It’s April, and many college students are barreling fast toward the end of the school year. Moving out of a dorm room or apartment presents unique challenges to this demographic. Self-storage businesses are wise to provide a solution.
Why should you market to the college student demographic?
College students live in town for a temporary period. Many students live in dorms with strict move-in and move-out schedules. The rest generally live off campus in apartments or homes. If students plan to return to their hometown during the summer months, June and July, many will try to save on rent and make the difficult decision to pack up.
By focusing marketing efforts on the short-term needs of college students, savvy business owners know that two months could easily turn into four years of a strong tenant. How many college students acquire too much stuff while in school, away from home? Having extra storage space for the duration of college allows students to retrieve their belongings when needed and store items as well.
How to market to the college student demographic
Creating a robust marketing plan that focuses annually on specific time periods is beneficial. Creating a marketing calendar with scheduled content allows for both creativity and organization in your marketing. It also makes it really easy to see which content works best and focus on that area.
During February-May, an ideal marketing plan would include 15-20 pieces of content focusing on the college demographic in order to attract these tenants. The remaining 30 pieces of content will focus more generally on the business and other niche interests that might attract new customers. This means that 1-2 posts per week during this period of time would be focused on the college student demographic. Another period of time that this type of focus makes sense would be July-September. As students move into dorm rooms and apartments, it may become clear that they brought way too much stuff. Many students will just toss perfectly good items into the trash. (gasp!) Show them a better way.
Self-storage not located in a college town?
If your self-storage is not located in a college town, don’t think this post doesn’t apply to you. There are likely to be college students living in your town. It’s important to consider marketing to these students as well. Some students may prefer to bring everything back home, but their parents may need the space and seek a solution like self-storage. Self-storage businesses can meet the need and provide an affordable solution. Dad gets to keep his garage neat and tidy, and Mom can keep her guest bedroom free of bins and boxes.
Whatever the problem, self-storage is the answer.
As a self-storage business owner, self-storage must always be the answer. So many people need a place to store extra belongings. Always be ready to explain to people why and how self-storage can make life easier and tidier.
At Coastal Storage, we focus solely on self-storage acquisition, development, and sales. Our team of experts has decades of experience in this specialty market. Call us today at 904-591-0140 to learn more about working with us. We will help you find your next best investment.