Running a successful marketplace platform is no easy task. We tend to only hear about the successful ones such as Airbnb or Lyft but how many are out there that fail? Don’t let your marketplace become a thing of the past. Check out these 3 easy tips to increase traffic to your marketplace platform.

Social Media

Not only using your business accounts but also on profiles from your employees. I am not saying to require each employee to spam their networks but leveraging certain teams to post on their behalf. Everyone has different interests and hobbies so find out which audience your content will be best suited for. For example if you are a marketplace that sells used camera equipment and you have a photographer in your company, they are more likely to get some traffic than having your accountant post it on their network.

For us at Near Me, we post articles on a daily basis across all our social media channels, including our marketing team. With multiple professional networks it give us a bigger outlet for our content to be seen and heard, leading to more traffic coming across our marketplace.

Discussion boards & groups

Are you on Quora or any groups on Facebook or Linkedin? These are great places to find experts in your industry. If you are not familiar with Quora, they are simply a website to read and answer questions. Sounds like a simple concept right? Plenty of experts are active on there but is also great that it is open to anyone. A great place to ask a question regarding your marketplace and get answers from experts or even your everyday user.

If you use Facebook groups or Linkedin groups, then you know how valuable those can be. I am apart of some groups on Facebook that have new posts every hour or some that are only 2-3 a day. Find the right groups to answer questions and lead them to your marketplace. DO NOT just start pasting your URL in the group and tell people to join or check it out. Be apart of the community and gain the trust from others. Answer questions and contribute to discussions. The more you interact with others, the more reputable you will become in the groups.

Cross promotion

Are you working with any clients or influencers? These are great people to use to help promote your marketplace and vice versa. Work on doing mini campaigns together to get your company name across and increasing your reach. Don’t feel limited to your network only as your marketing efforts will go beyond just yours.

As you establish more relationships with your community, they will be more than happy to share your marketplace. Don’t go spamming everyone asking them to check out your marketplace as that may skew your clicks and views but not add any real value. Targeting the right audience is what marketing is all about. Don’t become that marketplace that sends out automated DM’s and automated response. Keep the “human” element of social media within your marketplace.

These 3 simple tips can become very time consuming and will demand an extra effort out of your daily lives. I can tell you from experience, results will not happen right away. It takes time to build that trust for your marketplace but your hard work will soon be seen. Keep at it and make it a great year for your marketplace platform!

If you have any questions or need additional information, comment below or shoot us a tweet @NearMeCo and we’ll be sure you help!