Here’s Your Automotive Digital Marketing Guide to Stay Ahead of Competitors in 2018

The digital marketing realm is constantly evolving hence, naturally making it difficult to keep pace with all recent developments. Also, simply keeping up with the trends isn’t enough, auto dealers have to make the best use of the new technology to stay ahead in the game. 

This guide will help auto dealers and digital marketers utilize their time and effort in automotive digital marketing services that reap results. From SEO and web design to social media and content marketing, this extensive guide touches upon all these important factors.

SEO

The way people research about cars is changing and voice search is the new big thing in 2018. With technology like Google voice search, Amazon Echo and Siri, talking to gadgets is becoming a part of daily life.  According to studies, nearly 20% searches are done through voice recognition. Hence, car advertising agencies need to leverage this new trend in their campaigns.

Keywords here continue to hold prominent position. Instead of short keywords, people are asking real questions and conversing with their gadgets, hence, conversational and natural keywords need to have a place in your keyword strategy.

The second major trend is mobile indexing. Mobile first indexing basically means that desktop versions of a website will no longer be indexed, instead search engines (Google) will give preference to mobile versions of the website instead. This means making mobile search friendly websites is more important today than ever.

Social Media

Micro influencers are playing an active and valuable part in social media marketing. A micro influencer is the one who has a relatively smaller follower base, yet high engagement and genuine followers. These influencers post genuine content which their followers appreciate, hence, marketing through them allow a more targeted approach and cost effectiveness.

Content

This year, car advertising agencies must mostly focus on video and mobile content. Studies reveal that people are four times more likely to watch a video over text content regarding the same subject. And, live video streaming is such a trend these days, its importance has heightened in 2018. Live streaming is also very affordable; hence, small auto dealers can take advantage of this in creative ways. Rather than writing a blog describing a service or features of a car, auto dealers can host a live stream and give out details while also answering questions along with it.

Hence, automotive digital marketing services in 2018 should focus on real time marketing and relation building. Text content here plays the role of supporting videos. Video captions, social media posts and introductions to vlogs still require appealing text content to make users hit play on your video. In a way, content, whether video or text content, continue to remain the top influencer.

Lastly, personalized auto advertisements need attention in 2018.  Ad technology has helped publishers in targeting potential customers, what is needed now is leveraging personalized content and the data on which personalization depends on, for better and more relevant auto ads.

How Facebook has Become The Key Player in Automotive Digital Marketing

It's a well-known fact that Facebook is the world's most popular social media site and the second most visited site. What started as a simple socializing platform has grown into becoming the most sought after, well connected and the best digital platform for advertising and marketing products or services.

As the world's most popular social media website, it has now 2.07 billion monthly users active worldwide - offering a promising marketplace for automotive advertising.

A study conducted by Dealer.com reveals that almost twenty percent of buying population feels that social media greatly influences the narrowing of their brand or model consideration. Twenty-seven percent said social media greatly influences their identification of a dealership from which to purchase.

Though Facebook offers great opportunities for auto dealers, leveraging its benefits to the maximum extent is elusive. Its important to keep pace with the latest updates, trends and learn how to use them in your favor to reap maximum benefits!

Let's look at the ways with which you can leverage the benefits of Facebook.

Make your auto advertisements more appealing with Video Marketing

Videos have the ability to influence and convince people as it gives the car buyers an opportunity to take a look at the car they fancy without actually visiting a car dealership. Data from AutoTrader.com also shows that shoppers are 20% more likely to click on a specific vehicle listing if it has video.

With features like geo-targeting and audience data on Facebook, car dealers can make a real impact. FB is not only helpful in reaching out to customers, but it also gives an opportunity to build a relationship with them. By including customer testimonials, feedback, "know us" clips and walk around videos, dealers can make automotive advertising a reciprocal association.

Detailed Behavioral Targeting

In today's world where online website visits are more than showroom visits, finding and inbounding the right audience has never been more important for marketers. FB provides a more nuanced way to do this through behavioral targeting. With this feature you can narrow down your audience by adding several layers of behavioral categories, thus, making it easier to target new and existing customers alike. For instance, if your dealership has an extensive collection of new SUVs for sale, you can target those people who are looking to buy a new SUV. Similarly, all the people who visit your site and look at the SUVs, you can re-target these people through auto advertisements, offering a special offer.

Reaching out to Millennial shoppers

Millennials are far more likely to turn to social media and ask their friend's advice before heading into a dealership or finalizing a car. More than 9 out of 10 Millennials now turn to the Internet when shopping for a new car or truck, according to research conducted on behalf of eBay Motors.

Here's where customer reviews on Facebook play a crucial role. Since, Millennials are greatly influenced by the reviews given by the social peer's, dealerships must encourage their customers to post reviews and formulate an independent customer review strategy for FB. On an average, a Facebook user has approximately 350 friends, so even if one out of ten customers post a positive testimonial on his feed, this can add up to a lot of great testimonials for your dealership.

2018 is just around the corner and Facebook is already working on new ways to boost FB Ads. Hence, this is a good time to work with your automotive marketing agency, take a fresh look at your FB marketing strategies and make the most of this dynamic platform!

5 Reasons Which Make PPC The Best Marketing Channel for Auto Dealers

The competition for visibility in the search engine results is fierce. Auto dealers are opting for different and innovative strategies to improve their search engine visibility. Free promotion strategies, if planned and executed properly, do bring good results. But, in order to maintain profitability in this fierce competition, companies should back their free promotion strategies with paid online advertising methods like Pay-Per-Click.

PPC is a powerful advertising tool that influences your auto website's position in the search engine results, drives traffic to your website and increases ROI. Because of its favorable results in the recent times, many dealerships today have turned towards automotive PPC agencies to develop and oversee their PPC campaigns.

So, if you're on the fence about PPC for your dealership, read along to know the amazing benefits that PPC and automotive PPC agencies can bring.
 

Why PPC marketing?

1. You pay only when a person clicks
The best feature about PPC is that it is straightforward and you know exactly where your money is going because you only pay when an interested person clicks on your ad.

2. You can get website traffic almost instantly
If you adopt a sound PPC campaign, you can expect people clicking your ad and visiting your website almost instantly because PPC uses targeted keywords that your prospective customers are typing in the search engines. To put it in simple words, your ads will be shown to people looking for vehicles online and not everyone in general like in the case of traditional advertising. However, it is important to invest your money in the right automotive PPC marketing agency who knows exactly how to tailor the campaign according to your needs.

3. You can reach your potential customer at the correct time
With PPC, you can target a specific person at a specific place with the right ad and at the right time. With PPC's location targeting mechanism along with device-specific preferences, you can deliver specific messages to your potential customers.

4. You can keep track of the results
The problem with traditional marketing is that it is difficult to track whether your ads are reaching your targeted audience or not and whether the ads are bringing in any customers. With PPC, you can constantly track your results. You can find out whether a particular ad or campaign has been effective and know exactly where your money has gone. This means you can determine ROI faster with a PPC campaign. A specialized automotive PPC marketing agency can even let you know an accurate figure of the website visits, phone leads, or e-mail leads that your ads are getting.

5. It allows you to use geo-targeted ads
This aspect is especially useful for local car dealers. If your dealership is located in Austin, for example, and you only deliver your vehicles within the city area, then it is futile to show your ads to people outside Austin. With PPC, you get to decide where your ads will be shown and at what time. You can select single or multiple cities where you want your ads to be displayed and exclude those which seem unnecessary.

So, are you beginning to see why PPC should be a major recipient of your automotive marketing strategy? Traditional advertising and SEO are important channels, but if you are targeting a wholesome marketing strategy that touches upon all key factors, then PPC ought to be included.

6 Tips for Effective Radio Advertising for The Auto Industry

Radio is the medium for spreading a message and influencing people. Radio is an old contender among the other mediums of communication, but its use and importance has remained constant. With the advent of television and internet, people assumed that video will take over the radio star. But the data shows a different picture. Radio is still the best medium for spreading information and even the best.

Radio is an old contender among the other mediums of mass communication. For many years radio has proved to be the best medium for spreading information and influencing people. With the advent of other mediums like television and internet, many believed that the importance of radio will eventually fade away. But, data shows a different picture.  A recent Nielsen study shows that 93% of the American adults with media access listen to radio every day. It seems like video has yet not been able to beat the radio star!

Radio can be very helpful in undertaking successful advertising campaigns. But how to create a successful radio advertising campaign? How to convey the right message? How to make it attractive for listeners? And most importantly, how to them get them to act?

Below are some radio advertising tips to help you conduct a successful automotive radio advertising.

1. Know your audience
An advertisement becomes effective when the receivers are able to relate with it. Hence, it is essential that you know your audience and choose a radio station carefully. Each radio station attracts a different set of people who vary in age, demographics, tastes or preferences and hence, your automotive ads should be unique to each radio station.

2. Make Sure That Uour ads Match Your Bbranding
It's important that the theme of your ads match with your branding message. overall feel of your brand? Is it traditional, modern or serious? Such consistency fosters trust between you and your audience. Hence, automotive radio advertising can help you increase sales and also create an active brand identity for your company.

3. Create a strong Call to Action
No matter how creative your ads are, but if they lack a consistent call-to-action, your ads will be lost in the void. Call-to-action reinforces your automotive ads' message. A strong call-to-action includes

• A consistent message
• A focused goal
• Repetition.

4. Integrate Radio Advertising with Other Marketing Methods

You can multiply the success of radio advertising by integrating and using it with other mediums such as television and social media. 93% of online shoppers are dependent on social media so if you depend solely on the radio, you may miss out on this large pool of customers.

5. Timing is Key

All the money and effort spent behind radio advertising will be of no use if the placements of your ads are wrongly timed. Peak traffic hours, rush hours or midnight ads for the nocturnal, depending on the nature of your products and message, the ads should be strategically timed.

6. Use a Popular Figure

Using a popular figure to deliver your brand message can have a powerful impact on your sales and increase brand awareness. A familiar, well liked person whose personality blends well with your brand and whom your audience trust, can drive up sales.

Radio advertising, if used properly and creatively can drive traffic and sales right to your dealership. However, it is a broad concept with manifold elements. You may want to seek guidance from a professional automotive advertising service provider to ensure that you put your effort and money in the most effective techniques.

The Impact of Technology on the Automobile Industry

Over the years, we have witnessed many enormous transformations in the automobile industry. The automobile giants and their engineers are working tirelessly to embrace new technologies and introduce innovations in the modern-day vehicle. Cars evolve with technology. Thanks to automotive marketing, car buyers and enthusiasts are able to keep pace with this evolving automobile technology.

In the recent years, the concept of "in-vehicle services" has gained prominence with many consumers looking forward to enjoying the benefits of infotainment systems and advanced driver assistance systems.

• Connected In-Car Infotainment

Automotive infotainment is one of the fastest growing technologies in the automobile industry and owing to the smartphone technology boom in today’s world, this growth trend is expected to rise in the future.

Apple CarPlay or Android Auto Play is taking most of the limelight in auto advertisements in Dallas these days with many consumers considering these to be a “must-have feature” in their cars. The trend of integrating the car’s embedded system with the driver’s mobile device is currently shaping the car market. This feature allows users to tether their smartphones to a vehicle’s in-dash display and thereby get hands-free access to its driving related services.

Calling, texting, navigation etc. - all these areas are addressed by CarPlay and AutoPlay. These features not only display large app icons in the central display, but they also allow users to navigate apps through built-in car controls. It is basically entertainment with safety as a priority. For example, when a driver connects his iPhone to his car, he can conveniently change music or call some without taking his eyes off the road by using the buttons on the steering wheel.

The greatest aspects of Apple CarPlay are Apple Maps and Siri. Siri's ability to read, reply and send messages is impressive. Similarly, if a driver asks "Siri, where is the nearest McDonald’s?" the system will respond with a route and time estimate almost instantly.

• ADAS Technology

This is yet another remarkable technology which is being talked about in many auto advertisements in Dallas. ADAS uses modern detection and alert systems to enhance on-road safety. This technology senses road conditions with the help of radar and sensors; it informs the driver of hazardous road conditions and in some cases, even stops the vehicle. It also monitors in-vehicle health like tire pressure.

Road accidents have become quite frequent in many major cities. In such a scenario, auto advertising agencies should focus on promoting the importance of road safety and car health.

ADAS technology is great for detecting objects in the vehicle’s blind spot, lane change assistance, forward collision warnings and more.  Highly advanced systems can also predict actions of other drivers. For example, it can predict when a car is about to back out from a parking space. ADAS technology is in vogue and the demand and advancement are expected to rise steeply in the coming future.

Technology largely affects the way cars are designed, manufactured, operated and maintained. Consumer preference of a car’s design, performance, and safety also greatly depends on recent technological trends.  Whether it’s changing the music while driving, sending a text message, finding the nearest gas station or parallel parking with sensor-based assistance, technology has changed the way people drive a car. In the near future, consumers can expect upcoming vehicles to integrate more technological solutions. Hence, auto advertising agencies should consider building their automotive marketing strategies around these areas.

4 Reasons Why Automotive Print Advertising Still Works

We are living in a technologically-obsessed era where people are always glued to the online world via some sort of digital device. And that is why the advertising industry believes in embracing the latest technologies in digital landscape to promote products and services. But does that mean the old, tried and tested traditional marketing methods like print ads are dead and buried? No, not at all. Printed marketing pieces are still very much alive and they still possess a significant impact in boosting your business image and branding efforts.

Nowadays, automotive businesses are ignoring the print advertising method all together and diverting their complete attention towards online marketing techniques. However, disregarding the importance of automotive print ads in Dallas or any other locality without evaluating its impact on your target market would be a big mistake. In this blog post, we will check out the top four reasons why print ads are still effective and why you can think about allocating budget for printed media in your business’ next marketing campaign.

1) Targeted marketing: Print publications have large audiences who are interested in that specific topic. For example, auto magazines are subscribed to by the people who are really interested in staying up-to-date about the latest trends and news in automotive industry. High-quality reliable content in magazines and targeted newspapers can reach out to the people who are already interested in learning more about your business services and products. Brands who place advertisements in such highly credible print publications receive the same positive feelings from readers and further helps in generating leads and sales. With print advertising, you can target your marketing efforts to a specific consumer base who share interests and knowledge in your business services.

2) Affordable: You don’t have to break your bank to create and publish automotive print ads in Dallas. It would be easy to make your advertising budget efficient and effective by choosing the right medium to advertise your business. For instance, if you are planning to advertise about the launch of a new car model at your dealership, then you have to choose a targeted auto section of newspaper for ads or an auto magazine to reach out the niche audience. Since the demand of print advertising has been declining, you can negotiate with the publications for low prices.

3) Customer engagement: When people browse through websites, they spend only seconds scanning it, especially if they are looking for any specific information. But when you read a magazine or newspaper, you turn your complete focus on its contents. Unlike browsing a website, printed ads or marketing materials command longer attention spans and engage the customers by a greater extent.

4) Flexibility and customization: When creating an advertisement for your dealership or automotive business, you can hire the services of a creative team to come up with the best design and content. Eye-catching and engaging print materials can easily grab the attention of customers. Moreover, you have a lot of options with print advertising. You can choose the section of newspaper or magazine where you would like to get your ad printed.

You can even choose the niche magazines or targeted newspapers circulated in a specific geographic location. Beyond these options, print ads even allow you to create customized solutions by catering to your budget limits by offering different ad sizes such as offering quarter-page, half-page and full-page ads.

While many of the businesses are moving to the online side for marketing, it is essential to remember that print automotive advertising in Oklahoma or any other locality still holds many perks and can play a significant role in increasing sales effectively and efficiently.

Keys to Effective Automotive Video Marketing Strategy

If you wish to find success in an increasingly digital marketplace, then it is essential to invest consistent effort and employ the latest marketing techniques.There are several agencies that offer specialized automotive marketing in Dallas and other localities. Choosing the right method that suits your needs and falls within your budget limits is not always simple. It helps to employ the aid of professionals. Moreover, you also need to consider your market condition, competitors and business goals for selecting the right channel of advertising.

Automotive video marketing is one of the most versatile and strategic methods to promote your business and generate new streams of revenue. Why should you consider video marketing for your automotive advertising needs?

• Videos have great influence on boosting conversions and increasing sales. According to recent studies, 74% of users who watched a video on a product have bought the product eventually.

• About 76% of businesses agree that video marketing campaigns have provided a good return on investment. Although video production isn’t cheap, it is easily worth the money when done right. Besides, smartphone technology and online video editing tools are advancing at a rapid rate which makes video production more affordable.

• Video builds customer trust and loyalty. Automotive videos engage and evoke emotions in customers minds. The major goal of any automotive marketing technique is to build customer relationships and trust, and promotional videos are a proven way to achieve this. According to a survey report, 57% of the consumers said that videos foster trust and gave them the confidence to make a purchase.

• Google and mobile users love videos. We all know the importance of search engine rankings and online visibility. Videos have a great influence on your search engine rank and embedding videos on your business website is more likely to increase the traffic to your website. Moreover, the number of smartphone users is growing, which translates to an increased number of viewers.

• The next question is what type of videos do you need for your business? Having a video recorder or smartphone won’t be enough. You need to develop a good content marketing strategy before proceeding with your video production plan. Some of the possible options include:

• Vehicle reviews: As a dealership, one of your most important tasks is to educate and inform potential customers about your inventory. You can film new and used vehicles in your showroom with expert reviews or highlighting features. You can even consider shooting a test drive or recording the experience of a customer.

• Service department: Dealerships not only deal with the sale of vehicles but servicing and financing as well. Think about filming the details of such services by taking a video tour of your dealership’s service and finance departments.

• Words from your staff: You need to generate trust among customers in order to build long term connections. Record your sales team and let them speak about their services and experience at the dealership.

Once you have produced a quality video, the next important decision involves posting the videos. Where should you post the video? More than 50% of website traffic is generated from mobile devices. Some of the standard platforms for posting your videos include social media, YouTube and your website itself.

Video marketing is one of the best forms of creative auto advertisement strategies in Dallas. All you have to do is come up with a strong content strategy, production tools, and techniques to create and post the best automotive videos.

4 Ways to Implement Education-Based Auto Dealership Marketing

What would be the main objective of an automotive marketing campaign? Educating a customer about the latest vehicles in the market and convincing them to make a purchase. Automobile businesses across the globe always struggle with a specific problem of marketing – How to explain the benefits of their stock inventory and how to convince them it’s worth their money? Listing down the unique selling points of a car model and explaining it to the buyers is not going to work by itself.

As a business, you have to come up with innovative strategies to make the customers better informed about your products and services. With the advent of digital technologies, the tech-savvy shoppers are better informed about making purchase decisions. However, automobile business still needs to bridge the gap between their marketing materials and educational materials. 

In such cases, you have to hire the services of a reputed dealer ad agency that specializes in content marketing services. When it is about educating the targeted audience about your products and services, content marketing is the best way to go. But rather than talking about your business achievements or goals, the content should be something that delivers true value to the audience. No matter who your target audience is; the main focus is to provide what they need and want.

Education through content marketing is possible through multiple strategies. As the business owner, it is your responsibility to discuss your strategy with the prospective dealer ad agency. If you are a newbie to the technological landscape of marketing or uncertain about where to start with the content marketing strategies, then let us offer you some cues. Here are five different ways to create education-based content for your targeted audience. Go ahead and take a look at the following points to gain a better insight regarding the same. 

1. Web Posting: Creating and updating dealership websites is an easy task these days, especially when you have several open source web development platforms and technologies. While creating a website for your business, make it a point to provide all the necessary information in a simple yet accurate manner. Visitors should be able to find the information they are looking for with ease. Having a FAQ page, stock inventory listing and contact form will help in educating and engaging with the customers.

2. Blogs: Your website will represent your business on the online platform and will provide information regarding your products. But when you wish to write something personalized or meant for customer relationship building, then you need a blogging platform. For instance, you have to write about the release of a new car model or automotive technology in market. You can write and post a blog about it to inform the audience. Integrating a blogging platform with your website is the best way to educate your audience.

3. Videos: Video marketing is gaining immense popularity these days. Producing quality videos with great resolution and creative content is a best way to educate and entertain consumers. For automobile dealerships, you can take advantage of video marketing technologies to promote new car makes and models. You can produce test drive videos and reviews that would explain why the car models are worthy of purchase.

4. Online manuals: First time users of a car or any other automobile product look for a tutorial. Publishing online manuals would be a great way of educating the customers on detailed specifics and instructions of the vehicle. While creating the manuals, make it a point to ensure it is detailed enough to answer any question a customer may have. 

When customers are well-aware about your business and services, then they will be more confident in their purchase decisions. Hence get in touch with the best auto advertising agencies at the earliest and start planning for your content marketing strategies.

4 Best Strategies for Your Digital Automotive Marketing

When it comes to embracing the digital revolution, the automotive sector has always been a step behind. But thanks to the changing consumer behavior, the automotive industry has been eager to stay up-to-date with the latest trends in digital marketing realm. In today’s world, half of the potential buyers make use of online resources in order to make an informed decision.

They check the expert reviews of latest car models, read customer feedbacks and follow the brands on social media to figure out more about the latest makes and models in the automobile industry. So if you are running a dealership, then you need to tap into digital marketing opportunities by seeking the services of a unique automotive marketing agency in Dallas or any other locality. Below listed are some of the best ideas and strategies for promoting your automotive business across the digital platform.

• Acquiring digital data and building CRM database: We all know the importance of collecting data for launching an innovative marketing campaign across the online platforms. But acquiring data and building an audience database is not an easy task. That is where we need unique automotive marketing ideas and strategies. Yahoo! in collaboration with Hyundai found an easy way to drive data acquisition and build their CRM database. All they did was to launch an easy to enter sweepstakes. Hyundai fans were eager to submit the online form by providing all the necessary details. The final result was around 362K shares, 6K shares and 47% conversion rate. 

• Monetize social media and amplify conversions: The best way to get connected with the modern day consumers is through social media platforms. Boosting the social presence and conversion is quintessential for increasing the reach and customer engagement. BMW did it by featuring a social hub to its BMW Championship webpage. Fan followers and website visitors kept a close tab on the latest updates by checking out the social wall of BMW. Quality social content from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, together with selected highlights from the golfing event were featured. In fact, the brand even started a social chat around Twitter with #BMWChamps to amplify the buzz and enhance its reach.

• Build and improve a positive branding image: Building and retaining a positive brand image is essential for the success of any business. Since the auto industry is witnessing a cut-throat competition, your business needs to maintain and enhance a positive brand perception in order to catch the attention of masses. And that is what exactly Chevrolet did. The bowtie brand launched a social media campaign with #DayItForward trend to celebrate the extra day in a leap year. The campaign encouraged the social media users to do something nice and kind to someone who least expects it. Well, in the end the idea paid off as 22.7K people contributed to the campaign in a single-day and positive brand perception was reported as 98%. 

• Develop interactive experiences with the audience through video content: Video marketing has been a highly sought after marketing trend in the recent days. Not only video engages the laziest buyer by evoking emotion, but it also builds trust and perceived value. National Geographic and Toyota entered into a partnership in order to launch an innovative campaign. National Geographic published a video campaign and sweepstake on its website to engage with the online visitors. Participants needed to watch a video, attend a poll screen and submit their entries. As a result, both the companies had all the valuable audience data with them. 

Launching a successful digital marketing campaign won’t be an easy task. That is why it is strongly advised to seek the expertise and services of the best automotive marketing company.

Utilizing Facebook for Automotive Advertising

Social media platforms are the new age marketing technique where any business dealer can advertise their product in an efficient and productive way. There is a wide amount of exposure to the audience and this, which in turn, results in gaining an overall presence of the business on the World Wide Web.

One of the most effective ways of advertising your product on the internet is by making the best use of Facebook.  According to marketing experts, Facebook is assumed to become a key component for automotive advertising in the present year i.e., 2017. It is jaw dropping to know that this social media is world's most popular site and is the second most-visited site in the world and is making an effort to offer new ways for the dealers to connect with people in diverse ways.

The automotive Facebook marketing will show us two themes in 2017:

Automotive ads with targeting done in a detailed manner, where nuanced audiences will be targeted.

Effective and better content: Marketing strategies like new ad types and tier-three video will be introduced.

The marketers are kept on their toes because of increase in hand held device usage and increase in product search on social media platforms and also decrease in the visit to the show rooms. For a dealership's brand, it is very much important to find and inbound the right amount of effective audience. In the present year, we see, in addition to other automotive targeting options, the dealerships are deploying marketing strategies to attract custom audience. Behavioral targeting is a case in point.

Through behavioral targeting, dealerships can retarget the group of people who have previously visited their website through Facebook Pixel Property installed on the website. Through this, the automotive advertising strategy becomes more detailed. In addition to content, the video is also playing a major role in advertisement agenda, where three types of automotive ads content will hit the spark.

• Facebook provides ads for auto dealers where the customers can redeem a limited amount of coupons for a special factor at the dealership, which is thought to be best suited for service promotions.
• There will be a 390-degree video that enables the dealerships to feature vehicle-walk around videos, test drive videos and more. It will make the advertising more effective and it will replace all other traditional marketing techniques.
• Facebook Pixel, canvas ads, carousel ads, and lead ads are considered to be complicated but the dealerships can make use of this underutilized technique to garner leads.

Dynamic, automated Facebook marketing can help you reap a vast array of benefits. But make sure to devise the best strategies, invest ample efforts and resources to grow the Facebook ROI down the line.

Automotive Marketing Strategies for 2017

In the recent years, the automotive retail industry has witnessed a shift in its perspective, as it moves from a product-driven approach to customer-centric approach. Thanks to changing technology and the digital revolution, both the automakers and automotive retailers are looking for the best ways to build a better relationship with customer and deliver a rich brand experience. And according to the reports, the automotive industry is the second largest when it comes to spending on digital advertising. Dealerships and automobile stores were among the first to embrace the benefits of digital technology. Today’s consumers have all the information they could possibly want right at their finger tips. Automotive websites and review portals witness huge traffic everyday as potential buyers prefer gathering as much information as possible before making a purchase. 

When it is about choosing the best marketing strategy for the automotive business, the digital platform offers a wide array of choices. Some of the highly sought after methods include search engine optimization, content marketing, social media marketing, pay per click advertising, email marketing and more. Rather than planning to do it yourself, it is always recommended to hire the services of an expert team to look after your marketing efforts. 

Be it is about creating an eye-catching print auto advertisement or unique Facebook advert, it is wise to seek professional assistance. There are a lot of reputed automotive ad that can offer you a diverse range of marketing services at affordable costs. From planning the advertising campaign to devising, developing and implementing it, an experienced team of marketing strategists can help you improve your business image and boost your sales. In this post, we will check out the auto marketing strategies and priorities for 2017.

According to the latest survey reports, automotive dealers and marketers consider improving conversions as the first marketing priority this year. It is followed by other significant goals such as improving volume of leads, increasing revenue from leads, reducing cost of acquisition and more. If you have hired an automotive PPC agency or digital ad agency for your business, then it is essential to define your needs and your marketing priorities. During the survey, the automotive dealers and marketers were interviewed about their marketing strategies. The survey intended to find out whether the marketers preferred inbound marketing or outbound marketing.

As the name implies, inbound marketing mainly focuses on garnering attention from the targeted audience and pull them towards the business and product. It mainly includes publishing content that aligns with the customer’s interests and grab their attention, which will later convert and lead to sales. Some inbound marketing techniques include blogging, social media marketing and more. On other hand, outbound marketing is all about getting the message across the largest reach of people. Also known as interruption marketing, this method involves pushing the message out far and hoping it gets noticed. Some of the common outbound marketing methods include traditional automotive ads in newspapers, radio, television and other media channels. And according to the survey, inbound marketing is preferred over outbound strategy by a major share of dealerships and marketers.

In the recent years, most of the traditional auto advertisement techniques have been losing their appeal. In fact, over 60% of the surveyed dealerships and marketers listed print ads as the most over rated marketing technique followed by blogging, search ads, social media and more. Another interesting finding of this survey report is about measuring the ROI of ad campaigns. Compared to the previous year, the dealerships that check and keep track of their marketing ROI has increased four times.

How to Track the Results of Automotive Digital Advertising?

Every business owner wishes to reap profits and build a successful market share. If you are running an automotive dealership, then you may want to implement innovative advertising strategies to make the business popular and visible to the masses. In this age of technological revolution, it would be a challenging task to create a niche in the competitive market space. More and more automotive dealerships and service centres are realizing the benefits of automotive digital marketing services, which further compel them to devise and develop bespoke strategies. The most effective means to promote your products and services to a targeted set of audience is through internet.

If you are a novice to the tricks and techniques of automotive digital marketing services, then it is wise to hire the services of a reputed automotive advertising company. One critical thing that each dealership needs to know is whether their marketing strategies are accurate by enforcing a transparent and highly detailed reporting system. Though there are a lot of providers in market who might canvass you to use their products, we recommend you to integrate with Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager. There is no better reporting platform than Google as it allows standardizing all the KPIs.

We have adopted Google Tag Manager as it allows us to add code to the website only once. Even future scripts, third party add-on trackers and tracking events can be setup without any coding insertion. Meanwhile, the vendor approved sites which are built to scale are incredibly slow and unresponsive while working for manipulation.

Google Tag manager allows us to set up A/B testing, triggers, tags for conversion, setting up call back triggers and also enables to even setup goals for highly complicated things in order to see and utilize data. One simple example could be the chats. Although we ourselves handle the automotive website, automotive SEO and automotive PPC for a client, it is hard for us to produce an entire report of the results due to the interruption of the third party integrations. But now with Google Tag manager and Google Analytics, you can ask the car advertising agencies to provide you a complete picture of what is provided to your customers. To be precise, we can even mete out the number of chat conversations and chat leads via our Drive Digital Group websites.

An in-depth insight of our monthly strategy calls and entire performances are tracked with accurate detail for view by our account managers. Some core engagements measured are the lead form submissions, chat conversions, messenger conversations and phone call conversations. A second round of measurements are the car fax downloads, special printouts and window sticker downloads. But one fact to be noted is whether the information offered by vendors makes any meaning to its readers. In order to enable readability, we also offer customary dashboards so that our customers can easily relate the data that is being presented to them.

A number of tools are used in order to make good decisions by the use of data we collect via our automotive advertising company. It is very common to see users who have taken up habits related to data without probing to look for further details. We advise you not to be one! Be pro-active and demand real results from your vendors.

Automotive Digital Marketing Trends to Watch Out In 2017

It is time to look ahead to the New Year with new hopes and fresh ideas. As 2016 is in the rear view mirror, we need to turn our focus towards the marketing trends that are likely to dominate in 2017. Automotive industry is one of the largest industry spenders on digital advertising and 2017 won’t be any exception. If the reports are to be believed, the industry is expecting to spend a whopping amount of $14.14 billion on automotive digital marketing services by the year 2020. As the modern age customers turn more and more internet savvy, both the dealerships and independent automobile shops should shift their focus on boosting digital presence. If you are wondering about the top marketing trends to watch out in 2017, then let us offer you some insights.

Video marketing: Thanks to the ubiquity of video-driven social media platforms and online channels, the popularity of video marketing has been exploding like never before. Considered as the highly sought after marketing method in the recent years, video marketing plays a key role in connecting with the customers, engaging with them and converting them into potential customers. According to the statistics and reports published by the leading automotive marketing agencies, online video Ad spending has increased nearly 30% from 2015 to 2016. Over 60% of the businesses plan to increase their online video spending and 70% of brands plan to invest in social video ad in 2017. High quality video with informative and engaging content can build trust and authority in a brand which further generates sales and revenue streams.

Integration of sales and marketing channels: Gone are the days when potential buyers sought the guidance and tips of car salespeople before making a purchase. With the digital revolution, more and more people are turning towards word of mouth recommendations and online reviews. In short, automotive digital marketing services and sales concepts should be integrated to lure in the customers and generate profits. According to a report by Marketing Profs, companies with tightly aligned sales and marketing functions attained 36% higher customer retention rates and 38% higher sales win rates. Introducing new analytic tools and digital solutions can help in integrating the marketing efforts and sales channels seamlessly.

Social media advertising: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram and many more social networking sites have brought revolutionary change in the way we used to live and interact. Billions of people are registered on these social networking sites and billions are active users. So it is no surprise that business organizations can leverage the potential of social media platforms to get connected with the targeted audience.

Advanced targeting options, reliable conversion tracking and prevalence on mobile devices are some of the main factors that contribute to the exploding popularity of social media advertising. As per the forecasts, advertising spend on social networks will reach $36 billion in 2017. So, if you wish to stand out and gain edge, it is essential to consider social media advertising as a boost to your existing marketing strategies.

Choosing the Right Ad Partner for Your Automotive Business

We live in a digital age where everything is digitized. As the technology advances exponentially, new digital platforms and devices are emerging. Businesses must adopt the latest technologies in order to keep up with the pace of change or lose relevance. But automotive industry doesn’t have the luxury of sitting out the digital transformation. In order to expand the market reach and build a bigger market share, automotive businesses need to navigate through the changes and stay tuned with the latest technologies. Shift in the consumer demands, expanded regulatory requirements and increasing availability of data and information are some of the key factors behind the transformation of auto industry.

According to the recent reports and statistics, digital advertising spending has been witnessing a steep rise globally. At the same time, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the automotive businesses to find the right ad partners agency to achieve collaborative and cross-channel engagement with their customers. Below listed are a few practical cues that every automotive marketer may consider before choosing auto advertisement service partner for their next campaign.

Be clear About Your own Digital Strategy and Goals: In order to devise and implement effective auto advertisements service strategy, it is essential to have a sound understanding about your business goals and marketing strengths. Know your audience so that you can let your advertising partner take account of the situation and craft the strategies for connecting with them. Also, estimate and allocate adequate budgets for annual ad spends.

Their Forte: You can find a lot of media agencies and dealer advertising companies offering a diverse range of marketing services to clients. But you need to find out what they specialize in. Do they specialize in automotive ad services? Do they have experience in working with the automotive businesses? Check whether they have an in-house team of marketing, technology and creative writing professionals. You need to choose a partner capable of delivering end to end services.

Work Profile: Take a close look at their work profile. Do they have any experience in working with automotive businesses? Have they crafted any innovative automotive ad strategies for their previous clients? Are they well-informed about the challenges that automotive industry faces? Evaluate their previous campaign strategies and technology expertise, as it would help in gaining a better insight about their skills.

Service Level: Business partnership is for long-term. Even a minor mistake can ruin your brand reputation and customer loyalty. So it is important to define the level of service with the potential ad partner agency. Make sure your business trusts the agency and it is comfortable to work with their team.

Last but not the least make it a point to do a trial run for a specified period of time before finalizing the partnership. You need to have a reputed advertising partner for promoting your business and service. Test the water and choose the right to enjoy a smooth sailing.

Automotive Digital Marketing Trends to Stay Competitive

Auto industry has been enjoying sales gains and profitability in the recent years. Innovative marketing tactics should be designed and implemented to generate new revenue streams and sales channels. If you are running a dealership or an auto parts store, then it is essential to devise the best digital marketing strategy for your business. Hire the expertise and guidance of advertising firms that specialize in offering automotive digital marketing services.

How the automotive industry can stay ahead of the curve with digital marketing? Even though there are a lot of marketing tactics, it is always recommended to deploy practical and proven methods to identify and leverage new business opportunities.

Personalization: Using personalization in marketing offers a myriad of benefits. Delivering customized experiences to users increases the online conversions and sales. Since personalization renders familiarity, it proves beneficial in improving the customer retention and loyalty. In contrast to other business sectors where personalized marketing is possible only in the final lapse of purchase, automotive industry makes it a point to nurture the consumers right from the beginning of their shopping journey. For example, potential buyers begin their car purchase process by carrying out detailed online research online.

Businesses can offer detailed and accurate information through their website in order to connect with the consumers. Moreover, automotive business makes use of the various choices of digital platforms to engage with the customers. Blogging platforms, YouTube video marketing and Social networking channels such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are used to create personalized experiences for customers.

At the same time, auto businesses need to extract and organize data for designing an effective marketing strategy. Personalization is not possible without the right set of data. Automotive digital marketing agencies have access to a lot of customer data which includes their demographics, interests, age and more. Businesses need to use it wisely for crafting an innovative strategy.

Cross-generational marketing: Automotive industry need to stay relevant and competitive in their business. In order to stay out in the noisy and saturated market, auto businesses should assess their consumer base and determine how to reach them best. But reaching out to most diverse and best educated generation ever is going to be challenging. The target consumer demographics consist of baby boomers and millennials. Automotive digital marketing agencies must look for new ways to connect with the different consumer generations.

According to the findings published by Pew Research three out of four of the Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) use internet. Despite the stereotypical approach, marketers can use the digital space to get connected with the online and social Baby Boomers. However, it is essential to get a hold on their requirements, interests and wants. Millennials on the other hand are the most tech savvy and wealthiest generation. Marketers need to bake personalization into every aspect of their digital marketing strategy to grab the attention of online savvy Millennial consumers. Deploying an effective cross generational marketing approach help you connect to your audiences across generations.

Instead of following the trends, automotive industry is setting new trends in marketing. In short, it is vital to understand and react to the technology trends, marketplace challenges and target demographics to stay innovative.