For most Americans, the 4^th of July is synonymous with fireworks, cookouts, lounging in the sun, and an extra day off work. In the car industry, the 4^th of July is one of the biggest vehicle sales days of the year. Retail marketers everywhere are getting ready to capitalize on this summer shopping day to move inventory. How will you make your marketing stand out? How will you get your message heard and build brand awareness in the sea of marketing presented to consumers for the big weekend? Here are three ideas to let your 4^th of July marketing shine.

Host a Selfie Contest
If you haven’t started using your social media channels to promote seasonally relevant content about your dealership, then this idea may be a perfect way to start. Think about hosting a patriotic themed selfie contest. There are several ways to run a photo contest, but probably the easiest is on Facebook. Tell participants to post their favorite patriotic selfie on your page. Then, award prizes to the most popular selfie, most creative, best smile, or favorite pic. Everyone loves to take selfies, so leverage the 4^th of July holiday to engage with customers, prospects, and members of your community to promote your brand on social media.

Sponsor a Local Event
One of the best things about the 4^th of July holiday is community events. Typically if your dealership is close to a city, there is everything from festivals to parades to fireworks displays. Think about sponsoring one of these types of community events to get noticed locally. Be sure your sponsorship includes some type of promotion about your dealership. For example, if you are sponsoring a local parade, be sure your brand is on the website where community members will go to check out the details and also have a couple of your newest models in the parade with your branding. Getting involved in your local community will create goodwill and brand awareness.

Fire Up the Grill
When all else fails, nothing brings people together like cold drinks, free food, and a party. If you don’t have big plans for this 4^th of July, think about capitalizing on the spirit of the holiday. Invite your customers, prospects, and members of the community for a traditional 4^th of July cookout. You can have games, entertainment, and raffles to entice participants further and keep them at your dealership longer. Make sure your staff is prepped and ready for the event to promote engagement with visitors and build lasting relationships.

The 4^th of July holiday is quickly approaching and will be here before you know it. Start planning your strategy now so your campaign doesn’t get lost in the marketing clutter. Think of creative, out of the box ideas to make your marketing shine.

For most Americans, the 4^th of July is synonymous with fireworks, cookouts, lounging in the sun, and an extra day off work. In the car industry, the 4^th of July is one of the biggest vehicle sales days of the year. Retail marketers everywhere are getting ready to capitalize on this summer shopping day to move inventory. How will you make your marketing stand out? How will you get your message heard and build brand awareness in the sea of marketing presented to consumers for the big weekend? Here are three ideas to let your 4^th of July marketing shine.

Host a Selfie Contest
If you haven’t started using your social media channels to promote seasonally relevant content about your dealership, then this idea may be a perfect way to start. Think about hosting a patriotic themed selfie contest. There are several ways to run a photo contest, but probably the easiest is on Facebook. Tell participants to post their favorite patriotic selfie on your page. Then, award prizes to the most popular selfie, most creative, best smile, or favorite pic. Everyone loves to take selfies, so leverage the 4^th of July holiday to engage with customers, prospects, and members of your community to promote your brand on social media.

Sponsor a Local Event
One of the best things about the 4^th of July holiday is community events. Typically if your dealership is close to a city, there is everything from festivals to parades to fireworks displays. Think about sponsoring one of these types of community events to get noticed locally. Be sure your sponsorship includes some type of promotion about your dealership. For example, if you are sponsoring a local parade, be sure your brand is on the website where community members will go to check out the details and also have a couple of your newest models in the parade with your branding. Getting involved in your local community will create goodwill and brand awareness.

Fire Up the Grill
When all else fails, nothing brings people together like cold drinks, free food, and a party. If you don’t have big plans for this 4^th of July, think about capitalizing on the spirit of the holiday. Invite your customers, prospects, and members of the community for a traditional 4^th of July cookout. You can have games, entertainment, and raffles to entice participants further and keep them at your dealership longer. Make sure your staff is prepped and ready for the event to promote engagement with visitors and build lasting relationships.

The 4^th of July holiday is quickly approaching and will be here before you know it. Start planning your strategy now so your campaign doesn’t get lost in the marketing clutter. Think of creative, out of the box ideas to make your marketing shine.

As a marketer, one of your jobs is to constantly search for new ways to reach out and drive brand awareness. With Father’s Day right around the corner, now is the perfect opportunity to not only connect with customers and prospects, but also honor local dads in your community. How will you demonstrate your appreciation? How will you make your dealership stand out among the wave of Father’s Day marketing? Here are three creative ways to let your marketing shine this Father’s Day.

Make Life Easier
Think about services that make dads’ lives easier. What if you offered to pick up and drop off local dads’ vehicles for needed service maintenance during the week of Father’s Day? You could set a stipulation for a certain radius around your dealership. Not only would this gesture bring you increased service traffic, but it would give dads more time to spend with their families.

Think About the Kids
During the next couple of weeks leading up to Father’s Day, make a card creation station for kids who visit your dealership. All you need is some construction paper, markers, stickers, glitter glue, sequins, and even colored pipe cleaners. Not only will dads appreciate the sentiment from their little ones, but the kids will be entertained while visiting your dealership giving parents some peace and quiet.

Get Your Social On
A simple way to honor local dads for Father’s Day is by hosting a Facebook contest. The most shareable content on social media is pictures and videos, so ask followers to post their favorite dad moments. Remember to designate a hashtag so you can easily locate contest posts and promote your contest on all social media networks. Then, award a prize to the post with the most likes. You’ll want to make the prize something special dads can enjoy for themselves or with their families.

Father’s Day is a tricky holiday. Most dads have everything they need so finding a way to show them they’re special can be difficult. Leverage the holiday to find creative ways to promote your dealership and let your marketing shine.

As a marketer, one of your jobs is to constantly search for new ways to reach out and drive brand awareness. With Father’s Day right around the corner, now is the perfect opportunity to not only connect with customers and prospects, but also honor local dads in your community. How will you demonstrate your appreciation? How will you make your dealership stand out among the wave of Father’s Day marketing? Here are three creative ways to let your marketing shine this Father’s Day.

Make Life Easier
Think about services that make dads’ lives easier. What if you offered to pick up and drop off local dads’ vehicles for needed service maintenance during the week of Father’s Day? You could set a stipulation for a certain radius around your dealership. Not only would this gesture bring you increased service traffic, but it would give dads more time to spend with their families.

Think About the Kids
During the next couple of weeks leading up to Father’s Day, make a card creation station for kids who visit your dealership. All you need is some construction paper, markers, stickers, glitter glue, sequins, and even colored pipe cleaners. Not only will dads appreciate the sentiment from their little ones, but the kids will be entertained while visiting your dealership giving parents some peace and quiet.

Get Your Social On
A simple way to honor local dads for Father’s Day is by hosting a Facebook contest. The most shareable content on social media is pictures and videos, so ask followers to post their favorite dad moments. Remember to designate a hashtag so you can easily locate contest posts and promote your contest on all social media networks. Then, award a prize to the post with the most likes. You’ll want to make the prize something special dads can enjoy for themselves or with their families.

Father’s Day is a tricky holiday. Most dads have everything they need so finding a way to show them they’re special can be difficult. Leverage the holiday to find creative ways to promote your dealership and let your marketing shine.

Have you ever wondered how search engines like Google work? How do they decide which ranking your dealership will receive for a given set of keywords? You may be aware search engines use algorithms to determine search rankings. These algorithms are a form of artificial intelligence, which are constructed to mimic the way humans think, and return the best results for the user’s search in a matter of a couple milliseconds. Nobody knows exactly what logic is used, but it is rumored more than 3,000 attributes construct a local ranking algorithm. Today we’ll dive into one of the top influencers of local search ranking, directory listings management.

What Are Directory Listings?
Let’s start by explaining what directory listings are. Simply put, they are entries across the web that identify your dealership. They are typically made up of components like dealership name, phone number, address, and website URL, and are used so consumers can find your business. Think about your dealership’s directory listings across the internet such as YellowPages.com, CitySearch, Yelp, Whitepages, SuperPages, Google, and Cars.com, as well as social media pages and your dealership’s website.

Why Are Directory Listings Important?
Let’s discuss the accuracy and consistency of these directory listings and how they help to establish your dealership as a credible business in the eyes of local search engines. Keeping your directory listings accurate and consistent across all data sources is one of the most important factors for ranking well in local search. For example, if you call your dealership “ABC Motors” in one place and “ABC Ford” in another, or “City Chrysler” and “City CDJ”, the search engine might see these as two separate businesses and rank your dealership lower in local search results. This is true for each component of your listing, from dealership name to phone number, physical address to your website URL. The consistency of your dealership’s listings makes up almost 50% of local search algorithms and is one of the main influencers for search engines when determining the trust and validity of your business.

Side Note: Local Search and Call Tracking Numbers
Many of the dealerships we work with use call tracking numbers in their marketing so it’s easy for them to determine where their leads are originating from. As discussed above, phone numbers are a key component to directory listings and using different phone numbers across the web can cause problems with local search ranking. We recommend dedicating a single call tracking number for your online marketing. If you already have an established online phone number, have your call tracking provider port the number so you don’t lose any local search value already established with that phone number and you can still track your online traffic. Then, use that call tracking number everywhere online, including your website, online directories, social media sites, etc. Call tracking numbers are a great way for you to understand which marketing efforts are working to generate leads and should still be used for all of your marketing efforts, however dedicating a specific tracking number to online efforts will increase local SEO ranking.

How Are Directory Listings Managed?
Often times, the actual management of directory listings can be a large undertaking; however, when done properly, your business will be rewarded with increased traffic from local SEO ranking. Here’s a step-by-step process for managing your dealership directory listings.

Step #1:
Add or claim your listings for each online directory. To be honest, there is no easy way to do this step and each directory works differently. Our advice would be to start with the major directory services, such as Bing, Cars.com, CitySearch, DealerRater, Edmunds, Facebook, FourSquare, Google, SuperPages, Yahoo, YellowPages, and Yelp, and work from there. You’ll want to determine if your dealership is already present on these directories and then claim your listing.

Step #2:
Correct any inaccurate information or remove any duplicates found on these directories. Often times, you’ll have duplicate entries for the same business on these sites and you’ll want to make sure to remove these so you’re not seen as two separate businesses. Also, take this time to set a standard for how your business information will appear on these sites, including your dealership’s name, address, phone number, and URL (be sure it is all consistent with your website). This will help build trust among local search engines.

Step #3:
Establish relevance for your dealership by assigning proper categories to your listings. The categories on these sites are used by search engines to determine which businesses to return and their ranking for a user’s search results.

Step #4:
Constantly monitor your dealership’s directory listings. You’d think once you claim your listing, update the information, and create categories, that you’d be all done, right? Wrong! Directory sites do their best to keep information updated and current. To do this, they receive batch updates to their platforms, and sometimes these batch updates contain outdated information and can undo the hard work you’ve already completed. Make sure to monitor your listings monthly for any updates needed.

The way consumers search for local businesses has evolved drastically over the past few decades. In fact, 64% of the time consumers are using local search through their mobile devices to find relevant businesses in their area. If your dealership does not appear in their local search results, then these potential buyers are turning to your competitors for their vehicle needs.

Click here for more information about local search.

Have you ever wondered how search engines like Google work? How do they decide which ranking your dealership will receive for a given set of keywords? You may be aware search engines use algorithms to determine search rankings. These algorithms are a form of artificial intelligence, which are constructed to mimic the way humans think, and return the best results for the user’s search in a matter of a couple milliseconds. Nobody knows exactly what logic is used, but it is rumored more than 3,000 attributes construct a local ranking algorithm. Today we’ll dive into one of the top influencers of local search ranking, directory listings management.

What Are Directory Listings?
Let’s start by explaining what directory listings are. Simply put, they are entries across the web that identify your dealership. They are typically made up of components like dealership name, phone number, address, and website URL, and are used so consumers can find your business. Think about your dealership’s directory listings across the internet such as YellowPages.com, CitySearch, Yelp, Whitepages, SuperPages, Google, and Cars.com, as well as social media pages and your dealership’s website.

Why Are Directory Listings Important?
Let’s discuss the accuracy and consistency of these directory listings and how they help to establish your dealership as a credible business in the eyes of local search engines. Keeping your directory listings accurate and consistent across all data sources is one of the most important factors for ranking well in local search. For example, if you call your dealership “ABC Motors” in one place and “ABC Ford” in another, or “City Chrysler” and “City CDJ”, the search engine might see these as two separate businesses and rank your dealership lower in local search results. This is true for each component of your listing, from dealership name to phone number, physical address to your website URL. The consistency of your dealership’s listings makes up almost 50% of local search algorithms and is one of the main influencers for search engines when determining the trust and validity of your business.

Side Note: Local Search and Call Tracking Numbers
Many of the dealerships we work with use call tracking numbers in their marketing so it’s easy for them to determine where their leads are originating from. As discussed above, phone numbers are a key component to directory listings and using different phone numbers across the web can cause problems with local search ranking. We recommend dedicating a single call tracking number for your online marketing. If you already have an established online phone number, have your call tracking provider port the number so you don’t lose any local search value already established with that phone number and you can still track your online traffic. Then, use that call tracking number everywhere online, including your website, online directories, social media sites, etc. Call tracking numbers are a great way for you to understand which marketing efforts are working to generate leads and should still be used for all of your marketing efforts, however dedicating a specific tracking number to online efforts will increase local SEO ranking.

How Are Directory Listings Managed?
Often times, the actual management of directory listings can be a large undertaking; however, when done properly, your business will be rewarded with increased traffic from local SEO ranking. Here’s a step-by-step process for managing your dealership directory listings.

Step #1:
Add or claim your listings for each online directory. To be honest, there is no easy way to do this step and each directory works differently. Our advice would be to start with the major directory services, such as Bing, Cars.com, CitySearch, DealerRater, Edmunds, Facebook, FourSquare, Google, SuperPages, Yahoo, YellowPages, and Yelp, and work from there. You’ll want to determine if your dealership is already present on these directories and then claim your listing.

Step #2:
Correct any inaccurate information or remove any duplicates found on these directories. Often times, you’ll have duplicate entries for the same business on these sites and you’ll want to make sure to remove these so you’re not seen as two separate businesses. Also, take this time to set a standard for how your business information will appear on these sites, including your dealership’s name, address, phone number, and URL (be sure it is all consistent with your website). This will help build trust among local search engines.

Step #3:
Establish relevance for your dealership by assigning proper categories to your listings. The categories on these sites are used by search engines to determine which businesses to return and their ranking for a user’s search results.

Step #4:
Constantly monitor your dealership’s directory listings. You’d think once you claim your listing, update the information, and create categories, that you’d be all done, right? Wrong! Directory sites do their best to keep information updated and current. To do this, they receive batch updates to their platforms, and sometimes these batch updates contain outdated information and can undo the hard work you’ve already completed. Make sure to monitor your listings monthly for any updates needed.

The way consumers search for local businesses has evolved drastically over the past few decades. In fact, 64% of the time consumers are using local search through their mobile devices to find relevant businesses in their area. If your dealership does not appear in their local search results, then these potential buyers are turning to your competitors for their vehicle needs.

Click here for more information about local search.

Whether you believe it or not, your customers are your dealership’s most valuable asset. Especially the loyal ones who continue to come back regularly for service work and purchase multiple vehicles from your dealership. If you’re under the belief that all customers should be treated equally, then this post may not be for you. In fact, we believe your most loyal customers deserve extra savings and attention to ensure they continue to come back to your dealership for future vehicle needs. Here are three easy to implement ideas to honor your customers.

Offer a First Class Experience
If you identify loyal customers who are scheduled to visit your Service Department, think about rolling out the red carpet. Start by having one of your Service Advisors greet them with a small gift upon arrival. Then, have refreshments and free goodies ready to satisfy them as they wait for their vehicle’s service work to be performed. Maybe even offer free shuttle services, free car wash and vacuum, or simply discount their bill to ensure your loyal customers feel like a true VIP.

Start a Loyalty Program
Some manufacturers in the auto space have already started loyalty programs to keep customers coming back to their service facilities. But how can you ensure your loyal customers keep coming back to your dealership specifically? Think about starting a loyalty program above and beyond the OEMs. You don’t have to be really sophisticated, just a punch card for oil changes where you buy four and your fifth one is free is sufficient. Or, you could also offer your most loyalty customers a card that gives them 10% off every time they service at your dealership. A loyalty program can really demonstrate your thanks to customers and keep them coming back.

Send a Thank You Note
If you don’t have the means to offer additional savings or services, think about just sending a simple thank you note. A hand written note from a Service Advisor or Sales team member adds a personal touch and is a great way to demonstrate to customers that you care and really want their business.

How you choose to honor your loyal customers is really up to you. The point is that you do something to demonstrate their importance to your dealership and highlight your appreciation for their business.

Whether you believe it or not, your customers are your dealership’s most valuable asset. Especially the loyal ones who continue to come back regularly for service work and purchase multiple vehicles from your dealership. If you’re under the belief that all customers should be treated equally, then this post may not be for you. In fact, we believe your most loyal customers deserve extra savings and attention to ensure they continue to come back to your dealership for future vehicle needs. Here are three easy to implement ideas to honor your customers.

Offer a First Class Experience
If you identify loyal customers who are scheduled to visit your Service Department, think about rolling out the red carpet. Start by having one of your Service Advisors greet them with a small gift upon arrival. Then, have refreshments and free goodies ready to satisfy them as they wait for their vehicle’s service work to be performed. Maybe even offer free shuttle services, free car wash and vacuum, or simply discount their bill to ensure your loyal customers feel like a true VIP.

Start a Loyalty Program
Some manufacturers in the auto space have already started loyalty programs to keep customers coming back to their service facilities. But how can you ensure your loyal customers keep coming back to your dealership specifically? Think about starting a loyalty program above and beyond the OEMs. You don’t have to be really sophisticated, just a punch card for oil changes where you buy four and your fifth one is free is sufficient. Or, you could also offer your most loyalty customers a card that gives them 10% off every time they service at your dealership. A loyalty program can really demonstrate your thanks to customers and keep them coming back.

Send a Thank You Note
If you don’t have the means to offer additional savings or services, think about just sending a simple thank you note. A hand written note from a Service Advisor or Sales team member adds a personal touch and is a great way to demonstrate to customers that you care and really want their business.

How you choose to honor your loyal customers is really up to you. The point is that you do something to demonstrate their importance to your dealership and highlight your appreciation for their business.

The Memorial Day holiday for many Americans means a long, 3-day weekend, grill outs, family gatherings, and the official start to summer. But for car dealers everywhere, it means additional factory incentives to move inventory and an increase in foot traffic. So, how will you capitalize on the holiday weekend to sell more vehicles? Here are three really easy steps to honor Memorial Day and drive more revenue to your door.

Step 1:
First things first, you’ll have to decide how you will commemorate the true meaning of Memorial Day and the men and women who have given their lives for our freedom. There are several ways to do this. You could sponsor a local Memorial Day event, like a community parade, or get involved to help a local military family – the possibilities are endless. The point is, you’ll want to get involved with your local community to gain brand awareness and show you’re doing more to honor Memorial Day than just offering great vehicle deals.

Step 2:
Once you’ve figured out how you’ll get your community’s attention, it’s time to get your store spruced up for the holiday weekend. Think about adorning your showroom with patriotic themed decorations and pinning red, white, and blue balloons on every vehicle on your lot. A festive business will be more attractive for consumers and demonstrate your spirit for the holiday. You could take this one step further and hand out flags or flag pins to every customer.

Step 3:
Now that you’ve garnered brand awareness among your community and decorated your dealership for the occasion, it’s time to invite customers and prospects to your store. If you’re planning to have food or refreshments during the holiday weekend, be sure to include that in your communication. You’ll also want to use Memorial Day themed marketing materials to promote your weekend deals and grab the recipient’s attention.

Now is the time to get ready and capitalize on one of the biggest vehicle sales weekends of the year.

The Memorial Day holiday for many Americans means a long, 3-day weekend, grill outs, family gatherings, and the official start to summer. But for car dealers everywhere, it means additional factory incentives to move inventory and an increase in foot traffic. So, how will you capitalize on the holiday weekend to sell more vehicles? Here are three really easy steps to honor Memorial Day and drive more revenue to your door.

Step 1:
First things first, you’ll have to decide how you will commemorate the true meaning of Memorial Day and the men and women who have given their lives for our freedom. There are several ways to do this. You could sponsor a local Memorial Day event, like a community parade, or get involved to help a local military family – the possibilities are endless. The point is, you’ll want to get involved with your local community to gain brand awareness and show you’re doing more to honor Memorial Day than just offering great vehicle deals.

Step 2:
Once you’ve figured out how you’ll get your community’s attention, it’s time to get your store spruced up for the holiday weekend. Think about adorning your showroom with patriotic themed decorations and pinning red, white, and blue balloons on every vehicle on your lot. A festive business will be more attractive for consumers and demonstrate your spirit for the holiday. You could take this one step further and hand out flags or flag pins to every customer.

Step 3:
Now that you’ve garnered brand awareness among your community and decorated your dealership for the occasion, it’s time to invite customers and prospects to your store. If you’re planning to have food or refreshments during the holiday weekend, be sure to include that in your communication. You’ll also want to use Memorial Day themed marketing materials to promote your weekend deals and grab the recipient’s attention.

Now is the time to get ready and capitalize on one of the biggest vehicle sales weekends of the year.