In recent times, there has been a plethora of online marketing solutions available for those in the self storage industry – search engines that exclusively list self storage facilities, services which offer Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM), and custom website design. Choosing the right marketing initiative can be a challenge and the savvy self storage marketer should be careful to consider budget and need before making such a choice.

For example, a large self storage facility like Public Storage, can afford to build its own website and undertake major online marketing campaigns whereas small to mid-sized facilities may be better off enlisting the assistance of a self storage search engine or storage locator such as USSelfStorageLocator.com, to increase their visibility and online presence. A local storage facility with only one location might not need its own feature- rich website and independent marketing initiatives. In examining which initiative is best for your self storage facility, it is wise to consider the available resources and the time and cost involved in bringing these initiatives to fruition.

The main factor that differentiates rentals from reservations is the significant increase in ‘definite’ revenue and profits as oppose to possible earnings. It also offers a guarantee that the rental unit will be available to the customer. In order to fully grasp this concept, it is necessary to examine the pitfalls that are inherent in the current reservations model. Many self-storage marketing companies often emphasize reservations when promoting self storage to potential customers. The concept is simple; users are allowed to reserve storage units online with a few clicks and that’s basically it. Where is the obligation or commitment? Customers can continue shopping around until they find the best deal while subsequently making multiple reservations at various facilities. Reservations suggest an intent or inquiry. The hospitality industry—in particular credible properties, long ago became frustrated with reservations that didn’t materialize into check-ins. Cancellation policies were implemented for customers on the fence or simply putting a toe in the water.

What is the advantage for the storage facility owner to rely on reservations? According to Inside Self Storage magazine, 52 percent of customers reserving a unit online typically choose a 10x10 or larger. Generally this would mean more revenue for the facility owner but this is not often the case. Though often employed, the concept of reservations isn’t as beneficial financially, especially when owner/operators pay for leads that may not equal actual move-ins. Also, with some self storage aggregators, the fees charged for “leads” or “reservations” supersede the monthly rental rates on certain unit sizes. If a customer reserves a unit, and takes advantage of a special—such as one month’s free rent, and then moves out after a month, the storage facility would have undoubtedly lost money. After the storage facility owner pays, for example, $75 per lead, it would take them at least a few months to hopefully break even.

Simply put, if fees per lead or reservation are $75; and the monthly rental rate on a 5x5 is $34, it will take three months before a profit is generated.

Another issue with the reservations model is customers are not obligated to fulfill reservations requests. This is particularly damaging when there are a low number of units of a particular size. A unit is then not made available for a potential customer who may have rented the unit immediately rather than reserved it. Inside Self Storage magazine also states that when the reservation is secured with a deposit, the move-in rate is 95 percent greater.

USSelfStorageLocator.com has a novel business concept – “Make Money Now” with rentals. USSelfStorageLocator.com focuses on rentals as opposed to reservations. With rentals, there is guaranteed revenue for the facility owner. Customers have added incentive to use USSelfStorageLocator.com. In addition to any specials the facility may offer, USSelfStorageLocator.com offers 10% more off of the rental.

Finally, rentals are a more secure, efficient, and a more convenient way of guaranteeing success for your self storage business as well as your customers.

Social networking can be a powerful tool for any business. The key to successfully marketing your self storage business via social networks is to know which one to use and how to use it. There are many pitfalls that need to be avoided when trying to employ social networking techniques for your self storage business. The self storage business can be particularly challenging to market in this fashion since but you can start off by following these guidelines:

• Create a dialogue – Remember that social networking is all about interaction. Static profiles on Twitter or Facebook do not get the best response. You should try to use your social network profile to interact positively with your potential customers, answer queries and, make note of things that you can do to improve. Persons are often very candid when using social networks and you can almost count on very honest opinions about how persons view your business.

• Don’t oversell – Though the main purpose is to garner new customers and to promote your business, you do no want to drive people away by selling your business too much. Avoid the use of ‘spammy’ language and do not force your business on users. Instead, provide relevant information so that interested persons can use it to make informed decisions.

• Know your demographic – It is always best to define your audience before you use any form of social networking tool. For example, if you have a special on storage for college students in a particular area, you can use the Facebook search feature to find students that fit your target and connect with them.

• Keep it professional – The informal nature of social networks tempts all of us to be more relaxed. However, you should keep in mind that you are still promoting a business and while it is important to connect with people by sounding like a real human being and not just a spam bot, ensure that you are also coming across in a professional manner.

Following these guidelines should get you on your way to successfully promoting your self storage business on social networking sites. Remember that it is easy and in most cases free to create profiles on many of these sites so go ahead and give it a try!

Charlotte skyline | Source

In less than two-weeks, staffers from USSelfstoragelocator.com will embark upon the Queen City—Charlotte, North Carolina; which is the largest city in North Carolina (maybe King City should have been designated the city nickname) to further spread the word about our great product and the even better services we offer owner/operators as well as self storage renters. Charlotte and more specifically The Westin Hotel and Charlotte Convention Center, is host to this years’ Self Storage Association Spring Conference and Trade Show, April 5-7.

The team at USSelfStorageLocator.com is working hard to bring this website to the forefront of the industry, so we are building from the Las Vegas Expo experience (held March 14-16, 2011 at Paris Las Vegas hotel) and keeping our focus on presenting a website that is most beneficial to all involved in self storage.

Joe Gibbs | Source

We look forward to meeting with new potential clients and making this the best trade show possible. The keynote speaker of the event is Mr. Motivation himself; former three-time National Football League Superbowl-winning head coach Joe Gibbs. Gibbs is a proven winner even though his return stint as head coach of the Washington Redskins (2004-2008) didn’t go as he had hoped. Regardless, when the guy was in his prime (1981-1992), he won championships with three different starting quarterbacks: Doug Williams, Joe Theismann, and Mark Rypien. Gibbs walked away from football in the early ’90s into the world of car racing—his other love. He’s been a success in the world of National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) as well; winning three team championships and creating the highly successful Joe Gibbs Racing team.

Maybe as a result of a terrific turnout at the conference, some inspiring words from coach/noted-author Gibbs, and a hopeful budding economy, we can all return to our perspective homes and help Charlotte become the largest banking center in the United States. Currently Charlotte is second to the city with two names (if I have to write that city name – just discontinue reading now). Many of you know that Charlotte is home to Bank of America; the largest bank holding company in the U.S. (in terms of assets), and the second largest bank by market capitalization. Hey, blogs can’t be all fluff and no substance. It’s cool to drop a little nugget here or there. Besides all reading should have a smidgen of worth. That's another reason to drop by USSelfStorageLocator.com for all your storage needs.

Las Vegas, Nevada is known for many things and having a good time usually is first on the To Do list when visiting for leisure, or in my case work. So USSelfStorageLocator.com staffers left balmy South Florida for the steamy city of big lights in the dessert, on a mission to display our website and what we have to offer to all in attendance. USSSL staff bonded for one common cause/goal. Oh yeah, we had a wonderful time in the process at the 2011 ISS World Expo March 14-16th.

USSelfStorageLocator.com was in the building and from the minute you entered the ISS World Expo our presence was easily visible. I’ll get back to that later.

On the first day of the conference the entire USSSL staff was swamped for hours, as owner/operators and managers signed up and inquired about our great product. Our 10x20-booth was energetically-bustling with interested parties to the point where all four of our computers were constantly occupied—simultaneously for hours. In an effort not to inconvenience those waiting patiently, we “zapped” (collected) contact information from interested patrons, and reverted to having individuals fill-out manual forms that contained pertinent information such as “number of facilities” and “management software” while also accepting old school business cards.

Prominently an 8 x 4 ft. USSelfStorageLocator.com sign was noticeable as soon as attendees, speakers, and exhibitors entered the expo area. If by any chance the first sign didn’t catch your eye, another hugantic sign which offered early “flight check-in” capabilities, was sponsored by USSelfStorageLocator.com and positioned for those wanting to take advantage of receiving their tickets/boarding passes safely away from the hordes at McCarran International Airport. On the final day of the expo, predictably, the station was steadily busy—however not exceeding four people in line at a-time.

Finally our esteemed CEO Victor Dante and the lovely Ms. Grace sauntered around the showroom floor and met with exhibitors who were diligently working their own booths. This casual form of networking will no doubt result in positive relationships for years to come.

All-in-all the USSelfStorageLocator.com team was well received and we look forward to doing business with all the wonderful folks that took the time to sign-up or simply came by to say hi. We evidently made a big splash by the turnout and we intend on riding this wave all the way to THE TOP.

What a blast the USSelfStorageLocator.com staff had at the ISS World Expo last week (March 14-16th). Some might think that a self-storage convention would be a drag, but the USSelfStorageLocator.com exhibitor booth displayed the direct opposite.

Our booth was festive and energetic as interested owner/operators, managers, and various storage-types, stopped by to get a feel of what the buzz was all about.

Even Sparefeet (hey no free pub here) founder Mario Feghali positioned himself at the USSelfStorageLocator.com booth to “observe” the fellas in action. Feghali even expressed to USSelfStorageLocator.com CEO Victor Dante that he was impressed with our presentation. Hey, at least the guy made a personal visit rather than send a stooge to take notes. We’re flattered, but we know we have plenty work to do.

“Sir, I just gotta get a picture with this girl to show my wife” – said an older gentlemen with a big grin, as he positioned his wheelchair alongside our vivacious host Yvonne Grace.

“Man ya’ll got it poppin’ over here!” declared a SmartPhone marketer and exhibitor from Columbia, Missouri, as he made his way around the showroom floor.

Those were but a couple of reactions from attendees as they clamored to meet with and take pictures of our Vegas-Folly Show Girl. We were in Las Vegas, so it only made sense that we provided some Vegas-flair. Yvonne Grace, an A to Z Events Las Vegas-styled show girl, pleasantly and professionally greeted guests and handed out USSelfStorageLocator.com trinkets (eco-friendly “Go Green” bracelets and USSelfStorageLocator.com writing tablets/pads).

As you can see from the pictures Ms. Grace’s USSelfStorageLocator.com Green outfit was a draw that allowed USSelfStorageLocator.com to stand out from the crowd.

For those in attendance it was pretty hard not to notice the USSelfStorageLocator.com booth. Great response. Great product. Great Convention. Great Job. This was only the beginning.

Special thanks to A to Z Events [http://atozevents.com] owner Calanit Atia. From her stable of talent, she recommended the perfect fit for our needs. Her judgment and assessment of Ms. Grace capped an overall great show.

If you work in the self storage industry you know that, like any other industry, it can be hard selling your service when there are hundreds of other businesses offering the same service. It is challenging to distinguish your business in the market and to get people interested. Self storage isn’t the most glamorous and exciting of industries so it is difficult to find the right mix of communication techniques to not only get people interested, but to get them to use your service as well.

Online marketing can help you reach your goals cheaply and easily. Implementing social networking and online marketing initiatives circumvents the costs of expensive television and radio advertisements. Marketing in this fashion allows the business owner to take greater control of the marketing program and be as detail-oriented as necessary.

However, smaller self storage businesses may not have the resources and time necessary to implement an a full blown online marketing campaign. For these smaller companies, listing on a self storage search engine such as USSelfSelfStorageLocator.com is a viable option. You will have the opportunity to attract customers to your site and we take care of listing your specials, units, and prices for you.

For those self storage facilities who have the time and resources to dedicate to an extensive online marketing campaign, there are three important elements that need to be present in order ensure your success. First, you must have a service that is worth marketing. Even if you get millions of customers to go to you site but it is inefficient, runs slowly, or has a host of other problems, this will not improve the bottom-line for your business. Spend sufficient time working on the various aspects of your business so that you have an invaluable service to provide.

Second, your website must be easily found. There are several options available to you to do this. You can employ the use of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO involves increasing the visibility of your website in search engine results organically. This method is unpaid. You could also use Search Engine Marketing (SEM). SEM is a paid way to increase the search ranking of your website; you pay every time there is a click on your listing.

Thirdly, get people to rent once they visit your site. This is possibly the most difficult element. The best way to do this is to clearly spell out the offers and discounts. Avoid misleading your customers with a low price just to get them to come in and then changing your offer later. If you build consumer loyalty by being straightforward and honest, your business will thrive.

The marketplace is becoming increasingly competitive. It is not sufficient to have a website if it does not generate any traffic. The more traffic that comes to your website, the greater your chances are of getting more rentals and increasing your revenue.

When you look at your iPhone, BlackBerry or Android phone, the idea of self storage doesn’t immediately pop into your head. But that’ s OK, because soon it will. We check our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networking profiles from the convenience of our mobile devices. We play Angry Birds, find out which movie is playing and whether the weather is going to be nice enough for us to go to the beach. We live almost every aspect of our daily lives through these devices so why not take things just a step further use them to make our lives even that much easier when we want to locate storage?

Insiders in the self storage industry will agree that the next frontier for self storage will be the ease with which customers can access their storage units when they are on the go. We at USSelfStorageLocator.com pride ourselves in constantly innovating and providing our customers with features that our competitors lack.

Currently self storage mobile apps are virtually non-existent. One or two exist that provide information on a particular storage company’ s services. However, there is not a comprehensive app that allows you to search for storage, rent units and pay for them. This is where we come in. We won’ t give away all the details just yet. But, what we can tell you is that you can soon look forward to carrying around the excellent and convenient services that you find on our website right in your pocket.

We’re finally back from Vegas after a whirlwind of events at the Inside Self Storage 2011 World Expo. Luckily for you, we didn’t follow the ‘what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas rule’ and we’re ready to dish about all the exciting moments that took place. Our USSelfStorageLocator.com team was working hard. It wasn’t all just business however; we managed to sneak in a few fun moments but we’ll leave that for another blog.

We spent a couple of hours setting up our booth. Then, it was straight to work. We activated hundreds of new customer accounts and had an overwhelming amount of new signups. The customer response overall was absolutely amazing. It certainly kept our team busy for the duration of the Expo. We also sponsored the return flight check-in which helped everyone conveniently get tickets and print their boarding passes. Hope everyone made it home safely!

If anyone somehow managed to miss our magnificent booth, they undoubtedly saw one of our gorgeous Vegas showgirls on the show floor. Dressed in our company colors, they added a bit of flair and fun to our booth.

We wrapped up everything by awarding a brand new iPad to one of our loyal customers, Jacqueline Smith from Guardian Self Storage in Beaumont, CA. Enjoy the new iPad Jacqueline, you deserve it!

Now that we’re back in the office, we’re adjusting to life outside of Vegas but we’re looking forward to going back next year. We’ll be sharing the tons of pictures we took on Facebook (and burying some away) so look out for them!

When many people think of self-storage, a small 4x4 unit used to store personal belongings in between moves often comes to mind. However, self storage units can be used for much more than that. Self-storage units offer reasonably priced storage options for cars, boats and even RVs. For example, if you’ re thinking about leaving home for a long period of time and want to ensure that your car or truck is stored in a safe and secure environment, you may want to consider self-storage. Or, if there’ s just not enough space in your yard to store that new boat, self-storage is a viable option. There is also insurance coverage available so you can put your mind at ease knowing that in the event your vehicle sustains any damage while in the storage unit, you are covered.

The best way to find these self-storage units for your vehicle storage needs is by using USSelfStorageLocator.com. They’ve done all the work for you by compiling a list of storage facilities, along with location and prices. All that is left for you to do is search. You can search for the facilities that offer vehicle storage and compare rates, saving you both time and money. When you locate the storage facility of your choice, you can even pay for it online. The only thing left to do is take your vehicle to the location. It’ s that simple. You have enough things to worry about in life, where to store your belongings doesn’t have to be one of them.

If you notice that persons in the self-storage industry have seemed a bit more excited than usual over the past few weeks, it’ s likely that they all have one thing on their minds – the Inside Self Storage World Expo. Co-sponsored by USSelfStorageLocator.com, this expo is the single biggest annual event in the self-storage industry. This year’ s Inside Self Storage World Expo will be held in Paris, Las Vegas from March 14 – 16, 2011.

With USSelfStorageLocator.com playing an integral part, the event promises to deliver the usual high standard of excellence that it is known for. With informative and educational presentations from industry professionals, a vast amount of networking opportunities, and product and service demonstrations, no self-storage insider can afford to miss it.

The three-day event will feature concurrent education sessions in facility marketing and sales, day-to-day operation & facility management, construction, development, real estate & finance, and technology. These education sessions will examine topics such as the current state of the self-storage industry, the new role of technology in mobile storage, and tips on providing superior customer service in self-storage. There will also be online marketing and management workshops. The wealth information that will be shared at the expo will no doubt enable its attendees to progressively move forward in the self storage business.