Time magazine named Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg person of the year. Sports Illustrated named New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees sportsman of the year. Unfortunately, I don't think there's a media outlet that awards "b-to-b online forum of the year." If there were, I would definitely enter Self-Storage Talk into the contest, because SST really rocked in 2010.
SST, the official online forum of Inside Self-Storage, is wrapping up its best year ever, thanks to the contributions from all of its 3,820 community members. Hovering around 2,500 members at the end of 2009, SST experienced an approximate 54 percent growth in members. Not only that, but Web traffic stats indicate members are spending more time on the site and clicking and reading through more pages. Translation: SST members are more engaged in the site than they have been at any other time in the past.
I thought it would be fun to take a look at the past year and at some of the highlights from the past year.
New Site Design in April
In early April, SST got a much-needed facelift. Aside from the forum software being updated, the aesthetics were upgraded too. The color schemes and design changed, creating cleaner, more reader-friendly forum pages. Though the changes werent perfect at first, after a few tweaks members became very comfortable with the new look, and no one was missing the gray pages of the past.
Giveaways Galore
SST hosted three posting raffles in 2010. All contestants had to do was post in a designated thread. Three lucky users walked away with gift cards to Darden Restaurants and AMC Theaters, Ticketmaster and Amazon.
Hottest Thread
The most replied to and discussed topic in 2010 was "New AZ Immigration Law Signed." SST members, especially those in Arizona, had strong opinions on both sides of the issue and expressed them. This thread spawned a Part II, which is still active.
Busiest Day (Active Posts)
The weather was hot, and so was the forum. The day that recorded the most posts was July 9 with 135 new posts. Several other days appeared in the 120-130 range (including July 7), but July 9 came out on top.
Members Online Records Falls Several Times
For three straight months between July and September, members and guests flocked to the forum on the second Friday of the month to jump in on the hottest discussions. The record of members online set Sept. 10 proved to be the all-time, and has yet to be eclipsed: 811 members online at 12:49 p.m. MST. I have a feeling that record is going down next year, though. Records were made to be broken.
Everyone at SST wishes you a happy and safe new year, and as great as 2010 was, 2011 will be even better. If you haven't joined our community yet, make a New Year's Resolution to register an account for free. The process is free and takes only a few minutes.