5 SMS Strategies for Auto Dealerships

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autodealershipmarketing If you haven’t been taking advantage of text message marketing, you are overlooking a major lead generation source. Even with advertising, it can be used on the showroom floor, online and after hours information for current and potential customers. Dealer Goldmine can help set up SMS to increase lead generation.

The biggest advantage that SMS has over traditional lead generation methods is cost. SMS is very inexpensive, for very little money and a little creativity, SMS can be a very powerful tool for your auto dealership. It will not only improve your overall marketing for auto dealerships, but will also improve your lead generation process from prospects in your local area that are visiting your store, seeing your ads and engaged with your social media profiles.

Lead Generation

The easiest way to go about collecting leads from SMS is to to set up multiple keywords (e.g. one for each model) and have prospects opt-in to receive more info on that model. Another techniques is to set up each vehicle with a keyword (usually the stock number) and collect leads on a per-vehicle basis. This takes a bit more effort to pull off, but your lead becomes very targeted.

Promote Events

You can’t wait for them to come to you, send invitations to an open house, model launch, fundraiser or special event. SMS is made for this type of promotion.

Announcements of New Stock or Limited Availability of Stock

Use SMS to keep interested prospects up-to-date with the latest news about new or anticipated inventory, or alerts to let them know when the car they are interested in becomes available for test drives, pre-order, or purchase.

Reminders and Updates of Rebates and/or Incentives

Let everyone know of incentives or rebates to save them money on their purchase.

Specials and Service Offers

Have a direct channel to your service center, from scheduling appointments to announcements of special offers and sales.

So start today, and set up a more direct connection to your customers and potentials.


Maintain Brand Consistency Strategies

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Brand Consistency

There are hundreds, if not thousands of social networks and new ones spring up every day. That means that your customers will have many different ways to find you. But they won’t find you if your brand is scattered across social networks using different usernames and profiles

Usernames and user profiles are already showing up in search results. Do a search for your company’s name on Google right now — if you also have a Twitter account with the same name, odds are pretty good that the Twitter account will appear very high in the search results. This means that having a consistent username across the various social networks is very important. At a minimum, if you haven’t registered your company name on the major networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.), you should do that today. For many small businesses, their user accounts on social networks will be the highest ranked pages in search results.

You should also evaluate your email and web presence strategies. For example, are you using a Gmail email address when you can very easily be using a custom email address with your company name as your domain? Compare: restaurantname@gmail.com with john@restaurantname.com — which looks more professional? Similarly, are you hosting your blog at WordPress.com instead of on your own custom domain? Little details can make a difference.

Speaking with a common “voice” doesn’t mean that only one person should execute your company’s social media marketing strategy, but it does mean that everyone who speaks on behalf of your company in social media reflects your brand in a consistent way.

5 Advanced Social Media Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses

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Marketing

Strategy 1: Multimedia Usage

The term “A picture is worth a thousand words” has never been truer.  Consumers are now using the web to look for product pictures and videos; they want more information and want to see what they’re considering buying. The good news is that it’s easy for a company to create and publish videos and pictures.

Strategy 2: Integrate Offline and Online Advertising

Many small businesses do some sort of offline advertising, whether it be radio, print, or cable. Social marketing allows a business to extend their offline sales pitch.

Strategy 3: Message Adaptation

As businesses start to become more sophisticated with social media they are starting to leverage more online platforms. However, most deliver the same message over multiple platforms instead of tailoring communications for each individual site.

Strategy 4: Local Social Networks, Beyond Yelp

For a small business, local search can be a big win. Being visible to consumers looking for a business in their area is extremely important. Make sure your site is included in local business directories in order to help ensure that consumers find you when they need you. Sometimes finding that many sites can be difficult, however.

Strategy 5: Contests and Discounts

A good social media contest should include some sort of sharing or virality as a requirement for winning. Discounts are also a great way to connect with your community. By giving exclusive coupons to your social community, you’re rewarding and reminding them that you are not only a brand to engage with, but also to buy from.