To many people, artificial intelligence (AI) seems like the ultimate technology. The term conjures images of golden robots shuffling through the sand, malevolent villains intent on destruction, and disembodied personal assistants who can build a flying suit of armor.
Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective) the real-life application of AI is much more mundane—so far. And yet, it can be a fantastic addition to a business operator’s toolset, particularly on the marketing side. It not only simplifies many tasks, it can take data capture and analysis to the next level.
Digital marketing is becoming increasingly important in the self-storage industry, and AI can be applied to supercharge your efforts. Let’s look at its core capabilities and why you should consider incorporating it into your promotional strategies. We’ll also discuss three types of tools that are the most beneficial for this industry.
Why Use It?
According to Microsoft, AI is “the capability of a computer system to mimic human cognitive functions such as learning and problem-solving.” The key word here is “mimic.” AI tools are trained through a process called machine learning. If you provide enough data, correctly tweak the algorithm and supply enough computing power, the output of AI can be alarmingly human-like.
In other words, AI tools recognize, analyze and replicate patterns. Over the last few years, software refinements have allowed these tools to “understand” language. These advancements have captured the imagination of the general public and resulted in some of the most interesting tools available today. For example, read the following:
By using AI as a marketing tool, marketers can gain valuable insights into their target audiences, optimize campaigns for maximum impact, and improve overall ROI [return on investment]. With the ability to quickly and accurately analyze vast amounts of data, AI can help marketers identify patterns and trends. Additionally, AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can provide personalized customer service 24/7, freeing up marketers to focus on other tasks. Overall, incorporating AI into marketing strategies is essential for staying competitive in today’s fast-paced digital landscape.
While the above paragraph outlines core reasons why marketers should want to use AI, it was also written by a machine—Jasper AI, to be precise—from the simple prompt: “Write a paragraph about why marketers should use AI as a marketing tool.” While AI isn’t powerful enough to write all of your content, this response is a good illustration of just how advanced (and useful) it can be.
The Most Beneficial Tools
While AI is exciting to discuss in general, its best use cases are specific. Before implementing any new technology as part of your self-storage marketing strategy, it’s important to know what you want and how AI might help. For example:
- Are you looking to save time on certain tasks?
- Do you want better data to help you make more informed decisions?
- Is there a specific occupancy rate or other number you’d like to hit?
- Would you like to improve the quality of product deliverables?
AI tools are surprisingly diverse and can be used in all kinds of ways. However, the following will be the most useful to marketers:
Content generators create written material from prompts or inputs. Some are free, while others require a paid subscription. If you’re a self-storage marketer, they can help you produce copy for a facility website, come up with ideas for the company blog, and shorten the time it takes to fill emails and ads. In short, they can supercharge your writing process.
Some content generators have received a lot of press attention recently, mostly because they’re good at what they’re designed to do. Here are a few of which you may have heard:
- ChatGPT has gained the widest media following.
- Jasper AI is easy to use and customize.
- Writesonic produces entire blogs and other types of content.
AI chatbots function as fluid online assistants, helping you automate customer support and provide answers to common questions from website visitors. Equipping your self-storage website with a well-tuned chatbot can quickly provide pertinent information to users outside of standard operating hours and limit the number of inquiries your staff has to handle. There are a wide variety of options to explore, but conversational technology is a core part of offerings from Chatfuel, Drift and Zendesk.
Voice recognition, though not as common in self-storage as of yet, can help automate tedious or even impossible tasks. It can also be effective in training your customer-service team to provide more accurate information, which helps convert leads into sales. Here are a few notable examples:
- Chorus AI is a powerful sales and customer-support tool that can listen to recordings of calls, identify use of keywords and even track how many times a question was asked.
- Murf is a versatile text-to-speech tool that can create realistic sounding recordings directly from text.
- Podcastle is a podcasting and recording tool that can provide AI-generated transcriptions and easily fix recording quality with just a few clicks.
A Crafty Tool, Not a Cure-All
With all the rapid advancements in technology today, it’s easy to be distracted by flashy demos and amazing promises. Just remember that AI is a marketing tool, not a shortcut. It does some things very well and others not so much. Implementing every new program under the sun won’t eradicate the need for fundamentally sound, human-driven marketing strategies that are attuned to your specific self-storage operation. No matter how much you lean into AI, it’s only as effective as the people who use it.
Matt LaMar is the manager of content production for Go Local Interactive, an Overland Park, Kansas-based digital-marketing agency that offers solutions for search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, local-listings management, content and web development, and more. To reach him, call 913.689.3170; email [email protected].
