Self-Storage Video Marketing

Nine in 10 marketers reported a positive return on their video marketing investment (1).
The power of video is well-proven.

From capturing and retaining attention to memorability, videos in marketing will grow (2). It is the shortest path to consumers' minds in a cluttered marketing environment.

It should not come as a surprise then self-storage video marketing is gaining popularity. With the number of storage units growing significantly, self-storage advertising needs to up its game. With video marketing, storage advertisement will be greatly amplified in the effort to grow brand saliency and preference.

What are the benefits of a self-storage video marketing strategy?

First, it is the most succinct medium available to marketers. In 90 seconds or less, a lot can be communicated to the target audience about your storage units. Depending on the creativity of the video, it can tug at the heartstrings as well as feature the physical benefits of your services.

Second, the visual presentation of the storage facility and units aids decision-making. If advertising is designed to reduce or eliminate objections, setting the expectations of the target audience through the video will enable them to arrive at a decision promptly.

Third, video marketing lends clarity in presenting the features of the storage facility and units. While a picture paints a thousand words, videos highlight them and accentuate the uniqueness of the product or service.

Fourth, video is a versatile medium. Apart from featuring the product or service, customer testimonials can be appropriately embedded. This can help to nurture trust.

Fifth, creating engagement is easy with video marketing. Its audio and visual features are more impactful.

Finally, video marketing makes reaching a wider audience faster. In an ever-evolving business environment, speed is essential to compete effectively.

While the cost of producing videos is higher than other forms of self-storage advertising, the returns are likely higher too. Research has shown 4 in 5 will watch videos online rather than read text (3). Storage advertisement that uses videos brings the product or service to life.

Self-Storage Videos

As competition intensifies, marketing storage facilities and units will need to be ramped up. Using self-storage marketing flyers may be less effective in this environment. With knowledge and expectations far higher than they used to be, slapping an address and price on your offer will not entice the target audience.

Today, online marketing communication must have the audio and visual features of television commercials. Hence, the use of self-storage videos. They lend a competitive edge to a self-storage marketing campaign. For now, at least, they are less widely used in contrast to other product or service categories. Hence, getting on it now is important.

The qualities of an effective self-storage video will include the following:

It must clearly and succinctly provide a description of the storage facility and units as well as differences compared to others.
It must have an emotional appeal to it. To this end, it has to communicate the values pertaining to peace of mind, safety, and security, as well as customer focus.

It must be engaging to break the clutter of videos in the online space. A way of achieving this is to include customer testimonials in the video.
It must have a call to action. It is pointless to ensure the above without giving proper next-step directions to the viewer.

Self-Storage Marketing Strategy

Without a marketing strategy, a business will be groping in the dark.

It will need to feel its way to growth. While it is possible to reach its goal, it may come at a hefty price. Similarly, in marketing storage facilities and units, without a strategy, the path to growth may be bumpy.

On the hand, with a self-storage marketing strategy in place, the time and cost invested will either be lower or yield a greater return. Like any strategy, it will be part of the overall self-storage business plan. Hence, due consideration will be given to HR, finance, and technology, among others.

What are the benefits of a sound self-storage marketing strategy?

Right target market

One of the pillars of a sound strategy is the right target market. It is tempting to reach out to all. But when this is attempted, resources will be overstretched without any guarantee of a profitable return. For example, distributing self-storage marketing flyers without identifying the demographic characteristics of the suburb may bear little fruit.

Underline differentiation

Making it easier for consumers to decide is important in a crowded market. Unless the difference is evident, there is a tendency for them to turn to price. But competing on price can be detrimental to the business. If self-storage videos are used, they must emphasize differentiation.

Brand recognition

Awareness is a necessary but insufficient condition to build a successful brand. It must have brand recognition, in other words, first to mind when thinking of specific features or benefits. Trumpeting a brand on high ground will create noise but without the right tune (strategy), it will amount to little or nothing.

Customer engagement and management strategy

There are countless ways of executing this strategy. Some have proven to work, while others leave much to be desired. Add technology to the mix, and confusion creeps in. Which should you deploy? With a marketing strategy, it will not be difficult for you to decide. The chosen customer engagement and management strategy must be consistent with the grand design of building a profitable business.

What can a self-storage business gain from a marketing strategy?

Increased conversion rate

A marketing strategy designed for a specific target market will produce the desired outcome. Almost everything it says and does will resonate well with the target market. This translates into a higher conversion rate.

More engaged customers

Customer engagement is all the rage in marketing. It contributes to brand loyalty. The right customer engagement strategy will go a long way toward retaining customers.

Better margins

As mentioned earlier, a price-driven strategy is costly. It may bring short-term gains, but it is unsustainable. More importantly, when the time comes for prices to be inched upward because the cost of business has risen, customers are likely to reject it and potentially switch to rival brands.

Self-Storage Marketing Agency

As a business owner, it is not necessary for you to undertake the different tasks of running it. For example, marketing and advertising may not be your forte. Given their importance, they are best outsourced to marketing professionals, that is, a self-storage marketing agency. When considering one, take into account the following factors:

Expertise and experience

With their specialized expertise and experience, a self-storage marketing agency can get the job done effectively and promptly. The opportunity cost of not engaging is probably higher than the investment cost of hiring one. In addition, you will benefit from the transfer of knowledge.

Omnichannel marketing

Omnichannel marketing is not just about being present in every media platform, whether it is your self-storage website or self-storage YouTube channel That is multichannel marketing, which may not necessarily require a strategy behind it. Omnichannel, on the other hand, requires one. Engaging a self-storage marketing agency with omnichannel marketing experience ensures your marketing spend is optimized across different media.

Data and insights

In the digital age, data and insights fuel growth. They help marketers make more precise informed decisions. As data and insights are in abundance, it is easy to be overwhelmed or lost in them. However, a self-storage marketing agency possesses the tools, knowledge as well as experience to identify what matters.

Long-term partnership

Good marketing talent is scarce. It is a problem made acute by the current tight labor market. In addition, training one with industry expertise takes a while. A self-storage marketing agency is not just a short-term solution. Most marketing agencies are willing to work in partnership over a longer period of time.

When you have outsourced your marketing to an agency, the outcomes you can look forward to are:

Marketing accountability

The self-storage marketing agency can be held accountable for the goals they have been assigned. Whether it is the aesthetic appeal of your self-storage website or engagements on your self-storage YouTube video, every box can be ticked or otherwise. This will ensure the effective use of your marketing budget and resources.

Competitive

Unless your competitors are not engaging the services of self-storage marketing agencies, expect to be left behind in the race when you don't. Businesses that engage them have access to a repository of knowledge, experience, and expertise to take their game to the next level.

Measurable and predictable results

In business, the only certainty is uncertainties. Without experience and expertise in marketing, you will be adding to the uncertainties. However, with the help of self-storage marketing agencies, you can be consistent in your marketing. The outcome is measurable and predictable results. It makes planning easier amidst uncertainties.

Taking the budget aside for now, effective self-storage advertising ideas can be categorized into two, namely, online and offline. Let's address the former first.

eCommerce website design

With a few clicks and swipes, a prospect can be turned into a customer. While e-commerce tends to be the domain of consumable items, technology has made it more versatile now. When a video to showcase your storage units are included, prospects may want to make decisions fast instead of waiting for a response from a contact form.

Pay-per-click

It may appear more expensive, but pay-per-click((PPC) is also the fastest. You can see returns in a matter of months or weeks in some cases on your self-storage advertising effort. After all, Google is the largest shopping mall in the world. Googling has already been ingrained into our lives. Proper management of your Google ads is essential for this idea to bear fruit.

Shoppable posts

Again, this is often associated with consumables. But it can be used for your storage units too and potentially a unique self-storage advertising idea. A good video of your facility and boxes with special attention given to their differences may be enough to convince and convert. Hence, allowing prospects to click on the video to book a storage unit will close the deal faster.

SEO

SEO marketing is an inexpensive way to maintain a good presence online. It is a time-tested and proven self-storage advertising idea. But it needs a good SEO strategy. Experience marketing agencies possess the intricate knowledge to make SEO work for you as it is not as straightforward as other forms of social and digital media marketing.

Next, let's look at offline self-storage advertising ideas.

Review and Referral (R&R) Program

Never put the good experience of customers to waste! Incentivize existing customers to share their good experiences. It's a way in which you can grow your customer base. An R&R program can be relatively inexpensive in the long term.

Co-marketing

Co-marketing with real estate professionals, movers, or builders. To some degree, they share a similar target audience as you. When their customers are in need of storage space, you should be their preferred self-storage provider. This can be a unique self-storage marketing idea.

Host events

It does not necessarily have to focus on your storage facility and boxes. For example, holding talks on Effective Housekeeping or Marie Kondo-like talks will draw people to your facility. Once there, they will have a first-hand view of your facility and boxes. Interested parties may be given special offers to sweeten the deal.

Co-sharing storage units

From co-working to co-living, the idea of sharing spaces is fast catching on. A potentially unique self-storage idea is to allow the co-sharing of larger boxes. It can be difficult to find the right box size. They are either too big or too small. Co-sharing the bigger boxes may be the answer.

Conclusion

Reaching your target audience to convince and convert does not have to be difficult. Stay open to different ideas. With the help of your self-storage marketing agency, you will find a number of them that will help you achieve your targets.

(1) https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/state-of-video-marketing-new-data

(2) https://marketing.adverank.com/hubfs/ADVERANK%20No%20Monkey%20Business.pdf?hsLang=en

(3) https://www.wedia-group.com/dam/the-roi-of-video-marketing/