by John Stevens
November 10, 2011 11:40 AM
There's no doubt about it. A business in today's world cannot easily survive without using technology of some sort. But, businesses - especially self storage businesses -- have to determine whether or not the technology is worth putting in the time and effort and what their return of their investment will be.
Stor-All Self Storage of Wichita, Kansas, is on the cutting edge of technology. They have security alarms on every individual unit, 24 hour surveillance cameras, and a keypad entry system that restricts entrance. They have a page in Facebook and now, as of November 7, they are even in Google Plus.
Google barely announced on November 7, that businesses, brands, and organizations are now allowed to create pages. In the past, pages were reserved only for individuals. Now that it is available for businesses, there is a big controversy whether or not a business should be in Google Plus.
Google Plus is a mixture of several services. With Google Circles, you organize friends in 'circles' or by topics such as business clients, friends, old high school chums, or family members. Google Circles makes it easy to share pictures, hold video chats, or exchange information with those in your circle. It also has Google reader (an RSS feed for blogs, newspapers, etc.) and Huddles (for group chatting or messaging).
Some people vehemently say that businesses should be on Google Plus. They claim that because it is so integrated with Google, the search engine, that businesses can't afford not to be there. Being in Google Plus will increase the likelihood that a business will be found in an Internet search. Google Plus would allow a business to send marketing material to a very targeted audience. A business could also very easily do video conferencing with customers.
Leon Moeder, owner of Stor-All Self Storage, claims to be the first self storage business in the nation to have a Google Plus page. His son, John, takes care of all of the business's social media marketing efforts.
Moeder wants to keep his business as visible to the public as much as possible. He's not sure how his business will use his Google Plus page just yet. But he is glad that for now, he at least has a presence there. He will be watching how things go with Google Plus to determine how best he can use it in his business.
Stor-All Self Storage has three locations and has been in business for 20 years.
Sources Used:
"Shoud your business be on Google Plus?" Biz Journals; 8 November 2011.
"Everything You Need to Know About Google+ (Including What The Heck It Is); Business Insider; 28 June 2011.
Stor-All Self Storage.