Digital ad spend is ever on the rise—and marketers can sometimes struggle to keep pace. That’s especially true in competitive fields like automotive sales, where today’s used car dealers are often unsure where to allocate their ad bucks for the best return on investment.
According to a new report from Dealer Marketing, there are a couple of good, safe bets: social media and search engine optimization (SEO). For independent dealerships looking to put their marketing money to good use, these are the two channels that have proven most effective. In this blog, we’ll explain all the implications of this for your used car business.
The Best Approaches to Dealership Marketing
The report from Dealer Marketing indicates that some 28 percent of auto dealers cite social media and SEO as their most effective marketing means. These channels beat out PPC (21 percent) as well as email marketing (19 percent).
Further down the list, according to Dealer Marketing, are such tools as display ads, direct mailers, and beyond.
The bottom line: For dealerships looking to increase visibility and connect with their consumers, the two most cost-effective solutions are SEO and social media. But the question remains: How can dealerships use these two channels most effectively?
Integrative Digital Marketing for Your Dealership
The short answer: To use these channels effectively, we believe that an integrative digital marketing strategy is needed. Have concrete goals in mind, and make sure that SEO and social media are both aligned to these goals—working together harmoniously.
SEO should be done with special attention to local search listings, and to the Google Map Pack in particular—because that’s where dealerships can connect with actual customers. Social can complement this, especially through targeted social media advertising, such as Facebook Ads. Again, these things work best when they work in sync.
Other Pieces of the Marketing Puzzle
And there are other channels that can be brought into the integrative marketing strategy, as well—including one that may surprise you: Craigslist. Though many dealerships sleep on this tool, it remains an incredibly effective way to move inventory and to gain the attention of local buyers. By showing off your vehicles on Craigslist, you can get your phones ringing and increase foot traffic to your showroom.
Again, though, integration is the key. How does Craigslist work in tandem with social media and with SEO? That’s the question you have to answer to really get a good ROI, and it’s a question that can only be answered through a holistic, comprehensive marketing approach.
Get Guidance for Your Integrative Marketing Strategy
To move forward with a results-oriented, integrative marketing strategy, we recommend you call our experts today. Get My Auto works exclusively with independent dealerships, and we know what works and what doesn’t. Get your dealer marketing in sync with Get My Auto!