Launch Digital Marketing
Blog To The Future
Not too long ago, I had the pleasue of overhearing this conversation take place in one of our showrooms....
It started with a sales consultant greeting a customer as he walked through the door, “Hello sir, welcome to LaFontaine Hyundai – what brings you in today?”
The answer however, was not what I was expecting, “I just read the article you posted about the 2015 Hyundai Genesis on your blog. I had a few extra minutes, so I thought I’d swing by your dealership to learn a little more”.
“That’s fantastic sir, I’m glad to hear it! I do feel a little embarrassed though, and maybe you didn’t see it in the article, but the 2015 Genesis hasn’t arrived yet.” was the response.
“Oh I know, I checked your inventory online” and then with a knowing smile the customer said “I just thought I’d take a look at the current Genesis. Maybe you can make me a great deal on one of these?”….
When I re-launched the blog for the LaFontaine Automotive Group, FamilyDealBlog.com, back in October 2013, this is exactly how I would imagine our blog would work.
We’d post useful and relevant content on our blog, distribute it via email and social media marketing channels, let Google crawl it - and people would walk through the doors of our dealerships because of it.
You might say, “hey that sounds great in theory but so do flux capcitors. We have a blog too, but it doesn't really do anything like that that for us”.
I get it, I really do and I don’t blame you for your skepticism. At one point in time I used to be just like you.
From 2010 to 2013 we paid an outside company to run and create content for FamilyDealBlog.com and while we got some decent web traffic, it didn’t convert that traffic into prospects and customers the way it does today.
It’s been 8 months since we took direct control of our blog.
Since then our blog content pulls in 4,000 unique visits per month and not a day goes by where we don’t get at least a phone call, lead form submission or walk in customer that can be sourced directly from our blog.
One lead a day adds up pretty quickly when you think about it. And the rate we're going, I only expect that number to increase over the next year.
I just wish I would have taken control of our blog sooner than I did.
If I Only Had a Time Travelling DeLorean
So, how powerful can your blog be?
Let me put it this way: If I had a time machine, one of the first things I would do (after I placed a few wagers using my handy Sports Almanac) would be to go back to 2010 and take control of FamilyDealBlog.com.
Why? Because after the results I’ve seen in just eight months, it kills me knowing that I wasted three and a half years underutilizing our blog.
Three and a half years of building authority with Google and establishing relevance and usefulness with our audience went by the wayside.
I’d do just about anything to have that time back.
You, however, don’t have to share my regrets. You don't have to revisit this article 3 years later and wish you would have started today.
The good news is that you can have a blog that converts too, and you can do it quicker than you think.
And while you can get started today, I will caution you and say - Bloggin' ain't easy. There are a lot of challenges associated with creating useful and relevant content.
If you are going to travel 88 miles per hour down this path, you have to be very intentional about implementing the process.
But Why Blog? Why Not Just Publish on Social Media?
Why should I invest time and energy into a blog? If I want to share content with my audience, isn’t that what Facebook is for? I’m not a writer, how am I going to write articles for a blog?
These are all questions I’ve asked myself before.
The main reason your should invest serious resources to your blog is simple: You own the platform. It's under your direct control and you make the rules.
The reality is, the social network landscape is undergoing a major transition as we speak.
Facebook is cutting off all organic reach for those of us with business pages. Pretty soon, if we want our content to be seen by our fans and friends, we’ll all have to “pay to play”.
Twitter’s growth has leveled out and has recently taken steps to make itself look more like Facebook and less like…well…Twitter.
And as much as I love Google Plus for all of the wonderful benefits it provides for your dealership, it too is facing an uncertain future.
Think about it like this. Say you have 2,000 likes on your Facebook page, you publish a post and if you're lucky 100 people will organically see that post. A small percentage of that audeince will engage, and then the post falls down the timeline never to be heard from again.
Now let's say you just published a snazzy article on your blog giving your audience useful tips for taking a Summer Road Trip.
For the sake of easy math, say you have 10,000 people in your email database you can send a link to the article to.
If you get a 20% open rate, that means at minimum 2,000 people will see the intro of your article.
If you've crafted your email in a way that entices the audience to click the "read more" link in the email and you get a 15% click-thru rate - that's 300 visitors who just landed on your website.
That's 300 people on your website, reading your original content.
Of those 300, some are going to like your article enough to share it on their own social networks givng you the social juice you've been craving.
So without taking into consideration the other benefits of blogging (SEO, establishing expertise & credibility, etc.) which would your rather do:
Publish a post on Facebook or publish a post on your blog?
May I Have Your Intention Please?
There’s no secret blog-sauce here folks.
In order to make your blog work for you, you have to become intentional about blogging and creating useful, relevant content for your defined audience.
You have to become a student dedicated to learning the in’s and out’s of a blogging platform.
You’ll need to eat, sleep and breathe your way into success. But it’s not a journey you should take alone.
Not only do you have to see the value in dedicating your valuable time, resources and money in to your blog – but your entire leadership team need to see the value as well.
If you are prepared and have the passion to succeed, you won’t need to “sell” anyone on building out the platform.
It's my goal to freely share with you what I've learned about what it takes to have a sucessful blog for your dealership.
But like a good blogger should, I don't want to write random articles and "hope" it's relevant to your needs.
I want to understand what your current pain points are when it comes to your blog and provide targeted info that you'll find useful.
Feel free to add any additional comments or thoughts about blogging in the dealership in the comments section below.
Cheers!
Launch Digital Marketing
Blog To The Future
Not too long ago, I had the pleasue of overhearing this conversation take place in one of our showrooms....
It started with a sales consultant greeting a customer as he walked through the door, “Hello sir, welcome to LaFontaine Hyundai – what brings you in today?”
The answer however, was not what I was expecting, “I just read the article you posted about the 2015 Hyundai Genesis on your blog. I had a few extra minutes, so I thought I’d swing by your dealership to learn a little more”.
“That’s fantastic sir, I’m glad to hear it! I do feel a little embarrassed though, and maybe you didn’t see it in the article, but the 2015 Genesis hasn’t arrived yet.” was the response.
“Oh I know, I checked your inventory online” and then with a knowing smile the customer said “I just thought I’d take a look at the current Genesis. Maybe you can make me a great deal on one of these?”….
When I re-launched the blog for the LaFontaine Automotive Group, FamilyDealBlog.com, back in October 2013, this is exactly how I would imagine our blog would work.
We’d post useful and relevant content on our blog, distribute it via email and social media marketing channels, let Google crawl it - and people would walk through the doors of our dealerships because of it.
You might say, “hey that sounds great in theory but so do flux capcitors. We have a blog too, but it doesn't really do anything like that that for us”.
I get it, I really do and I don’t blame you for your skepticism. At one point in time I used to be just like you.
From 2010 to 2013 we paid an outside company to run and create content for FamilyDealBlog.com and while we got some decent web traffic, it didn’t convert that traffic into prospects and customers the way it does today.
It’s been 8 months since we took direct control of our blog.
Since then our blog content pulls in 4,000 unique visits per month and not a day goes by where we don’t get at least a phone call, lead form submission or walk in customer that can be sourced directly from our blog.
One lead a day adds up pretty quickly when you think about it. And the rate we're going, I only expect that number to increase over the next year.
I just wish I would have taken control of our blog sooner than I did.
If I Only Had a Time Travelling DeLorean
So, how powerful can your blog be?
Let me put it this way: If I had a time machine, one of the first things I would do (after I placed a few wagers using my handy Sports Almanac) would be to go back to 2010 and take control of FamilyDealBlog.com.
Why? Because after the results I’ve seen in just eight months, it kills me knowing that I wasted three and a half years underutilizing our blog.
Three and a half years of building authority with Google and establishing relevance and usefulness with our audience went by the wayside.
I’d do just about anything to have that time back.
You, however, don’t have to share my regrets. You don't have to revisit this article 3 years later and wish you would have started today.
The good news is that you can have a blog that converts too, and you can do it quicker than you think.
And while you can get started today, I will caution you and say - Bloggin' ain't easy. There are a lot of challenges associated with creating useful and relevant content.
If you are going to travel 88 miles per hour down this path, you have to be very intentional about implementing the process.
But Why Blog? Why Not Just Publish on Social Media?
Why should I invest time and energy into a blog? If I want to share content with my audience, isn’t that what Facebook is for? I’m not a writer, how am I going to write articles for a blog?
These are all questions I’ve asked myself before.
The main reason your should invest serious resources to your blog is simple: You own the platform. It's under your direct control and you make the rules.
The reality is, the social network landscape is undergoing a major transition as we speak.
Facebook is cutting off all organic reach for those of us with business pages. Pretty soon, if we want our content to be seen by our fans and friends, we’ll all have to “pay to play”.
Twitter’s growth has leveled out and has recently taken steps to make itself look more like Facebook and less like…well…Twitter.
And as much as I love Google Plus for all of the wonderful benefits it provides for your dealership, it too is facing an uncertain future.
Think about it like this. Say you have 2,000 likes on your Facebook page, you publish a post and if you're lucky 100 people will organically see that post. A small percentage of that audeince will engage, and then the post falls down the timeline never to be heard from again.
Now let's say you just published a snazzy article on your blog giving your audience useful tips for taking a Summer Road Trip.
For the sake of easy math, say you have 10,000 people in your email database you can send a link to the article to.
If you get a 20% open rate, that means at minimum 2,000 people will see the intro of your article.
If you've crafted your email in a way that entices the audience to click the "read more" link in the email and you get a 15% click-thru rate - that's 300 visitors who just landed on your website.
That's 300 people on your website, reading your original content.
Of those 300, some are going to like your article enough to share it on their own social networks givng you the social juice you've been craving.
So without taking into consideration the other benefits of blogging (SEO, establishing expertise & credibility, etc.) which would your rather do:
Publish a post on Facebook or publish a post on your blog?
May I Have Your Intention Please?
There’s no secret blog-sauce here folks.
In order to make your blog work for you, you have to become intentional about blogging and creating useful, relevant content for your defined audience.
You have to become a student dedicated to learning the in’s and out’s of a blogging platform.
You’ll need to eat, sleep and breathe your way into success. But it’s not a journey you should take alone.
Not only do you have to see the value in dedicating your valuable time, resources and money in to your blog – but your entire leadership team need to see the value as well.
If you are prepared and have the passion to succeed, you won’t need to “sell” anyone on building out the platform.
It's my goal to freely share with you what I've learned about what it takes to have a sucessful blog for your dealership.
But like a good blogger should, I don't want to write random articles and "hope" it's relevant to your needs.
I want to understand what your current pain points are when it comes to your blog and provide targeted info that you'll find useful.
Feel free to add any additional comments or thoughts about blogging in the dealership in the comments section below.
Cheers!
7 Comments
Remarkable Marketing
Awesome read, thank you. Ive been preaching the "Sales Person Blog" story for a few years now and in my opinion you really hit it on the nose. Down time in a sales role is inevitable, blogging has a huge upside: - More content = more eyeballs = leads and sales! - Writing about the product keeps the sales team sharp and on their toes. - No more downtime, when an "up" arrives, sales people are focused on automotive instead of the past weeks sports scores. These are just a few of the great things blogging provides for the organization as a whole. Once again, thanks for sharing, great read!
Launch Digital Marketing
Thanks Grant, I appreciate the kind words and your insights! I've been asking some of our peers what their biggest challenge is when it comes to blogging. Care to chime in on the matter?
ActivEngage
Don't forget about promoting the ability to "subscribe" to your blog so that potential customers automatically get a notification when the blog is posted! Our blog subscribers have been increasing every day since we started making intentional asks to subscribe to our updates. Jason - Does your sales team link to blogs in their follow up emails to prospects? We found this technique helpful in closing the sale - your sales team doesn't necessarily have to be the person writing the content, but they certainly can use the links to the blog to educate their prospects!
Launch Digital Marketing
Great comments Kelly. Asking your visitors to subscribe to your blog is key. I'll admit I was initially surprised by how many people we had signing up for updates that weren't already our customers. It's a must have feature! Our Concierge team that handles internet lead responses and followup is well versed in the articles on our blog so they can send them to prospects where appropriate. It certainly helps establish our expertise and authority in a very competitive market.
ActivEngage
That's awesome Jason! Unfortunately, we often see someone in the dealership spending their precious time writing blog articles, yet those articles don't get utilized within the sales process. Glad to know you are on top of it!
Kijiji, an eBay Company
I haven't driven down the dealer blog road yet, but what I have done in the past that was enormously successful was curated a Question & Answer thread on a big Canadian Message board. It started with a thread titled "Ask me anything about Toyota" and within a few years it grew to 2,711 Replies - 197,196 Pageviews. Then, the forum shut me down and wanted me to pay because it was getting too much free exposure. I was doing close to 5 deals a month simply from participating, and still to this day get inquiries 3 years later. I am thinking of starting the same thing on Reddit. Best of all, it all began after a customer went on a tyrant about our poor service on the same message board.
Kijiji, an eBay Company
If anyone is interested, the link is here: http://forums.redflagdeals.com/ask-me-anything-about-toyota-656495/
7 Comments
Grant Gooley
Remarkable Marketing
Awesome read, thank you. Ive been preaching the "Sales Person Blog" story for a few years now and in my opinion you really hit it on the nose. Down time in a sales role is inevitable, blogging has a huge upside: - More content = more eyeballs = leads and sales! - Writing about the product keeps the sales team sharp and on their toes. - No more downtime, when an "up" arrives, sales people are focused on automotive instead of the past weeks sports scores. These are just a few of the great things blogging provides for the organization as a whole. Once again, thanks for sharing, great read!
Jason Stum
Launch Digital Marketing
Thanks Grant, I appreciate the kind words and your insights! I've been asking some of our peers what their biggest challenge is when it comes to blogging. Care to chime in on the matter?
Kelly Holloway
ActivEngage
Don't forget about promoting the ability to "subscribe" to your blog so that potential customers automatically get a notification when the blog is posted! Our blog subscribers have been increasing every day since we started making intentional asks to subscribe to our updates. Jason - Does your sales team link to blogs in their follow up emails to prospects? We found this technique helpful in closing the sale - your sales team doesn't necessarily have to be the person writing the content, but they certainly can use the links to the blog to educate their prospects!
Jason Stum
Launch Digital Marketing
Great comments Kelly. Asking your visitors to subscribe to your blog is key. I'll admit I was initially surprised by how many people we had signing up for updates that weren't already our customers. It's a must have feature! Our Concierge team that handles internet lead responses and followup is well versed in the articles on our blog so they can send them to prospects where appropriate. It certainly helps establish our expertise and authority in a very competitive market.
Kelly Holloway
ActivEngage
That's awesome Jason! Unfortunately, we often see someone in the dealership spending their precious time writing blog articles, yet those articles don't get utilized within the sales process. Glad to know you are on top of it!
Robert Karbaum
Kijiji, an eBay Company
I haven't driven down the dealer blog road yet, but what I have done in the past that was enormously successful was curated a Question & Answer thread on a big Canadian Message board. It started with a thread titled "Ask me anything about Toyota" and within a few years it grew to 2,711 Replies - 197,196 Pageviews. Then, the forum shut me down and wanted me to pay because it was getting too much free exposure. I was doing close to 5 deals a month simply from participating, and still to this day get inquiries 3 years later. I am thinking of starting the same thing on Reddit. Best of all, it all began after a customer went on a tyrant about our poor service on the same message board.
Robert Karbaum
Kijiji, an eBay Company
If anyone is interested, the link is here: http://forums.redflagdeals.com/ask-me-anything-about-toyota-656495/