Online marketing is an ever-changing and constantly growing idea.
Only a decade ago, marketing for self storage meant making sure your name appeared in local print listings, or that your facility was listed on SpareFoot, maybe even a billboard if you were feeling ambitious. That’s all changed.
Self storage marketing has taken a massive turn, even in just the last few years, and has migrated almost entirely to the internet. For a lot of people, this is a really scary change.
Just because your facility has a few miles on it doesn’t mean you aren’t offering your tenants a great product and excellent service! There are a handful of things you can do to make sure that you aren’t lapped by the competition, so let’s talk about them!
Your Google Business Profile is something that we write about pretty often, and that’s because it is vital to compete in the crowded self storage marketing arena!
This is absolutely crucial not only because people will directly check your Google Business Profile, but also because this will help Google to direct shoppers to your website, and a clean, maintained Google Business Profile can put you higher in Google’s search rankings.
What should you update or review on your Google Business Profile?
One thing to keep in mind when creating, updating, or maintaining your Google Business Profile is consistency in your information.
Google doesn’t like it when your hours of operation aren’t the same on your website as they are on your GBP, and you may even be seen by Google as unreliable. Having consistency is key when you want to appear higher on Google rankings!
Ask For and Respond to Reviews
Your credibility is everything! Now more than ever, in the age of online shopping, your reviews matter greatly. Great reviews may be the reason an online shopper chooses Google’s third search result over the first. People trust other people, so it’s important to know what they’re saying about you.
Do you have enough reviews to seem credible?
Think about it, when you’re shopping online, do you tend to choose the product with no reviews, or the one with a few hundred and a good amount of stars? You’re almost always going to choose the more reviewed product because other people have assured you that it’s trustworthy.
When you look at your Google Business Profile, do you see a lot of reviews? Do you see good reviews?
When you see a self storage facility that has a lot of great reviews, the odds are they didn’t get there by accident. What a lot of these operators realized is a pretty simple truth: just ask! For your tenants who’ve had a long, friendly relationship with your facility, a simple text or email request for a review is a great way to get their enthusiasm for your facility translated into real search engine potential!
Search Engine Journal has found that in other need-based markets, the majority of review requests are done online, and oftentimes, these are the most returned reviews. The logic is simple: it’s easier to click a quick link than to seek something out.
Once you’ve built up a nice collection of reviews (over 100 is recommended), you may begin to notice not every single review is a glowing one. That’s okay! Having a couple of bad reviews can be a great way to show that your facility is not just buying reviews, but that you earned all of the stars you have. What matters most about these negative reviews is how you respond to them.
On average, it’s expected for a facility to respond to a negative review within a week of it being posted. Bad reviews are never ideal, but each of them comes with an amazing opportunity to show your customer service and how you respond to criticism. This is absolutely invaluable to a potential customer finding the best self storage near them.
Reviews are essential to a local business, so don’t be afraid to ask for them, and always respond as quickly as you can!
Update Your Photos
Whatever channels you’re using to showcase your facility, having up-to-date and clear images is absolutely essential. The average online shopper knows how to sniff out out-of-date content almost immediately because the average online shopper has seen a lot of it!
The average shopper expects to have their questions answered without having to ask them, and a picture is worth a thousand words, so not using clear, clean photos is a missed opportunity to give your future tenants the answers they need to choose you!
Here are a few informative marketing photo ideas:
- Photos that show scale
A lot of people clicking on your website, or your Google Business Profile, have never actually rented a self storage unit before. For a lot of them, space is hard to visualize, and a 10x10 room may sound good, but not really fit their needs. Be sure to include photos of your self storage units with a reference point inside them. We’ve seen facilities post photos of golf carts, chairs, and even people inside their units, and it’s all helpful!
Having a small reference point enables an online shopper to feel a sense of certainty that they’re renting the perfect self storage unit for their needs.
- Sitemaps or Aerials Views
Is a sitemap or aerial view of your facility essential? No. Does it help future tenants have more confidence going into their rental process? Absolutely!
A simple sitemap graphic can give customers a better sense of what they’re buying into, and it helps them visualize where their self storage unit is, taking the rental process away from theory and into reality.
For those who don’t have the time or resources to create a sitemap, a simple aerial shot of your self storage facility can go a long way! A simple aerial view gives a customer a wealth of information at just a simple glance. You don’t even need to hire a drone operator, google maps has done the work for you!
- Security and Amenities
Customers want to see more than just the self storage units that you offer, because, well, your competition offers those too.
Does your facility have boat and RV parking? Does it have climate control or maybe a car wash even? Customers want to know! This is your opportunity to not only inform but show your amenities to future tenants.
This goes double for security! Are you a completely gated facility? Show us! Your customers want to know that you have security cameras and that your facility is bright and well-lit. They want to know you’re not only the best option but the safest too.
Boiled down, remember that posting photos of your facility gain client trust and gives you credibility.
Before posting your facility’s photos make sure that they:
Update Your Website
An efficient website is a strong self storage marketing weapon. Today, almost all self storage unit rentals are done completely online, so a website that works is the most crucial way to have effective marketing online.
Aside from the aesthetic value of your website, it’s critically important to make sure that all of the information, like hours of operation or addresses, is completely uniform and correct. This will help you show up more often in Google search results because Google views you as a credible source when all your contact information is uniform.
Now that you have it all looking good and filled with accurate information, does your website function? Can a future tenant rent a self storage unit completely online? Is there an interactive size guide to help them find the best unit for them? Features like these are your website are not only helpful but expected in the modern age.
If you’re currently operating without a website, there’s still time to catch up, but building a functional, clean website should be your top priority! (Hey, we build websites!)
My self storage website should:
There is so much you can do to improve your online self storage marketing!
For larger operators, maybe it’s worth hiring your own marketing team, or spending thousands on a freelancer to do all of this for you, but it’s absolutely not necessary! A simple, clean website and an accurate, updated Google Business Profile can do for you what thousands for an ad in the paper could.
When it comes to self storage online marketing, cleverness is rewarded more than a big budget. Google gives strong footing to the mom-and-pop storefront, and always attempts to draw attention to local storefronts as well as big named competitors. This works to your advantage! You just need to be sure that Google can find you, and when they do that your website is up-to-date and functional. It’s really that simple!
How are some more of our favorite posts for marketing your self storage business!
At StoragePug, we build self storage websites that make it easy for new customers to find you and easy for them to rent from you.
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