Role of Blogging in Automotive Marketing

The internet revolution has enabled auto dealerships to use better methods in generating leads and retaining customers. Many lead retention tactics used pre-internet, such as phone call campaigns and direct mail, turned off as many customers as much as they retained.

Heading online and putting social media tools to work can help you build your dealership while spending a minimal amount of money. If you want to sell more cars while spending less per car to reach your customers, new and existing alike, I encourage you to enter the world of blogging.

1) Showing your expertise.

People shopping for new and used cars have many problems. If you are able to provide them with a solution then your dealership will stand out from the competition. From comparing different car models to explaining how to save money on insurance for that new sports car, your blog is the perfect marketing platform for your business. Use your blog to share knowledge. Teaching others and genuinely helping them is the fastest way to show your expertise. Once customers know you're really an expert in the automotive world, they'll immediately remember who to see when a car problem ruins their day.

2) Building a connection.

Blogging is a natural choice for marketing an automotive dealership because car sales rely on real relationships. Building connections with leads and existing customers has been a part of dealership management for decades now. Online tools like blogs make this easier than ever because a savvy customer relations manager can reach out to hundreds of customers at once with each blog post. Of course, this only works if you manage to add personality and life to your blog. Customers should feel like they're sitting in the office and chatting with a member of your sales or service team when they stop by to read the blog.

3) Raking in the traffic.

The internet takes a lot of the hard work and high cost out of lead generation. Car buyers used to pick up relevant magazines or look to local newspapers for model reviews, but now they flock online to find honest information from drivers and dealers alike. The 2014 Automotive Buyer Influence Study shows that 79% of car buyers head online to research before making a decision; that is nearly 4 out of every 5 buyers. By taking advantage of search engine traffic, you connect with people already looking to make a purchase in your local area.

How many other lead generation tactics do you have that can guarantee each potential client is already motivated to buy? Of course, blogging is one of the best ways to stay visible in the search engine results because Google and the other big names love to see regular updates with fresh and relevant content. In fact, research from HubSpot shows that businesses updating their blogs at least 20 times a month gathered five times as much traffic to their website and four times as many leads as non-blogging companies.

4) Managing costs.

Even a professionally designed and managed blog costs far less than other common lead generation and customer retention tactics. Some companies decide to stick with free blogging platforms and put the responsibility for updating on an existing team member. However, it's easier to convert visitors into buyers when each post is carefully tailored to make sales without sounding like an ad; letting a professional marketing team produce your content for you is the best way to make sure your blogging budget brings in the best results.

If your dealership already has a blog and it's not performing to your expectations, it's never too late to turn it around. The same is true for automotive industry websites receiving little traffic. With a complete overhaul and plenty of targeting social media marketing, any dealership can find a new level of success through the power of the Internet.