The benefit of having an online self storage community is to share ideas, concerns and to debate topics relevant to the industry. Self-Storage Talk, the industry’s largest online community, has taken the concept a step further to include the sharing of documents and resources.
Yesterday marked the first day the Resource Center has been up and running. Created as a result of member requests, the center will allow members to download and upload ad creative, maintenance schedules, sales scripts, information and promo sheets, brochures, staff policies and procedures, training manuals, and more. The new area is only available to registered and logged-in members.
Members may upload resources when they create a new post and click on the paperclip button in the top row of the posting window. Several file types, including .jpg, .doc, and .pdf are accepted and the feature allows users to upload files from the computer or internet.
Self Storage Talk (SST) has been growing in numbers during recent years, giving the self storage industry an opportunity to voice their concerns, ideas and thoughts in a community setting. SST has been gaining popularity since its beginning in January 2008. In addition to more than 4,100 registered members, SST has approximately 4,270 discussion threads and 37,700 posts in 23 different topical sub-forums. ISS provides publications, events and educational resources for the self-storage industry.
SST community manager, John Carlsile, said this new addition to the online community shows the power members have in molding SST to fit their needs. He welcomes any other suggestions and can be reached at jcarlisle@vpico.com.
Here are some facts about SST:
• Self Storage Talk is free and those interested do not have to be members of ISS, subscribers to ISS magazine, or ISS Expo attendees.
• You do not have to be tech-savvy to use it. All you need is a computer with internet access.
• Moderators and administrators monitor the forum and members are generally friendly and respectful.
• Members can disclose their identities or chose to remain anonymous.
Resources Used:
Carlisle, John. “Self-Storage Talk Adds New Section: Resource Center.” Inside Self-Storage. April 4, 2011.
Stevens, John. “SelfStorageTalk.com Gaining Momentum As Biggest Forum for Self Storage Industry.” Self Storage Industry News. March 23, 2011.