On October 24, 2013, Instagram announced that they would become the next social media giant to offer up advertising space on their mobile platform. From the consumer’s perspective, it’s easy to understand the resentment towards the announcement. One of the biggest perks of the platform was that users could actually choose the content they were exposed to. You didn’t have to worry about an overabundance of promoted posts or news stories getting in the way of the information you were truly concerned with information pertaining to our friends and family.
On the business end, however, Instagram’s announcement provides branding opportunities for companies worldwide. According to Instagram’s website, there are currently 150 million active users with over 60% of that population lying outside of the United States. To date, there have been 16 billion photos shared, 1.2 billion daily likes, and an average of 55 million photos shared per day. There is no arguing that Instagram has become one of the most popular social media sites to date, but how will users react when advertisements pop up in their newsfeeds?
Instagram users got their first taste of what can be expected from Instagram advertisements when the platform released its first official ad by Michael Kors. While the ad did receive mixed reviews amongst Instagram’s population, the results were visible within just a few hours. According to Mashable, “as of mid-morning Friday, the ad had more than 65,000 Likes and more than 540 comments,” a statistic which speaks for itself. Over the next few weeks, it will be interesting to see how consumers react to more businesses adopting advertising on Instagram, as well as how businesses incorporate Instagram into their existing digital marketing strategies.
The More Information, The Better!
What makes a good SEO Video? It has to be informative! The more information you provide, the more effective the video will be. If someone is going to spend time watching a video about a specific car, that means they are a potential customer!
Give Them What They Want!
Show everything there is to show on the car inside and out. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to say, “here’s the tire” but it wouldn’t hurt to mention, “this car has alloy wheels, and 17” tires”. Focus on the technology and features the specific vehicle offers; that is what customers are looking for. They want to know what the car offers.
It’s also important to talk about gas mileage and safety, which are possibly the most important purchasing factors for a car buyer.
I Want It, And I Want It Now!
You might think the SEO videos don’t add much value or aren’t worth the time it takes to make them. After all, the specfications on each vehicle are on your website and the manufacturer website. But let’s face it. We live in a society in which we are used to instant gratification. We don’t want to have to search for the information we are seeking; we want it provided to us in an easy and efficient matter.
SEO Videos are a great opportunity to provide potential car buyers with specific information about a precise vehicle in your inventory. So what are you waiting for? Do you provide these videos for your customers? No? We can help! contact us now and let’s get started!
Procrastination
We all know about it– continuously pushing things off until the last possible moment, always saying tomorrow, next time etc. Well one Argentinean publisher says no more, recently developing special ink that will disappear within two months time of coming into contact with the sun and air, allowing a reader a limited time to complete the book before all the ink vanishes.
I believe this is a very effective way to ensure the product is seen and used. It’s very easy to make a purchase and then never use it. I mean I know I have lots of outfits in my closet still with the tags on them; but given the idea that they would dissolve within a few months time, I might consider wearing them especially since the alternative would equate with having just thrown my money away in the trash. I’m sure there will be many people who will not purchase the product knowing it won’t last, but I think there will be a lot of people who will purchase and subsequently use said product in order to beat the constricting time limit.
I think it’s important to apply this way of thinking to your car dealership; how can you make something non-lasting? Now I’m obviously not suggesting we develop dissolving cars; that would just be crazy, but I am saying providing some serious incentives to your customers. Why should they buy this now? Most people purchase a vehicle when they need one, not because they want one but if the deal was really sweet wouldn’t you consider the purchase a little bit sooner?
What Customers Want
Offer your customers something worthwhile. Now, I know you can’t just go out on the lot and decide the prices of vehicles, but you can provide really strong incentives for why they should buy now. The words ‘for a limited time’ are extremely effective because let’s be honest, nobody wants to be the one who missed out. Establish programs that only run for short periods of times such as come in before 3pm to save x amount of dollars on a selected service.
In addition, you could develop contests such as the 100th person to come in a test drive this car today wins an iPad. The opportunities are endless; depending on your dealerships location you could work with a local organization to help promote an event such as free tickets to a theme park, the movies, or even a gift certificate to a popular restaurant.
Have you given your customers a reason not to wait? What are you waiting for? Contact us now and let’s get started!
By: Jenn Mayer
If your company is involved in pay-per click advertising, click through rate, or CTR, is one of the most important metrics to measure. Click through rate is defined as the number of times a given ad is clicked on divided by the number of times the ad is shown, or impressions.
For example, if an ad is shown 1000 times and receives 10 clicks, the click through rate is 1%. Sites like Google Ad Words provide a plethora of statistics about your CTR and your advertising campaign as a whole, and often it can be overwhelming to wade through them all. With more graphs and charts than you can shake a stick at, how do you know what a good measurement of your success is?
A good click through rate depends on how competitive your industry is. Earlier this year, a Google employee said that beginning advertisers should shoot for a 2% click through rate. Other PPC experts say the figure should be between 2% and 5% for competitive industries, and above 5% for less competitive industries.
Most would agree that the car business is extremely competitive, but your company’s market may be more or less competitive depending on the number of people and dealerships in your area.
Additionally, where your ad is placed can affect your CTR. A recent report concluded that ads on Bing have a higher CTR than Google and Yahoo.
Your CTR is also dependent on the quality of your keywords. It’s important that the users who are clicking on your ad are qualified buyers in your target market. Let’s say, for example, that you sell televisions. People who search “TV” might not be looking to purchase a television, but they still might end up on your site. They might be looking for television programs, television guides, or just want to research types of TVs and aren’t ready to buy.
They might click on your ad, but they aren’t considered qualified buyers, so the chances of them converting are small. A conversion is defined as the move from simply looking at your website to taking some sort of action. That action could be to fill out a form, request more information, or schedule a test drive. In other industries, a conversion could be a sale, but since most car buying transactions take place offline, we usually measure conversion differently.
Therefore, a keyword like “TV” might generate a higher click through rate, but those clicks won’t be from people who actually want to buy from you. A click through rate on an ad with specific keywords might not generate a lot of clicks, but the clicks are more likely to come from qualified buyers.
The best way to ensure you’re getting a good CTR is to monitor your ads progress regularly, and ensure that your bids and keywords are appropriate. There are a lot of factors to manage, so it’s best if a professional mans the helm. Need help? We just happen to be digital ad campaign experts. Give us a call!
Google Analytics is a powerful tool for managing your online advertising campaign. But did you also consider that tracking your ad campaigns can provide important insights into your business – and help you control your inventory?
Think about it this way. People will search a variety of things to land on your site. They might search “car dealerships” and the area you’re located in to get to you. They might search a particular product – like car model – that is in your inventory. By monitoring what people search to get to you, you can understand what is currently in demand and replenish your inventory accordingly.
For example, if you’re located in the northeast, users might begin search for all-wheel drive vehicles or snow tires at a certain point in late fall or early winter. Monitoring when this search begins to pick up will signal when it is time to push those winter vehicles and accessories.
Similarly, a current client of ours noticed that when the weather began to get warmer, people in the area began to search for convertible cars. It can be difficult to determine on your own what inventory you need; so let your potential customers assist you!
Not only can this analytical monitoring aid your inventory quality, it can also help you design advertisements. If you find that lots of people are searching for the new model your manufacturer has rolled out, make sure to let people know, through commercials, social media, or retargeting, that you’ve got it!
This is just one example of how Google Analytics can enhance your dealership’s performance beyond effective advertising. Want to know more? Give us a call!
Picture this: you’re in a situation where you don’t know what to do. Maybe you have an important decision to make or need to fix something. When you need an answer, how do you get it? In situations like these, I always turn to someone who has worked through the problem in the past. I trust their advice because they offer something that not many others are willing to provide: honesty and past experience. In the future, I’ll return to this person for the answers because they took the time to help me when they didn’t have to. This is the kind of relationship dealers should build with their customers, but how?
Virtually every dealer’s website contains a form for setting or requesting a service appointment as well as contact information and directions. The general idea is to get the customer to contact the store by phone, email, chat, or by physically visiting the store. However, hundreds of customers visit service sections of a dealer’s website without ever taking these actions. The website should do more than help loyal customers know where to call for service; it should help service shoppers find the information they need to know they found the right store for service.
At Potratz, we’ve developed a series of 16 Service FAQs to answer questions that site visitors seek. Going out of your way to provide this information to shoppers may seem counter intuitive. After all, why would a dealership want to help someone confidently change his or her battery when the store could turn a profit on that service? A dealer achieves Trusted Advisor status with shoppers by sharing information with them. The fact is many shoppers seeking do-it-yourself information do not end up doing it themselves. Having explored the alternative, they approach the store more confident in their decision to pay for professional service. They value the service and generally have a high trust level in the store providing candid information relative to service providers who are simply open for business. Offering help lets the customer know what kind of store you run and what kind of helpful attitude toward the customer they can expect. Saying you are friendly does not carry as much weight as demonstrating you are friendly.
It’s hard to establish the type of bond I explained above with someone you’ve never met before. That’s why it’s crucial to personalize your website and provide ways for customers to see your team as people; caring people who can offer the assistance they need. With these FAQ pages, a dealer can demonstrate their expertise and willingness to help at the exact moment a customer is searching for an answer via a search engine. The next time that customer has a car problem, who do you think they’ll turn to? My bet would be you.
By: Jenn Mayer
Previously, Google Places was always on the “SEO checklist” for dealerships and other businesses that were interested in climbing to the top of the search results page. Creating a Google Places page for your business was fairly simple and required little attention afterwards from the business owner.
All that has changed. Google recently announced its new platform for businesses, called Google+ Local. Those businesses with Google Places pages will automatically be merged to the new platform, but the time-frame for this to happen is not certain. Now, your Google presence is not just a vertical listing, but also a social media page. Google+ Local is a necessity for SEO value, but it also enhances your social media presence. However, with this new development, businesses looking to stay ahead of the competition can no longer “set it and forget it” as they could before.
Google+ Local Pages will give businesses a method to communicate with users in much the same way businesses can use Twitter and Facebook, and therefore needs to be maintained in order to keep pace with the competition. The new layout is part of Google’s mission to expand it’s own social platform, Google+. Google+ users will be able to see local businesses on their sidebar, and you must have a Google + account to review a local business. Google hopes that this will prompt people who have previously avoided Google+ to create an account and become more active users.
Google+ Local Pages will be much more visible than its predecessor. Google+ Local Pages will get precedent when a user makes a Google search for a place. So, if you have a Google+ Local Page, you will automatically get an advantage over the competition. In addition to being integrated into search, Google+ Local pages will also appear in Google Maps, the mobile version of Google and as a new tab in the Google+ sidebar. In essence, it’s crucial to build and grow your page as quickly as possible in order to appear at the top of the search results and above your competition.
A new and integral feature of Google+ Local pages is the scoring system. Since Google bought Zagat last year, they have integrated their famous reviews and scoring system into all Google+ Local pages. Because Google+ users can now leave reviews that are seen on your page and affect your score, it is essential that you are constantly monitoring your page and its content.
Another intriguing thing about Google+ Local is that Google has actually scarified a large part of its ad revenue in order to promote these pages. Now, there is only one paid aid showing up on these local searches. Now, the top organic, or unpaid, listings are even more valuable – and completely free!
Your Google+ Local page is now a vital part of both your social media and SEO efforts, and it is indispensable in placing you on the first page of the Google search results. Google uses an extremely complicated algorithm that takes hundreds of factors into account. While you can’t control all these factors, the number one driver of ranking results is a strong presence on Facebook and other social media accounts. Effectively, search is now social. If you want to be successful in search, you have to be successful in social media.
Does this new platform seem like a lot of work? Let us manage your social media presence. Contact us today!
By: Kimberly Roselle
Simple fact: I take care of my cars. In the 17 years I have been driving, I have only had three cars. I am currently driving a 2005 Chevy Cobalt. I bought the first run of this car during Employee Pricing. Despite some issues with the fit and finish I have no serious complaints. But now after seven years and 120 thousand plus miles there are some issues. I can no longer ignore the fact that it’s time for a new car, and therefore the hunt has begun.
This weekend I test-drove three cars: The Chevrolet Cruze, The Ford Focus, and The Honda Civic. My experience at each dealership was as varied as the cars.
Lets start with Chevy Cruze. My husband and I drove onto the lot and quickly found the Cruze. We walked through and peeked in at a few. Then the salesman arrived. I will call him Junior Joe. He was full of energy and knowledge and was very excited; he actually reminded me of a puppy. I went for a test drive and I was honest that I was not looking to buy today. Today was all about test drives and gathering info. Junior Joe never pushed me, and before I left he gave me a brochure and his business card.
At the next dealership, we drove around and did not see a single Focus, so we decided to walk around and look at Fusions. While we were perusing, no one came over, so we walked next door to the Honda dealership. We barely stopped at the Civic when salesman Safari Sam approached. He was not overly knowledgeable about the car and barely knew any incentives. Before I left Safari Sam gave me a brochure and his business card.
While at the final dealership of the day, we found one Focus. We hadn’t even gotten out of the car when the salesman came over. I’ll call him Mafia Max. He kept pushing me to drive it and then during the test drive tried to insist that we stop so my husband could also drive it. This was problematic to me because I had made it very clear to Mafia Max that this was to be my car. We got back to the dealership and he tried to push for the sale but I stood my ground informing him yet again, that I am only researching. Before I left he gave me a brochure and his card.
We arrived at home and that’s when the true comparisons began. Of the three brochures. Ford was the worst, containing no specs and no details. Chevy and Honda were both comparable. As I was looking at the brochures I realized the Honda wasn’t for me and I quickly crossed the Civic off my list. Now it’s a duel between the Chevy and Ford.
As of now I have yet to make up my mind, but there are various factors to weigh before making my decision. Obviously this includes the features available for each of the vehicles, including fuel economy and safety. But, I have found myself also analyzing my decision based on the salesmen themselves and the experience they provided me while I was at their dealership. I have many factors to consider, but after reading this I’m wondering, which dealership would you choose?
1. Set Goals
- When you think about your dealership, it might seem that the goal is obvious: to sell cars. While that is true, the important thing to remember is that a more specific goal and action plan is easier to obtain. Rather than the basic goal of “sell cars”, you have to develop a realistic plan and set specific goals for who is going to make these sales, what vehicles, when you need to meet this goal and how your going to meet it.
2. Track Your Progress
- Setting your goals is the first step. The second step is to make sure you are accomplishing those goals. It is important to track your progress to confirm whether you are meeting your pre-defined plan. This action is much easier said than done, but, you have to ensure that you are keeping an accurate report of which goals have been reached. Set a schedule of who will evaluate your progress and how often – then stick to it!
3. Evaluating Your Numbers
- The third step to effectively making sales is analyzing your data; is what your doing working? If not, your next step is deciding how to fix the problem. What efforts will you take to effectively meet your pre-determined goals? The important thing is to keep an open mind and remember to be willing to try various avenues to reach your set goals. It may seem like trial and error, but finding the right strategy will ensure that you meet your goals, and ultimately sell cars!
By: Matthew Klein
In the last installment, I discussed the importance of pre-production and how it, when played out effectively, positively plays into the rest of your production. This time, I’ll be discussing what it’s like to actually be working on a production set. I’ll go over some of the quick dos, don’ts, tips and tricks about the exciting life on set.
DO’S and DONT’S ON SET and HOW TO MAKE THE CREW LOVE YOU:
I’ve been on a bevy of sets, and it’s always funny to me how, despite the fact that everyone always seems to have their own little of bag of tricks to employ, there’s a quiet syntax of behaviors that are widely appreciated across any crew on any production. Below is a small list of the things you should probably be doing if you’re working on a set, no matter what your job may be.
1) Be Aware – BE VERY AWARE: Safety is a #1 priority on any set, and usually the key grip is considered the ‘Sheriff of Safetytown”. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be doing your part to make sure you don’t end up tripping over a cable, or getting your eye poked out by a C-Stand. So stay alert and be sure to pay attention, as things can get rather hectic.
2) Coil-ing All Cables: In an age when everything wireless – the film/video set has yet to make this leap. This becomes apparent when one takes into account ALL of the pesky cables that get left all over the ground during a shoot (your light cables, power strips, extension cords, sash-rope, ratchet straps and bungie cords – man, it is a JUNGLE out there). All it takes is one P.A. to stumble over an extension cord and down a flight of stairs into the basement furnace to end the whole show for everyone. A great way to prevent this is coiling cables! If you’re standing around, and you notice that the floor is riddled with random cables/wires all over the place, help wrangle those suckers! You can use the over-under method of cable-wrapping (http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/flipcoil/howto.html) or simply tidy them up as best you can! If you’re a best-boy grip, P.A., or anyone authorized to do so, you can also use gaffer’s tape to tape the cables to the floor so people are less likely to trip over them. This simple act greatly reduces risk, and is totally worth the effort.
3) Put Things Back: The larger your shoot, the more things you need to bring with you. Props, costumes, equipment, office supplies, computers, printers, paint, your camera lenses, de-glossing spray, sound blankets, batteries, coffee, coffee, more coffee, lots and lots of coffee and things related to coffee. As you can see, the sheer magnitude of ‘stuff’ that gets brought to set can be staggering. It can be seemingly endless. In the fast-paced world of production, organization is crucial, and more than often the most innocent of mistakes or misplacements can RUIN a shoot. One example: a tripod plate. You know, the little plate that holds the camera on the tripod? It’s this teeny little thing, but guess what? If someone loses that, NO MORE TRIPOD! And if you don’t have extras around, guess who is holding the camera for the next six hours? You got it, an infuriated camera operator who wants you fired – stat. So, moral of the story here is, if you use an item, ALWAYS return it to where it originally was. Simple lesson, but often ignored.
4) Stage Your Equipment: Many people don’t realize that when a crew gets to a set the first thing they do is unload and ‘stage’ their equipment before doing anything else. Basically, ‘staging’ is when you prepare every item of equipment as much as you possibly can without actually using it. That means every single light stand gets set up. Mic packs are fitted with new batteries. A charging station is set up for all of the walkie-talkies. Gels are set out and labeled. Each camera is prepared and rigged. Dolly tracks get lubricated. For the best way to tackle how to stage equipment, I would recommend researching how grips prepare their equipment for a production day! There are tons of videos on the web about this. Even C-Stands have a particular way of being ‘soldiered’ (large nuts on the right, small on the left, and stack them right next to each other so the larger legs overlay the smaller legs). This might seem rather silly, but when the sun is setting and you’re going to lose thousands of dollars in budget if you don’t get this ‘ONE LAST EPIC SHOT’ taking five seconds to grab a properly staged C-stand as opposed to taking two minutes to find and then stage one makes a world of difference to your crew.
5) Mission – Make Everyone’s Job Easier: In the end, you’ll notice that a reoccurring theme of the previous 4 tips has been ‘look out for your crew and try to help things move along as smoothly as possible’. This brings me to the most important thing I was ever told while working on a set, by the Key Set PA for the movie Unstoppable. He told me that with any job on set the point should be ‘to make everyone else’s job easier’. Adopting that policy translates to the people around you, and your crew will surely notice when you’re going out of your way to help, do your job, and lighten the load for them as well. Surely, they’ll be doing the same for you.
So there you have it! There are many more tips I could provide, but I find that these basic five are the most important and effective when working on a production crew. Blunders are avoided, and progress is influenced. Plus, the crew will love you.
In the next installment, I’ll be going over the basics of post-production. Until then, thanks for reading!
