2021-2022 gave us a lot to think about when it comes to digital marketing strategies and the impact campaigns, banners and adverts have on our consumer minds. The way we perceive things greatly relates to the environment that we are in, and in the midst of a global pandemic, perhaps we look at advertising in a slightly adjusted way. This is definitely the case for the automotive industry.
From the start of 2020, the world was encouraged to #StaySafeStayHome, thus giving our trusty cars a break from the insane two-and-fro of commuting. We saw our cars as luxury items that transport us to a scenic destination, a trail that leads to some family fun or a means to take the entire family on a staycation somewhere within driving distance. Cars were given an alter ego; they were no longer seen as metal boxes we wasted away in on our way to and from the office – they became important to us for a whole new reason. We valued our cars based on experience and not necessity anymore.
In 2024, the key word in all forms of advertising that we need to look forward to and find ways to encourage and promote, is: ‘experience’. Creating an experience through your Automotive Digital Marketing Strategies will allow you to resonate with your viewers from the get go and stimulate their senses with a hopeful conversion that leads to retention as the end result. Here are the top ways you can improve your Car Dealership Sales with these 7 Automotive Digital Marketing Strategies for 2024:
Content is still in the Driver’s Seat
With Content leading the way as King this year (yet again), there’s no surprise that we need to polish up our content skills and deliver key content to the right market at the right time. The way we develop our content is always a major factor in the success of our digital strategies, and with the automotive industry, it’s pretty much the same.
Your car news, top car highlights and basic vehicle facts aren’t going to entice your audience. That’s a fact that you’d better come to terms with and solve with these top 5 tips:
- Make your car content fun with interactive features like poll taking.
- Make your car content engaging with clean imagery that captivates immediately.
- Make your car content unpredictably predictable with a schedule that always delivers something new.
- Make your car content factual with reviews, recommendations and tutorials.
- Make your car content the main source of information for your niche market.
Video is about to Overtake the Traffic
- And do it all through video.
Really, you can. Video is about to be the next big thing. 2019, 2020 and 2021 all saw the light of video stream swiftly into the social media calendars and campaigns of our favourite brands. With podcasts, interviews and tonnes of video based content filtering into Instagram Reels to entertain the masses.
Imagine giving your viewers the experience of quality content with full automotive essentials, extras and add-ons… but all in video for 100% engagement. The fast-pace of the automotive world would work well with video based on the simple fact that we crave new, shiny and fancy – and there’s nothing that quite fits the bill than a showroom car, is there?
Give the viewers that they want with video automotive content.
Put Personality and Customisation into Full Gear
When we want something specific, we’re going to get it. It could be a personalised watch or jewelry for our loved ones, it could be a customised cake or maybe even a customised mug perhaps – but much like these small items being so desperately wanted by us; so are personalised and customised cars. And luckily 2024 is going to be all about making your wheels your very own!
Create marketing campaigns around originality and customisation this year. With a focus on giving our vehicles the personal refinement we feel works with our brand, image or preferences, our marketing campaigns should focus on exactly the same.
Identify the markets you are most active in, push the cars that best trigger your clientele’s desires and market every car model with an edge and flair that can only be achieved by the most trending automotive marketers out there. You can do it!
Buckle up for AI Bots Pile Up
Bots, bots, bots! Ahhh… they’re coming, actually they’re here and taking things from manual to auto control with the click of only a few buttons. If our cars are being given the voice of an automated car helper, our paths mapped out for us with GPS via mobile control and autocruise function becoming a real thing in the real world, why wouldn’t our digital marketing strategies embrace the bots?
Adopting smarter AI to manage our customer queries, our client suggestions and general matters that generally require minimum human effort can all be handled by a trained and programmed bot that syncs up with your ethos and functionality as a company.
Living in the 21st century means we want answers as soon as possible. And that also relates to the answers from companies like yours that may have shutdown periods, closing times and days off. Just let the bots step in and use their AI to guide your clients into enquiring further about purchasing a vehicle from your dealership.
Speaking of Bots, Google’s Search Engine is also Key
There’s a lot of effort that goes into marketing a vehicle or automotive brand. It’s all about entering the market with a keen eye and understanding of the industry while pursuing your strategies with a focus on your niche market. But what if no one sees your content?
Rank on page 4, 3 or even 2 and you’ll have a hard time proving to your clientele that your brand is the better option than those big dogs who rank in the Top 10 on Page 1. It’s all about placement and ranking, indexing and creating targeted content that’s powered by the latest SEO strategies.
Finding ways to make Google’s Search Engines your friend will lead you on the path to increased visibility – if you need help understanding how to do this, contact 4Sight for expert advice and services.
Don’t Underestimate Paid Ads
Paid Ads on… you guessed it… Google, Facebook and Instagram will give your car brand the boost it needs to reach a different audience. There are hundreds of types of banners, sponsored posts and influencer-delivered content that you can add to your marketing strategy.
Your organic campaigns will work great with the niche market you’ve already hooked in; but when you want to show the industry who’s boss, a paid advert is the best way to grab your viewers attention with the hopes of turning it into some serious ROI.
The only catch – they’ve got to be good. You’ll need to fuel up on some supreme marketing skills to make sure you make the right impression with the right audience.
Most Importantly make it Mobile
Whatever you do, however you do it, you need to fully accept and understand that the larger portion of your market is accessing your automotive data from their small screens. Smartphone technology allows us to roam around the world and access information 100% remotely, so optimising your content to sync perfectly with iPhone and Android technology is key.
Technically speaking, it’s not that complex – all you need is a clever UX and UI designer to make sure that all your planning is executed with a mobile screen in mind. It might be a simple placement of a ‘Buy Now’ button, or a choice of colour that translates better on mobile.
It could also be the integration of an app into your strategy to encourage users to access your content from their smartphones while they’re on the go.
Finding your way around the digital marketing strategies that best connect with your target market might be a tough task. But for the experts at 4Sight, this is simply the way we roll! Our energy and efforts are poured into finding the best strategies and techniques to cater to our clients’ every needs, whether you’re looking to brand a bus, moped or Range Rover, we’ve got the digital marketing strategies you need to gain that traction, ready to pump the gas as soon as the light turns green!
Get in touch with 4Sight Group today for a consultation with one of our best automotive marketing experts.