Social Media Tips

Gavin Jones -

Usually social media is an intricate part of company's marketing mix. However social media can be a difficult area to capitalize on for the self storage industry. If you actually think about connecting with people and hopefully potential customers, you may realize that storage facilities aren't necessarily the most often searched out topics on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. However they still can be a valuable marketing channel for storage facilities and serve a good purpose for your customer relationships and your overall branding.  Below are 3 tips from Inside Self Storage that will help you make social media an effective part of your business.

Step 1: Set Up Your Profiles

You want to ensure your social media profiles are accurate. Make sure your brand and your message is streamlined across all social media channels. If you don’t know if a profile is correct or complete, use this short checklist:

  • Make sure you have the same address, phone number and website on each.
  • Use your brand name consistently. For example, if your brand name is "Excellent Storage," don't list your name as "Excellent Storage Near Nashville, TN."
  • Get rid of duplicate pages. If you don’t know the owner or username for a duplicate profile, reach out to the platform’s support team to delete or merge the listing with your real one. This will prevent confusion and ensure customers contact your business, not someone else’s.
  • Delete any profiles that aren't effective. Don't feel like you have to start or keep a profile on every platform, especially if you don't have time to manage them all. Select channels based on your target-audience data and the sites your current customers frequent.

Step 2: Engage Your Audience

Don’t fall into the trap of setting up your profiles and forgetting about them. Follow these simple tactics to engage your audience and keep your social media accounts current:

  • Use photos in your posts. Tweets with images receive 18 percent more clicks, 89 percent more favorites and 150 percent more retweets.
  • Don’t use the exact same post on every site. Tweak your posts for each platform. A shorter one is more appropriate on Twitter, for example, while longer posts and polls are ideal for Facebook. Just remember to always link back to your website.
  • Create social media goals and post content regularly. Depending on the amount of time you have, you might post seven times a week or only once. Just be consistent.
  • Make posts authentic and relevant to your audience. Be sure you’re adding value with engaging content that’s well-targeted and thoughtful. This is why it's important to get to know the neighborhood in which your facility resides. For example, you can offer tips for things to do in the area or places to eat, or recommend moving companies or other businesses. This shows you're a part of the community, not a stranger.
  • Respond quickly to reviews, questions and posts. When your customers engage with you online, interact with them! If someone asks a question on your Facebook page, don’t let it go unanswered. Silence reflects poorly on your customer service. The same goes for reviews on Google+ and Yelp. When you’re the manager of your pages, you can go in and respond to reviews. A proactive response to a review—even a bad one—can improve your reputation. Here’s a helpful tip for dealing with negative reviews: Respond professionally and then take the conversation offline.

Step 3: Analyze Your Posts

Social media analysis is basically the practice of looking at which posts get the most and least interest (shares, likes, etc.). By paying attention to this information, you'll know how to create better content in the future and also know what areas to focus your time on.

Looking for more marketing help? Check out our online marketing services or sign up with our partnered company RIZE Marketing and see how they can help boost your rentals through effective SEO and other online marketing tactics.