The recent Social Media Trends study by Digital Air Strike revealed that car shoppers, for the third consecutive year in a row, ranked social networks as more important than a dealer’s website when choosing which dealership to visit. The study, which was based on research findings from 2,000 car buyers and 2,000 service customers, found that:

• 75% of car buyers and 68% of service customers say internet research, including social media and review sites, was the most helpful medium when selecting a car dealership.
• 83% of service customers surveyed say online review sites substantially helped them in their dealership selection process.
• 66% of car buyers or owners who have seen a Facebook ad say they have clicked on it, up from 33% in 2014.
• Consumers looking to purchase or service a vehicle are doing their research primarily online, with 50% of recent car buyers and 69% percent of service customers saying they only visited one dealership before buying/servicing.

The 2014 CMO Council report on social media within the auto industry revealed similar findings.

• 23% or one out of four car buyers use social media to discuss or communicate a recent purchase experience.
• 38% of consumers report they’ll consult social media next time they purchase a car.
• 84% of all automotive shoppers are on Facebook and 24% used Facebook as a resource for purchasing their last vehicle.

When it comes to car shopping, social media sites are clearly a major influencer in a buyer’s decision making process. At this point, most marketers understand that social sites should be integrated in some way into a marketing strategy. For some, this may be simply having a Facebook page and posting content or pictures, while other brands have a fully integrated social marketing approach to generate leads and engage with customers. However, with more and more consumers turning to social, the automotive industry needs to get fully engaged with social selling.

Here are 10 Social Media Strategies for Car Dealerships:

1.) Target Consumers on Facebook
This is a must, especially with 84% of your consumers on Facebook. Place ads to reach people who have indicated they are in the market for a car. You can narrow down these selects to geographic areas near your dealership, by vehicle type, gender, consumer interests, and more. The investment is well worth it. Research by Unified shows that auto ads have 2 times higher click-through rates than the average Facebook ad.

2.) Use Twitter to Drive Sales
Marketshare research discovered that in 2013, Twitter drove $716 million in car sales. Twitter continues to be a popular choice among auto consumers. Recent research by Canvs found that more than 327,000 auto-related tweets are sent out daily, and 75% of these are directly related to owning or shopping. Using keyword targeting, these signals can be picked up and direct messages and advertising can be sent to those consumers who have displayed purchase intent.

3.) Market to Millennials on Instagram
A survey by Facebook discovered that millennials are leaving Facebook and are turning more of their attention to Instagram. Instagram, primarily used on mobile devices, is all about taking, sharing, and uploading pictures and videos. Instagram provides a great platform to creatively share your brand’s story. For example, share pictures that allow consumers to imagine themselves in the moment – a picture of one of your vehicles at the beach, tailgating at a sporting event, camping, near a lake, or any creative way you can imagine to showcase the lifestyle your vehicle represents.

4.) Video Marketing with YouTube
According to Force Marketing, 84% of car shoppers plan to watch auto video the next time they are in market for a car. Car consumers are seeking information on model comparisons, safety features, connected devices, walkarounds, and other content to help them make a decision. While videos should be embedded into your website, they should be hosted on a channel such as YouTube for more organic visibility.

5.) Add Pinterest to Your Social Strategy
Most marketers think of some of the more popular social sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube as channels for social marketing. Pinterest is known for having a larger female base, with recipes, beauty tips, and decorating ideas. However, Pinterest is great for the automotive industry in several ways. One, because it has such a large female audience, what better way to appeal to female shoppers? Pinterest is also great for building your SEO presence by sharing landing pages, pictures of your inventory, or pinning blog posts. This creates social signals which will in turn drive more traffic to your site.

6.) Story Telling through Social Media
It is no longer simply enough to post and broadcast content, social media is about the human connection. Storytelling on social sites is a perfect way to interact with your audience to develop relationships and brand loyalty. Use social platforms as a conversation channel rather than an advertising channel. Share experiences and humanize your brand. For example, post videos of staff members – the face of your business. Share pictures showcasing your support for local charities.

Starbucks has done an excellent job of storytelling on social. Coffee is more than just a caffeinated experience; it is about time with friends, relaxing, and indulgence. And the automotive industry can do the same. The company Purple featured a great blog, “How Storytelling is Shaping the Automotive Industry,” which showcases 7 examples of excellent storytelling campaigns by auto brands.

7.) Remember that Social is a Two-Way Conversation
You have posted great content, are telling stories, sharing fun pictures and more. But are you interacting with your social fans? Be sure you are responding to tweets, thanking those who share your content, answer questions, and respond to and answer complaints. Social media is fast-paced – an in-the-moment medium. Don’t wait a week to respond. Consumers expect quick responses to their questions on social media. If you aren’t monitoring continuously, you may be losing out on valuable opportunities.

8.) Offer Social-Specific Contests and Promotions
As we discussed, social media is not about blatantly advertising how great you are but rather should be geared towards creating content to engage consumers. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t promote your sales and promotions. Everyone loves a deal and discounts so promote away. Be creative and reward your social followers with promotions and contests only available on your Facebook page or other social accounts.

9.) Social Reviews Matter
Encourage your customers to share reviews on your social sites. Car shoppers are 90% more likely to visit your website and 5.3 more likely to visit your dealership if you have positive reviews according to a study by DealerRater and Dataium. Beyond the traditional third-party review sites, consumers are also checking reviews on social media so encourage your satisfied customers to share their great experience. Just as important, respond to negative reviews. Consumers who have had a bad experience want to be heard and prompt and swift attention will mitigate damage. Be sure you are monitoring review sites and social channels, especially during weekend hours. Negative reviews are 19% more likely to be written on a Saturday, Sunday, or Monday after a bad weekend experience and you don’t want these complaints to slip through the cracks.

10.) Be 100% Committed
Social media marketing clearly offers huge benefits to the automotive industry – more brand visibility, more leads, and ultimately, more sales. But you must be 100% committed to maintaining a social media strategy. Once you start building up a fan base of social followers, you must continually engage and interact. If you go several days without posting or responding to comments, you will quickly lose your social credibility. When it comes to your digital presence, you only have a small window of opportunity to engage with online car buyers. If you don’t, you can be sure your competition will do so.

When done correctly, maintaining a social presence will get you more appointments, help you sell more services and vehicles, and boost your brand’s revenues. What other social tips do you recommend for marketers in the automotive industry?

To learn how to get started with data-driven marketing in the automotive industry, download this free Automotive Marketing Success Kit.

An Introduction to Data-Driven Marketing for the Auto Industry

Without a doubt, data has become the currency that fuels competitive advantage in today’s economy. The concept of data-driven marketing has become an integral strategy across a broad range of industries, and the automotive industry is certainly no exception. Consumers expect relevant messages delivered across the channels they prefer and at the timing they choose. And when brands fail to deliver, customers are annoyed and often even driven away. To deliver this type of hyper-targeted marketing, a data-driven approach is the essential ingredient for success.

Automotive brands who implement data-driven marketing in their overall strategies will reap the rewards in improved customer acquisition and retention, enhanced customer experiences, and higher revenue. Here are a few ways to get started:

Data-Driven Marketing Begins with Good Data

Data today is bigger and more pervasive than ever before, and the automotive industry can no longer rely on internal data alone. Information that is sitting in CRM systems, billing and shipping databases, or customer service centers is a great starting point, but in order to step up their competitive advantage, automotive companies must apply third-party sources of highly specialized automotive intelligence.

Consumers produce mountains of data every day. Digging though the piles of available information to find the data that truly can make a difference often leads to a state of “analysis paralysis.” Automotive companies are increasingly turning to data solution providers who have already sifted through thousands of data sources, aggregating the most comprehensive automotive intelligence and marketing data that will have a direct impact on the bottom line.

Types of third party data that should be included in a CRM or prospecting database include:

1. Demographic Data: Information such as households with new children (may upgrade to a larger vehicle), teenage drivers (may purchase a first car), or lifestyle attributes such as environmentalism or an interest in the outdoors (hybrids or four-wheel drive) can take targeted marketing to the next step. Income, marital status, occupation, hobbies, lifestyle, and age are other examples of demographics that can be used to create targeted marketing messages to which consumers are most apt to relate.
    
2. Specialized Auto Data: Several specialized data solution providers can provide detailed information on vehicles and their owners. Data can include information such as Make, Model and Year as derived directly from VINs; selections such as engine size, fuel type, drive train, engine block, and engine cylinders; response performance indicator models, and auto equity data.
    
3. In-Market Model Data: Dealers can target consumers who may be ready to purchase a car within the next several months with statistically modeled values that indicate a household’s inclination to purchase a vehicle. This means targeting the consumer before they head to a competitive dealership. In combination with other consumer variables, this brings dealerships closer to finding the ready to buy, sell, or lease prospects in a targeted geographical area.
    
4. Follow the Car Data: This data identifies cars that a dealership sold or performed regular service on after they are sold to a new owner, so the dealer can contact the new owner with service offers. This means less wasted marketing efforts sending vehicle specific pieces to consumers who may not own that car anymore, new service prospects by targeting new owners of vehicles that the center is familiar with, and optimized audience targeting with enhanced data and consumer insights.

Multi-Channel Marketing Campaigns

As more consumers turn to digital channels to look and research their next automobile, dealerships must keep up by embracing multi-channel, data-driven campaigns such as email marketing, direct mail, and digital advertising.

Email Marketing

Email brings in about 39% of a dealership’s leads, according to Larry Bruce, Vice President of Naked Lime. According to Naked Lime research, “emails fetch more than three times as many leads as direct mail (12%), paid search (11%) and organic search (9%). Traditional media, such as TV and radio, account for 4% and social media 2%.”

The key to successful email marketing lies in using analytics and data to segment marketing lists. Email segmentation lets you cut through the clutter by providing offers and communications based on segmented audiences or groups of consumers. There are countless ways to use segmentation. For example, you may segment by demographics. One group of consumers may have school age children and an offer for a larger family vehicle would be more appealing than an offer for a sports car. Different offers and different vehicles will appeal to outdoor enthusiasts as compared to a retired couple. Consider a range of characteristics such as age; income; lifestyle; hobbies; make, model and age of their current vehicle; whether they own or lease; location; and so on.

While irrelevant emails may cause a significant loss in opportunities, a highly targeted email has quite the opposite effect. According to Lyris, email list segmentation results in:

• 39% – Increased Open Rates
• 34% – Greater Email Relevance
• 28% – Lower Opt-Out/Unsubscribe Rates
• 24% – Better Deliverability
• 24% – Increased Sales Leads
• 24% – Greater Revenue

Direct Mail

With the rising emphasis on digital channels, old-fashioned direct mail is often overlooked. However, the advent of Big Data has given new life to direct mail marketing, giving dealerships and auto brands new ways to pinpoint consumers with tailored offers.

By enhancing 1st party dealership data with 3rd party specialty automotive data, marketers can achieve a holistic customer view to craft highly targeted offers. So information you have on John Smith with the email jsmith@aol.com now becomes John Smith at 5555 Waverly Way, owner of a 2010 Ford Explorer that has been in the shop 3 times for various mechanical issues in the past 3 months. John also just recently retired and his online ID has shown purchase indicators (searches, likes, conversations) that he’s interested in buying a certain brand of sports car. Now it’s pretty clear to marketers what type of marketing message John will most likely respond to.

The use of auto data appending is especially pertinent in automotive direct mail marketing, because in this case the 360-degree customer view isn’t complete without the consideration of the current vehicles owned by the prospects. Some consumers are absolutely loyal to one brand of car and this information is necessary so that marketers don’t waste dollars sending offers for a type of vehicle the consumer would never even consider. This data can also be used for buy-back offers and to target customers in current positive equity who are looking to purchase.

While direct mail can see positive results, it’s really going to show the most ROI when it’s implemented as a multichannel campaign. The most popular channels to integrate with a direct mail campaign are email and social media (cited by 44% of survey respondents), and it’s important to consider your web page as well. Research shows that 44% of customers visit a brand’s website after receiving direct mail marketing, and 48% retain the piece for future reference. So make sure your website is optimized for mobile and ready for traffic before your piece is sent out.

Digital Advertising

The auto industry was the second-largest digital ad spender in the US in 2015, after retail. By 2019, 13.2% of US digital ad spending will be auto industry-related (eMarketer). As the consumer purchase path spans more digital channels, there is tremendous opportunity for automotive brands to influence consumers at key stages of decision making.

The use of data has become more sophisticated in the use of digital advertising, allowing for finely tuned audience targeting. Auto brands can choose to target consumers by a range of criteria and across platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, and more.  Examples segments to target may include a mix of vehicle type, make, model, year, in-market consumers, vehicle history and garage data, demographics, and credit score ranges.

The data is there to tell you who is buying what, what types of vehicles they drive, where they live, and which channels and messages are most likely to compel them to act. Now is the time to make data the guiding force for your automotive marketing strategies.

Car shopping 20 years or so ago involved checking out ads in the local newspaper, taking a day to drive from dealer to dealer, and learning about hot deals through television advertising.

Fast forward to today. Consumers shop on Amazon, read the news on-line, research and comparison shop for their favorite products across channels, use mobile banking, chat on social, and so on. And of course, shopping for cars has gone digital.

According to a Google auto shopper study, a whopping 95% of vehicle shoppers use digital channels to research. They’re also using 24 research touch points, and 35% use their mobile device to conduct online research.

So when a shopper comes into your dealership, you can almost be guaranteed that they have done their research and in fact, the majority of their purchase decision has already been made.

Here are 3 ways to be considered at the very beginning and throughout the car purchase journey.

1. Get Found On-Line

With consumers taking to the internet as the first step in their car research process, you need to be sure you can be found. Be sure you have a robust website, a good SEO strategy and consider using search advertising. In a recent survey by G/O Digital, 42% of respondents said that online ads will trigger a purchase.

2. Stay Top of Mind

As consumers begin interacting with you through on-line sources, you must also implement strategies to continue to stay top of mind and engage them throughout the entire buying journey.

Email is a great way to engage your prospects. This involves much more than simply blasting your latest deal or financing offer to anyone for whom you have an email address. Consumers expect to be known based on their likes, dislikes, lifestyles and so now and personalized targeted messages based on this information will go a long way to convert prospects into customers.

Begin by collecting information about your on-line prospects – those that have already engaged you through your digital presence. Perhaps you have a name and address and a bit of information on the cars they were browsing. But you are missing the crucial point of contact – an email address. Consider utilizing an email append service. The investment will be well worth the effort, especially considering the ROI for email can be as high as $40 for every dollar spent.

Likewise, you may ONLY have an email address. Reverse email append is a great way to append missing contact details to your records – anything from name and address to other rich demographic details like household income, occupation, presence of children and lifestyles.

By beginning with an email address, you can fine-tune your messaging to specific customer segments in any number of ways. For example, growing families with children are more likely to be interested in offers for mini-vans or SUVs. Or consider targeting higher income segments with luxury cars.And car-buyers respond to this personalization. According to the same report by G/O Digital, 35% report that they expect emails to be tailored to their interests. Additionally, 28% said they would click on an email from a dealer if it included information about style, color or model. On the other hand, if a consumer receives an email that is irrelevant to their preferences, 23% are less likely to visit that dealership and 32% feel irritated or resentful with the dealership.

3. Find New In-Market Prospects

So you have established a strong on-line presence, are utilizing targeted email campaigns to engage and nurture car shoppers to purchase, but what about all those consumers who are in market for cars that you don’t even know about?

Several vendors offer rich automotive intelligence solutions to boost your customer acquisition to entirely new strategies. Consider a range of strategies such as the following:

• “Follow the Car”: Say you sold the car, performed regular service and now it has been sold to someone else and you want to bring it back in for service. A solution such as this can help you locate the new owners of these vehicles so you target them with repair services and establish new relationships which may eventually lead to a new car sale.
   
• Other Vehicles in the Household: upsell your current customers by getting a list of other vehicles in the household to target additional drivers.
   
• On-line Ad Targeting: Target additional on-line audiences with advertising to specific automobile audiences of your choice.
   
• Social Auto Shoppers: Consumers are asking for car recommendations on social platforms, sending tweets such as “Looking for a new car”, or posting any number of comments that indicate they are in the market for a new vehicle. A Data-as-a-Service (Daas) solution provider can source these social consumers and send you daily feeds of in-market customers within a certain radius of your dealership.

While 20 years ago, newspaper and television ads were the only way to go, a variety of solutions now exist to target and acquire today’s more evolved car shopper. Car consumers are digitally connected – it’s time for dealers to also plug in and ultimately, move more cars off the lots.

When it comes to data, marketers across all industries are becoming technically savvier. They seek better ways to use data to improve customer experiences. They are collecting more on-line data to power digital marketing strategies. Big Data, social media data, and real-time data are part of everyday strategy discussions. And new technologies to reach these goals are on everyone’s radar.

When companies put data at the center of their marketing decisions they improve their ROI by 20% (McKinsey). And the opportunity is ripe for car dealers to take advantage of their customer data to build brand loyalty, get more referrals, attract new customers, and ultimately, sell MORE.

Create a 360-Degree Customer View

Your customers are interacting with you through a variety of channels, such as email, customer service departments, call centers, social media, and visits to your dealership. Each of these touch points is an opportunity to understand your customers and prospects better and to ultimately increase profitability.

Using a data management and integration solution, information from each of these channels can be collected, cleansed and integrated into a central marketing data mart or warehouse to create a 360-degree customer view. Additional data should also be added from a third-party to get to know your customers on an even deeper level. Examples include:

• Exact make and model of the current vehicle being driven
• Blackbook value of the car they currently drive
• Demographic selections such as income, ethnicity, hobbies, children
• Missing emails and phone numbers
• Proximity to your dealership
• Social and on-line IDs for on-line marketing

Send the Right Message at the Right Time by Segmenting Your Customers

In order to successfully target consumers with the most relevant offers, be sure to segment them into groups. Customer segmentation refers to dividing customers into groups who share similar characteristics, such as age, gender, lifestyle, and so on.

For example, use life stages to segment different groups of consumers. Life stage segmentation requires looking at a combination of demographics, lifestyle and real-time data to determine where consumers are in their life cycle. Different marketing techniques will appeal to different segments. Targeting a graduating college student will be much different than targeting a family with children or a two-career family with more discretionary income.

Several types of segments to consider include:

1. Family Needs: A family with children may use their vehicle for kids sporting events, carpooling, family vacations, road trips, and more. They will be looking for a larger, dependable family vehicle to meet their needs.

2. Social Status: Take the example of an executive who recently received a raise or large promotion. It’s now time to celebrate the social status benefits with a luxury or high status car that communicates their career and business success.

3. Environmentally Conscious: A growing number of consumers take into consideration environmental factors, and hybrid or electric cars with lower fuel consumption may be more appealing than the large gas-guzzling SUV. By appending demographics to your customer database, such as lifestyle, involvement with environmental organizations, education, and so on, these consumers can be identified and targeted with the right offers.

4. Just Need to Get Around: A consumer who is only looking to get from point A to point B certainly doesn’t need all the bells and whistles of a more expensive luxury car. Consumers in this group may just need transportation for neighborhood errands or getting to work and back. They tend to not be interesting in paying for anything extra, they just want a dependable vehicle for transportation. To send them a message on a high-end vehicle may just get them running to the competition.

While these are just a few example of segmentation, the only way to achieve this intelligence is by getting your data together to create a 360-degree customer view and applying analytics to determine distinct customer purchase segments.

The New Age of Digital Acquisition Channels

The digital revolution has caused an explosion in marketing channels and the way your prospects and customers want to be targeted. You have collected the data and created your customer segments, but if you aren’t reaching your potential customers through the channels they use, all your efforts will be in vain.

According to an AutoTrader.com study, three of the top five ad formats which prompted research into a potential car purchase are digital.

Of course, the ideal channels will vary depending on the profile of your prospects. For example, are they a younger demographic who flock to social media and mobile?  Or do they respond best to advertising or direct mail?

Personalized Campaigns

Personalized messages and campaigns are also key components of customer acquisition. Remember, you are marketing to people, and you’ll get more favorable responses when you hone in on their interests or provide personalized recommendations.

Here’s a great quote by Hubspot:

“The goal of personalization isn’t to engage with one audience of many, but to engage with infinite audiences of one.”

Also consider these great statistics:

• Personalized emails improve click-through by an average of 14% and conversion rates by 10%. (Aberdeen)
• Businesses personalizing web experiences are seeing an increase in sales of 19% on average. (Econsultancy)
• 56% of consumers say they would be more inclined to use a retailer if it offered a good personalized experience. (O2)

Consider offering targeted discounts to potential new customers or sending personalized emails to stay top of mind to your prospects, making them more likely to convert. Digital strategies and remarketing also offer an ideal way to re-engage website visitors with personalized offers and recommendations.

Successful customer acquisition requires having the right marketing data to develop your own unique mix of audiences, channels, and messaging. And with the right mix, you can power your dealership’s growth with masses of loyal customers.