Over the final decade we now have seen so many adjustments in automotive advertising and marketing. The evolution of social media has modified the advertising and marketing panorama. With the adjustments during the last 12 months in our business, it’s extra necessary than ever to have your advertising and marketing processes and procedures in place. One space that has been of explicit curiosity for me has been video, particularly short-form video, and watching dealerships put it to use to achieve and convert their prospects.listed below are dealerships throughout the nation which might be using TikTook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube to achieve new prospects. There are some that do an unimaginable job of taking their social media presence to the following degree after which there are others which might be nonetheless attempting to work out all the small print to get their crew(s) firing on all cylinders.Over the previous couple of years, I’ve been watching a Ford Dealership based mostly out of Dillsburg, PA, Bob Ruth Ford, take their social media presence to new heights. To say I’m impressed with their advertising and marketing processes and procedures is an understatement. When I had the chance to talk with their Marketing Director, Stephanie Clark, a rising advertising and marketing star within the automotive enterprise, I used to be going to ask her all about their philosophies on video advertising and marketing!Melanie: Stephanie, Tiktok vs Instagram Reels vs YouTube vs LinkedIn. How do you identify which video platform to make use of/share on?Stephanie: Determining which platform to make use of and what to share the place is tremendous necessary. To tailor our communication among the many platforms we use our key of straightforward sentences. So, for instance, Instagram is “Here is a photograph of espresso,” Facebook “I like espresso,” TikTook “Here I’m dancing with espresso,” LinkedIn “My abilities embrace making espresso,” Youtube “Here I’m ingesting espresso.” So, ensuring all of our content material displays throughout the platforms, it helps us to maintain in correct communication with every consumer. We aren’t going to speak with folks on LinkedIn the identical means we might on TikTook. Finding our viewers on these platforms comes from figuring out who our best buyer is and the place they spend their time. It’s necessary to deal with the consumer and never the product. Showing them a brand-new Explorer is nice however scary an emotion will go a lot additional.My private favourite is Facebook. We have labored laborious to construct credibility with our followers on that platform and we get loads of engagement by it. We are fully clear, placing out all data that prospects may need or want, alongside with some enjoyable and silliness integrated alongside the way in which. This is my favourite as a result of you may get so artistic with it and attain SO many individuals, and it’s very trackable. We see loads of success with buyer testimonial movies. New prospects seeing and listening to a present buyer say, and make sure, what we preach as to who and what we’re as an organization, makes all of the distinction. We may say one thing 100 occasions, but it surely has a lot extra which means when it’s coming straight from our buyer, and them saying that this was their expertise, and subsequently it was so unforgettable.YouTube is our holy grail! Every video we make goes on YouTube. Our prospects can discover something and all the things that they should find out about our dealership there. We have totally different playlists pertaining to totally different classes – our VIP shopping for course of, our VIP promoting course of, a day within the life on the dealership, how-to movies, and any present occasion sponsorship occasions we’re doing throughout the group. It can all be discovered right here. Our channel creates model consciousness all whereas being entertaining. They can study us as an organization or study any car or service they’re taken with.With Instagram Reels, Millennials are the largest customers on Instagram and spend about half an hour a day scrolling. This is the place we present “right here is a photograph/here’s a video of espresso.” Users are scrolling quick and wish their consideration caught shortly and it’s solely going to final a couple of seconds. Successful Reels seize consideration throughout the first two seconds. The communication on Instagram Reels is tailor-made to millennials that need natural-looking content material. We promote right here that “We are in enterprise,” it’s updated and tasteful. An aesthetically pleasing feed is what attracts folks there. An enormous a part of the Reels is suitable CTA’s (calls to motion), there’s no level in placing one thing out with out which means to get some type of return. Utilizing Reels on Instagram is an in-between of enjoyable and knowledge. People aren’t essentially coming to Instagram to purchase a automotive – nonetheless, in our occasion, they completely can – however to see what our firm is as much as, that ‘hey we’re in enterprise!’ and that we do sustain with our prospects there.LinkedIn – This is our “my abilities embrace making espresso” platform, which is an older demographic – child boomers, gen x, millennials. We create enterprise relationships right here, present how and why we’re forward of the occasions throughout the business, and maintain our prospects and followers updated with what our processes are / what expertise we’re utilizing / what distributors and enterprise companions we work with / and the way we function general as a enterprise. We additionally submit video content material right here – principally informational content material on us as an organization and/or employment alternatives. Almost like a present occasion – what we’re as much as within the enterprise world / how we’re impacting these round us. It’s a spot the place folks can study from us and vice versa.M: Do you discover that prospects are reaching out to you thru TikTook?S: TikTook – that is our ‘enjoyable’ platform. We present personalities across the dealership, however nonetheless incorporate sizzling automobiles and maintain it branded to Bob Ruth Ford / automotive content material. We can keep with the traits whereas additionally making it pertain to the business and stay related. People go to TikTook for leisure, so I feel it’s an important place for patrons to see us actual and uncooked and that we’re folks identical to them. There’s a youthful era on TikTook than, say, LinkedIn, that’s proper at that first-car-purchasing age, so maintaining with them and getting in entrance of them is essential. This era isn’t going to see us on LinkedIn and even Facebook anymore. Gen Z is scrolling TikTook greater than they’re Facebook.Our folks have gotten extra snug in entrance of digital camera and video as a result of we put it to use so closely, it’s simply turn out to be a part of everybody’s day at work from gross sales, to accounting, to administration. They’re used to having cameras in entrance of them and we aren’t afraid to place ourselves on the market, and it’s actually benefitted us. Which I feel is a big a part of this platform, you possibly can’t be afraid to do one thing foolish or exterior of your consolation zone!M: What is one tip for selecting the best video sounds and content material?S: Always go with what’s trending. Anything that’s trending may be aligned with the model focus – granted it’s inside acceptable tips, and so on. You can take sounds and make them related to your model and business. It takes creativity and stepping exterior the field, in addition to your consolation zone. My crew and I’ve embarrassed ourselves loads of occasions, you simply must snort alongside with these watching. The identical goes for hashtags: we use our core checklist of hashtags which might be a part of our model, in addition to throwing within the trending hashtags. That provides it a superb combine to achieve new audiences and retains our present hashtag followers within the loop with content material. It’s additionally necessary to observe different hashtags related to your model, which retains you zoned in with what others are doing round you. Following these have helped us to see what “trending” is and the way we are able to observe a pattern however do it higher and otherwise, staying on model with us.I really like Stephanie’s perspective on social media and listening to what works for Bob Ruth Ford that may be transferred to your dealership. The take-aways from Stephanie’s expertise that I do know will assist management everywhere in the nation, is to know your viewers per platform, know what sort of content material to share on these platforms and get snug being on digital camera, and to include advertising and marketing into the tradition of the enterprise.Are you using video in your dealership’s advertising and marketing technique?
https://www.dealermarketing.com/automotive-marketing-evolution-interview-with-bob-ruth-ford
