Don’t Know How to Deal With Your Self-Storage Digital Marketing? Here’s How to Get the Right Help

There are many steps to building a successful marketing strategy for your self-storage business, and many of them relate to the web. Digital marketing is a great way to build your brand presence online, but it also takes a great deal of time, knowledge and effort that many facility operators simply don’t have. Hiring an agency is a great way to achieve your goals while focusing your energy on other areas of the business. Let’s explore the benefits of outsourcing, plus how to choose a partner get the most out of the relationship.

Benefits

Connecting with the right audience at the right moment takes time and resources, and self-storage owners and managers typically don’t have the capacity to juggle digital-marketing responsibilities in addition to everything else they do to run the property. Even if you can squeeze in a few minutes each day, you won’t be fully focused on the task at hand. By outsourcing, you’ll be able to focus on other aspects of the operation, so you can excel without sacrificing quality of work.

Hiring a good digital-marketing agency means you’ll be working with experts who have years of experience in planning and executing successful campaigns. These professionals will provide a fresh perspective that may make the difference between business growth and stagnation. You’ll also gain access to the latest tools and a team that’s up to date on industry trends.

In addition to saving you time and lightening your load, an agency can help you cut costs. With the right partner, you’ll have access to web developers and people with know-how on social media, content, advertising and search engine optimization (SEO), which is usually more cost-effective than paying salary and benefits to in-house staff. It also saves you the expense of employee recruitment, hiring, training and turnover.

Finally, an experienced agency will help cut costs associated with customer acquisition. A well-executed strategy combines SEO, content and pay-per-click (PPC) efforts to convert potential users into paying tenants for as little investment as possible. Consistently maintaining a high-converting website and low costs per lead will drive more revenue and save you thousands of dollars each year.

What to Outsource

The tasks your new digital-marketing partner is qualified to handle depends on whether you’re going to a full-service agency to handle all facets of your advertising or a specialized provider that focuses on just one or two areas of expertise. Here are some specific services you may choose to outsource:

Content. Well-developed content creates visibility for your self-storage brand by driving users to your website through clicks, engagement and backlinks. This is a broad category that encompasses any type of material directed at users. Offerings include blogs, video, web pages and page optimization of pre-existing content.

Email. Email marketing has evolved significantly but continues to play an integral role in targeting users and generating leads. In agencies, copywriters and strategists work to understand your subscribers and develop messaging that’ll encourage opens, drive traffic and increase sales.

PPC advertising. Platforms such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads and Instagram Ads have taken priority. This approach allows you to drive traffic and leads faster than waiting on certain SEO tactics to take hold or social media reach.

SEO. Optimizing your website and online profiles will help your business rank higher in search results, and an agency can help your site rank higher for the key terms your target audience uses to find self-storage brands and services. SEO offerings may include audits, competitor analysis, on-page optimization, monthly reports and more.

Social media. With the number of users consistently on the rise on these platforms, having a data-driven, well-thought-out approach to your social media is important. An agency will develop engaging content and help reach your audience to drive sales or web traffic. Services include strategy, account creation and branding, education, consultation, and more.

Web design and development. There’s no reason to drive traffic to your website if it isn’t well-developed with a user-friendly design and layout. Agencies offer a variety of services in web development ranging from site management to the creation of an entirely new website that better represents your brand and engages users.

Choosing an Agency

Deciding you’re ready to hire an agency to assist with your self-storage digital marketing is the easy part. The difficulty comes in choosing the experts. While there are plenty of options, it’s important to find a partner with the experience you want and the services you need.

One of your first steps should be to understand your marketing goals and how working with an agency can assist you meet them. Not only will this help you develop an executable strategy, it’ll allow you to communicate from early on what you’d like to achieve. Here are some other important considerations:

Values and culture. You’ll be working closely with this agency for a while, so make sure your self-storage team meshes with theirs. Having company values and cultures that align helps avoid the stress of working with people who don’t operate in the same way.

Industry experience. There are many digital-marketing agencies that specialize in self-storage. Finding one that has experience in the industry helps guarantee the team will understand your audience and competition and connect with the customers you want to target.

Realistic promises. It’s easy to fall for promised results that seem too good to be true. If it feels like you’re being led on, you probably are. Efficient strategies should include long- and short-term goals, and the team you’re working with should be able to communicate expectations when it comes to achieving them.

Strong communication. Not only should an agency be easy to reach when you’re a prospective client, your contacts should be reasonably accessible once the partnership is established. If you’re struggling to understand how something works or aren’t happy with performance, scheduling a time to discuss issues shouldn’t be a hassle.

Good reputation. Finding a digital-marketing agency with a solid portfolio and reputation will help ensure their work will meet your expectations. If it’s difficult to find examples of past work or what’s available is much different than what you envision, it’s best to continue your search.

Ensuring a Successful Partnership

Whether you plan to take a hands-off approach to your self-storage digital marketing or want the benefit of coaching, it takes work to ensure your partnership a success. It’s important to ask questions, understand the process and set realistic expectations in terms of cost, deliverables and timelines. Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification or additional information. It’s OK to not know why a certain font was used or what the latest data results mean. The best way to learn is to inquire, which creates the opportunity for everyone to figure out what works best for your business.

It’s also important to be transparent about your goals and budget. Keep your expectations realistic, and understand that generating web traffic and leads takes time and money, no matter the approach.

In addition, understanding the dynamics and roles of your agency team will help with communication and workflow. The professionals with whom you’re likely to engage include:

Take the Leap

If you’ve been considering the help of an agency to help with your digital marketing, there’s no better time to get started. Developing an effective strategy is no easy task, so it’s best to reach out to a reputable company that’s experienced in self-storage and can help you achieve your goals. Whether you want to drive traffic, engage with users or increase sales, you’ll rest easy knowing your online presence is in good hands.

Melanie Terschak is the director of product for Go Local Interactive, a Kansas-City based marketing agency. She oversees the growth, development and innovation of the company’s digital-marketing products, including SEO, PPC, local-listings management and content development. She’s developed and implemented digital-marketing strategies in the self-storage industry for more than eight years. For more information, call 913.689.3170.