There are many reasons to use Facebook Ads to market your dealership—but one of the foremost reasons is that it allows you to precisely target the people to whom you’re advertising. Facebook’s targeting options are robust and effective, and worth going into in some detail.

Choosing the Right Facebook Audience

When you’re in Facebook Ads Manager, look for a section called Detailed Targeting, which is where you’ll get to start slicing and dicing your audience—segmenting the exact groups of people to whom you want to display ads. Be precise here, and make sure you’re only choosing folks who fit your buyer personas; when done right, audience targeting allows you to eliminate waste from your ad campaign by only reaching out to people who directly matter to your campaign—i.e., paying customers.

Facebook will allow you to target according to many different criteria; here’s just a partial list of them.

Demographics

–Education
–Ethnic affinity
–Financial
–Generation
–Home
–Life Events
–Parents
–Politics
–Relationships
–Work

Behaviors

–Automotive
–Behaviors
–Behaviors targeting
–Charitable donations
–Consumer classification
–Digital activities
–Expats
–Financial
–Mobile device user
–Network connection
–Purchase behavior
–Residential profiles
–Seasonal and events
–Travel

Again, this list is partial, though we’ve selected some of the options that make the most sense for auto dealerships. Many of these targeting categories are fairly self-explanatory; you might immediately see how they could relate to your dealership’s advertising endeavors. Others may not be relevant to your dealership, and that’s okay; you definitely don’t have to engage with all of these categories… just the ones where you see some benefit.

We recommend making your targeting decisions based on your buyer personas, of course, and we also endorse narrowing to an appropriate geographic area; there’s not much sense in marketing your Orange County car dealership to customers in New York, for example.

We’d also invite you to explore the options under Behaviors > Automotive, which is where you’ll be able to target individuals who like particular makes and models of cars and who may be in the market for a new one. This is where you’ll really find value and utility in Facebook’s targeting options!

More Considerations for Facebook Audience Targeting

Allow us to make a couple of additional notes about audience targeting. When you list the things you are looking for in your users, note that these things are not necessary requirements. If you put everything into the top box, then your ads will show to people who tick any of those boxes—so your targeting may not be quite as precise as you think it is.

However, if you click Filter and Narrow just below, then you get two more boxes. One says ‘and MUST ALSO match at least ONE of the following.’ This allows you to combine different targeting criteria, to narrow your search to people who fall into overlapping categories. This is where you can really hone in on your targeted buyers!

These tips show you some of the different ways to use Facebook audience targeting to your advantage—but if you need some additional help, we welcome you to contact Get My Auto today!

There are various strategies for bringing traffic to your dealership website, including both paid and earned traffic. When we talk about paid traffic, we’re talking about PPC ads—an important part of your dealership marketing approach, but not what we’re focusing on today.

This post is all about earned, or organic traffic—the people you attract to your website through a focus on content marketing and SEO. It requires discipline and commitment to generate organic traffic, yet with a little patience and the right strategy, this can be a great way to boost your dealership website.

Boosting Organic Traffic to Your Dealership Website

So how, specifically, can you generate organic traffic for your used car website? Here are our top 10 recommendations.

1. Make sure your page is mobile optimized. Google actively penalizes sites that are not mobile-ready—and besides, most consumers will be researching your dealership from their mobile devices anyway. Make the mobile version of your site the primary version of your site.
2. Make your site fast. If it takes more than two or three seconds to load, you’re going to lose traffic. AMP technology can help you ensure optimal site performance.
3. Make your site secure. Buyers want to see that their personal information is safe and sound when they visit your website—and Google wants to see this, too. Use SSL/https to keep your site secure.
4. Optimize for local keywords. Sprinkle your content with terms like [City] used cars, [city] used car dealership, etc.
   Include plenty of photos and videos. Engaging content keeps people on your site for longer periods of time—an important SEO ranking factor. And thankfully, it’s easy to take plenty of pictures of your good-looking cars and trucks!
5. Get referenced in local directories. Citations from local Chambers of Commerce and other professional directories can significantly boost your rankings.
6. Write blogs. Regular content updates are key for maintaining your Google rankings. Write informative blog posts that educate your buyers about used car shopping, used car financing, used car maintenance, etc.
7. Offer resources. In addition to blog posts, we recommend including some evergreen pages that your buyers can consult—information on some of the specific financing options you offer, warranty packages, etc.
8. Be active on social media. Post regular content updates and ensure that your social media bios are all completely optimized.
9. Get online reviews. Actively seek feedback and star ratings on Facebook, Google, and other online review platforms. Ask your satisfied buyers or recurring customers to spend a moment reviewing your dealership!

Get Traffic for Your Dealership Website

There are plenty of ways to generate traffic for your used car dealership website—and getting earned traffic is a good start. Use these tips to guide you—and for additional help with dealership marketing, contact the Get My Auto team today!

Once upon a time, press releases were considered to be invaluable for local SEO. They are not as popular as they used to be, and some marketing professionals ignore them altogether. In our opinion, though, press releases can be invaluable for building awareness about your used car dealership—but only when they are used wisely.

So what’s the right way to use press releases? The important thing is to send releases only when you have real dealership news to report. Don’t view press releases as SEO gimmicks. Use them as ways to connect with your community and let them know what makes your dealership special.

The Best Ways to Use Press Releases

There are plenty of ways in which you can make press releases work for your dealership. A few examples include:

Sharing news about dealership growth. Are you branching out into a new location? Adding on to an existing one? Or simply bringing on some new employees? Any kind of business growth is worth sending out a press release—letting your local business community know how vibrant your dealership is.

Promoting an event. Many used car dealerships hold community events—cook-outs, parties, or open houses—to get people down to the showroom. The next time you have an event like this planned, send out a news release, and start building awareness well in advance!

Highlighting charitable work. Many dealerships like to give back to their community, making donations or sponsoring events for local non-profits. There’s nothing wrong with sending out a press release to let the community know about causes you care about. This is especially smart around the holiday season, when charitable giving is on everyone’s mind.

Showcasing new inventory. Used car dealerships frankly can’t afford to send out news releases announcing all their new inventory—but if you branch out into a new kind of inventory (say electric cars), that may be worth noting in a press release.

Announcing big sales. Finally, if your dealership is a planning a big sale, it’s wise to let people know about it in advance—generating some excitement and bringing more foot traffic to your promotional event. Let local buyers know about chances to save big!

Marketing Your Dealership the Smart Way

When used correctly, the press release can be invaluable marketing collateral. Of course, it’s just one key component in a good dealership marketing plan, and we also recommend a robust focus on Facebook Ads, Craigslist, SEO, and more.

To learn more about marketing your used car dealership holistically, contact our experts. Reach out to the automotive marketing specialists at Get My Auto today, and learn how you can start generating positive attention for your car lot!

Craigslist is nothing new, and it’s certainly nothing flashy. As such, many dealers are tempted to ignore it, to exclude it from their marketing efforts altogether. This is a critical error.

Consider that Craigslist remains one of the 50 most visited websites in the world. Consider, too, that it gets more than 60 million American users each month. Finally, consider that Craigslist buyers tend to move through the sales process pretty quickly—meaning that dealers who use Craigslist wisely can get some quick conversions.

You’ll notice that there’s a catch: To get maximum benefit from Craigslist, it is important to use it in a strategic, effective manner—but how? A big part of it is making sure your listings are properly optimized.

To help, here are some quick Craigslist optimization tips from the Get My Auto marketing team.

Optimizing Your Craigslist Listings: 6 Tips

1. Make the title count. The title is the most important part of your whole post, because it’s what determines whether buyers click through to read more. Make sure yours is clear, crisp, and memorable. Do include the major selling points of the vehicle. Don’t include price (generally), and don’t say anything deceptive or untrue.
2. Use keywords judiciously. You don’t need to clog your ad copy with keywords to the point where it’s unreadable, but do make sure you hit all the highlights, ensuring your listing shows up in filtered searches.
3. Keep it simple. There’s no need for a lot of fancy HTML coding within your ad. In fact, Craigslist may see that as a spam trick. Stick with text and a few good images. Speaking of which…
4. Include pictures. Don’t post a car without some good images that showcase its main features. Ideally, you’ll take pictures somewhere outside your showroom—maybe against a nice, green backdrop somewhere in town.
5. Sell the dealership. Remember that you’re not just trying to sell a particular car; you’re ultimately trying to get people interested in your dealership as a whole. Include your primary “why buys” in each ad.
6. Be original. To avoid getting your ads labeled as spam, it’s best not to repeat yourself. Vary your ad copy as much as you can, and provide each new ad with its own distinct message and verbiage.

Get Help Optimizing Your Ads

It’s a tall order, really making those Craigslist ads sing—but you don’t have to do it alone. Get My Auto offers unparalleled expertise in Craigslist ad optimization—and we can help you make your ads truly effective.

To get started, reach out to us today. The Get My Auto team is standing by to help your dealership achieve marketing success.

Is your auto dealership doing everything in its power to connect with local buyers—and to project your dealership as the dealership of choice among used car customers? Certainly, the age of digital marketing provides dealerships with many opportunities. Actually recognizing those opportunities, and taking full advantage of them, can be a bit of a growing process.

Maybe you already have some basic digital marketing measures in place, but are ready to take them to the next level. We’ll help you do exactly that, with five quick recommendations—simple ways to enhance your digital marketing efforts today.

How Your Dealership Can Grow Its Digital Marketing Efforts

Learn to Write Effective Calls to Action

Never assume that your buyers know what action you want them to take; instead, go out of your way to invite them to take action, in every piece of content you write. You should have a clear, strong call to action on every page of your website, every Facebook ad, and every Craigslist post. And it doesn’t have to be about buying a car, either; downloading an e-book or signing up for a newsletter can be a perfectly valid action to seek, too.

Be Active on Craigslist

Craigslist marketing may not be flashy and it may not seem cutting edge—but it gets results. We’ve seen it, time and time again, and we always encourage the dealerships we work with to give Craigslist a try. Just make sure you’re strategic, and that you take time to familiarize yourself with Craigslist’s rules for dealerships.

Be Active on Facebook

This may sound like an obvious point—but would you believe that only about 10 percent of all auto dealerships maintain an active Facebook presence? You’ll want to lean heavily on organic reach, but also invest some dollars into Facebook Ads, which allows you to display your advertisements to highly targeted audiences, essentially removing waste and risk.

Invest in Mobile

Does your dealership website display properly on all types of devices? Test it on phones and tablets of all kinds, and make sure it can be easily seen and navigated without the need for a lot of zooming or scrolling. If your site is not mobile-friendly, bring that up to your Web designer right away.

Build Credibility

Establish thought leadership—proving your dealership to be a trustworthy resource and an invaluable ally to buyers. You can build thought leadership by starting a dealership blog, and providing valuable tips about the buying process, financing, even auto maintenance. As an added bonus, your dealership blogs will make for great Facebook fodder. And don’t forget to include a call to action in each one!

Take Your Dealership Marketing to the Next Level

One additional way in which you can enhance your marketing efficacy? Reach out to our team at Get My Auto today. Allow us to work with you in developing a comprehensive approach—one that will translate into bottom line success.

On the surface, it would seem like the world of car buying is becoming increasingly digitized. Study after study confirms that today’s buyers want to spend as little time as possible in the showroom. They would rather do the bulk of their research online, using the dealer website as well as consumer reviews. Most buyers are reluctant to even give out their contact information to a lead capturing form.

Yet, this does not mean that the need for personal connection is a thing of the past. Far from it, actually. While consumers would rather do online research than come down to the dealership, most surveys indicate that there is still a strong desire for a personalized experience, and for a dealership that makes the buyer feel truly welcome—both online and off.

The question is, what can dealerships do to balance their digital focus with their personal touch?

Personalizing Your Dealership Website

There are several ways for a dealership website to offer a personalized experience.

–Through custom content. There should be sections of the dealership website to speak to each stage of the buyer’s journey. Remember that some website visitors will just want information about your latest inventory. Others may be ready to schedule a test drive. And still others will be more interested in service and maintenance issues. Your dealership website should speak to all of these needs.
–Through custom delivery. At the same time, your dealership should be using website analytics, retargeting, and other advanced digital tools to ensure that the right people are seeing the right content. For instance, retargeting can help you to locate frequent website visitors, and direct them to content that moves them further down the sales path.
–Through conversion tools. Finally, your dealership website should provide tools that aid in the conversion process—for example, trade-in calculators, appointment setting apps, and more.

Beyond the Website

In addition to your dealership website, there are other channels for personalization. One is Facebook. Here, your content can provide helpfulness and authority, answering consumer questions, providing real value, and showing buyers that your job is to help them, first and foremost. Facebook Ads offers some great tools for personalization, as well, including some of the retargeting options we mentioned above.

And of course, eventually, buyers will come to the showroom, if only to take their test drive and sign on the dotted line. Don’t neglect this opportunity to build on the connections you’ve already made through your website, and to carry out those values of trustworthiness and helpfulness.

Personalization is key to the process, and even in the world of digital marketing there is much you can do to truly connect. To learn more, we invite you to contact the digital marketing professionals at Get My Auto today!

Dealerships have many options available to them as they seek to grow their online presence. In fact, they might almost have too many options; certainly, it can be difficult to determine which channels offer the best return on investment.

Take, for example, the long-running debate over content marketing vs. PPC. Both disciplines offer some pros and some cons, but which one makes the most sense for your dealership?

Here’s a brief rundown of what dealers can expect from each.

Content Marketing

When we talk about content marketing, we’re basically talking about building trust and cultivating relationships with your clients. Content marketing employs blogs, videos, and social media posts to distribute helpful, value-adding information—establishing your dealership as a thought leader and an information hub and earning the good faith of your target audience.

Content marketing comes with some advantages and disadvantages alike—for instance:

• A PRO is that it helps earn qualified, well-educated leads.
• A CON is that it tends to take a long time; content marketing does not offer overnight results.
• A PRO is that content marketing is cost-effective.
• A CON is that content creation takes insight and talent, and your dealership may not have the resources available to accomplish this.

PPC

On the flipside, there’s PPC—or pay-per-click marketing. You probably know PPC best through Google AdWords, though there are other PPC platforms available, too. PPC is paid online ads, which you can use to target consumers at various stages of their consumer journey.

Again, there are both pros and cons worth mentioning—among them:

• A PRO is that a smart PPC campaign can win you prime online real estate, even placement at the top of the Google search engine results page.
• A CON is that PPC is fairly costly—and, again, it tends to take time before you see results.

An Integrative Approach

It’s worth noting, of course, that you don’t actually have to choose between content marketing and PPC—and indeed, most marketers would argue that these two approaches work best when they are used in tandem.

A holistic approach that encompasses both content marketing and PPC ads will allow you to target buyers with precision, and to truly have an online presence that spans the entire buyer journey—but of course, you’ll need an overarching plan to keep these two approaches aligned with one another.

Get a Plan for Marketing Your Dealership

That’s where Get My Auto comes in. As a marketing company, we work solely with used car dealerships, and we offer a range of services—including not only content marketing and PPC, but Craigslist, Facebook advertising, website development, and beyond. We can provide your dealership with the integrative approach it needs.

Learn more about online marketing via Get My Auto. Reach out to us today, and ask which approaches make the most sense for your dealership’s needs. Call Get My Auto now!

Craigslist can be a powerful lead generation tool for your used car dealership. In fact, it can be a robust sales hub, but only when you use it correctly. A big part of this is writing good vehicle descriptions to accompany each listing. You might think that pictures alone are sufficient, but they only tell part of the story. A written description is critical for enticing buyers, and helping them to feel confident buying the vehicle in question.

In this post, we’re going to outline a few of the cardinal rules of writing Craigslist descriptions—but remember: You can always use our Craigslist Wizard app, where the Smart Listing Technology feature will make this entire process easy and intuitive!

How to Write Effective Craigslist Descriptions

– The first and more important rule? Always include a description with each listing, period. This may seem like a no-brainer, but you would be amazed by how many dealerships don’t include written descriptions. Even if you think your pictures tell the full story, always include at least a few sentences of description.
– Second, always use the proper spelling and punctuation. Before anyone buys a car from you, they must develop trust in your professionalism—and a typo-laden description will only undermine that. Hire a professional proofreading service if need be, but make sure your written descriptions are correct.
– We would also recommend being judicious in your descriptions of options and features. You don’t have to list every little thing, and in fact doing so can make your ad seem bloated. If you’re writing about a 2015 Jaguar, it goes without saying that power windows are included. But you can certainly list some of the most appealing options that the car includes—a handful of the main selling points.
– Something else to remember: You should talk about your dealership, not just the car in question. Tell the story of your brand; even if a buyer doesn’t want the car in question, encourage them to call you about additional options. Make mention of your dealership’s primary distinctives, and list customer service accolades, in particular.
– Finally, tell the story of the car. Does it have a clean CarFax report? Is it certified as having just one owner? Those are the important things to list in your description, as they can be significant selling points for any car or truck.

Make Craigslist Descriptions Easy

Again, this is a really important part of Craigslist marketing, so it’s never a bad idea to ask for some additional help. You can get access to our expertise either by calling Get My Auto directly, or by downloading our Craigslist Wizard app and making use of its Smart Listing Technology. To learn more about our marketing services or our app, we invite you to visit Orange County based​​​​​​​ Get My Auto on the Web today.

Used car dealerships can benefit greatly from a robust social media presence—yet with so many social platforms to choose from, many dealership managers feel overwhelmed, or else spread too thin. We believe that there are some platforms that are more crucial than others. Facebook tops our list, and we’d also recommend selling vehicles on Craigslist—an oft overlooked tool for used car dealerships. With that said, Instagram would round out our top three. When used properly, Instagram can be a powerful way to build your dealership’s branded presence. In this post, we’ll lay out our three essential tips for Instagram success.

Post Consistently, and from Multiple Sources

First and foremost, you need to post content to Instagram on a regular basis—we’d say once a day at the minimum. Inconsistent updates will make it less likely anyone will follow or engage with your brand. In addition to posting often, though, also make sure you post from different sources. What we mean by this is, post some candid shots from your own lot. Post stock images from the manufacturers you carry. You might even ask individual sales reps to submit photos they take throughout the day. Be varied in your approach to Instagram content.

Don’t Forget About Video

Second, remember that Instagram isn’t just a platform for still photos. You can also submit videos, and you should. There are a lot of different ways for you to use video on your dealership’s behalf. One way is to take videos to showcase the different features and amenities of your cars. You can also take behind-the-scenes tours of your dealership, helping humanize your brand. Even quick “talking heads” segments, where you explain key points about vehicle financing or care, can be helpful for your buyers. None of your videos need to be super fancy, either; simply filming on an iPhone is perfectly acceptable.

Be Social

Finally, remember that Instagram is indeed a social network. What this means is that you don’t have to drive home the hard sales pitch all the time. You will benefit from being more casual and authentic in your approach. Behind-the-scenes photos of your team, or videos made to inform rather than persuade, can gain trust and build loyalty. Also be sure you take time to respond to any questions you receive from your Instagram followers. Engage, interact, and build an online community around your brand.

Get Help from the Pros

To summarize, we’ll reiterate that we think Instagram is valuable—but only when it’s used strategically. We can help you with that. Get My Auto is a seasoned marketing firm, and we only work with used car dealerships. We’d love to help transform your Instagram approach. Reach out to Get My Auto today to start a conversation about all we can do for you.

Instagram is a lot of fun—but can it also be a useful tool for used car dealerships, looking to actually move inventory?

You’d better believe it can.

The first step to making that happen is to be clear about your goal: Yes, Instagram can be a sales tool, but only if you treat it as such. This means having a strategy in place, investing some time and money, and tracking your results.

So, what does a good, results-driven Instagram strategy look like? Allow us to offer a few tips and suggestions.

Things Your Dealership Should Do on Instagram

Promote Sales Events

First, if you’re running any sales events, specials, or giveaways, make sure you let your Instagram audience know. In fact, you might run some Instagram-only promotions, creating real value for those who choose to follow you on this platform. Obviously, you’ll want to post photos and videos of the vehicles you’re promoting, and also make sure you use hashtags that include your city—allowing you to potentially pick up more interest from the surrounding community.

Post at Strategic Times

Instagram isn’t just about what you post. It’ds also about when you post. Try to think of times when your audience will most likely be checking Instagram. For a lot of working folks, that’s first thing in the morning, on lunch break, in the late afternoon and early evening. Experiment with a few different times, and pay attention to which hours of the day seem to work best.

Generally speaking, we’d say the best times to try are in the morning between 7 and 9; midday, between 11 and 2; then in the evening between 5 and 7.

Build Trust

In order to sell cars, you’re going to have to get consumers to trust you. Instagram can actually be very helpful here. Definitely promote inventory and sales events, but also provide actionable insights and advice. Post graphics or videos that shed light on the used car buying process. Advise buyers on financing, vehicle upkeep, warranty matters, and more. Show that you’re here to help, not just to sell. Establish yourself as a used car authority.

Don’t Forget About Instagram Ads

As nice as it would be if you could be really successful through organic reach, paid ads are increasingly crucial to the social media marketing experience. Gain some insight into Instagram Ads by working with our team at Get My Auto, or start experimenting with low-dollar bids and feel your way through the platform. When done right, Instagram advertising can be an invaluable way to nurture ads.

Get Help with Your Instagram Marketing

Whether you know a bit about Instagram marketing or are a total novice, Get My Autocan help. We love working with used car dealerships zealous to step up their online marketing game. To learn more about the results we can deliver, don’t hesitate to contact the Get My Auto team right away.