Heardable, a contextual brand-analytics platform that measures the online health of brands across hundreds of business categories, has released a report, titled The Top 10 Self Storage Brands in America, ranking the online performance of self-storage real estate investment trusts (REITs) and other industry operators. The list includes the four REITsCubeSmart, Extra Space Storage Inc., Public Storage Inc. and Sovran Self Storage Inc.as well as Devon Self Storage, Mini U Storage, Storage Masters, Storage West Self Storage, StorQuest Self Storage and US Storage Centers.
Heardable measures 800 online variables to determine a brands visibility. Overall brand health scores are comprised of six subcategories focusing on a brands online effectiveness: Portable, Searchable, Sociable, Measurable, Actionable and Shareable.
Extra Space ranked No. 1, scoring 612 out of a possible 1,000 points, nudging out CubeSmart by four points. Public Storage ranked third with 570 points. Sovran, which conducts business as Uncle Bobs Self Storage, was fourth, while Storage Master rounded out the top five. In all, 323 points separated Extra Space from 10th-ranked Storage West, which scored 289 points.
Heardable compares its brand-health scores to credit scores, assigning letter grades A through F to five number ranges on a scale from zero to 1,000. The higher the score, the more visible a brand is online. Low scores indicate weaknesses that may need to be improved, according to the Heardable website.
For example, the 612 points Extra Space received ranks as a B on the Heardable scale (point range between 525 and 750). An A score is between 750 and 1,000 points. Storage West received a D because its score fell between 75 and 300 points.
Extra Space was particularly credited for its social-media participation, search-engine optimization and mobile-website optimization. During the last three months, the company has averaged 1,164 new Facebook likes per month compared to an average 27 new likes for CubeSmart (24), Public Storage (26) and Uncle Bobs (30).
"American's take great pleasure in owning things, and popular reality shows like Storage Wars are fanning the desire to acquire even more stuff. This has created a huge market opportunity for forward-thinking brands like Extra Space Storage, said Jon Samsel, Heardable CEO. They're doing things like syndicating content across social media to win over new fans and spread positive word of mouth. For example, Extra Space sponsors a live chat session series on Facebook hosted by two highly respected, professional organizers: Josh Zerkel and Lisa Zaslow. Popular brand outreach programs like this are extending the company brand into the personal organization space and helping to generate greater shareholder value."
The full report is 129 pages and costs $395. A free excerpt is also available.
In addition to its brand-analytics platform, Heardable offers services designed to help businesses optimize their online performance, boost brand awareness and increase revenue. The privately held company is based in Southern California with an office in Singapore.
Sources:
- Heardable: The Top 10 Self Storage Brands in America
