In October we ran the second webinar in our “Where to be and not to be” series. Part one, in June, looked at location strategy and where flex demand is heading. This session covers what comes next: making sure occupiers and AI tools can find and trust you once you’re there. That means PR, Google Business Profiles and reviews.
Zoe Ellis-Moore, our CEO and Founder, was joined by Jess Morgan of Carnsight Communications. We’ve worked with Carnsight on PR for five years. The full session is 30 minutes and you can watch it below. Here’s what it covers.
PR doesn’t need a big budget
Jess explained that PR means getting your business noticed by the right people at the right time, whether that’s local, sector or national media. It doesn’t have to mean monthly fees or big campaigns. A single news release about a launch can be enough.
It matters more for AI search too. Jess shared a study that found 84% of AI citations came from earned media, meaning coverage in publications rather than content on your own website.
How to spot a story
Jess’s test is simple: is it new, interesting or surprising? Some of the strongest stories are ones operators overlook, such as:
- several junior hires that grow the team by a clear margin
- a major refurbishment or new amenities
- a charity partnership or fundraise
- strong business results, framed in the right way
In the session she walks through two client examples. One is a new site launch for Dock that won nine pieces of local and sector coverage. The other is MetSpace, whose three new hires earned six pieces of coverage, several with links back to its website.
Watch out for pay-to-play offers
“You’ve won an award” when you didn’t enter one. A feature in a national newspaper that turns out to be a paid classified ad. A magazine cover story offered in return for introductions to your clients. All three have happened to our clients recently. If it sounds too good to be true, ask plenty of questions before you agree to anything.
Get your Google Business Profile right
Your Google Business Profile is something you control, and AI tools draw on its data when they recommend businesses. In the webinar Zoe covers:
- which primary category to pick for flexspace, and why you should use the same one across your whole portfolio
- why your name, address and phone number must match exactly on your website, profile, schema markup and listings
- the five mistakes we see most often: duplicate profiles, unverified listings, categories that are too broad, inconsistent building names, and no photos or posts
Her example shows one building with three different profiles, with the reviews spread across all of them. It makes clear how quickly confusion can cost you an enquiry.
Then build your reviews
Once your profile is in order, the next step is a steady flow of good-quality reviews. When we analysed London operators’ Google reviews two years ago, the average was around 20 reviews per location. Zoe’s advice is to start with the profile, move on to reviews and keep going. The results build over time.
Watch the full webinar
The video includes the polls, the press release examples and Zoe’s step-by-step look at what a strong profile needs. None of this happens overnight, and this session shows you where to start.
Part three is coming in January (register now to put a reminder in your diary) and will cover marketing strategy and planning. If you’d like help with PR, your Google Business Profiles or a verified listing on Office Tier List, get in touch with the team.
