In this modern world, everyone has stuff! Whether it’s family heirlooms or precious memories, sometimes there’s too much to keep at home. That’s where you come in, an efficient self-storage solution is a perfect way to help people manage their extra stuff.
As a self-storage facility business owner, you want to help people keep their lives organized – not constantly worry about marketing!
Self-storage marketing isn’t always easy, even with so many methods to choose from. If you want to reach more leads but you’re at a loss, try some of these self-storage digital marketing ideas.
1. Website Design
Your website is the heart of any self-storage marketing strategy. Regardless of where your leads come from, they’ll ultimately land on your website. To convert those leads into customers, your website design must have several key qualities:
- An attractive and responsive design
- Mobile optimization
- All the vital information about your business (location, hours, services, contact, etc.)
Whether you already have a website or need to start from scratch, it’s a good idea to consult professionals like the ones at Townsquare Interactive. We specialize in building top-notch websites for small businesses.
With our help, your website is optimized for both Google and your customers. Your customers will love the modern, functional designs and the easy navigation. They’ll be guided through the sale process with compelling and effective calls to action.
On the backend, we’ll create optimized title tags and metadata to please the Google algorithm, always using Google’s best practices.
2. Local SEO
Self-storage search engine optimization (self-storage SEO) is still king in the self-storage digital marketing space, which is why self-storage SEO is so popular. Self-storage search engine optimization is what moves your self-storage business to the top of page 1 on Google and keeps it there. If your campaign is robust enough, self-storage SEO alone can generate the majority of your self-storage leads (but we still recommend reading the rest of these self-storage marketing ideas)!
A good first step is setting up your Google My Practice account. From there, you can advance to backlinking and content marketing.
It’s always a good idea to work with a self-storage marketing agency and let an expert in self-storage SEO get you up and running.
Fill out the form below to get a free quote on self-storage SEO!
3. Direct Mail
While the world is always moving toward digital, direct mailers still have their place. If you can get the attention of leads in your area with a quick flyer in their mailbox, it’s easy business.
Some tips to stand out and convert with direct mail:
- Write a concise and compelling headline.
- Use a readable, friendly font. Try experimenting with different styles using a font generator to find the perfect one for your message.
- Use warm and complementary colors.
- Offer a discount code or coupon.
- Add an expiry date to create a sense of urgency.
- Add a dynamic QR code that brings people to your website or a landing page with more detailed information.
4. Paid Ads
Sometimes, the best self-storage digital marketing ideas are the tried-and-true classics. For instance, some good old-fashioned paid advertising. You can always get creative with your storage facility marketing efforts, but paid ads are a good place to start.
The great thing about search engine marketing and pay-per-click ads is that you only pay for the clicks you get. This helps you stay within your budget and increase your ROI at the same time.
In addition to appearing at the top of a Google search, you can choose to place ads on social media or other websites and apps. It’s one of the best self-storage marketing ideas because it puts your business on the radar of your perfect customer.
5. Social Media
Social media has become a constant in the daily lives of many. Its prevalence makes it one of the best self-storage marketing ideas. Facebook and Instagram are the top social platforms, with Twitter coming close, as well.
Facebook and Instagram both have affordable advertising options, which are effective when you employ the right strategy.
The key here is to target the right leads. Storage facility marketing requires a location-based approach, meaning you should target people by their location.
Social media is a vast and broad landscape, so it’s normal to feel overwhelmed. If you’re not up for managing and executing an entire social media campaign, Townsquare Interactive offers help every step of the way.
Like your self-storage website design, your social pages must be effective and professional. We’ll complete the pages and optimize them for you. We’ll even maintain them, so you don’t have to worry about a thing.
With twice weekly posts and consistent engagement, you’ll have happy customers and solid lead conversions. Engagement and consistency on social media are also good for self-storage SEO as this increases rankings.
6. Content Marketing
Content marketing is a unique marketing strategy that uses content shared over time to attract customers. A content marketing strategy is a bit of a long game, but it’s been proven effective many times over.
In fact, a solid 72% of marketers report that content marketing improves engagement. Beyond that, small businesses with a blog generate over 100% more lead growth than those with no blog!
A blog on your website is one of the most common methods. When done correctly, your blog attracts people who are searching for the things you’re writing about. So, you’ll want to keep your blog relevant to self-storage.
Some topic ideas include:
- How to keep your self-storage unit organized
- Most common uses for self-storage
- What to look for in a self-storage company
- Different types of self-storage containers
These articles should mostly contain helpful information and answer potential questions leads might have. But – they’re also an opportunity to insert your company as a good solution.
While a blog with a regular posting schedule is a great content marketing strategy, it’s not the only way. If writing isn’t your thing, almost any medium is appropriate for content marketing:
- YouTube videos
- Tutorials
- Podcasts
- E-books
- Whitepapers
- Case studies
- And more
You can use anything that attracts leads to your business and provides information when they get there.
7. Email Marketing
An email marketing campaign is an effective self-storage digital marketing idea, as long as you do it properly! The issue with so many email marketing campaigns is that it’s easy to be annoying and/or uninspiring.
Many people receive more than 100 emails per day, with a large percentage being spam. Some even come from a list they don’t remember signing up for! Many get deleted with a sigh of annoyance.
For people to even open your email, you must stand out and be interesting. If you can get people to read your emails, your chances of converting leads go up.
Some tips for effective email marketing:
- Make it personal and address people by name.
- Sign the email off from a person instead of the whole company.
- Write compelling subject lines.
- Offer sales, discounts, coupons, and other deals exclusively through email.
- Put an expiry date on offers to create a sense of urgency.
- Ask questions in your email, this usually improves response rates.
- Space the campaign out. You want to send more than one email but sending multiple messages in one day looks desperate and drives people away.
8. Ad Re-targeting
This is among the most powerful storage facility marketing strategies because it involves reaching customers who are already interested.
Ad re-targeting for storage facility marketing is a simple concept – put ads in front of people who have taken action to look for you.
The best example is targeting those who have recently searched for a storage facility. You won’t be annoying them since they already need you! If you have great reviews and offer exactly what they need, the retarget ad might actually be a relief.
9. Self-Storage SEO Strategies
Search engine optimization is a broad concept that applies to most of the self-storage digital marketing ideas you try.
Managing a good self-storage SEO strategy requires attention to detail on many fronts. Your self-storage website design plays a huge role, especially if you’re running a blog.
Other aspects of SEO include social media presence and content marketing strategies. Whether it’s a blog post, a YouTube video, or a landing page, you must optimize everything.
This includes on-page strategies like keywords and engagement but also back-end things like meta descriptions, linking, and alt-text.
Self-storage SEO is one of the most effective self-storage marketing ideas, but a robust strategy is tough to manage. This is another instance where it’s often helpful to hire professionals to assist you in your storage facility marketing.
10. Stand-Out with a Unique Selling Point
Standing out from the crowd is half the storage facility marketing battle. What’s the most unique thing about your business? What feature sets you apart from everyone else in the area?
For a self-storage facility, this could be any number of things:
- Do you have temperature-controlled units for sensitive items?
- Do you offer onsite security for extra peace of mind?
- Do you have a large variety of size options?
- Are you closer to the city than everyone else?
If you offer something unique to the rest, it makes you very competitive. If none of these apply, there are plenty of other, more generic things you could highlight:
- A cool origin story (has the business been in the family for multiple generations?
- Competitive pricing
- A free month of service when you sign up
- Your extensive personal experience
Identify what it is about your company that makes you different and/or better than the others. Then, advertise it across all mediums.
11. Co-Market with A Complementary Business
Co-marketing is when you team up with someone else and share advertising opportunities. You don’t want to partner with your direct competition of course, but someone relevant.
For example, your storage facility marketing may benefit from an extra offer, like a discount on storage containers or accessories.
In return, the partner company would offer a discount or deal on your service when a customer buys from them. Not only does this double discount incentivize leads to purchase, but it increases exposure for both of you.
12. Referral Incentives
Word-of-mouth is the original self-storage marketing, and you still can’t go wrong! Additional to searching the internet, customers love getting recommendations from friends and family they trust.
Offer your existing customers a bonus or discount if someone signs up and cites them as a referral. If they get something out of it, your customers will be even more encouraged to spread the word about your self-storage services.
13. Use Google Local Service Ads
Google has a cool service that lets you target ads locally. Once created, your ad appears at the top of the search results page for your chosen keyword(s). This means that if someone in your location searches “self-storages units near me,” your ad will appear in their search result.
These ads have about a 13.8% clickthrough rate. If your ad shows up in 50 searches, then approximately seven people will click and hopefully convert.
This is one example of a time when your self-storage website design is crucial. If you manage to get a clickthrough on the ad but your website is an unprofessional mess, they’ll immediately click away!
14. Reputation Management
Along with managing your self-storage website design and creating a broad self-storage digital marketing strategy, you can also manage your own reputation.
Start offline by asking customers to spread the word and recommend you to friends and family. It’s also smart to keep lots of business cards on hand and pass them around generously.
There are things you can do online, too. Google reviews are highly valued by customers and they’ll want to see how you stack up. The best thing you can do is monitor your reviews and respond quickly to both positive and negative reviews.
If you’re unsure how to answer a review, part of Townsquare’s comprehensive reputation monitoring service helps you craft the perfect response. We’ll also send you notifications for every review you get to help you stay on top of them.
Lastly, list your business in other local online directories and review sites. This increases visibility and boosts your reputation even more.
Word of mouth is proven and powerful, so don’t let your reputation slip away. It’s one of the less complex self-storage marketing ideas but it’s beyond effective.
Use a Professional Self-Storage Digital Marketing Partner
There is a good variety of self-storage marketing ideas here, some more complicated than others. Many require self-storage SEO knowledge and expertise in a broad range of storage facility marketing techniques.
Some of these things you can easily manage on your own, such as referral incentives. As a business owner, though, you shouldn’t have to constantly worry about the ins and outs of self-storage digital marketing.
Townsquare Interactive is a comprehensive and qualified professional digital marketing service that lets you be hands-off while still seeing results.
We begin with top-notch self-storage website design. Then, we help you create premium content, manage your advertising campaigns, and grow with you every step of the way.
Get in touch with us today and see how we can help you land more customers and absolutely crush your business goals.