Many self-storage operators assume social media advertising and marketing doesn’t work. They don’t imagine it drives leases and really feel it sucks up an excessive amount of money and time. But additionally they know that each enterprise wants a Facebook web page. So, they make a web page however then by no means replace it. Every time they do log in, they see messages—typically months previous—from prospects and present tenants asking about unit availability, or making a grievance, or desirous to know if that is the facility “down the avenue.” It’s sufficient to show anybody off.
The factor is, social media is extra than simply one other job in your advertising and marketing to-do record. You can’t simply arrange accounts and allow them to languish. If you employ them accurately, there’s professional enterprise worth available in these platforms. You simply must know learn how to maximize your return whereas minimizing your effort. The following explains why social media is necessary to your self-storage operation, the place and learn how to implement it, dos and don’ts, plus some instruments you should use to make it as painless as attainable.
Why You Need It
There are many causes to make use of social media, past it being desk stakes for opening any enterprise today. Most necessary, it’s going to assist your Google search rating. Having an energetic social presence that hyperlinks to your self-storage web site helps Google understand that you just’re a critical enterprise. It seems at details about your organization throughout the web, from its personal Google Business Profile listings to a number of directories and social media.
But it isn’t nearly guaranteeing your small business might be discovered. It’s about speaking along with your self-storage tenants and prospects. Recent knowledge reveals that our prospects are beginning their search earlier and spending extra time researching the place to retailer their stuff. In an trade the place the product can simply be seen as a commodity, social media is a method to stand out. Potential renters typically don’t know the distinction between a class-A, climate-controlled facility and a class-C drive-up property; however a social presence is a method to differentiate your small business from competitors.
Finally, relying in your market, social media is more and more the place you’re going to seek out your self-storage tenants, even earlier than Google. If you’re in a metropolis with a school or navy base, your prospects are going to skew youthful than common. The similar is true in medium to massive metropolitan areas, although to a lesser diploma. You can have the nicest facility, the best move-in course of and the lowest charges on the town, however none of that issues in case your tenants can’t discover you. Social media is a method for them to find your small business.
Where You Need to Be
Now that you just’re including social media to your self-storage advertising and marketing combine, the place do you have to construct pages? Let’s begin with the 800-pound gorilla: Facebook. No matter what you concentrate on its enterprise, politics or the individuals who run it, it’s nonetheless the largest social platform, beating the subsequent closest competitor by greater than 500 million month-to-month customers. In quick, you might want to arrange a Facebook web page.
After that, it turns into extra a matter of desire, talent and time. If you’ve got a very scenic location or a pictures passion, Instagram is a no brainer. Love capturing movies and educating potential tenants on the ins and outs of self-storage? Start a YouTube channel, Snapchat or TikTok. For that matter, should you’re making the video content material already, there’s no motive to not share it on all three channels with some slight enhancing to make it stickier for every viewers.
If none of this stuff sound interesting and also you simply wish to put in the minimal effort, stick to Facebook. Wading into Twitter will doubtless yield few leads, plus it requires the most time and monitoring. It isn’t going to be value the time or effort you’d make investments.
Why Content Matters
Coming up with social media content material can appear daunting at first, nevertheless it isn’t as scary as you assume. Are you working a move-in particular? Great! That can gasoline weekly or extra frequent posts for the size of the marketing campaign. Upgrading your facility? Provide updates on how the rework goes. Highlight an worker as soon as a month. Offer recommendation on packing for a transfer, selecting a storage location or estimating house wants. Anything that makes your small business extra relatable goes that will help you in the future.
Ask your new self-storage tenants to publish critiques to your Facebook web page in addition to your Google Business Profile and Yelp. Once they’ve finalized their rental, you’ll be able to ship them a welcome e-mail containing hyperlinks to every of these pages. It’s a simple method to generate content material and make your small business look higher. Just bear in mind: Whether a overview is sweet or unhealthy, all the time reply ASAP. If it’s good, a easy “thanks” is lots. If it’s unhealthy, attempt to transfer the dialog offline so you’ll be able to resolve the tenant’s problem out of the public eye.
The most necessary side to your social media presence is consistency. Consistency is vital. You don’t need to publish a number of occasions a day, daily, however you might want to publish on an everyday schedule. If your timetable solely permits you to publish as soon as per week, that’s high quality. Just be sure to’re posting each week, not as soon as per week for just a few weeks, then as soon as a month, then as soon as each six months.
Some Dos and Don’ts
As with any self-storage advertising and marketing, there are some methods you might want to observe with social media and others to keep away from.
Plan forward. If you’re occurring trip, pre-schedule just a few posts so that you don’t have to fret about it when you’re gone or give it some thought as quickly as you get again.
Jot down good concepts. If you discover one thing you assume would make good fodder for a social media publish, make a remark so that you don’t overlook.
Keep a calendar. The social media algorithms are nicer to your self-storage enterprise in case your posts appear extra natural. If you all the time publish on Monday at 3:30 p.m., you’re much less prone to see engagement than should you typically publish on Monday afternoon, Wednesday morning or Thursday night time. Mix it up!
Track what works for you. If you discover sure posts generate a ton of engagement, use that theme or subject once more.
Don’t chew off greater than you’ll be able to chew. Start small: one social media platform, one publish per week. If you discover it’s simple, you’ll be able to add extra posts, platforms or each.
Don’t slack off. Remember that consistency is vital.
Don’t get into controversial subjects. If you wouldn’t talk about a subject with a buyer in individual, don’t discuss it on social media.
Supportive Tools
There are a ton instruments on the market that may assist you enhance your self-storage social media efforts. Here are just a few of my favorites:
Sprout Social: This permits you to schedule social media posts. It works with Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. It has a simple interface, and the free model offers you entry to some of platforms, with extra out there in the paid model.
Canva: This is a extremely cool useful resource that permits you to create gorgeous, eye-catching graphics proper in your telephone. You can add copy to pictures or create digital fliers, and there are a ton of different choices. Again, there’s a free interface, however the paid model offers you a Photoshop-like device proper in your pocket.
Google Sheets: The Google model of Excel? How is that helpful? That’s the place you’re going to construct your social media posting calendar. Just obtain a free template and also you’ll be prepared to begin monitoring what you publish, when and the place, and the way your viewers responded.
All this recommendation is simply a place to begin in your social media advertising and marketing journey. If it nonetheless appears an excessive amount of, you’ll be able to all the time attain out to an trade advertising and marketing company or usher in a part-time worker to assist. Once you get going, although, you’ll doubtless discover social media is a enjoyable, simple method to get to know your self-storage tenants. It’ll additionally assist your small business develop into extra concerned along with your group!
CJ Pomerantz has been working in digital advertising and marketing for greater than a decade, with shoppers in industries starting from pets to powersports to actual property. He’s at the moment the product supervisor for Automatit, which offers digital-marketing providers to the self-storage trade together with web site growth, SEO, paid search, name monitoring and extra. For extra data, name 520.214.3628.
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