Smart Storage Concepts (SCC), which provides Web-based reservations solutions for the self-storage industry, has created an engine that will allow a self-storage operation's social-media friends and fans to book units while visiting a facility's Facebook page.

The first SCC client to introduce online reservations to its Facebook presence is Budget Self Storage, which operates seven facilities in Florida. Now the company's Facebook friends, fans and friends of fans can reserve a unit through the social-media page.

"We are really excited about this, said Jody Burks, Budget's general manager of operations. Since we first began using SSCs real-time reservations technology on our corporate website back in 2010, weve been able to identify, track and communicate with our online customers. Now with a Facebook strategy, we can spread the word about the kind of service and savings we have at Budget Storage around our communities. Its word-of-mouth advertising at its best.

SSC provides a centralized reservations system that allows online shoppers to deal directly with the self-storage operator rather than go through a third-party website. It is the first and only company to provide a real-time reservations system for self-storage websites, according to Mike Harley, president and chief operating officer for SCC. "With social media rapidly growing, todays consumer expects more than information when landing on a corporate Facebook page. They expect to be able to transact business while there, and in real time. This saves the customer time and money while enabling our client to track every transaction," Harley said.

SSC, a subsidiary of Smart Marketing Concepts Inc., is a technology and marketing company with the purpose of delivering reservations technology and Internet-marketing strategies to the self-storage and mobile-storage industries. Its proprietary platform seamlessly integrates with SiteLink self-storage software, produced by SMD Software Inc. The SCC team has a combined 55 years of expertise in the field of reservations, data management and product distribution.