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Never Underestimate the Exposure Power of Social Media

In the automotive, powersports and marine industries, social media has experienced a rocky existence. On one hand, the promise of massive exposure has been intriguing and spawned entire companies to focus strictly on social media. On the other hand, the return on investment has been a challenge to demonstrate, let alone believe in through proper KPI measurement standards.

Which is it? Is social media good or is it simply too hard to demonstrate a return on investment? In many ways, the answer to both questions is yes, which is why we're so pleased about the performance of our own social media product.

If Your Inventory is Everywhere, It Won't Be Missed

There are two primary strategies when it comes to car dealer inventory marketing. The first has been around for a while. The wide approach says that dealers should be putting their inventory out there in multiple venues. The second is relatively new, where dealers are pulling away from third party sites and focusing on bringing people to their own websites.

Each strategy has legs, but it's in the tried-and-true strategy of putting your inventory on the websites that people visit rather than relying on people to visit your own site that we have seen the best results. There's a difference between buying leads from third-party vendors and putting your inventory on third-party websites that must be understood for dealers to make the right decision.

On Social Media, the Middle Ground is No Man's Land

The evolution of automotive social media has been an amazing thing to behold over the years. We've all seen strategies come and go. Some worked. Some didn't. Today, we have the luxury of having narrowed down the strategies that have proven to be effective today and that should continue to be effective in the near future.

Why Car Dealers Should Adopt a Modern Digital Merchandising Strategy

Most people have mastered the skill of shopping. They have been on the internet for so long that they understand the power of choice that the internet gives them. In fact, there are people hitting the car market for the first time who never knew a world without the internet.

Many car dealers have shifted their attentions and advertising budgets to focus strictly on sending people to their own websites. It’s a revolution of sorts as they begin consolidating their digital presence so that everything is funneled directly to them. The concept has legs; generating “1^st party leads” has proven to be the highest quality and yields the best chances per lead of turning it into a sale.

Just a Reminder: Pictures Sell Cars

Back when the internet was still young and the automotive industry had not fully embraced it, those dealers who were utilizing it to expose their inventory online were still having trouble with images. Some cars had them. Others did not. Some had 40 images. Others had 1. The websites and classified listings that were getting the most action were the ones that had the most pictures, but it was hard to find this happening consistently.