It's live, and you can watch it here: 5 Core Tenets of Effective Copywriting w/ Dane Saville | KPI Cafe

In this episode of the KPI Cafe, host Dane Saville dives into a solo act to highlight five -- of the many -- core tenets of effective copywriting. These were hand-selected based on a look across websites, paid search copy, social media copy, and more; all five need a little extra attention because they are still pervasive in automotive digital marketing; however, these can apply and are beneficial to any small business seeking to improve their messages with extra nuance.

Whether you're a Dealer Principal, Marketing Director, or digital marketing for an agency in automotive, these are easy-to-remember and important-to-apply best practices but are certainly not the only to consider. In a twist of irony, though Dane underscores just how much those who work in dealerships do (and don't have the time to prioritize reading about copywriting), he offers up some books that will further sharpen your understanding of this important and often ignored aspect of your marketing.

In addition to these insights, we have another installment of What's Going on in Auto: SEO Edition.

Here's what you can expect:

What's Going on in Auto: SEO Edition 

Negative Priming

• What is it?
• Examples
• Carvana

The Power of "You" and "Me"

• The Effect
• Context of Variability: Wordstream / Reunion

Power Words

• "Obligation" Mistake
• Teaser, Exclusivity, Slogan, Comfort, Excitement
• Aquire, Retain

Clarity, Intentional, Directional

• Don't Overestimate Consumer Understanding
• The Process: Drafting

Consistency of Voice

• Across Channels
• Market-Oriented
• Who Are You?
• Localize

Book Recommendations

Recap, Context, and Concluding Remarks

Previewing Next Week's Episode: Hannah Lifson

You can check out the full podcast here: Tips to Help Your Business Build Effective Leaders w/ Brian Alvo

There are few things more important for your dealership than effective leadership. With a historical precedent of high turnover coupled with a greater ability to build networks across social media, it's important to understand how you affect your staff and the impact you can make by being an effective leader and building effective leaders across your operational departments.

To help with that, we have the opportunity to learn from Brian Alvo, founder of the NextGen Center that focuses on building effective leaders through myriad proven principles, strategies, and trainings. This episode of the KPI Cafe dives into these to help us take a more introspective look at our own leadership skills and offers actionable takeaways.

Here's what to expect:

Brian’s Origin Story (1:30)

Core Principles of Effective Leadership (4:08)

• Others
• Impact
• Potential
• Self-Awareness

Are Principles Sequential in Nature? (6:28)

• Theory vs. Real-World
• Context/Variables

Why “Effective” Leadership? (7:58)

• Re-Framing
• Binary of “Good”
• Neutrality

Missing Ingredient(s) to Become Effective (10:22)

• Manage Change
• Set Direction
• Align People
• Growth Path?
• Inspire/Motivate
• Listen

High-Level Tips on Establishing Growth Paths (13:49)

• What Do “You” Want?
• Work Backwards from End Goal

High-Level Tips for How to Actively Listen (17:07)

• Self-Audit
• Intent

Benefits of Effective Leadership (20:30)

• Reaching Potential
• Growing Talent
• Uncertainty vs. Trust

Assess Now for Success Later (24:58)

• Where to Begin?
• Lay of the Land
• Actionable/Demonstrable

Frameworks for Leadership (28:49)

Contacting Brian Alvo (31:27)

Check out the full podcast here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1322281/9643940

There's been a lot of recent discussion in automotive retail around wasted spend in paid search strategies. While there is a lot of truth to this claim, we also need to take deeper looks at different tactics within paid search that boast efficiencies and effectiveness. One tactic is the Display Ad, which is often dismissed because of claimed issues like a high bounce rate or a low lead count. Is this fundamentally true or is it possible your internal team or agency partner is not quite getting the setup or audience targeting right?

Jessica Dee, Director of Paid Search at Reunion Marketing, steps in to discuss Display: objections to, merits of, types of, methodology for, and expectations for -- the full gamut! So join us in this deep dive and see if it's time to reassess your position on Display.

Typical Objections to Leveraging Display Ads and How to Overcome (1:07)

• High Bounce Rate
• Low Lead Count
• 40,000,000 Website Opportunities
• 9-12 Different Ad Placements
• Audiences and Targeting

Setting the Context (2:35)

High-Level Overview of Display Ads (3:18)

• Visually Based

Methodology Behind What Visual Type (4:07)

• 3 Types
• Static
• Responsive Display
• Rotate Information to Get Best Performance
• Includes Video
• 4,500 Opportunities w/ Rotation
• Custom HMTL 5
• Create Template
• Inventory Feed
• Year, Make, Model, Price Point, Actual Images
• All 3 Available Across Display Types

In-Market Display (6:45)

• Type of Audience
• Google-Based (Signals, History)
• 123 Unique In-Market Audiences for Automotive
• Sales, Service, and Parts Opportunities
• 30-60 or 60-90 Days
• $10 per Day Minimum
• As Low as $12 CPL

Competitor Display (9:57)

• No Fewer Than 5 Competitor URLs as “Audience”
• Not Cookie-Based or IP-Based
• Unique Audience Bucket
• Cross-brand or Third-Party Dealers
• Good to Leverage for Any Dealer
• Meets All Compliance Regulations

Custom Intent Display (12:55)

• Combined Search and Display
• Works Off Keywords
• Use Lists
• Pulls All Search History for Targeting
• 75% Less CPC
• Runs Congruently (Doesn’t Compete with Search)
• Ideal for Conquest, Trade-In, and SubPrime
• Competitive Bids on These Keywords (Sign of the Times)
• Cost Savings

Smart Display Ads (16:40)

• Two Targeting Methods
• “Mid-Funnel” Campaign
• Great Lead Volume
• Feed Ad Copy: It Goes!
• Funnels to Specific User That Converts
• Starts High-Funnel
• Ends Low-Funnel
• Must Have the Budget
• At Least on Front End
• Must Find Right Audience
• $2,000 per Month
• Sales Match-back
• 16 Cars on $2,000 Budget
• California Dealer

Which Display Type Will Get Most Buy-In? (19:20)

Remarketing Display: Methodology of Audiences (20:10)

• New, Used VDPs
• SRP
• Service

How Work Intensive Is Setting Up Display Ads? (22:05)

Is There a Threshold of Spend for Display? (24:02)

Ranges of ROI Expectations with Display (25:01)

• $30 CPL Average
• Impressions
• CPC (Well Under $1 per Click)

Closing Thoughts from Jessica Dee on Display Campaigns (26:22)

• Unbounce Session: 16 Minutes
• Filter Out Accidental Clicks

You can check out the full podcast here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1322281/9602595

Although SEO is not a novel concept in automotive retail, there are still a number of issues that we, as an industry, need to overcome. Whether it is an antiquated way of measuring or setting false expectations or a sole focus on variable operations, dealers and agencies need to have open lines of communication and collaboration to help elevate the industry and rid it of these bad practices and bad actors.

Greg Gifford, Vice President of Search at SearchLab, joins the KPI Cafe to discuss what should be happening, shouldn't be happening, and definitely shouldn't be happening with the strategies and tactics your internal team or agency partner is implementing. If you're seeking candid insights about automotive SEO, you won't want to miss this episode.

Here's what to expect:

Greg’s Origin Story (2:03)

Primary Issues Plaguing Automotive SEO (7:40)

• Things Outdated
• Co-Op System
• Afterthought
• Conference Microcosm
• Been Burned in Past

Why Aren’t Best Practices Still Holistically Embraced? (12:40)

• Esoteric ROI
• Outside 30-Day Cycle
• Big Agencies Overloaded
• Cost-Savings Complication
• Contemporary Example
• COVID / Inventory Shortage Pivots
• All of the Channels, Strategies, Tactics, Platforms
• Possible Conflation: SEO/SEM (Light switch)
• Contemporary Example
• Dealer Pushback: But Other Operations/Strategies
• Overlooked Component: CRO

Red Flags to Identify Bad Actors in SEO (25:06)

• Guaranteed Ranking
• No Access
• Expectations
• No Content
• Infrequency
• Client Load?

Best Practices in Automotive SEO (29:37)

• Technical
• Intentionality of Content
• GMB (Now Google Business Profile)

Issue of Content and Other Considerations (32:14)

• Volume
• Length
• Contemporary Examples
• Homepage Banners / Homepage Images
• Word Count 

Link Building Tips (41:00)

• Community Involvement Advantage
• Purposeful

Conference Recommendations (43:38)

SearchLab Video Content (46:39)

This KPI Cafe episode can be found here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1322281/9564300

Your Google Business Profile listings are an integral part of your digital marketing strategy. There are a number of components that your dealership needs to ensure are leveraged to maximize your potential for visibility in non-branded category searches for your vehicles and services.

George Nenni of Generations Digital joins the KPI Cafe to talk about the fundamentals of your listings to help you make smart, strategic decisions about updating and maintaining your Google Business Profiles across you dealership's operations. In addition, he tosses in a number of insightful tidbits that he's gleaned from being in the weeds, building his expertise for this particular strategy.

Here's all of what you can expect:

George Nenni’s Origin Story (2:25)

GMB Listings 101: Crash Course (4:28)

• Listings
• Categories
• Customer-Facing Profit Center

Importance of Images for GMB (6:32)

• Owner vs. Customer
• Google
• Image File 

The Play of Citations (8:29)

• NAP
• Moz
• Educate the Internet
• Primary Number on GMB

Deep-Linking on GMB (10:45)

• Orange Notification

Q&A on Your GMB (11:59)

• Wild West
• George’s Suggestion
• 3 Likes

Best Practices for Managing Reviews (14:34)

• Subscribe to Platforms
• 1-on-1 Engagement
• Keywords

Impact of GMB Posts (16:41)

• Frequency
• Indexation
• Evergreen
• Keywords

Getting Your GMB to Populate for the Right Searches (17:46)

• Category Best Practices
• Google Knowledge Graph
• Selecting Primary Category

Role of Attributes (19:56)

• Consumer-Connected
• Confirm or Deny

What Does Automotive Retail Still Not Get Right? (21:30)

Is There a Cadence of New Content for GMB? (23:59)

Sources to Help Dealers Manage GMB (25:07)

Final Tips on GMB from George Nenni (27:14)

Connecting with George (28:17)

How to Get from A to Z with Creativity in Your Dealership's Advertising w/ Brian Ortega

Brian Ortega, Creative Director of Valley Hi Toyota, joins the KPI Cafe to jam about the creative process -- from conception to execution, including production tips -- in generating fun content for the dealership. Whether you're a Marketing Director who's not sure where to start in generating more creative messaging or a Dealer Principal who's hesitant because of perceived costs, this episode will provide plenty of value across the spectrum of objections, challenges, and uncertainties.

From failures to fabulous evergreen content, Brian shares his experiences and perspective acquired from years of employing a really creative approach to engage consumers.

Here's all of what you can expect ...

Brian Ortega’s Origin Story (2:15)

How to Begin the Process of Ideating Creative Content (5:35)

• Gumption
• What’s Goin’ On?
• Bouncing of Ideas

Tips to Produce Creative Content with Costs in Mind (9:28)

• Talent
• Location
• “Check Out What’s Around You”

What Should Dealers Look for in a Production Company (12:55)

• Hesitancy of Ideas?
• Stick to Your Standards
• Make Sure Things Translate

“We Don’t Hold Anything Back” (14:56)

• 8 Seconds
• Immediate Visual Impact
• Multiple Pieces of Content in a Shoot

Content Intentionality (16:38)

• Wire-framing
• Notes for Editor/Producer
• Self-Editing from Raw Footage
• Behind-the-Scenes
• Thanksgiving Spot Example
• Humanizing / Authenticity

Editing Software Insights (20:28)

• iMovie, YouTube Shorts
• Doesn’t Need to be Perfect
• You Sell Cars — Not Production
• Donuts - Specials in Spots

Importance of Being Evergreen (22:35)

• Story Attached
• Arc
• COVID/Drive-thru Example
• Tell the Story / Promote the Product

Can Some Ideas Work More than Once? (24:45)

• More True Life Examples
• Some Work
• Some Don’t
• Organic Growth
• Ask / Team with the Community

Aligning Expectations between Digital and In-Store (31:52)

• Be Genuine
• Leadership Support
• Reputation Management

Most Challenging and Fun Content (34:00)

• When You Must Adapt
• Embrace Who You Are
• Example of Adapting in the Moment
• Legal

Creative Approval Process (41:46)

How to Check Out Valley Hi Toyota Content (43:55)

The episode can be found here: https://bit.ly/3aTMGI4

You know that more people are shopping online. You know that the majority of the purchase process has shifted online (at least for most industries). So why are there still website providers for retail automotive who are not championing today's consumer behaviors? You need to ensure that you offer a frictionless experience across your site for both sales and service.

321 Ignition's CEO Lyamen Savy joins host Dane Saville to offer insights about issues you may be having with your current website provider, tips on how to ensure that your website is truly mobile-first, actionable items to make immediate improvements, and much more. If you want some perspective on whether or not your website is working -- like, really working -- for you, today's episode is for you.

Here is what you can expect:

4:39 1986 Pontiac Sunbird Story

6:26 Lyamen's Automotive Origin Story

9:51 Tech Legacy Issue Among Automotive Website Providers

• Stockholder Obstacle

• Jack of All Trades, Master of None

12:07 What Have Automotive Website Providers Been Getting Wrong?

• Mobile-First

13:44 What Does It Mean to be Mobile-First?

• Mobile Native Features

• Less is More

15:15 How Do You Orient a Website to Mobile-First?

• Importance of Graphics (html5)
• Placement

17:15 What Demonstrates 321 Ignition Works Better for the Dealer?

• Visualizing

• Compare to Ecommerce

• Calls-to-Action Overload

20:15 Process for Working with 321 Ignition

• Dealer Backend

• Balance of Customization and Templatization

• E
• xpertise Not Found in Dealership

24:01 Immediate Website Improvements Dealers Can Make

• Anxiety Elements

• Value Propositions

• Friction Elements

28:14 321 Ignition the First to Offer...

29:16 What Does It Mean to be "Dealer-First"?

• Transparency

• Fees and Strategy

• Lyamen's Example of Shady Practices

33:51 What Excites Lyamen Most About 2021

35:14 Contacting Lyamen Savy / 321 Ignition

The podcast can be found here: http://bit.ly/36zb6Fp

The original title for this episode was "Onward and Upward: Digital Marketing in 2021." This conversation, however, turned out to be much more than just digital marketing. Jason Harris and I dove into myriad topics surrounding dealerships with lessons learned from navigating COVID-19 for nearly an entire year. From marketing mixture to BDC expectations to internal promotions and more, there is a lot to be learned, analyzed, and said about where the industry is now at the beginning of 2021 and how it can be elevated by challenging current conditions.

We're just halfway through this season of the #KPICafe!

#automotivemarketing #automotivedigitalmarketing #automotiveindustry #automotiveretail #cardealer #cardealerinsights #digitalmarketing

The full podcast can be listened to here: http://bit.ly/36h06MM

It's time to dive into OTT with Brian Toole.

In this episode, host Dane Saville is joined by Brian Toole to talk all-things Over-the-Top. This is an opportunity for every dealer to target local consumers who use streaming apps, which is a fast-growing trend among American households as more broadcasting companies push their original content to be exclusively streamed. Now is the time to get a grasp on what this strategy is, how well it can target, how to budget, and what success looks like. 

3:55 Brian Toole's Automotive Origin Story

5:58 OTT Overview

8:57 Balancing the OTT Segments

10:55 How Geofencing with OTT Still Gives You an Opportunity

14:30 Social Media is the Precursor of OTT

16:07 How to Approach Creative for OTT Advertising

19:37 OTT for Fixed Operations? 

20:53 Lifetime Customer Value: Retention vs. Acquisition

22:50 Budgeting for OTT

27:28 Focus on the Person, not the Domain

30:45 What Does the OTT Data Inform You for Strategy?

34:25 Look at Things with a Holistic Perspective

35:24 Categorize Consumer "Intent"

39:48 Final Piece of OTT Insight from Brian Toole

42:27 Contacting Brian Toole

You can listen to the full podcast here: https://bit.ly/3qHeG87

Don't forget to subscribe to this YouTube channel and to the KPI Cafe on your favorite podcast platform.

In automotive retail, we often hear a lot of buzzwords and phrases. These can often be misunderstood or even misused as people latch onto them. In this episode, Dan Moore and Micah Birkholz join host Dane Saville to help clarify and even dispel what it means when you "hustle and grind" or when companies claim to be "data-driven."

Throughout this episode, you'll get insights on healthier perspectives on motivating dealership staff, misleading data claims and key performance indicators, addressing the disconnect between marketing data and sales data, and much more -- plus, hopefully, a few laughs along the way.