SpareFoot, an online marketplace that streamlines the rental process for self-storage customers, is adding some fun to the college moving and storage season with a Facebook promotion to give away the SpareFridge, a mini retro-style refrigerator by Nostalgia Electrics decked out with decals. One lucky college student will win the fridge, which is stocked with Monster Energy Drink to help him get through the stress of finals and end-of-semester packing.

SpareFoot encourages self-storage operators to let their tenants know about the giveaway, which it hopes will inspire some interesting college-season marketing, according to a press release. To participate, each college student must like the page at http://selfstora.ge/sparefridge, and then log in to a simple form, which gives him one official entry into the drawing for the fridge. Additional entries can be earned by sharing. The winner will be randomly selected on May 31.

Founded in 2008, SpareFoot.com helps consumers find and reserve self-storage units, with comparison shopping tools that show real-time availability and exclusive deals. The company also provides Web-marketing solutions for storage facility owners and operators including AdNetwork, SiteBuilder and GeoPages.

Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed a bill into law on April 24 giving self-storage operators the ability to collect payment for over-the-counter tenant insurance. Senate Bill 432 provides for the sale, solicitation or negotiation of tenant insurance by self-storage facility operators under a limited lines producer's license.

In addition, storage operators can receive a small compensation for insurance sales. The fees can be rolled into a tenants rental payment. The insurance provision allows self-storage professionals to offer ancillary insurance plans without a general insurance producer license.

Limited lines laws have already passed in Arkansas and Virginia, and House Bill 980 was recently approved and is expected to be signed into law in Tennessee in a matter of days, according to the national Self Storage Association, which works with state associations to pursue improvements to laws that govern the industry.

I dont have a lot of hard and fast rules about the self-storage business, but I do have a few rules of thumb that Ive found useful when it comes to successful facility operation. One of the most effective is for managers to have a higher sense of urgency about renting space.

Years ago I worked as a district manager for one of the real estate investment trusts and was assigned a territory of underperforming facilities. The locations were beautiful, multi-story sites with large retail offices and professional signage but lower-than-expected occupancy. After about three months of working with the managers, one of them said to me, "Youre the first person who has ever told us our main job is to rent space." My response was, "Really? What else do you do here?"

It turned out the managers in this territory had been given an ever-changing list of priorities communicated by their supervisor: Keep the facility clean! Sell more boxes! Increase your insurance percentages! Lower your past-dues! Rent more trucks! While all of these are important, none have anything to do with renting space.

To reverse course, we refocused their efforts on occupancy. I told them, You have to rent space or we dont need you to be here. We had to create a sense of urgency about the critical importance of renting units. Several months later, those facilities were experiencing healthy occupancy gains, and I received a bonus check for a billion or gazillion dollars, or maybe it was an Applebees gift card.

The point? If you want to increase occupancy, you have to rent more units. To rent more units, you have to create a sense of urgency about renting space. You have to develop a drop everything mentality as it relates to potential customers and realize that every lead matters. If managers get only one or two chances each day to rent a space, then how they handle those opportunities is critical.

Lost Opportunity Has a Price

You must also communicate to your managers the high cost of not renting space. I find very few have any idea about the expenses involved in creating rental leads and the revenue lost when they fail to convert those leads into rentals. Not renting space is expensive!

First, consider the costs of generating the leads. Have you ever calculated what each phone call, walk-in or Web lead costs in marketing expenses? Do you know which of your marketing efforts are the most effective? Which have the highest return on investment? If you havent, you should, and you need to share this information with your managers.

Self-storage staff should understand that when the phone rings, money was spent to make that happen. Marketing dollars are spent to generate walk-in traffic, and each month, money is invested in various forms to gather more Internet leads. Those things dont happen by accident! The money spent to generate storage leads is lost forever if a potential customer  isnt converted to a paying tenant. And, by the way, if youre not investing in quality sales training for your managers, the cost of lost opportunity is even higher.

When a storage unit goes unrented, another substantial sum is lost foreverthe potential revenue generated by the paying tenant. Amazingly, most self-storage managers have no idea what the average rental is worth. How can marketing investments and other decisions be confidently made without first knowing the value of your product? Whether it's $750 or $2,500, understanding the average value of every rental helps to instill a higher sense of urgency when it comes to working every lead and renting more space. Failing to rent space is just too expensive because you lose out on the income.

Other Lost Income

Another revenue stream that's lost when a unit goes rented is ancillary income. A person who doesn't rent a storage space also will not buy tenant insurance or boxes, or pay late fees, and probably will not rent a truck. Most self-storage owners factor ancillary income into their budgets, but it won't materialize if units aren't rented. Again, failing to rent storage space is an expensive proposition because the lost income is lost forever.

A referral program is also a great source of rentals. Who better to generate more business than existing tenants? Of course, if you dont rent the space, then you probably wont get the referral.

Another expensive side effect that results from unrented units is the loss of asset value. Self-storage facility value is based on net income, and the loss of even $1 can be a costly mistake. Every dollar collected can equal approximately $12 in asset value, so empty space can represent a significant loss. A managers lack of urgency toward renting units will have long-term, negative consequences for the facility hes managing.

Conversion Rate

Since we all now clearly understand how expensive it is to not rent a storage unit, what can owners and managers do to increase their closing percentages on potential leads?

• Drop whatever youre doing and answer the phone, or stand up when a customer walks in the door. There really is nothing more important to do at a facility than rent space.
• Make every effort to gather names and contact numbers for every potential rental lead. Customers love to hear their name used a couple of times during the conversation, and professional salespeople know you cannot have an adult conversation without sharing names.
• Use the gathered contact information to follow up with customers who dont immediately rent a space. Why bother getting names and numbers if you never plan to use them? Potential customers are much more offended by salespeople who never check in with them than those who call too often.
• When talking to potential customers, take notes, including name, number, why they need storage, when theyll need it, what kind of unit, etc. Taking notes forces you to focus, and it gives you personal information you can use when the customer comes to the facility. So did your son get off to college, OK? You can ask that type of question if you made a note of it.
• Make sure the spaces listed on your vacant list are actually clean and rent-ready. Theres nothing more embarrassing than to show a unit that turns out to be dirty and unrentable.
• Close the sale! The customer contacted you about solving a need, so dont be shy about asking what it will take to get him to rent a space today. What have you got to lose?

Vacant storage space has no value to a self-storage operation. Keeping an empty facility spotlessly clean wont ever pay the bills. Fill the space, and youll be much more likely to be successful in this business.

Bob Copper is the partner in charge at Self Storage 101, an industry consulting firm that assists facility owner/operators and managers in developing more effective and profitable operational systems. It also aids in conducting performance reviews and providing the necessary tools to perform at higher levels in a competitive industry. To reach him, call 866.269.1311; e-mail [email protected]; visit www.selfstorage101.com .

Storage Post Self Storage has appointed Carol O'Kelley as its chief marketing officer (CMO), reporting to CEO Bruce Roch. O'Kelley's responsibilities include marketing strategy and operations for the company's existing properties, acquisitions and new developments.

O'Kelley has 20 years of leadership experience in marketing and operations, most recently as CMO of RedPrairie, a privately held supply chain, workforce and all-channel commerce software provider headquartered in Alpharetta, Ga. She has also held executive positions at Oracle, Manhattan Associates and Retek, which was acquired by Oracle in 2005. O'Kelley's expertise includes developing differentiated brand strategies, completing strategic acquisitions and successfully integrating them into existing operations, and creating marketing programs.

"Carol brings a track record of success as a strategy and marketing professional in high-growth segments. We have great confidence in her ability to take the Storage Post brand to the next level," said Roch. "Her background complements the experience of our existing executive leadership, and thereby enhances the strength of the Storage Post team. We are looking forward to this partnership."

O'Kelley lives in Dunwoody, Ga. She is a graduate of Washington and Lee University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in English. She has received many industry awards for her marketing accomplishments, including the Business Marketing Association's Bell and Excellence Award, the Web Marketing Association's Webby Award, and the International Visual Arts Academy's W3 Award.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Storage Post has locations along the East Coast and throughout the South, and is pursuing self-storage acquisitions.

All Canadian Self Storage hosted an event on Saturday commemorating the 100th anniversary of Leaside, Ontario, Canada, that featured speeches from Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other dignitaries. Harper spent 12 years growing up in the town and spoke to more than 250 guests attending the centennial celebration.

To mark the occasion, the self-storage facility on Laird Drive was decorated with plants, green turf covering the concrete floors, and red-tube lighting. Harper reminisced about his childhood and early political exposure while living in Leaside, including the debate over two designs for a new Canadian flag. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne also spoke.

In addition to speeches, the celebration included wine and champagne, dinner and dancing. The gala was one of several events marking 100 years since the towns incorporation in 1913. Other activities included heritage walking tours.

Founded in 1997, All Canadian Self Storage operates five facilities in Ontario. The company also offers mobile-storage services, truck rental and a full line of moving and packing supplies at each of its locations.

By Katelyn Murray

Facebooks latest development, Graph Search, is an innovative search engine exclusively for Facebook users. By way of a simple search on the social network, users can find out everything from which of their Facebook friends are single, to restaurants their friends in a certain city Like, or even businesses theyve visited recently. The new search engine is also a great way for self-storage businesses to connect with more prospective tenants.

Why Graph Search?

To create a more personal and relevant search, Graph Searchs goal is to return local results that are filtered through:

• Recommendations and interests of friends 
• The online and offline communities people belong to and trust
• The content a users friends engage with the most

The point of Graph Search is to give Facebook users results that are more closely aligned with their interests, friends, family and lifestyles. (This assumes their Facebook friends' interests are the best indications of their own.)

When it comes to local businesses on Facebook, its obvious why its never been more important to grow your page Likes and engage with your target audiences regularly. Quite simply, the more you do this, the more likely your self-storage business is to be found by the friends of your fans. Heres why.

How to Get the Most Out of Graph Search

Getting any benefit out of Graph Search relies on maximizing your businesss social media presence. Having a consistent social strategy in place will allow you even more access to a larger network on Facebook.
Once you've covered the basics and best practices for optimizing your Facebook page, you'll need to tailor your content to create a high amount of engagement. The more your audience engages with you on Facebook, the more exposure your business page will have among their friends.

Here are four huge but still practical tips for tailoring your social media approach in an effort to send you straight to the top of Graph Search results:

1. Focus on growing Facebook likes. Graph Search relies on universal search engine algorithms used by services such as Google and Bing. Quite simply, the more people engage with a page or a piece of content, the more popular it's perceived to be. Popularity determines relevancy and, in turn, a better search result.

For example, lets say one of your customers Facebook friends is searching for a self-storage facility in your city. By simply typing in self-storage and his city, if several (or even one) of his Facebook friends has liked your facilitys page, it will be shown to him in his search results.

Upping the ante on the search game, lets imagine a person has also engaged with the content youve posted on your page. Now your page is even more likely to show up in his friends Graph Search. That means growing your network and focusing on engaging that network is paramount.

2. Post images frequently. If you want to be as engaging as possible on Facebook, you must post images a majority of the time. There are a couple of reasons why.  

First and foremost, Facebook gives priority to photos in newsfeeds. If you want to show up and engage your fans, make photos your No. 1 focus in terms of content. The more you engage with your fans, the more likely their friends are to be exposed to your content.

Second, recent marketing studies show that images are the No. 1 form of content users engage with on Facebook. By simply posting an image alongside a link to your website, users are more likely to not only like your image, but also follow your link.

3. Create a Bing business profile. If during a users search Facebook does not find any relevant content within its social network, a supplemental database kicks inBing. This means Facebook will rely on pulling results from Bing (not Google) in the event it cant produce its own social results. The first thing you need to do to prepare for Graph Search is claim and complete a Bing business profile.

4. Encourage reviews on your Bing profile. This, of course, is the next step after completing your business profile. Any business with a healthy four- or five-star rating on Bing is going to come up at the top of Facebook Graph searches.  On the flip side, any businesses that do not have a Bing profile with great reviews will be summarily weeded out.  

Many businesses find that incentivizing reviews (good or bad) is the easiest way to approach this. However, local business review websites such as Yelp and Bing usually discourage businesses from doing so.

You can also try to be creative in how you ask for reviews. Create a review corner in your lobby with coffee, candy bars or snacks, where your customers can leave reviews from their mobile phones while relaxing or enjoying a treat. Provide Bing review cards at your facilitys front desk with instructions for your customers on how to leave reviews. Urge your managers to ask your customers for reviews personally, and do everything you can to ask for reviews in newsletters and on your website.

Facebooks Graph Search is still in beta but is live for a large group of users. This is the perfect time to get your social strategy in order and prepare your Facebook page and content to benefit from this new and effective local business tool.

Katelyn Murray is a marketing manager with EZ Storage, a self-storage facility with three locations in the Boston-metro area including Framingham, Natick and Newton. For more information, visit www.ezstoragenow.com.

Self-storage developers Brian Cisarik and Robert Loeb recently completed a 35,000-square-foot expansion of Austin Highway Self Storage in San Antonio. The project added 200 storage units to the facility as well as an oversized elevator and a canopy tenants can use to protect belongings while moving items.

The facility opened in June 2005 and is also comprised of a three-story, 72,000-square-foot building and four single-story buildings. The location includes a retail showroom with a full line of moving supplies as well as a conference room. The property primarily serves the communities of Alamo Heights and Terrell Hills.

The Austin Highway facility is one of three self-storage properties owned by Cisarik and Loeb in the San Antonio area. The others are Castle Hills Self Storage in the North-Central part of the city and 3009 Self Storage in Schertz, Texas. The developers said they are looking to expand their portfolio through acquisition and development opportunities.