SAG
Location-Based Marketing is Rising!
The following is just my opinion based off of what I have researched. I unfortunately do not get to do this form of marketing with my stores. So here we go!
Location based marketing is a powerful tool and more marketers are investing in this tactic to meet their customer acquisition and retention strategies. In fact, eMarketer predicts that marketers will spend $26.5 billion on mobile-location marketing advertising in 2019. Today I will discuss geo-targeting which is one of the more popular location based marketing strategies.
How does geo-targeting work?
Google Ads (formerly known as AdWords) has a feature that allows search advertisers to specify a location, or a set of locations, as the only area(s) in which they want their ads to show. This is an essential tactic for businesses that depend on foot traffic and/or home deliveries, such as restaurants, brick-and-mortar stores, and e-commerce sites.
Geo targeting is basically about finding the physical location of website visitors, and then displaying content, ads, promotions, offers, and more that might be of relevance to them. Any good lead capturing strategy will take into account where the website visitors are, and then target each of them differently.
For a dealership, this is critical in order to create compelling, individualized offers or discounts that are likely to get customers much more inclined to visiting your auto dealership.
For instance, if you figure out that a customer lives not far from your car dealership, you could provide them a discount for a same-day pick-up of the vehicle for servicing. On the other hand, someone who lives further away will be more likely to respond to offers valid during the coming week or month because it gives them plenty of time to get to your dealership. This really helps when you have shoppers on your lot after business hours too. I find myself driving past the dealerships to see peoples cars parked in front walking the lot.
Driving More Foot Traffic
Geo targeting your clients this way will not only drive up foot traffic to your dealership, but also provide your sales team a good heads up to deal with the influx of customers.
Today’s websites and digital marketing tools are smart, and a smart system will also enable your auto dealership to run campaigns based on the behavioural characteristics of your customers and prospects. This allows your marketing staff to target and engage site visitors with unique offers every single time they return to your dealership website, thereby preventing your promotions from looking stale.
Having the ability to geo target means that no website engagement will be wasted or directed towards someone who has no inclination to follow through. This will help to optimize the dealership’s marketing budget and improved revenue generation from higher foot traffic as well. So if you're thinking of some creative ways to drive more traffic to your dealership, this is a good place to look.
SAG
Tips for Maximizing Social Media in the Car Business
Social media is gradually becoming one of the most important aspects of digital marketing that can account for incredible results for any business.
It is one of the most popular platforms which can be used to promote business branding. Furthermore, active communication via social media can be an effective means to engage customers and further take your brand to new heights.
Well put together social media marketing not only helps in user engagement but also helps build brand trust and brand authority. It is, therefore, an excellent digital marketing strategy. Managing it, however, can be quite difficult. Knowing about a few tricks can help you get an edge on your competition that is not doing the following.
Tips for efficient social media marketing :
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1. Optimizing social media profiles
Optimizing social profiles is one of the first things to ensure effective social media marketing. It increases the chances of attracting more users. Given below are some of the ways which can effectively help you do so.
-Choosing a stand out profile picture to represent the brand
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-Specifying location and hours
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-Being available through chat when prospects reach out
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-Writing a good description of the business can build a foundation
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-Being active
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2. Connecting the website to social media posts
It is one of the most critical points. Providing links to the site while posting is essential. Every platform has its procedure, which needs to be followed properly. The right bond between the two, social media and websites is critical.
3. Following influencers in the same niche
For efficient social media marketing, following the right people can help create a strong base gradually. It is necessary to follow influencers in the same category for the following reason.
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-Social media platforms use this information for making any suggestions regarding who should be followed. It helps people be aware of the company.
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-Also, a lot of useful information is shared online, which can be used as a chance to learn something new that you can use in your own personal message through posting content.
4. Maintaining a balance between the followers and following
Keeping a balance between the following and followers is mandatory, especially in case of certain websites like Pinterest and Twitter. Following are some reasons why.
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-Having more followers account for trustworthiness, which is an essential component of social media marketing.
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-Software applications are using the ratio (followers/following), which makes suggestions on who an individual needs to follow. Having a very low ratio minimizes the chances of getting new followers.
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-A balanced profile is more suited for SEO purposes which is huge with Google. People with active social media profiles have better positions compared to those having weaker profiles. Post more content, receive more followers. Engage, Engage, ENGAGE!
5. Sharing exciting content, Engagement is everything
It is the foundation for a successful social media marketing campaign. Compelling content can come as appealing to the consumer and also result in more shares. It helps get more visitors to the website and sometimes even customers.
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-Articles/Pages/Stories which are related to the niche, Interesting statistics, Motivational quotes, Funny content, Research studies, Images and Videos, and finally #Hastags.
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As a dealer, do not avoid establishing a presence on social media. Digital is where the world has been moving in a retail space so this is crucial to the sustained success of any automotive dealer.
3 Comments
Dealership News
Many people would like to know how to balance out that follower to follow ratio. Aside from being a cute, scantily clad gal or celebrity, it's very difficult to do that if you're an unknown brand OR just starting.
SAG
A big thing would be to engage. Commenting on other people's posts using the right hashtags, same with using them on your posts and posting frequently. Those are just some of my thoughts. I am no instagram pro by any means but I do study those influencers behaviors.
Birchwood Automotive Group
Great stuff! Thank you for sharing ... #2 is especially important, and sadly often overlooked.
3 Comments
Ben Misra
Car Market Solutions, LLC
The issue is consumer privacy and geo targeting a private cell phone has never been proven to be legal. If fact there are many possible violations of many acts already in place that geo targeting is soon to be on the CFPB and FTC scope in the near future. It is better to use common sense marketing then witchcraft and trickery to get more customers.
Derrick Woolfson
Beltway Companies
Geo-targeting is *essential* and a very effective way to increase conversion. One of the most effective ways to use geo-targeting is for service. All too often, customers believe that the dealer is more expensive for an oil change. And that is not always the case. So by geo-targeting some of the competition, and offering a *strong call to action*, you can effectively increase your conversion, and more importantly, gain a service customer!
Derrick Woolfson
Beltway Companies
@Ben, there does tend to be a lot of gray area when it comes to using newer methods for digital marketing. It will be interesting to see what the FTC does regarding "data privacy." Even Apple is at it with its new iOS up-grade, which alerts its users when an app is using their location - allowing you to choose whether or not the app can use your location. I have to admit, when I looked at just how many apps - mind you, apps I do not even use - that were using my location, it was astonishing, to say the least!