The digital marketing industry is continuously evolving and with its evolution comes new strategies and best practices that businesses must stay on top of.

Emerging trends and shifting algorithms can have an impact on your dealership’s existing marketing strategies, so it’s critical that you stay up-to-date with dynamic automotive marketing trends.

We’ve outlined some of the most effective strategies in automotive digital marketing that your dealership should be taking advantage of to boost web traffic and dealership visits.

SEO and a Killer Website

Search engine optimization (or what we refer to as Organic Search) is not merely trend—it’s an integral part of digital marketing that continues to expand. There are ongoing changes within the realm of SEO as well as website design that require constant attention.

For example, Google’s 2018 algorithm updates indicated that content relevancy and depth are a key focus. Regularly adding quality content to your dealership’s website will help to improve its SEO and position in the search engine results page. Page load speed and mobile-first optimization are some other key areas to focus on in order to improve SEO, as well.

SEO is an expansive and complex area of digital marketing, but having a strategy in place is critical.  At Convertus, our Organic Seach team stays up to date on shifting search algorithms and optimize unceasingly so you don’t have to.

As for killer websites— you need one! Your website is often the very first impression you give to potential customers. Are you making the right impression?

Our design and development teams are on the leading edge of industry trends and create contemporary, user-friendly interfaces that make for a positive experience. Our websites are also built using a responsive WordPress design, meaning that they’ll adapt to any screen. This is incredibly valuable in web design because mobile searches are increasing exponentially, so websites need to look great and function beautifully on mobile devices! 

 Video Content Sharing

According to Think With Google, “69% of people who used YouTube while buying a car were influenced by it — more than TV, newspapers or magazines.”

Video marketing emerged as a trend in 2016 and continuous to dominate as the most consumed form of content (check out our recent blog post for more information about video marketing here). Naturally, online video marketing is becoming increasingly powerful and car dealers can take full advantage of it.

Many consumers use YouTube to help guide them through decisions along their car-buying journey. Does your dealership share video content on the platform to reach those in-market customers with engaging videos? We’ve got a couple ideas to help you get started:

Shoot videos of your newest inventory. Take car shoppers on a virtual tour so they can view various vehicle details without leaving their couch. Put someone charismatic in the driver’s seat and take it for a test drive. Make videos that are fun, personable and informative so that car shoppers will engage with them – then share this video content on YouTube, across your various social channels, and on your website.

Paid Search (SEM)

Increase your dealership’s visibility in the search engine with paid ads that show up at the very top of the search engine results page, above the competition.

Paid search also includes display ads, which are visual ads that appear on relevant websites within the Google Display Network. These ad types are a powerful way to retarget in-marketing shoppers (or people who have indicated an interest in your dealership or inventory) and keep your dealership top-of-mind for when they’re ready for a test drive! Follow a car-shopper along on their journey and have your dealership’s ads show up at critical moments.

Our team of Paid Search wizards are masters of finding the most impactful strategy for each dealership’s unique marketing goals.

Social Media 

Social media definitely isn’t a trend by any means— it’s more valuable than ever before for dealerships to connect and engage with potential customers. Social media is where car shoppers spend the majority of their time online, so it makes sense to be active there, right?

Your dealership should have a streamlined social media presence across all of its platforms as well as a consistent posting schedule. Share promotions, new inventory and sales events across your profiles, tailoring the copy to each platform (ie. Facebook allows for longer posts whereas Twitter allows for short, concise posts. Utilize the space given on each platform.)

Pay close attention to your social media analytics on each platform to determine which types of content receive the highest engagement, then continue to share similar content!

These are just a few ideas to get your dealership started in the world of digital marketing. If you’d like to chat more about strategies that will drive traffic to your website (and to your lot), then reach out to our customer success team today and let’s get the conversation started!

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