For self storage facilities, generating a consistent flow of leads is one of the biggest challenges operators face. In fact, 65% of businesses are struggling to generate leads.
With increasing competition and shifting customer expectations, relying solely on walk-in or word-of-mouth referrals is no longer enough.
Potential renters expect a seamless online experience, quick responses, and easy booking options. If they don’t find these things right away, they’ll potentially move to a competitor.
However, there are proven lead-generation strategies that can help you attract, engage, and convert more customers.
In this guide, we’ll walk through the best ways to generate leads for your self storage business, helping you stay ahead of the competition and keep your units full.
What Is Lead Generation for Self Storage Facilities?
If you already have a good understanding of what lead generation is, you can skip to our next section. Keep reading if you need more guidance.
Lead generation for self storage facilities refers to attracting potential customers and converting them into paying tenants.
A “lead” is anyone who expresses interest in renting your storage units, whether by calling your facility, filling out an online inquiry form, or engaging with your marketing content.
Effective lead-generation strategies help self storage operators maintain high occupancy rates, reduce vacancy periods, and maximize revenue.
Leads can come from various channels, including digital marketing, traditional advertising, and word-of-mouth referrals. We’ll unpack some of these channels shortly.
Types of Leads in Self Storage
Not all leads are the same; they can be categorized based on how they’re acquired and the effort required to convert them into paying customers. Below are the main types of leads in self storage:
➡️ Inbound leads
Inbound leads are potential customers who actively seek out storage solutions and reach out to your facility on their own.
These leads typically have a high intent to rent a storage unit, making them easier to convert.
Inbound practices typically produce 54% more leads than outbound strategies. There are two types of inbound leads:
Organic leads
These leads come from organic marketing efforts, typically through search engines, social media, or word-of-mouth referrals. Organic leads have a 14.6% close rate, compared to 1.7% for outbound marketing leads.
Organic leads tend to already have high trust in your facility because they found it naturally rather than through paid advertisements.
Paid leads
Paid leads come from advertising campaigns in which a self storage facility invests in ads, such as Facebook or Google Ads, to attract potential customers.
These leads can deliver fast results and help fill vacancies quickly, but they can be expensive.
➡️ Outbound leads
Outbound leads are generated through proactive outreach efforts where a self storage business initiates contact with potential renters.
These leads may not be actively searching for storage but could become interested if presented with the right offer.
Outbound leads come with their own set of challenges, as only 16% of marketers say that outbound practices provide the highest quality leads.
5 Strategies to Generate Leads for Your Self Storage Business
Now that you know more about self storage leads, let’s unpack some strategies you can use to attract new customers to your facility:
1. Search engine optimization (SEO)
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a critical strategy for self storage facilities that want to attract more qualified leads and increase occupancy rates.
By optimizing your website and online presence for search engines like Google, a facility can improve its rankings in search results, making it easier for potential customers to find and choose their services.
SEO's return on investment (ROI) ranges from 550% to 1,220%, making it highly worthwhile.
SEO works by improving various aspects of a website and its online presence to ensure it appears higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) when users search for relevant keywords such as “self storage near me” or “climate-controlled storage in [city]”.
As you can see below, these websites are ranking well for the keyword “self storage Salt Lake City”:
A well-optimized website and a strong local SEO strategy can help your facility attract organic traffic, leading to more inquiries and rentals.
⭐ The importance of local SEO for self storage facilities
Since self storage customers typically look for facilities near their homes or businesses, local SEO is one of the most critical aspects of an effective lead-generation strategy.
Local SEO focuses on optimizing a facility’s online presence to appear in searches by people in a specific geographic area. This is important because 46% of Google searches are local.
For example, when a potential customer searches for “self storage near me”, Google displays results based on their location. Facilities that have properly optimized their local SEO are more likely to appear in Google’s Local Pack—the top three listings in organic search results.
Here is an example of what Google’s Local Pack looks like:
Below are some tips you can follow to optimize your local SEO and attract more customers:
1️⃣ Set up and optimize your Google Business Profile (GBP)
Google Business Profile is one of the most essential tools for local SEO. A well-optimized GBP listing can significantly improve your facility’s visibility in search results and Google Maps.
Additionally, over 50% of Google Business Profile interactions produce website visits.
Here are some steps to take to optimize your GBP:
✅ Claim and verify your profile at Google Business.
✅ Ensure your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) are accurate and match your website.
✅ Add high-quality images of your facility, including unit sizes, security features, and office areas.
✅ Select the correct business categories and service offerings.
✅ Write a detailed description that includes relevant keywords.
✅ Regularly update your listing with posts, promotions, and updates about your services.
Below is a good example of a self storage facility that has fully optimized its GBP to attract more leads through local SEO:
2️⃣ Build local citations
Local citations are online mentions of a business’s name, address, and phone number on directories and websites. These citations help search engines verify the legitimacy of your business and improve local search rankings.
You can list your storage facility on Yelp, Bing Places, Yellow Pages, and industry-specific sites like SpareFoot.
Here’s an example of a local citation on Yelp for a self storage business:
3️⃣ Encourage positive reviews online
Online reviews play a significant role in local SEO and lead generation. Positive reviews build trust with potential customers and improve your rankings. In fact, 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
You can get more reviews by:
✅ Asking satisfied customers to leave a review on Google, Yelp, or Facebook.
✅ Sending follow-up emails or texts to recent renters with a direct link to leave a review.
Below is an example of GBP that’s getting great reviews. This is potentially improving their search rankings:
2. Social media marketing
Social media marketing is a powerful tool for self storage facilities to attract and engage potential customers. Over 68% of marketers say social media has helped them generate more leads.
This type of marketing involves using platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and even TikTok to promote storage services, build brand awareness, and generate leads.
By maintaining an active social media presence, self storage facilities can connect with local residents and businesses, provide helpful storage-related content, and encourage direct inquiries.
Social media platforms help self storage businesses generate leads in several ways:
👉 Increases brand visibility: Regularly posting engaging content keeps your facility top-of-mind when people need storage.
👉 Builds trust through social proof: Sharing customer reviews, testimonials, and user-generated content (UGC) demonstrates credibility.
👉 Encourages direct inquiries: Customers can easily send messages, comment on posts, or click through to your website for more information.
👉 Improves local engagement: Social media allows you to interact with your local community, forming partnerships and networking with potential leads.
👉 Drives website traffic: Sharing blog posts, promotions, and videos can lead potential renters to a website where they can book a unit.
To maximize social media lead generation, we suggest you implement the following:
1️⃣ Create useful and valuable content
Social media success depends on sharing relevant and valuable content with your audience.
Your goal should be to educate, entertain, and inform potential customers while positioning your facility as the best storage option.
The types of content you could post include storage tips, facility features, behind-the-scenes posts, and local community involvement.
This self storage facility regularly shares entertaining and engaging videos and updates about its business on Facebook:
2️⃣ Post regularly
Posting regularly keeps your audience engaged and ensures your facility stays visible in social media feeds.
A sporadic or inactive social media presence can make your business appear unprofessional or out of touch.
3️⃣ Engage with users
Social media is a two-way communication channel. Simply posting content isn’t enough; you must actively engage with your audience.
4️⃣ Encourage UGC
UGC is any content created by your customers that features your business. This could be photos, videos, or testimonials posted on their social media accounts.
This type of content builds social proof and trust because potential customers see people using and recommending your services.
5️⃣ Share success stories
Customer reviews and testimonials are among the most persuasive types of content on social media. In fact, 72% of customers trust a business more after reading positive reviews and testimonials.
Since many people check reviews before making a purchase decision, showcasing positive feedback can help convert social media visitors into leads.
Below is a social media post from a self storage facility that shares a customer testimonial:
6️⃣ Create a dedicated landing page for social media leads
When potential tenants click a link in your social media profile, they should be directed to a dedicated landing page designed to capture their information and encourage them to take action.
3. Content marketing
Content marketing is a strategic approach to creating and sharing valuable, relevant content to attract, engage, and convert potential customers.
Instead of directly promoting your facility with traditional advertising, content marketing focuses on educating and helping potential renters, positioning your business as a trusted resource in the industry.
Content marketing plays a key role in lead generation for self storage facilities by driving website traffic, improving search engine rankings, and nurturing potential renters until they’re ready to book a unit.
Here are some content marketing strategies you could use to drive leads:
1️⃣ Blogging
This is one of the most effective ways to generate leads in self storage. Over 83% of internet users read blogs each month—so by publishing informative, SEO-optimized blog posts—your facility can attract potential tenants searching for answers to their storage-related questions.
This self storage facility shares helpful blog posts on its website, which could help it capture leads by answering common questions:
2️⃣ Lead magnets
A lead magnet is a valuable piece of content that users can access in exchange for their contact information, such as an email address.
Lead magnets help self storage facilities build an email list and nurture potential customers over time.
3️⃣ Video
Video content is one of the most engaging forms of marketing and can significantly impact lead generation. Potential customers prefer to see a facility in action rather than just reading about it.
This self storage business shares virtual tours and walkthroughs of its facility using video. It has included a link to its website in the description of the video for interested leads to visit:
4️⃣ Infographics
Infographics present complex information in a visually engaging format. They’re easy to digest and highly sharable, making them a great addition to a self storage content marketing strategy.
This self storage facility regularly enhances its blog posts by including well-designed infographics that break down complex information into an easily digestible visual:
4. Paid advertising
Paid advertising is another effective way for self storage facilities to generate leads quickly. For every dollar spent on Google Ads, businesses typically earn an average return on investment (ROI) of $2.
Unlike organic strategies like SEO and content marketing, paid ads allow you to target potential renters directly, ensuring your facility appears in front of people actively searching for storage solutions.
There are two main types of paid advertising:
1. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
PPC ads appear at the top of SERPs when users search for keywords related to self storage. These are most commonly run through Google Ads and Bing Ads.
These ads also include display ads and retargeting (also known as remarketing) ads.
Display ads appear on websites across the internet through banners, images, or interactive content. These ads are typically run through Google Display Network (GDN) or third-party advertising platforms.
Retargeting ads are designed to re-engage users who have previously visited your self storage website but didn’t take action. These ads remind potential tenants about your facility and encourage them to return and complete their unit booking.
Below are examples of PPC advertising run through Google Ads. As you can see, these are the sponsored results that appear at the top of the SERPs:
2. Social media advertising
Self storage facilities can run paid ads on social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn. These ads can target specific demographics, interests, and behaviors.
Below is an example of a Facebook ad run by a self storage business advertising its units and low pricing:
5. Email marketing
Email marketing is an excellent way to nurture leads, engage potential customers, and encourage repeat business.
The average ROI for email marketing ranges from $36 to $40 for every dollar spent, making it a worthwhile marketing investment.
Email marketing involves sending targeted emails to potential and existing customers to build relationships, provide valuable information, and drive conversions.
For self storage businesses, email marketing works by capturing leads—such as website visitors, social media users, or previous renters—and keeping them engaged through regular communication.
Below are some email marketing tips to follow to generate and nurture self storage leads effectively:
1️⃣ Use automation
Manually sending emails to every lead is time-consuming and inefficient. Automation tools like Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, or HubSpot allow operators to schedule and send emails automatically based on customer actions.
Automated emails generate 320% more revenue than non-automated ones, as you can be highly specific with your audience segmentation and targeting.
2️⃣ Personalize your emails
Generic, one-size-fits-all emails are a lot less effective than personalized messages. Personalization makes emails feel relevant and tailored to each recipient. Also, personalized emails achieve a higher open rate of 29% and a click-through rate of 41%.
Ensure you use the recipient’s name, reference past interactions, and segment your email lists based on customer types to deliver target messages.
3️⃣ Write compelling subject lines
A great email won’t generate leads if it's never opened. Your subject line is the first thing recipients see, making it crucial for engagement.
Keep your subject lines short, create a sense of urgency, and personalize them wherever possible.
Examples include:
👉 “Need Storage? Lock in Our Best Rate Today!”
👉 “Your Self Storage Quote – What’s Next?”
👉 “First Month Free? Here’s How to Claim Your Offer”
4️⃣ Use clear calls to action (CTAs)
Every email should have a clear goal, whether to encourage a quote request, guide users to a blog post or prompt them to book a unit. A strong CTA tells recipients exactly what action to take once they’ve read your email.
Some effective CTAs to consider include:
👉 "Reserve Your Unit Now" (Links to an online booking page).
👉 "Get a Free Quote" (Leads to a quote request form).
👉 "See Our Storage Tips" (Directs users to a helpful blog post).
👉 "Claim Your Discount" (Takes users to a limited-time promotion).
This self storage facility sends out highly informative, helpful marketing emails to engage potential customers:
Unlock the Best Self Storage Lead Capture Platform and Grow Your Storage Company
Generating leads for your self storage facility requires a multi-faceted approach that leverages both organic and paid strategies.
Implementing SEO, content marketing, social media, paid advertising, and email can attract potential customers and convert them into paying renters.
However, capturing leads is only half the work. Converting them efficiently is what ultimately drives revenue. That’s why having the right tools in place to streamline the booking process and manage customer inquiries is essential.
Stora’s online sales and lead capture features make it easy for self storage businesses to convert website visitors into paying customers.
With online bookings, automated lead follow-ups, and seamless payment processing, we help operators eliminate friction and maximize conversions.
Don’t let valuable leads slip away. Sign up for a free Stora demo today to transform your self storage website into a lead-generating powerhouse.
