Marketing Guru’s… I Bet You’re Not Here Yet!

Integrated marketing is here!  And it’s more powerful than you can imagine.

Talk about a competitive advantage!

If  you want to know what it looks and feels like watch this video from Social.Motive.

Traditional Advertising + Digital Advertising + Social Media

Hold ON!

If you’d like  more thoughts on how to make integrated marketing work just drop me a note.  It will be interesting to see how many Automotive Ad Agencies can connect with this new world.

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How To Have Your Automotive Ad Agency Achieve Some Terrific ROI

 

One of my basic rules for social media:

• Inject social media into traditional advertising. 

Although digital marketing might not be as old as television and radio it gives you a great opportunity to reach out to your customers.  Creating a newsletter using your Blog content will connect with your database.

These three examples are taken from a Social.Motive sldie show.  They demonstrate regardless the size of your database you can expect some great results.  Each of these newsletters would cost $500 to $ 1,000 if created from scratch.  In a good social media program they are just an added benefit.

• Open rate in these three examples ranged from 18% to 32%.   You really should be doing this once a month if you want to effectively own your customers and grow your market share.  This is great ROI! 

If your Automotive Ad  Agency or staff is not prepared to execute give us a call.  We put in the game  in a very short order.

The Key To Social Media Is The Blog… Have Your Automotive Ad Agency Take This First Step

There’s no doubt  the anchor to a successful social media plan starts with a dealer blog.  

Use this video blog to ensure  you begin with the right platform.

If your automotive ad agency isn’t getting you ahead of the social media wave give me a call.  I promise I’ll get you pointed in the right direction.

21 Social Media Ideas For You and Your Automotive Ad Agency

 

 

I recently attended a 3 hour social media workshop on your behalf.  That’s right on your behalf. 

I recognize you don’t have the time, focus and usually the opportunity to attend a work ship like this. 

Up Your Ups is here to the rescue.

Dave Nelson of WeSocialize is a great resource for anyone and any business interested in social media.

One of his take away for us was a list of 21 social media ideas for business.

I selected the top 7 ideas I think you should be aware of:

 

1)    Set up Google alerts for you company, customers, competitors

This is not hard to do.  Just go to googlealert.com.

2) Use www.search.twitter.com to accelerate your learning and listen locally.

This is a great tool for staying in local converstations.

3) Read a blog & comment (search for blogs of interest)

Here’s a great tool to help find blogs of interest www.technorati.com)

4) Subscribe to something “RSS”

I like google reader as my reader.  Try subscribing to www. up-your-ups.com

5) Practice PIE + Authenticity

    Be sure your communication has Personality, is Interesting and Entertaining.

6)    Listen to a pod cast

Pod casts are the new books on tape.  They’re a great way to stay on connected with innovative ideas and concepts.

7)    Use.  www.getsatisfaction.com for customer support.

If you ever wanted to create automated customer support check this site out.  It really works and is easy to implement. 

Social Media is a big subject and there’s lots going on.  Be sure your automotive ad agency or your social media expert is engaged and on top of things.  Always use this blog for concepts and ideas. 

Let me know what you find out if you engage any of the above ideas.

Tell Your Automotive Ad Agency To Add Email Marketing To Social Media

If your looking for a marketing idea where 1 + 1 = 3… Look no further!

 Is Social Media a threat to email marketing.  Absolutely not! 

Don’t get pushed into thinking email and social media are not compatible. The truth is social media is going to make email marketing more effective. 

 “Even though people are spending more time using social media, they are not abandoning e-mail,” said Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, “Maximizing the E-Mail/Social Media Connection.” “The two channels can help each other, offering the opportunity for marketers to create deeper connections.”

While most dealers are looking for ways to engage in social media the dealers who are ahead of the curve are quickly realizing the impact it can have with email marketing.

The ability to use your social content and direct to your already prolific email lists is a huge opportunity.  For years dealers have wondered how often they should connect with the customer list.  Generally dealers settle for once a quarter simply because the time and energy it takes to put together a newsletter.

Your blog however should have all the content you’ll ever need for a newsletter.  So if you’re ready to have them work together lets get started.

Here’s all you need to do get you newsletter out at least once a month.

• Go to ConstantContact and open an account. 
• Load your email data base. You may want one for customers and one for prospects.
• Build a template for your newsletter and use your blog head as the header. Don’t make it a dealership newsletter but a blog newsletter.  
• Don’t get fancy.  Make sure the reader can see three headlines when the open the email.  Only put two or three lines of blog underneath the headline.
• Have read more button that takes them to the complete article on you blog.
• Keep the sales side out as much as you can.  We are suppling relevant value oriented content to our owner base.
• If you must sell make it short and about service.

Use your blog data to see which blogs are being read the most.  Select these for your newsletter.

This is just one simple way to integrate email and social media.  

It really should be the first step you and your automotive ad agency take. 

Don’t ever think  email marketing or social media are one dimensional.  Put your marketing hat on and your sure to come up with many more.

The Golden Goose of Automotive Advertising Is In Your Lap!

 

Don’t kill the golden goose!

 

I’ve been amazed at how poorly most dealerships are using facebook.  The common negative car dealerships have in the general public is pressure. 

Always pressuring for the immediate sell. 

 

Even with years of data and a real effort by many dealers the perception still has not changed.  When you just mention car dealerships people can feel the retail pressure.  Nothing is more retail in the consumers mind than the car business. 

 So the one big opportunity to change this falls into our laps and we mess it up!

 I’m talking about social media.  This amazing opportunity drops right in our laps and what do most dealers instinctively do… START SELLING!

 I’ve been doing some research on the best use of facebook by dealers to share with you.  Posts that create real value and don’t insult customers with retail, retail and more retail.  Unfortunately what I found were dealers across America posting deals and inventory on facebook like it’s a classified section or Craigs List.

 You need to lose the retail virus when it come to Social Media.  Social Media is a gift.  Accept it!  Don’t throw it away.   Social Media has given you the opportunity to really build a community.  To create trust and karma with your customers.

 It’s your chance to provide real value to your market place.  Make sure your posts pass one of these three smell tests before you post:  Is it….

• Entertaining
• Educational
• Informative

If it doesn’t then don’t post it.  Set some standards with your automotive ad agency.  Create some social objectives.  You have plenty of other sources to get your retail message out.  Don’t think there’s a quick fix and fall for one of the vendors offers in the market place.  If it looks retail and it smells retail the consumer will know it.

Don’t kill the golden goose.

What’s The Buzz At Automotive Ad Agencies?

There’s a buzz in the air and it’s not Buzz Lightyear.  

What’s the buzz about?

 

Digital!

  

Questions abound beginning with what does an integrated digital plan look like and how much should I spend.

It’s become very clear if dealers want to connect with the ever increasing digital customer you’re going to need to spend more in this arena.  

That’s the advice of Martin Sorrell, chief executive of  WPP.

 “Don’t just do digital because you can,” he said. “You must do it because it is integrated. As a dealer you have to use digital to augment the sales process.”  Sorrell said he is seeing signs that automotive brands are increasing their online marketing budgets this year.

 He said WPP’s research shows 93 percent of prospective buyers compare vehicles online before taking a car for a test drive, using third-party and automaker Web sites. But dealers only spend 2 percent of their ad budgets on Internet display ads.

 We are in a business environment that operates 24/7.   You have to expand your thinking as it relates to digital marketing.  The future of digital involves mobile applications, social media, social forums and integrated media.

 Research says only one in five consumers start their search for a car  at a dealers website.  To gain market share you’re going to have to connect with these customers before your competitors.  Most dealers can do mass media in their sleep.  It’s the dealer who integrates it with digital who is going to dominate.

    When you see how all  the pieces integrate it’s very exciting.

• The dealership blog ties to twitter and facebook.  Key search terms from your blog increase the ranking of your website.  
  
• You build a powerful social network that has far extending fingers into the market place.  
  
• SEO program drives your website, blog, facebook and twitter pages toward page one of selected key words.
  
• Specials on your website tie to your mass media.  Mass media push traffic to your website.
  
• Targeted banner ads connect with in market shoppers and drive them to special landing pages. 
  
• Text messages promote these special events.   
• Cross promotions with local media outlets get very creative. Everything touches everything. 

 Don’t hide from this new world.  Get in the game.  Get your automotive ad agency to recommend your next step.  Market share is up for grabs.  Up your digital spending with a well thought out plan and just watch as your market share grows and grows.