Maintaining a steady and consistent stream of customers is always an aim for today’s automotive marketer. It isn’t that promotional campaigns are on the downturn or that there is a lack of innovative content. Rather, it’s the implementation stage that often challenges even the most seasoned expert. Discerning how to best position and deliver these advertisements can be a delicate matter. On one hand, you want to excite and entice your target audience. Yet, on the other, you must be sensitive enough not to bombard their daily lives. Striking the perfect balance is key for dealerships that want to best the local competition, stand out in their space and drive continued sales.

This is especially critical as today’s buyer has more options than ever before. With just the click of a button, he or she can hop online, browse options, ask for advice and more before making the trek to the car lot. To capture their attention, here are five ways to position your advertising strategies for maximum appeal and visibility.

1. Facebook Ads

Chances are, a major portion of your key audience is active on social media. To that end, why not utilize the platforms as a way to connect with them? From Twitter and Facebook to Instagram and even SnapChat, there are myriad ways to attract a following to your brand and initiate a dialogue with interested buyers.

Gone are the days when you’d just use these platforms to post pictures of your latest inventory. Now, marketers are utilizing social media insights to learn more about what their buyers want, what kinds of questions they have, where their pain points are and more.

2. Local Events

What’s one solid and reliable way to bring people to your dealership? Host a local event! Yet, not just any community function will do. To make sure people come and you get a high return on your investment, it’s important to think outside of the box. From singing competitions to beach-themed parties and partner competitions, the sky’s the limit, and the events don’t always have to be centered solely around an automobile theme.

In fact, they’re often more memorable when they include some other element that gives personality and character to your dealership. So, consider what your community members may be most interested in, or even ask them on social media what they prefer, and use that data to help direct your next move.

3. Free Giveaways

One way to increase foot traffic to your dealership and capitalize on your latest outreach campaign is to supplement it with free giveaways. From free maintenance services to branded apparel, you can get creative with what you give out, but make sure it’s in keeping with what your key buyer would want. If you’re not sure, test a few ideas out first on a smaller pool of participants before making it a more widescale event.

4. A Slogan or Tagline

There’s a reason we still remember those catchy commercial jingles from our past. They stick with us because they’re easy to remember and fun to say or sing. While you don’t necessarily need to bring out the piano and belt out a tune in front of your dealership, creating a short and catchy slogan or tagline can help others remember your brand.

Then, when it’s time to advertise over television, radio or social media, it won’t take long before the line becomes synonymous with your dealership. To make sure the saying sticks around and becomes ingrained in your community, try to incorporate it on as much branded collateral as possible. This might mean embroidering your tagline onto your dealership’s hats alongside the logo, or adding it to stationary your administrative team uses. You can also use a banner creator to display it at the front of the building, so it’s the first thing people see when they walk in the door.

5. Feedback and Reviews

Though they’re not truly meant to serve as advertisements, positive feedback and reviews can work wonders to draw people to your dealership. Why? Even in today’s digitization era, word-of-mouth marketing is still incredibly popular and effective. Now, it’s just easier to come by, thanks to online review sites that allow web visitors to pull up star rankings, personal experiences and positive or negative reviews on anything from HVAC services to car dealerships with just the swipe of a screen. In fact, recent research reveals that 86% of car buyers head to the internet to conduct research before making a buying decision.

To this end, if you have positive reviews and feedback on your company, don’t be afraid to showcase and highlight them! You may even consider adding a “Customer Testimonials” subpage to your website, where all the reviews can be collected in a comprehensive manner. Satisfied customers are one of your brand’s greatest assets, so it’s important to know how to optimize their effectiveness.

Marketing to Today’s Discerning Automotive Customer

While there are many tactics that dealerships can use to give more visibility and credibility to their campaigns, the crux of the matter starts with understanding the target audience. From there, marketers can leverage social media, community events, tailored promotions, catchy slogans and positive reviews to appeal to those who are the most interested and ready to go for a test drive.