How to market your self storage facility

Your self storage facility is in competition with 2,231 other recorded sites in the UK.

30% of these self storage facilities are owned by large operators, meaning they have a huge amount of money behind them.

How do you even begin to leverage yourself against them?

Despite the large competition, you can take an active approach to boost your visibility online. It all comes down to how you market yourself.

In this article, you'll learn a full overview of what you need to do to market your self storage facility online. You'll learn what to take into consideration before you begin, what are some of the basics you need to address, and finally, the extras you can do as a self storage business.

Don't fear your competitors; use them as the bar and raise yourself above them.

Read on to learn what you need to do!

●      Know your audience

●      Use Google ads

●      Maps optimisation

●      Website SEO

●      Facebook ads

●      Email marketing

●      Final thoughts

●      FAQs

Knowing your audience is crucial. It teaches you what your ideal customer cares about.

What do they desire? What makes them tick? How can my business appeal to them? 

When a customer feels like you've gotten into their mind and know exactly what it is that they want - then well done, you are on the right path.  

Grab yourself a pen and paper and write the answers to these key questions...

1. What type of storage do I offer and who needs that type of storage?
2. What exact reasons do people need the storage?
3. How far are my customers willing to travel for storage?
4. What's the typical age bracket of my customers (this will teach you what channels to use for marketing, more on that later)?

These questions are the basics and allow you to start with a skeleton customer profile, and each region will be different depending on your local market '3 where you are the experts.

It will guide you through your marketing so you know what message you need to convey.

Bonus tip: Have each customer fill out a survey when completing a transaction '3 perhaps even incentivise it. Include questions that you can use for your marketing messages later on. 

89% of buyers start with a search engine.

And Google ads display at the top of the page on their platform.

This type of Google ad is called Google search ad or often referred to as PPC (Pay per click).

It is a very good idea to use Google ads to begin marketing for your self storage facility.

It allows your business to get maximum visibility directly to your target audience. You can also toggle your ads on and off depending on how much capacity you have available.

You can test it now! Just type in 'self storage', and you'll see at the top a search result with 'Ad' written next to it.

That's where you want to be.

Here are a few tips to get you going...

1. Google ads allow you to target specific geographic areas. Ensure that where you select is within the range people are willing to travel to your self storage facility.
2. Google ads give a quality score from 1-10. You want to get as high a score as possible for a better rank and increase conversion. Ensure your ad is super clear and helpful to the searcher.
3. Include long tail keywords. Don't just use generic ones such as 'self storage', there will be more competition to buy these and ad costs can spiral. Try including your nearest town or city within it. For example, 'self storage Basildon'.    

People rarely use the yellow pages these days. It's all about Google Maps to find out about local businesses.

When someone searches 'self storage near me', Google knows someone's location and will prioritise showing them results in its map feature.

You want to get your self storage facility showing in that little box. 

1. Firstly you need to set up a free Business Profile on Google.
2. Ensure that you fill out your profile fully so that everything people would need to know is there. This includes images, videos, opening and closing times, etc.
3. Ask customers to leave reviews on Google and respond to these reviews.
4. Regularly post content to you Google Business profile '3 Mr Google likes this!

Reviews are paramount when it comes to marketing for self storage and you might even consider incentivising them.

They not only help in local search results but are part of the decision-making process for potential customers.

Once you've set up your Google Business Profile, your reviews will help Google determine whether to include you or not in the search results. They will look at the number of reviews, your response to these, and what people are saying about your facility. You can also use other review platforms such as Trustpilot.

When someone leaves you one, always respond back. It doesn't matter if the review is positive or negative, make sure you reply.

People who are searching for your company will look at your responses, and if anyone has a negative thing to say, it allows you the opportunity to have your say.

Note it's not a place for you to call out the reviewer but as a way to rectify problems in a courteous manner.

Bonus tip: One method to increase reviews is to have a tablet ready for when customers come to the self storage facility. Ask them there and then if they wouldn't mind leaving a quick review and explain why. 99% of the time, they will. 

SEO is all about how your rank on search engines. And let's be honest, that's mostly Google.

It literally stands for Search Engine Optimisation. It's all about ensuring your website is set so that Google can see who you are, what you're about, and what you offer.

It wants to deliver your content to the right people.

The better your website is optimised, the higher you'll appear on the search results. The higher you are, the more likely someone will click on your website. 

1. Focus on speed and make sure your website isn't slow. 1 in 4 people will click off a site if it takes longer than 4 seconds to load. Make sure your hosting provider offers good speed and ensure images aren't too big.
2. Produce high-quality content across your website and on your blog. You want to make sure you answer everything that a reader may want to know when they land on your page. Make sure it's useful.
3. Earn backlinks to your site. This can be tricky and might be worth getting help with. It's essentially how many people link to your website. Creating useful content can be one strategy. Something that outdoes your competitors or does something new that is extremely useful. 

35-44 years olds use Facebook the most - if this is within your target demographic (as discussed earlier), then you want to make sure you are all over Facebook.

Facebook ads are an effective way to do this. Due to the large amount of data the platform has, you can get really specific.

For example, you can target by gender, relationship status, region, education, job title, and more!

Target people you know who are more likely to use self storage.

1. People who are renovating are 3 x more likely to use self storage. You can target by interest on Facebook to this audience specifically.
2. Homeowners are more likely to use self storage than renters.
3. People who have recently moved house are also more likely to use self storage. 

99% of consumers check their emails every day.

If you can get your email into their inbox, then you have a direct line to a potential customer.

It can be used throughout the journey of a consumer as a way to nudge them to the next stage.

Perhaps they've gotten a quote for storage but have not made a purchase. Send them a gentle reminder through email.

Have you got a special promotion running? Send an email advertising this!

Would you like some reviews? Ask successful customers if they would leave you one.

You can even set up a newsletter that you send on a recurring basis. You might not need to send one every week, but you could think about one every month or quarter throughout the year.

It's a great way to promote yourself and keep you top of customers' minds.

Bonus tip: Don't spam. Sending too many emails will have a negative effect. You've probably experienced it yourself, and you do not want to fall into that category. Focus on email when you have something worth sharing.

It has literally been cited time and again by established self storage operators and suppliers, but listing your self storage facility on Explorage.com is a 'no brainer'.

It is free to list your space, and you only pay us a commission equivalent to two week's rent when a customer successfully moves in. That means for the average customer Explorage.com gives you a cheaper cost per acquisition than your average Google paid ads campaign '3 completely risk free !

You are in full control of your account on Explorage.com and can turn it off and on whenever you like depending on your occupancy levels.

Visit https://explorage.com/list-a-facility for more information, or speak to our dedicated in-house Network Manager Jaqui Jeffries at jaquijeffries@explorage.com or 07939 014724.

If you follow these steps, you will be setting yourself up for a self storage facility that reaches the right audience and makes you money.

The steps we've included are the core fundamentals and for more tips check out our article 7 self storage marketing ideas you can try right now.

Once you've got these working for you, you can then start adding in more - such as setting up social media profiles. Typically customers don't engage with self storage socials; it's just the nature of the business. However, it's still important to have a presence, and increases your credibility and visibility when customers are doing their research on you.

Don't worry if you get things wrong - mistakes are how we learn. The best thing to do is to be consistent and ask for help when you need it. 

The best way is through Google Ads, Facebook Ads, listing on Explorage.com and email marketing. These channels will allow you to target your ideal audience immediately with high ROI

Make the most of existing customer reviews and testimonials, and incentivise them if you have to, to leave a review. Cautiously you could make use of deals and special offers. For example, you could offer a reduced fee for first-time users. It could be enough to get them to make an initial purchase or choose you over a competitor. Finally make sure you are accessible to a broad demographic and are inclusive, by taking online reservations with Explorage.com.

1. Security is vital. Ensure you have cameras, strong gates, and security.
2. Climate control. Items shouldn't perish due to extreme temperatures.
3. Convenience. Opening hours that are accessible and amenities that people can use to help with the transport of their storage, such as trolleys. 

These are the 4 most common types of storage facilities that you will likely come across:

Self Storage Type Guide on Explorage.com