It used to be that whenever you would see someone talking to themselves while they are standing in line or walking down the street that you would slowly back away from them (in order not to spook the crazy person). Nowadays that person could still be crazy and maybe you should back away, but the chances are even greater that they are talking on their cell phone via a blue tooth device that you could not see until you looked closer. However, when you looked closer that person thought you were crazy.

The fact is that the world has gone electronic and people are connected to something virtually every second of the day. On a daily basis there are approximately 660 million internet searches a day on mobile devices, about 15 percent of the total number of daily web searches. That equates to 660 million chances to advertise as well. With one in four mobile devices web-friendly smart-phones and the sale of IPads and similar products expected to hit $55 million this year that number will continue to grow.

So why should someone in the self storage industry care about this? Because each and every search done on a mobile device is a prime advertising opportunity.

As mobile devices continue to evolve into easier to use devices capable of accessing the web with ease the number of users will go up exponentially. Along with that will be the opportunity for people to find out about your self storage facility.

Studies have shown that people that search for a particular type of product are highly likely to purchase what they search for in the near future. With the capability for mobile users to use a navigation or mapping system the likelihood of them coming to see your facility when they search for it is high, especially with the self storage industry being geocentric.

The big benefit is in the advertising opportunities that come with so many web hits.

“The early adopters to mobile marketing will be able to get an early mover advantage and stand out to a greater degree, within a medium where a growing number of buying empowered and demographically attractive users are increasingly spending their time,” says Michael Boland, senior analyst and program director of BIA/Kelsey.

A number of different ways exist in which you can advertise. Text services like ChaCha.com attach advertisements to the text messages they send out. Applications make most of their money off of advertising via banners that are worked in as part of the application. There are currently around 225,000 apps for the IPhone and another 70,000 for the Android with more being created all the time. Whenever people use the link they will see a banner for your self storage facility!

Spending a lot of money on mobile advertising is not necessary. You can cover as wide a geographic region as you want, and even be specific in what kind of applications your banner ads will go out on. Add your banner to the right one and that ‘crazy’ guy in line with you at Starbucks may be your next self storage customer!

Sources Used:

"Capturing Today's Self Storage Consumers With Mobile Search." Inside Self Storage; 05 January 2011.

“Mobile marketing will find its stride in 2011, though ‘app-athy’ may set in, Forrester says.” Internet Retailer; 19 January 2011.