lavacacoworking features a bunch of different events in their Stories. From art to fitness to knowledge sharing—members can get a glimpse into the variety of events on offer at the space.

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4. Highlight Location Attractions

Trying to sell your coworking space isn’t just about selling what’s in your space. It’s also about what’s around it i.e your neighborhood.

Use your Instagram stories to highlight the key amenities and attractions of your location. A well-located, easy-to-access neighborhood can play a huge role in helping new members decide whether or not they should sign up.

Not sure what to highlight about your location? Consider featuring information about:

• Public transport options
• Parking availability
• Great cafe options
• Nice restaurants for lunch or maybe some late night choices too
• Interesting activities to do
• Fun facts about the area
• Parks and other outdoor spaces nearby

Think about what makes your location great. What would be attractive and interesting for a potential member? Use your “locals” insight to create a fun tour of your neighborhood.

You could put together a Stories guide with this information and save it as a Highlight. This way all your hard work doesn’t disappear after 24 hours and can be used as a valuable reference over and over.

@outsiteco is a network of coliving and coworking spaces. They use their Instagram Stories to highlight the features of each space but also the unique attractions of the places they are located in. Their Story highlights include beach, alpine, and city to showcase the various attractions and amenities, in and around each of these locations.

 

5. Provide Networking Opportunities

Many solopreneurs or freelancers sign up for coworking spaces because they work alone. Coworking spaces are an opportunity for them to grow their professional networks. It can also be a useful resource for them to find new clients, work opportunities, or collaborate on projects.

Often, coworking members have no idea what other members do or what talents they might have. You can use your Instagram Stories as a space to help your members build their network. Similar to featuring members on your Stories, you could also feature members looking to network, collaborate or find talent for a particular project.

For example, one of your members may need a developer to build their website. You could feature this on your Stories saying something like

“Member X is looking for a developer to build their website. Preference is given to XYZ coworking members. Anyone interested?”

This simple action in your Stories is a great way to drive and build the community spirit of your coworking space. New members watching your Stories view you as a space that is all about supporting their members in any way possible.

@thecommons are coworking spaces for creative professionals. It features its various members and what they do in their Stories. They also add these features to dedicated highlights, sorted by the type of service they offer e.g. graphic design.

 

6. Engage Your Audience

Not all your content needs to be information-heavy. Have fun with your Stories as well. From polls to asking questions—use the various interactive features on Stories to engage with your audience—existing and new.

• Invite feedback about your space, or events.
• Ask relevant questions.
• Host fun Q&As.
• Run polls about your space, events, or members.
• Making changes to the space? Ask your members for their opinion.
• Run fun virtual trivia challenges.

It’s all about humanizing your Instagram and moving away from the slick, polished world of social media. When new members watch your Stories, they view you as a fun, open, and community-minded space.

Want a pro tip? To get more engagement on your polls and contests, find local influencers to promote them. Being natural people pleasers, influencers have a pulse on the audience. They can give a raw, unfiltered look and feel to your Story content that can be a magnet for new members.

@wework does a fun ‘This or That’ on their Instagram Stories. It’s simple but it easily engages and invites members to share their thoughts on their favorite workplace vibes.

 

7. Create an FAQ Highlight

Every business has certain questions they get asked over and over i.e. your Frequently Asked Questions.

Similar to highlighting your neighborhood attractions, you could use your Instagram Stories to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about the space. Think about potential members. What would they most like to know? If you’re unsure, speak to your reception or admin staff to get further insights.

Here are some FAQs to consider answering:

• How can they get there?
• What is the cost of using the space?
• What amenities and perks are available to members?
• Do you host any events?
• Do you offer any networking opportunities?
• What hours is the workspace open?
• Where can members park?
• Is it a secure space?
• Do you offer lockers or other storage?
• Is it possible to rent a permanent desk/office?

Making this basic information easily available to new members is helpful and also prevents your staff from having to repeatedly answer the same questions.

These FAQs can become a timeless resource. Save it as a highlight on your account. You can periodically refer to it when creating Stories in the future. Direct potential members to the highlight so they can easily find all the information they need about your space.

 

Don’t overthink it. Just do it.

Creating Instagram Stories for your coworking space doesn’t have to be complicated.

Don’t waste time thinking and overplanning your Stories. The best way to learn and get comfortable with Stories is by doing. Make use of some of our ideas above and just jump in and get started.

The beauty of Stories is that they only last for 24 hours. So if you don’t like something you shared… it’ll be gone in a day and leave you room to try something new.

Read more about Instagram marketing here: Instagram Marketing: 5 Ways to Promote Your Coworking Space + Beautiful Examples.

The article was written by Kyra Goodman, the Social Media star for Sked Social. When she's not creating scroll-stopping content for her audiences, you can find her doing yoga, traveling, drinking coffee and cheering at baseball games. Follow her and Sked @getskedsocial.