In today’s market, it can seem almost impossible to keep up with competitors in the car business. As online marketing becomes more popular, car dealerships are taking advantage of it to gain access to a wider audience and increase their sales.
Online marketing isn’t the only way to market a business, but it is definitely becoming one of the most popular. 5.07 billion people, or just over 60% of the world’s population, use the internet, making it one of the most efficient ways to advertise.
Luckily, marketing your car dealership doesn’t have to be tricky or intimidating. With these five tips, you will be able to almost effortlessly drive attention to your car dealership and increase your sales before you know it!
Learn How to Use SEO
SEO stands for search engine optimization. By learning and using SEO, you can quickly increase your dealership’s rank in Google searches. The main goal of SEO is to try to get on the first page of populated search results.
Invest some time and money into learning popular keywords searched by people who are trying to purchase a new car. By implementing these words into the dealership’s website, you will quickly increase the spot of your website on search engines.
Starting a blog on your dealership’s website is another way to implement SEO keywords. Using a blog, you can use keywords over different blog posts, meaning you can use more keywords in general. When potential customers search a keyword, your blog will pull up and lead them to your website.
SEO also works on social media. If you haven’t already, make social media pages for your car dealership and start making posts using the keywords you found during research. Use popular hashtags to be discovered, follow people in your community, and join local Facebook pages.
After being found by customers using SEO on social media, it is important to engage with followers. This will not only help you show up in more searches, but it also shows customers that you are responsive and interested in their comments.
Start a YouTube Channel
Starting a YouTube channel is another great way to draw an audience to your car dealership. People love to learn about the car they are interested in buying before they actually buy it. They also want to know all about a dealership and their salespeople before they go.
With a YouTube channel, you can easily give potential buyers this information at their fingertips. It is as simple as making a few introductory videos with your staff, doing a walkthrough of your lot, and going through features of cars you have.
Like social media, you can also use SEO to get noticed on YouTube. Using keywords will not only bring up your channel in a search directly on YouTube, it will also bring up your channel on a regular Google or Bing search.
Coming up with good content for a YouTube channel can be the hardest part of making the channel work. Some ideas for YouTube content for a car dealership include:
- Dealership tour. Show the inside and outside of the dealership so customers have a feel of where they need to go when they are shopping and need help
- Compare models. Do a comparison video of two cars from the same maker or two cars from a different maker. Show the similarities and differences that might help someone make a choice between the two
- Car tour. Pick a few popular cars and do a tour of the inside. Show the information system, the entertainment system, the trunk storage, the leg room in the back seat, any neat features that potential buyers might not know about
- Truck bed haul. Show how much a certain truck can actually hold in the bed. Talk about the weight it can carry and the length of the bed. Show any secret compartments that might be interesting for buyers
- Add-on packages. Particularly in new cars, show add-on packages that customers can choose. Make them see they can’t live without the features and they need that model
- Share stories. Share customer testimonies that have purchased a car from you. Let them tell all about how you handled every detail delicately and made the experience special for them
- Show how to properly use a trailer hitch. While some people like having trucks and SUVs that can haul, they might not know how to do it properly. Make a video showing how to attach a trailer to the hitch the right way
- Do a Q and A. Some potential buyers might not know what the car buying process entails. Record a Q and A answering some of the internet’s top asked questions about buying a car
On top of creating the content and posting it on YouTube, it will also be beneficial to the business to respond to any comments you get on the videos. This shows customers that you care and are willing to answer any questions they might have.
Partner with Local Journalists or Influencers
A great way to make locals aware of your car dealership is to work with a local journalist or local influencer. This puts your business out in a way that people in your town, or in surrounding towns, will be able to see.
When you work with people who are local to your business instead of just working on the internet, you are working to get to know your community. This will help your potential customer base build their confidence in working with you. As soon as they are interested in purchasing a new car, they will head straight to your dealership.
There is a resource available called HARO (Help a Reporter Out) that is constantly looking for ways to get advice from experts in certain fields. When looking for a local reporter, reach out to HARO to see if there are any reporters or journalists that could help you out!
When considering working with a local influencer, it might be a little trickier. Influencers generally get paid for promoting a product or service, so if this isn’t something your business can afford it isn’t the best option.
However, if you catch a local influencer while they are just starting out, they might charge a lower rate or even advertise for free for the experience. Do some research in your community to see if there are any influencers that could help spread the word about your business.
Put Together a Referral Program
Potential customers trust people they know, and a lot of business is generated simply by word of mouth. When a previous customer is raving about how much they loved their experience buying a car with you, it will bring more business to your car dealership.
One way to ensure your customers are talking to their friends, family, and coworkers about your business is to establish a referral program. The rewards don’t need to be anything that will cost your business a large amount of money, but it should be enticing to your customer base.
For example, you might offer a number of free oil changes for each person that comes in and says they heard about you from your customer. You might also consider offering a free tire rotation or discounted products or maintenance.
Use Demographics to Your Advantage
To use demographics to your advantage, it is extremely important to know the community around you.
One company to look at for examples is Subaru. They have conducted massive amounts of research on their customer base to figure out a marketing strategy that works best for them. In this research, they have found most of their customers have pets, especially dogs.
Subaru then started advertising their cars using commercials with dogs. They started donating to charities that pet owners are proud of. They offer transportation for dogs that are being adopted. They truly built their advertising brand around the fact that their customers love their pets.
For example, if your dealership is in a college town, advertise toward college students or recent college graduates. Offer deals for graduates to entice them to purchase a car as a reward for their hard work.
If the dealership is in a town with a lot of parents, advertise SUVs and minivans that have plenty of space for the entire family. Market cars that are reliable and have the potential to last for a very long time.
Research the car brands you have on your lot and learn who purchases them the most. You can use this information on top of the information you learn about your community to advertise the right cars to the right people.