If you want to see an increase in sales at your auto dealership, it is absolutely essential that you up your game on the digital marketing front. Without utilizing the benefits of digital marketing, you are putting yourself at a serious disadvantage and allowing competitors to secure customers that should have gone to you. In this post, we are going to examine four auto dealership marketing trends that will help you sell more cars this year.

1. Give Your Email Campaigns a Face Lift: If you want to garner more subscribers for your email newsletter and better engage those already on your subscriber list, you have to routinely update your email marketing strategy. While having engaging written content in your emails is crucial, you should examine new ways to implement that content. For example, many businesses, both auto dealerships and those in other industries alike, are discovering the power of video content, especially when it is implemented into emails. In fact, some companies are relying solely on video emails…emails that contain video and nothing else. After all, we are witnessing a surge in the influence that video has in grabbing the attention of consumers. If you want to get a more responsive email marketing list, start introducing short videos into your email newsletters.
2. Optimize Your Presence on The Mobile Frontier: By now you are probably aware that a hefty majority of the internet browsing done by consumers today is conducted through their handheld mobile device. That’s why it is so important to optimize your web and social media presence for smart phones, tablets, and other small devices. If a potential car buyer can’t navigate your website easily from their smartphone, you have a problem; you could very easily end up losing that potential customer to a competitor with a website that is more easily formatted for a smartphone.
3. Be Active on Social Media: It is one thing to start a Facebook page for your auto dealership and it is quite another to maintain consistent activity across a couple social media platforms. Without regularly building and engaging your following on social media, you simply will not be able to create a strong online presence. You may even want to consider investing in a social media strategist or a digital marketing expert who will help you implement the best strategies for a bigger social media following. Make sure your website and email newsletters include social media buttons for people to click on and discover your social media pages. Communicate with your following on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Respond to comments and get back to followers who have messaged you. The sooner you respond messages the better since this actually shows up on your Facebook page. With a better response rate, you develop a better reputation online.
4. Be Active Offline: Even though digital marketing is one of the most predominant forms of marketing today, auto dealerships still need to be just as active offline as they are online. Being an active member of the community is one of the most effective ways to strengthen your dealership’s brand and garner new customers. Sponsor an event or a kids’ sports league. Partner up with other local businesses at different promotional events and trade shows. Network as much as possible and prove you are not just a business, but an entity that is committed to helping the community around you grow. Simply being involved in your local community is a tremendous way to garner trust, thus making people more likely to choose your dealership.