Have you ever seen a storage billboard and wondered?
Is it a viable self storage marketing strategy? Will your ad get you more renters?
We’ve got good news. Billboards can serve your marketing campaign when used correctly.
What’s the best way to use a billboard? We’ll outline the most effective ways to see returns on your local marketing investment, including what to put on your billboard ad and best practices for choosing a location.
Download the 2025 Self Storage Marketing Playbook here!
You'll need to calculate ROI based on your market and the cost of rental in your area.
Like with any marketing campaign, you want to make an informed decision before you sink money into it. And while billboard advertising campaigns make waves in nationwide markets, it’s important to remember that our numbers are different.
Self storage is a needs-based industry, so we’re not likely to see the 5:1 ROI that some sources claim in other markets.
Instead, we’ll need to think more in line with our industry. Let’s start with the cost.
Here’s the short version:
Talking about billboard prices generally, you’re likely to get a range that makes decision-making difficult (think $600-$15,000 a month). Why do billboards fall within such a wide range? Location, features, and demand.
A more competitive city features more expensive billboards. Want it laminated to prevent vandalism? That’s more expensive. Digital billboards generally cost more than physical ones, too. And having your billboard illuminated for better visibility’s another premium.
We’ll give you some general numbers, but remember that the price will vary depending on your city.
Determining your location and needs for billboard amenities work hand-in-hand with the cost. Do a little research before going all-in on a self storage billboard advertisement. And when you know your target cost, it’s time to crunch some numbers.
The quick answer to the question “what’s the ROI on a self storage billboard ad” is…that there isn’t a quick answer. Since your billboard campaign generally builds brand awareness for when a viewer needs your service, you aren’t always getting direct ROI.
That doesn’t stop us from calculating what we can. Let’s look at this in terms of renters.
Use this simple formula to determine ROI for your self storage billboard campaign: Cost of the billboard per month divided by your average rent per month, or Cost/rent=number of renters.
Here’s how it works. Let’s say you’re in a rural area and you’re spending $600 per month on a billboard. You charge around $200 a month per rent. So with 600 divided by 200, we get 3. That’s 3 renters needed to break even. 3 renters gives you a 1:1 ROI. With that baseline established, you know that every 3 renters increases your ROI by one more. 6 renters? That’s a 2:1 ROI. 9 renters? 3:1.
This changes, of course, based on what you’re spending and what you charge. If you’re only getting $200 a month from renters in a huge city, and you’re spending $4900 a month on a billboard ad, you’d need 25 renters just to get a 1:1 ROI.
But let’s say you offer incredible service and those renters you pulled from the billboard campaign stay with you a while. Now they’re covering the cost of keeping it up–and any new renters now boost the ROI higher.
On the other hand, you might put the billboard up and get no new renters. We’d love to offer a world in which buying the ad space guarantees a rental, but we all know ads aren’t a guaranteed return. Unless you’re running a referral campaign, of course.
You are running a referral campaign, right?
You can track your website’s ROI almost automatically. Billboards don’t exactly track their ROI for you, though. Setting up a tracking number or even a tracked URL to include on your billboard can help. But leads may end up heading to your website manually instead.
The best way to track your self storage billboard advertising campaign’s ROI is to build it into your sales process. Got a new lead on the phone? Ask how they heard about you. Record their answer. Someone’s filling out a form on your website? See if your web developer can include a means to learn what sent them your way.
It’s not a 100% accurate method. Some people may misremember their first contact with you, or skip filling out that part of a form. You can always try again the next time you interact with a customer or even do a little asking around once they’ve been with you a while.
But even if you only learn about some of your conversions, it’s information you won’t have unless you gather it.
There’s also a more indirect measure. Take a look at your website traffic and rate of rentals before you start your billboard campaign. Monitor traffic and conversions over time and see if you’re getting an increase.
Sure, you won’t be able to say for certain that the billboard caused the increase–but you can determine whether or not it’s a contributing factor.
When using billboards, the minimum time you want to have them up is at least 30 days. It’s hard to measure the effectiveness of anything less.
And the more billboards you have in your target area, the more exposure you’ll get. Just increasing the number doesn’t automatically mean you’ll get more leads, of course. There are only so many people in your area looking for storage at a time.
The same rules for placement apply for each billboard.
If possible, tracking which billboard brought you which leads helps you to know how much work each one’s doing for you.
Let’s start with the basics. We know that self storage is a highly-localized industry. That means that physical marketing in self storage doesn’t have the same advantages or drawbacks that it might for a nationwide or global business.
With that in mind, let’s talk about the reasons billboard marketing might work for you…and the factors that might lead you toward a different method.
Self Storage Billboard Ads Pros and Cons:
You’ll have to balance many factors before deciding whether or not to try out billboard advertising for your self storage facility. As with any marketing campaign, tracking its effectiveness matters. Pay special attention to how you solve for the harder to measure ROI.
Rent a billboard space in a high-traffic area within 10-30 minutes of your storage facility.
Most storage facility clients live within 10 miles of the facility.
That’s our general radius to work with. You know your market, but use this range as a starting point. After all, you want your marketing spend to bring in renters.
Visit potential billboard locations to get a feel for the area and the amount of traffic. Doing a little physical scouting can also tell you which companies are advertising nearby.
If you’re considering a digital billboard, make sure it is well-maintained (i.e., not missing pixels).
You don’t just want any billboard to advertise your self storage facility. You want a clean billboard in the right place.
Where should a self storage billboard advertisement go? Rent a billboard space in a high-traffic area within 10-30 minutes of your storage facility. This method targets people who either live near your facility or can make it part of their commute.
High-traffic, nearby areas aren’t just good because they’re close to you. In this case, people who see your ad know about you–and might be the first facility that comes to mind when they need a storage unit.
65% of viewers look at billboards longer than other outdoor mediums.
According to Gitnux, “45% of drivers report that billboard advertising influences their shopping decisions.” And 65% of viewers say they look at billboards longer than other outdoor advertising mediums.
Yes! If it's also near your business. You already get free advertising from your location. Boost it with a billboard!
Billboards on major highways and commuter routes make up 85% of the outdoor ads a consumer sees (Gitnux). That makes advertising along those routes the higher-value choice.
And considering that campaigns that make use of billboards have “a 25% higher digital search activity compared to campaigns without outdoor ads,” it makes sense to get the most exposure you can.
With 58% of consumers remembering a brand after seeing a billboard ad, it’s a useful tool in getting your name in front of potential leads. Of course, billboards aren’t the only way to drive traffic with your self storage physical marketing!
Which raises an important point–your billboard shouldn't work solo.
You have the location picked out–but what should go on your self storage billboard advertisement? Let’s cover a few fundamentals and best practices. Feel free to experiment when you get more comfortable with the basics!
Before we put anything on your billboard, remember the long-term goal of even buying an outdoor ad. Bringing leads your way with no way of converting them wastes money.
A website that lets users rent units online is still your most powerful tool for turning leads into renters. Digital advertising offers advantages that a billboard doesn’t have: the ability to adjust your spend, tailor your message, and measure Return on Investment automatically.
In other words, if you’re using a billboard to advertise your self storage facility, don’t make it your only channel.
Pair it with a well built self storage marketing website and digital advertising.
The industry consensus on billboards frames them as a tool for building brand awareness.
After all, billboards don’t allow for in-depth communication. They can’t determine a lead’s particular needs or get their contact information for you. Not only are they not interactive, there’s just no time for them to do any of that.
The best practice is simple: Limit your copy and use one dominant graphic element.
How long should self storage billboard copy be? The ideal length of billboard copy is six words or less.
This might sound like an impossible task. Almost no business can convey its entire marketing message in six words. But you don’t have to–you’re just highlighting the important details.
Drivers typically have only a few seconds to view your billboard, too, so use your copy to show them you’re in a place that’s convenient to them and what makes your facility special.
The exit you’re nearest to is a good way to show them your location.
You can test your billboard design from a driver’s perspective with the “arm’s length test.”
Once you have your billboard design, print it out to the size of a business card and hold it at arm’s length.
Can you easily read it? If not, your design needs some tweaking.
The most memorable billboards often use humor or cleverness to convey their message.
Like a trio of cow mascots encouraging you to eat chickens at a fast food chain, for example.
Gitnux tells us that 60% of viewers find outdoor billboards more attractive when they feature bright, contrasting colors.
It’s easy to get distracted by the design, though. Remember that your goal is to give drivers a clear idea of where you are and why they should choose you when they need a storage unit.
Beyond the location and design, the medium for your billboard advertisement matters. Gitnux tells us that “81% of Americans aged 18-34 are more likely to notice digital billboards than traditional static ones.”
And digital billboards give another advantage: the ability to modify your message remotely. Changing deals, new amenities, updated copy–it’s all covered with a high-tech digital billboard.
So does that mean digital’s in, traditional’s out? Not exactly. While a digital billboard offers plenty of advantages, they’re perks you pay for.
Keep this in mind: digital billboards generally perform better, but they also cost more. At the end of the day, a self storage marketing campaign needs to bring in renters proportional to its cost.
Is a self storage billboard advertisement right for you? Between choosing the right location, crafting an effective and quick message, and balancing the cost with the potential return, it’s not an easy decision.
The good news is that you don’t have to figure all of it out at once. Marketing your self storage facility is about building a strong foundation and adjusting based on the data you gather. Keep an eye on your numbers and learn more about your market every day. You’ve got this!
Want to learn more about self storage marketing? We’ll go in-depth in other areas in these articles:
