The internet is now the go-to resource for most consumers when making purchasing decisions. As a result, car dealerships must shift their marketing strategies to meet customers where they are—online. But how can car dealerships successfully navigate the digital landscape and stand out from the competition?

In this article, we’ll explore 5 proven tactics successful car dealerships are using to boost digital marketing efforts.

Maximize the Potential of Your Digital Marketing Campaigns

Step 1: Start with a Digital Marketing Strategy

Starting with a strong digital marketing strategy is key, as it can help car dealerships increase online visibility, generate leads, and ultimately drive sales and service. Without a clear plan in place, it can be challenging to know where to focus effort and measure success.

To help ensure best success for your store, a digital marketing strategy should be tailored to your dealership’s unique goals and target audience. It should also be easily manageable for your team and include a mix of tactics and channels that work together to create a cohesive online presence and seamless marketing campaigns.

Step 2: Create a Strong Online Presence

Ensure your dealership’s website is optimized for both search engines and user experience: first, identify the keywords/search terms potential customers are using to find car dealerships in your area. Then, you can incorporate those keywords into your website’s content, meta descriptions, and title tags to improve your search engine rankings. It’s also important that your dealership’s name, address, and phone number are consistent across all online directories, listings, and campaigns.

In addition to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), prioritize user experience. Your campaigns should provide clear, quick, and easy access to your website. And your site should be simple to navigate, fast-loading, and contain all the information potential customers need, such as inventory, pricing details, and online scheduling.

With today’s customers demanding more online interaction than ever, it’s also worth considering the addition of video, chatbots, or virtual tours. A clear and strong online presence with a mix of engaging digital elements can help your dealership grow website traffic and retain customers.

Step 3: Leverage Social Media to Drive Car Sales and Service

Social media has become a powerful tool to connect with customers and promote products and services. For car dealerships, social media can be particularly effective for showcasing inventory, promotions, and customer testimonials. Plus, it can be a valuable platform for providing customer service and responding to inquiries in a timely manner.

To get started with social media, identify the platforms your target audience use most frequently. Facebook and Instagram are popular choices for car dealerships. However, LinkedIn and Twitter can also be effective depending on your goals.

Once you’ve established your presence on social media, focus on including engaging content that aligns with your digital campaigns and showcases your dealership’s unique value proposition: photos and videos of new inventory, behind-the-scenes glimpses of your store, helpful tips for car maintenance and repair, etc. This helps you build a community of followers who trust and engage with your dealership, and in turn helps you drive more sales and service appointments.

Step 4: Refine Your Email Marketing and Target Lists

Email marketing is an effective way to maintain communication with your current customers and coincide your digital marketing campaigns with your website and social media. For example, you could send targeted emails to customers who have previously purchased a vehicle from your dealership, offering them exclusive promotions or service discounts. You could also send regular newsletters to your email list, highlighting new inventory, service specials, and dealership news.

To help ensure best results with your email marketing communications, use clean and up-to-date email lists. Precise targeting gives you more opportunity to personalize the customer experience and make stronger connections.

Step 5: Measure the Success of Your Digital Marketing Efforts

Measuring the success of your digital marketing efforts is vital to knowing where to focus your efforts and make improvements. Key performance indicators (KPIs) to track could include website traffic, lead generation, social media engagement, and email open rates. Use tools such as Google Analytics, social media analytics, and/or other seamlessly integrated technology to track these metrics and pinpoint areas for improvement—or opportunity.

Rev Up the Potential of Your Digital Marketing Campaigns Today

By building a digital marketing strategy, creating a strong online presence, leveraging social media, using email marketing, and measuring success, you can attract and retain customers while increasing sales and service traffic.

If you need to get started, overhaul your current processes, or simply seek assistance to unlock your full potential, consider partnering with our experts. They’ll provide the guidance and technology to help make it easy.