The Storage.co.uk Award for Social Media Integration

Having a social-media presence is undoubtedly becoming more and more important for self storage businesses looking to connect with their customers in a new way.

It seems amazing to reflect that no one had heard of Facebook or Twitter less than a decade ago. Now that so much advertising has moved online, social media has become the best way for firms to begin building a personal relationship with their clients before they’ve even visited the storage centre. It’s something that no forward-thinking storage firm can afford to be without, yet some companies have definitely used social media more successfully than others.

This award is designed to reward the self storage businesses that have done the most to attract people to their social media pages, assessed by both the variety of social media services they’ve got involved with and how successful each one has been at getting them attention.

Here, in alphabetical order, are the five winners:

Barretts Self Storage – This Oxforshire-based company has made intelligent, progressive use of social media, having built up an impressive number of followers for its Twitter account. It also has an entertaining and approachable blog that helps introduce new customers to the world of self storage.

Evans Easyspace – This self-styled ‘flexible workspace’ firm, which also offers self storage at sites across northern England and Scotland, has done very well in attracting people to both its Facebook and Twitter accounts. Both platforms are used to advertise specific sites where space is available – a great example of using social media to provide the customer with tailored information.

Merthyr Self Storage – A South-Wales self storage company that has also built up an impressive following on Twitter and Facebook, it has even incorporated an RSS feed into its blog to keep people automatically up-to-date with it.

Safe Depot – Possibly the most connected self storage firm in the UK, Safe Depot’s website boasts links with a remarkable 16 different social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Yahoo and LinkedIn. Yet there is depth as well as breadth to this social media frenzy, as their strong Facebook profile demonstrates.

Self Storage Standish – In last place only alphabetically, this Lancashire self storage firm has done tremendously to attract over 350 Facebook friends, and nearly 150 Twitter followers. Its success shows what having a strong commitment to social media can achieve, even for a small independent self storage company.