Memorial Day Social Media Dos and Don’ts

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Social Media Do's and Don'ts for Memorial Day

Memorial Day Social Media Dos and Don’ts

Memorial Day is just around the corner and car dealerships across the nation are gearing up to commemorate the occasion with their followers on social media.

However, in the midst of all the excitement, it is important to remember Memorial Day is not just another federal holiday. First and foremost, it is a day of mourning for US military personnel who lost their lives while serving their country.

As such, if you plan to commemorate the holiday on social media, you must do so in a sensitive and respectful manner. Crass and inconsiderate Facebook or Instagram posts are sure to result in a great deal of blowback from your community.

Luckily, you don’t have to handle this tricky situation alone. The FZA Digital team has prepared a detailed list of dos and don’ts you can follow to observe Memorial Day the right way.

We recommend following these tips to observe Memorial Day in a respectful manner:

Recognize the Fallen Soldiers

Your social media followers will expect you to make a post recognizing the sacrifice of the soldiers who lost their lives while protecting their country.

Your post does not need to be lengthy or complex, however. A brief, simple, respectful message will suffice. Consider emulating the following examples:

  • “Thank you to our fallen soldiers. We are forever grateful for your sacrifice.”
  • “This Memorial Day, we remember the brave men and women who gave their lives to protect our country.”
  • “Today, we honor the heroes who lose their lives fighting for our freedom.”

It’s best to post this message early in the day. If you leave it too late, your social media followers may begin to wonder why you have not yet made a post.

Post Patriotic Images

Commemorating Memorial Day isn’t just about the words you use. It’s also about the photos you post on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

We recommend sticking to patriotic images. You can’t go wrong with pictures of soldiers, the US flag, or the Statue of Liberty. 

It’s best to avoid using images of politicians and political buildings, like the White House, though. These pictures are likely to result in inflammatory comments and messages.

Social Media Mistakes to Avoid on Memorial Day

It’s easy to find yourself at the center of controversy on Memorial Day. If you don’t want to upset or anger your social media followers, avoid making the following mistakes:

Saying “Happy Memorial Day”

When creating posts to commemorate the holiday, you may be tempted to say “Happy Memorial Day” to your followers. After all, that’s what you would say on the 4th of July or Labor Day.

Memorial Day is different, though. It is primarily a day of mourning for fallen American soldiers. If you use a phrase like “Happy Memorial Day,” you might upset people who have lost a friend or a family member.

Instead, consider wishing your followers a “thoughtful” or “meaningful” Memorial Day.

Shoehorning Your Brand into Memorial Day Posts

Memorial Day weekend is about fallen US military members and their families. It isn’t about your brand.

As such, you should avoid shoehorning your brand and its holiday deals into your remembrance and recognition posts in the following ways:

  • “This Memorial Day, we celebrate our fallen heroes. Honor their memory with $500 off any new Camry this weekend!”
  • “To celebrate the lives of the soldiers we have lost, we’re offering $20 oil changes this Memorial Day!”
  • “This Memorial Day, celebrate the brave men and women who gave their lives so you can test drive the new Sonata at our dealership.”

These types of posts are quite vulgar, and they are likely to elicit angry responses from your followers.

If you want to promote a Memorial Day sales event, consider creating a separate post to inform your followers. We recommend keeping at least a few hours between your recognition post and your promotion announcements.

Need Help Managing Your Social Media Accounts? Contact FZA Digital Today!

Do you need help managing your auto dealership’s social media accounts? If so, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the team at FZA Digital. We’ve been helping companies drive sales and engage with their community on Facebook and Instagram for years, and we’d love to do the same for you.

To learn more about our services, all you need to do is give us a call at (424) 232-0801 or fill out our short online contact form. Our friendly representatives will be more than happy to answer all your questions!

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Digital Marketing Tips for Sales Events

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Digital Marketing Tips for Sales Events

Digital Marketing Tips for Sales Events

Does your dealership have a sales event coming up? If so, failing to promote it correctly may result in disappointing sales figures. 

Luckily, marketing a sales event isn’t difficult. Just follow these four simple tips and you are sure to enjoy some impressive results:

1. Announce the Event on Local Directories

The majority of people who will attend your sales event live within an hour of your dealership. As such, you should focus your early marketing efforts on local directories such as:

  • Google Business Profile
  • Bing Places
  • Yelp, and
  • Nextdoor

These directories allow you to announce the details of your event to the residents of your city, luring more local business and foot traffic.

It’s possible to make these announcement posts manually. However, this can be very time-consuming. If you want to make the process easier, we recommend using FastListings! You can update hundreds of listings in a matter of moments. Check it out!

2. Generate Buzz on Social Media

Once you have announced your sales event on a selection of local directories, it is time to begin creating some buzz on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The best ways to generate excitement include:

  • Going live to answer customer questions about the event
  • Posting pictures of the vehicles that will go on sale, and
  • Creating videos that discuss the main features of your cars.

It’s generally best to begin promoting your sales event at least a few weeks in advance. If you leave it too late, prospective buyers may have already scheduled other activities for the day (or days) of your sale.

FZA Digital recommends posting to your dealership’s social media accounts at least a few times a week for best results. 

3. Discuss Your Deals in a Blog

Many shoppers will be excited about the mere prospect of a sales event. However, some of your customers will want more details before they commit to driving to your showroom.

Posting a blog to your dealership’s website is undoubtedly the best way to provide them with the information they need. This blog should include:

  • The date of your sales event
  • The location of your showroom
  • Pictures of the vehicles that will be on sale, and
  • A description of your biggest deals or promotions

When writing your blog, keep the following tips in mind:

  • Keep It Short: Nobody wants to read a huge wall of text.
  • Use Headers: They make it easier for readers to find the info they need.
  • Triple-Check Your Spelling: Small mistakes can confuse readers and make your dealership look silly.
  • Include Links: They can guide readers to more info about your cars.

To learn more about writing engaging blogs, check out this FZA Digital blog! 

4. Drive People to Your Site with PPC Ads

If you want to drive customers to your showroom, you must first direct them to your website. One of the best ways to achieve this goal is by running a PPC campaign on a platform such as:

  • Facebook
  • Google Ads
  • YouTube

Your ads should not send users to your homepage, however. Instead, they should direct people to a purpose-built landing page. Your landing page should contain:

  • The date and location of your sales event
  • A description of your deals and promotions
  • Frequently asked questions about the sales event
  • Pictures and videos of the cars that will go on sale, and
  • A form visitors can use to register their interest in the sale

You could also update callout extensions for existing PPC campaigns to generate leads and draw attention to your sales event.

The FZA Digital team recommends paying close attention to the performance of your landing page during the first few days of your PPC campaign. If you find you are not converting as many users as you would like, you may need to make some alterations to your copy or your layout.

Need Help Marketing Your Dealership? Contact the Experts at FZA Digital Today!

Do you need help marketing your next sales event? If so, please do not hesitate to reach out to the experts at FZA Digital. We’ve been helping auto dealerships drive sales and generate leads online for years, and we’d love to add your name to our long list of satisfied clients! 

To speak with a member of our team, all you need to do is give us a call at (424) 232-0810 or fill in our short contact form. We look forward to working with you! 

[Video] How To Market and Promote Car Dealership Events

Watch our YouTube video on “How To Market and Promote Car Dealership Events”!

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3 Ways to Personalize Your Car Dealership’s PPC Strategy

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3 Ways to Personalize Your Car Dealership’s PPC Strategy

Google estimates businesses receive around $8 in profit for every $1 they spend on PPC ads. If your company is falling short of that mark, you may need to change your approach. It might be time to begin personalizing your PPC campaigns.

What is Personalized PPC Advertising? 

Personalized PPC advertising involves using analytics to create ads that target specific users or groups of users. It’s about reaching the right person with the right message at the right time.

Because of their targeted nature, personalized PPC campaigns typically result in more clicks, more conversions, and a lower CPC (cost-per-click) than their more generic counterparts. 

3 Ways to Personalize Your PPC Campaigns

There are plenty of ways you can personalize your PPC ad campaigns. The following tactics are among the most effective:

1. Use Ad Customizers in Your Copy

Ad customizers give you the ability to customize your PPC ads based on factors such as:

  • The searcher’s physical location
  • The product the searcher wants to buy
  • The day, date or time of day, and
  • The audience to which the searcher belongs

By using ad customizers, you can turn a generic advertisement that reads “Save money on new phone cases. Free shipping nationwide!” into something much more appealing, like:

  • “25 percent off iPhone X cases. Free shipping nationwide!”
  • “Vehicle delivery included with all purchases!”
  • “$15 durable Android phone cases. Free shipping to West Hollywood!”
  • “20 percent student discount on black Samsung Galaxy cases. Free shipping to Miami!”

These hyper-specific ads stand out from the crowd on a search engine results page. As a result, they almost always deliver a high CTR (click-through rate) and an impressive conversion rate.

2. Remarket Via the Google Display Network

When users leave your website, it can be easy to think you lost a sale. However, it’s often possible to convince people to come back and purchase your product by remarketing to them through the Google Display Network.

The Google Display Network is extensive. It serves ads on around two million sites and reaches over 90 percent of global internet users, making it the ideal platform for a retargeting campaign.

Of course, you don’t just have to remarket to users who have left your site without purchasing a product. You can also target existing customers. They may be interested in doing business with you again!

3. Utilize Custom Audiences on Facebook

Personalizing your company’s PPC ads doesn’t have to be a complex, time-consuming process. With the Custom Audiences tool from Facebook, you can build highly-targeted ads in as little as a few minutes.

To create a Custom Audience, all you need to do is follow these simple steps:

  1. Log into the Facebook Ads Manager.
  2. Click the Menu button and select Audiences.
  3. Choose Create a Custom Audience
  4. Select a Custom Audience source
  5. Follow the on-screen prompts
  6. Hit the Create Audience button

Facebook allows you to pull your Custom Audience from a variety of different sources, like:

  • People who have attended one of your events
  • Users who filled out a lead form
  • People who use your mobile app, and
  • Users who watch your Facebook videos

Once you have built your Custom Audience, you can create advertisements that precisely target their needs and preferences.

Personalized PPC Ads – Prohibited Activity

Personalized PPC ads offer companies like yours an excellent return on investment. However, if you choose to run them, you must ensure you do not inadvertently violate any user privacy laws or policies.

To avoid running afoul of the rules, you should generally avoid running ads that:

  • Collect or contain personally identifiable information
  • Share or gather location data without user consent
  • Use narrow or excessively specific remarketing lists
  • Imply knowledge of sensitive user information, or
  • Target users based on their health, religion, or sexual orientation 

If your ads violate a privacy rule, you may lose access to your account or face a sizable fine.

Need PPC Advertising Help? Contact the Experts at FZA Digital Today! 

Do you need help personalizing your organization’s PPC strategy? If so, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with FZA Digital. Our marketers have been helping companies like yours drive sales online for years, and we are ready to do the same for you!

To speak with a member of our team, all you need to do is pick up your phone and give us a call at (424) 232-0810 or contact us online. We look forward to hearing from you!

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Why Your Dealership’s Website Needs a Callback Widget

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Do you want your dealership’s website to drive more sales and generate more leads? If so, you may want to consider installing a callback widget.

What is a Callback Widget?

A callback widget is a tool you can add to your website that allows users to request a phone call from one of your team members. It typically asks users to provide basic information such as:

  • Their name
  • Their phone number, and
  • Their reason for requesting a call

Callback widgets are generally easy to install. In most cases, they do not require any substantial changes to your website.

The Benefits of Callback Widgets

There are lots of reasons why you should install a callback widget on your dealership’s website, such as:

More Leads

Every month, hundreds if not thousands of users visit your website. They do so to find out more about your vehicles. This is usually the first step in a customers car buying journey. What do they do when they have a question your site doesn’t answer?

They leave. Some turn to trusted industry sources like Kelley Blue Book or Autotrader. Others seek information from your competitors.  If they are in a purchasing mode, and not just researching then they may want to speak with a representative to ask questions, schedule a test drive, or more. Prevent them from leaving, and make it extremely simple for them to contact you. Callback widgets help you do just that.

Once you add the widget to your site, shoppers can simply click to give them a call to answer their questions. No need to look elsewhere.  This process makes life easier for users and helps you turn lost customers into warm leads.

The Opportunity to Up-Sell

The primary objective of a callback widget is to get prospective buyers on the phone with your salespeople. These calls are an excellent opportunity for your team to learn more about the customer’s needs.

For example, a shopper might request a call to ask some questions about the safety features in the 2017 Toyota Camry. However, while speaking to your salesperson, they might reveal they need financing or want to buy an extended warranty.  Your salesperson can use this information to up-sell the buyer, increasing the revenue your dealership generates from the sale of the Camry.

Enhanced Customer Experience

Callback widgets aren’t just great tools for generating leads and boosting your dealership’s revenue. Buyers also love them because they give them the ability to:

  • Learn more about products without needing to trawl the web
  • Speak to representatives without having to wait on hold, and
  • Arrange phone calls for a time that fits into their busy schedule

With so many benefits, it’s no surprise, 61 percent of users found click-to-call tools very or extremely important in a recent Google study.

Fast Ring – A Callback Widget from fusionZONE

Now that you know a bit more about the benefits of callback widgets, you might be about to begin searching for the right one for your website. If so, you’re in luck. You have already come to the right place.

The FastRing tool from fusionZONE is the perfect callback widget for your dealership. It includes an administrative portal with 24/7 access to your call data. FastRing offers tons of exciting features you and your customers will love, such as:

  • Call Routing: Ring one agent, or a group of agents
  • Keep Your Phone Number: No need to display random phone numbers to your customers.
  • Real-Time Statistics: See what’s going on in your business right now
  • Source Control: Add new sources whenever you need to

With all the features offered in FastRing, there’s simply no reason to look at any other callback widget.

Contact fusionZONE Today to Add FastRing to Your Website

Would you like to learn more about how fusionZONE’s callback widget can take your dealership to the next level? If so, please do not hesitate to give us a call at (424) 232-0728 or contact us online. We’ll be happy to answer your questions and provide you with all the info you need to know!

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4 Ways to Engage Social Media Followers During the Holidays

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4 Ways To Engage with Your Social Media Followers During the Holidays

4 Ways to Engage Social Media Followers During the Holidays

Would you like to maximize your sales this holiday season? If so, stay engaged with your social media followers. Here’s why:

  • 54 percent of browsers use social media to research products.
  • People spend an average of two hours and 25 minutes per day on social media apps.
  • 49 percent of Millenials and 54 percent of Gen Z say social media is their preferred advertising channel.
  • 87 percent of Instagram users say they have taken a specific action (like making a purchase) after seeing product info on their feed.
  • 71 percent of consumers who have had a positive interaction with a company on social media are likely to recommend the brand to their friends and family.

There are tons of ways you can engage with your company’s social media followers during the holidays. The following four are among the most effective:

1. Go Live

Live streams are one of the quickest ways to engage with your company’s followers during the holidays. All you need to do is log into your Facebook or Instagram account and tap the “Live” button.

The following live stream ideas are sure to get your audience talking:

  • A Visit from Santa: Dress up as Santa Claus and deliver a holiday message on behalf of your company. Ask your viewers what gifts they hope to receive this year.
  • A Message of Thanks: In the run-up to Thanksgiving, go live to tell your customers how thankful you are for their business. Be sure to take a moment to ask them what they’re grateful for as well!
  • Holiday Cooking: Live stream your attempt at cooking the holiday meal. Even if you burn the turkey, your followers are sure to enjoy the show!

When you go live, try to remain upbeat and avoid long periods of silence. If your followers feel like you aren’t into it, they are unlikely to engage. Don’t underestimate the value video marketing can bring to your business!

2. Host a Giveaway

The holidays are a time for giving, and your company is sure to be the talk of the town if you host a giveaway for your social media followers.

You can, of course, give gifts to your audience at random. However, you’re likely to generate a lot more engagement if you ask users to answer a quiz question or like and share an image to enter the giveaway. 

It is generally best to give away some of your company’s own products as prizes. However, if your products are a little too expensive to gift, you may also give away accessories or vouchers for local restaurants.

For additional ideas on customer appreciation events for car dealerships, visit our fusionZONE blog!

3. Team Up with a Local Charity

Don’t limit your attempts to engage with people on social media to only your own followers. Your company can reach even more users by teaming up with a local charity.

Of course, your charitable partnership can’t be all about driving new sales for your company. It should be about helping the charity serve the people in your community.

You can achieve this goal in the following ways:

  • Profit Sharing: Tell your followers you will donate a percentage of every sale you make during the holiday season to the charity. Your charitable partner can also share the big news on their accounts.
  • Supply Drives: Does the charity need clothes or canned goods to help them serve the local community? If so, consider launching a supply drive on social media. Provide your followers with regular updates to keep them engaged.
  • Donation Matching: Americans love donating money to charity over the holidays. Let your social media followers know you will match any donations they make to your charitable partner during the festive season. Be sure to thank anyone who donates!

If you team up with a local charity, be sure to communicate with its social media team regularly. Doing so will ensure everybody is on the same page throughout the season.

4. Share a Recipe

Do you have an old family recipe for latke or pumpkin pie? If so, consider sharing it with your followers on Facebook.

A simple text post is the easiest way to get your recipe out into the world. However, you will receive a lot more engagement if you take some time to put together a festive infographic filled with ingredients and instructions.

If your followers enjoy your recipe, your company is sure to be a hot topic of conversation during family meals over the holidays. Remember, social media posting is also about community building and engagement, not just immediate sales and revenue boosts.

When sharing your post on Facebook, don’t forget to ask your followers to share their favorite holiday recipes in the comments, and be sure to take a moment to reply to the best ones!

Contact the Social Media Marketing Experts at FZA Digital Today!

Do you need help engaging with your social media followers? If so, don’t hesitate to reach out to the experts at FZA Digital! We have been helping companies like yours drive sales and generate leads online for years. We know how to succeed on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

To learn more about our services, all you need to do is pick up the phone and give us a call at (424) 232-0810 or contact us online.

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4 Ways to Up Your Dealership’s PPC Game

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4 Ways to Up Your Dealership's PPC Game

4 Ways to Up Your Dealership’s PPC Game

Do you use pay-per-click (PPC) advertising to market your car dealership? If so, you have most likely found it to be an effective way to drive people to your website and generate leads for your sales team.

Unfortunately, unless you are an experienced marketer, you are probably leaving a lot of money on the table. Small inefficiencies and oversights in your PPC campaigns may be costing you thousands of dollars per year in lost revenue.

Luckily, you can eliminate these inefficiencies and take your dealership’s PPC campaigns to the next level by following these four (4) tips:

1. Include Negative Keywords in Your PPC Campaigns

When setting up your PPC campaigns, you probably spend a great deal of time selecting your keywords. However, if you want to maximize your ROI, take a moment to add negative keywords to your ad campaigns as well.

Negative keywords give you the ability to exclude search terms from your PPC campaign. They can help you avoid paying for clicks that are unlikely to turn into paying customers.

For example, if your dealership only sells used cars, you may want to add “new” as a negative keyword in your PPC campaigns. Doing so will ensure your ads do not appear for individuals searching for “new cars for sale.” It will allow you to focus your efforts on customers who want to purchase a preowned vehicle.

2. Experiment with Different Ad Types

When people hear the term “PPC advertising,” they tend to think of search ads. These ads appear as hyperlinked search results when a user enters a specific query or phrase into Google or Bing.

Many dealerships use search ads exclusively in their PPC campaigns.

However, there are other types of PPC ads available, such as:

  • Display Ads
  • Video Ads
  • Gmail Sponsored Ads
  • Local Service Ads

If you want to take your car dealership’s PPC campaigns to the next level, you should experiment with these alternative ad types. You may find your target market is more responsive to images or videos than they are to the traditional search ad.

3. Make Retargeting a Part of Your PPC Campaigns

Most dealerships think of PPC advertising as a way to drive new people to their website. They aren’t wrong. Platforms like Google Ads are a superb way to generate unique web traffic.

However, PPC advertising also gives you the ability to target repeat business and bring shoppers who previously visited your site back for a second or third look. This process is known as retargeting.

Boost your PPC advertising ROI by launching a retargeting campaign. Here’s why:

  • Website visitors who view retargeted ads are 43 percent more likely to convert into customers.
  • The click-through rate (CTR) of retargeted ads is around ten times higher than the CTR of a typical ad.
  • About 30 percent of shoppers have a positive reaction to retargeted ads. Only 11 percent of users have negative feelings about them.

In short, retargeting can reduce your cost of acquisition and increase your revenue.

Most car dealerships find Google Ads to be the most effective retargeting platform. However, you can also generate positive results on Facebook or LinkedIn.

4. Create Customized Landing Pages for Your PPC Ads

Convincing shoppers to click on your PPC ads is only half the battle. Once you get them to your website, you also have to persuade them to give you a call or send you a message.

The number of calls and emails you receive will depend on the strength of your landing page. If you send interested users to a model research page, you will probably generate a few leads. However, if you send shoppers to a custom-built landing page, you will achieve more impressive results.

Your landing page should typically include the following elements:

  • Images: Shoppers want to see high-quality pictures of your cars from a variety of different angles.
  • Unique Selling Points: A bulleted list of the most exciting features in the vehicle is very enticing to buyers.
  • Promotions: Can customers get a $1,000 rebate when they buy the car? If so, tell them on your landing page.
  • Call to Action: A compelling call to action could be the difference between a shopper calling your dealership or leaving your website without reaching out.

You might also want to include the answers to frequently asked questions on your landing pages. Doing so will ensure users don’t have to leave your site to find more information before giving you a call.

Need Help with Your Dealership’s Next PPC Campaign? Contact the Experts at FZA Digital Today! 

Would you like to have the experienced marketers at FZA Digital help you take your PPC ad campaigns to the next level? If so, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (424) 232-0810 or contact us online. Our skilled team knows how to generate leads online, and we look forward to adding your name to our long list of satisfied customers.

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3 Digital Marketing Techniques to Create Customers For Life

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3 Digital Marketing Techniques to Create Customers For Life

3 Digital Marketing Techniques to Create Customers For Life

Most companies think of digital marketing as a means of generating new customers. Their belief is not wrong. Tactics like PPC advertising, search engine optimization, and social media marketing are all excellent ways of creating first-time buyers.

However, companies that only use digital marketing to acquire brand new shoppers are missing out on the opportunity to create repeat customers.

The Benefits of Repeat Business

Repeat shoppers are much more valuable to organizations like yours than one-time customers. Here’s why:

  • Repeat customers spend 67 percent more than new buyers.
  • Around 61 percent of small and medium businesses report more than half of their revenue comes from repeat customers.
  • It costs five times more to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one.
  • A five percent increase in a company’s customer retention rate can increase its profitability by up to 75 percent.
  • Repeat customers refer 50 percent more potential shoppers than one-time clients.

In short, repeat buyers can boost your company’s profitability and ensure it continues to thrive for many years to come.

How to Create Repeat Customers with Digital Marketing

The following digital marketing tactics may help you generate more repeat business for your organization:

1. Engage with People on Social Media

If you want customers to keep coming back to your business, you need to stay at the top of their minds at all times. Engaging with them on apps like Facebook and Instagram is the perfect way to do just that.

There are a wide variety of ways you can connect with your customers on social media, such as:

  • Share Behind the Scenes Content: Letting clients get to know your team members or see how you make your products may make them feel more connected to your company. That connection can quickly turn them into repeat customers.
  • Hold Competitions: Social media competitions and giveaways are a superb way to ensure your company makes regular appearances on your customers’ feeds. The winners will think of your business each time they look at their prize.
  • Share Interesting Information: Teaching your audience about your sector will make them think of your organization as trustworthy and knowledgeable.

These tactics are relatively simple. However, they ensure your company is the first to come to mind the next time your audience needs a product you offer, turning one-time buyers into repeat customers.

2. Send Offers to Your Customers via Email

When an individual buys one of your products or services, you most likely send them an email to thank them for their business. However, your email correspondence with your buyers should not stop there.

If you want them to return to your company in the future, you should also include special discounts, promotions, and other offers on a regular basis.

When writing these marketing emails, keep the following tips in mind:

  • Be Personal: Including the customer’s name and basing their offers on products they have already purchased will increase your odds of turning them into a repeat shopper.
  • Keep It Short: Customers are unlikely to give your emails more than a few minutes of their attention. As such, avoid writing excessively long emails.
  • Include a Compelling Call to Action: Your marketing emails should always include a clear and compelling call to action. Without it, your readers may not know how to take advantage of their offer.

Of course, you should never spam your buyers with marketing emails. One or two messages per week will usually suffice.

3. Launch a Retargeting Ad Campaign

Whether your company sells cars, clothing, or chocolate, your customers will eventually have to purchase a replacement product.

If you run an automotive dealership, this need will likely arise a few years after the initial sale. If you operate a confectionery store, it could happen in as little as a couple of days.

You can turn one-time buyers into repeat customers by figuring out when they will need a replacement product based on engaging with your brand, then advertising it to them during that time. This process is known as retargeting.

There are tons of platforms that will allow you to retarget your customers in this way. However, most organizations find that running a campaign on Google Ads is the most effective option.

Retargeting campaigns can take quite a while to set up. However, they are one of the most effective means of creating repeat customers, so they are well worth the time investment.

Need Some Help? Contact the Knowledgeable Marketers at FZA Digital!

Do you need some help managing your company’s social media accounts or creating your next remarketing campaign? Then please do not hesitate to get in touch with the team at FZA Digital. We have years of experience in the digital marketing space and know what it takes to succeed online.

To talk to one of our helpful representatives, all you need to do is give us a call at (424) 232-0810 or contact us online. We look forward to working with you! 

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Website Navigation Best Practices for Car Dealers

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website navigation best practices

Let’s say Honda, Nissan, or Kia was running ads for a new vehicle.  Your dealership has that vehicle on the car lot.  A potential buyer sees the ad and gains interest in the vehicle.  They grab their phone, do a search for “Honda dealership near me”, and find your website.  What is their visit like?  How was the user experience? Does your website guide them down the path to eventually purchasing?  Did you follow website navigation best practices?

Mike and Charles tackle the combination of user experience and website navigation in the automotive industry.

 

It’s important to keep in mind the users behavior, search intent, and overall experience. A proper user experience is imperative to the generation of the lead.  It is usually the difference between good service and bad service regardless of the industry.

In the automotive industry, the website user experience can make or break a new car sale.  

7 User Experience Tips For Better Website Engagement

  1. Provide Helpful Internal Links.
    The user is likely researching vehicles and so you want to link to resources that can help with the experience.  Links to financing, to test drive videos, reviews, are helpful links.  You may want to link to the OEM, and other resources that will help the user, and add SEO value to your website.Don’t confuse links with call to actions.  These internal links should help inform the user, but not take away from the main CTA’s. 
  2. Improve The Content Flow.
    You can determine what pages get the most traffic on your website with tools like Google Analytics.  More importantly, you can learn which pages lead to new car sales.  For example, a website visitor could land on your website home page from a Google search for “Honda dealership near me” or a similar term.  From the home page, they may visit your search page and begin looking at vehicles.  After selecting a vehicle, they’ll end up on that vehicle page. With this basic level of understanding about your website traffic, you can improve the way your content flows and cater it to the user experience.  Once the visitor is on the vehicle page, we continue to guide them with call to actions like schedule a test drive, or get financing.The content should guide the website visitor down the path you want them to take.Keep in mind that most of these actions will likely be taken with the swipe and tap of the users thumb, on their mobile device.  Using buttons and strategic links makes this process easier. 
  3. Limit Plug-ins & Pop Ups.
    You want to provide a helpful experience to the user.  When the website has too many distractions, it can become intrusive.  It is similar to dining at a restaurant and dealing with your waiter.  A good waiter will observe from a distance and then provide service when the time is right.  They’ll wait until your cup is almost empty before refilling.  They won’t interrupt you mid bite to ask you a question.  Your website user experience should be similar.  We all hate random newsletter subscription pop ups. These additional website features can help with conversions when used properly.  Overuse will deter website visitors from engaging and slow your website down which is detrimental to your search engine optimization. 
  4. Simple Navigation.
    When discussing user experience, it normally starts with the website navigation.  This is the main website menu that accesses most of, if not all of the website pages.  Website navigation best practices have grown and changed over the years.  Now, we have mega menus that do a great job of highlighting different website sections.  We have drop downs, and fly out menus, that work well on desktops. The challenges with website navigation tend to happen on mobile devices.  Expandable menus, sub menus, and the like become a hassle when using your fingers and thumbs. We’ve actually released a new product called Nav. 2.0.It was designed to address the common website navigation mistakes that most businesses make.  It has built in features that make navigating the website easier for the user.  One of my favorite features will lock the background when the menu is expanded.  This forces the user to choose a menu option, and not accidentally click on any elements on the page.The reality is, good navigation on a website will easily guide visitors to the pages they are looking for.
  5. Audit Your Menu Regularly.
    While on the subject of navigation, be sure to audit your menus.  Some websites may have a few different menus.  A top menu, main menu, sidebar menu, footer menu, and more.  These menus will contain pages that may need to be adjusted.  If your menu includes event pages that would promote coming events, be sure its updated.  If you all aren’t having events, remove the page.  Update the about page, or history page, with the latest company information.  Be sure to present content by order of importance. When auditing the menu, you’re checking to make sure that the pages are accurate, up to date, and there are no broken links.  The flow of pages is consistent with the overall goal you want to reach. 
  6. Focus On Speed.
    The speed of the website has a direct impact on the user experience. How fast does this website load?  How quickly can I navigate through it?  How long does it take me to find what I’m looking for?  Did it guide me down the path I needed to take? Positive answers to those questions will inherently mean that the website user experience is great.We can’t move on from speed without mentioning Google. Page speed is so important to ranking that they have tools and services that audit how fast your website is, and what could make it faster.  Page speed and user experience are key factors to improving search engine rankings.
  7. Use Videos.
    Video is the fastest way to share information with website visitors.  Video has more engagement than plain text.  When considering giving the user the best experience, we know video is the primary tool.  When speaking of the automotive industry, walk around videos, and test drive videos, and even testimonial videos definitely help the user experience.Wheels TV is a video add on product we offer to certain dealerships.  It allows us to add high quality, manufacturer specific videos, to each dealership website.  They are branded, load extremely fast, and provide a ton of value. Aside from increasing on page engagement, video has other SEO benefits as well.

The website user experience is directly affected by the navigation.  Be sure to follow website navigation best practices when improving your user experience.

If your dealership, repair shop, or body shop is having website challenges, be sure to schedule an appointment with us.  

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Improve Your Automotive Customer Journey With A Better Experience

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How drivers shop for vehicles is changing everyday.  The automotive customer journey is not the same today as it was before.  The internet is the obvious game-changer.

 

Mike Silva, Director of Operations (Digital), and Charles Lewis, Digital Marketing Strategist of fusionZONE discuss improving automotive customer journey. 

However, certain aspects of car buying, like sales consultants and financing, will be in place for years to come.  Newer internet-born companies like Carvana are focused on the percentage of buyers who don’t want much human interaction.  

The reality is, we’re decades away from a fully automated car buying experience being the default way to purchase a car.  

Right now (and the foreseeable future) includes most potential buyers still visiting dealerships, test driving, asking questions, and then making a purchasing decision.  

So, how do you create a better automotive customer experience? Let’s look at the customer first.  

According to the New York Times, “millennials purchased 32% of vehicles in 2020, and are twice as likely to buy online”.  It’s safe to say the other 68% of vehicle buyers are a combination of GenX, GenZ, and Boomers. 

Here’s why customer experience matters: Customers don’t care as much about price, so you can’t just sell solely on that.  You must give them a reason to return so you can boost CSI scores, online reviews, and other social proof, as most consumers know what they are buying before they visit the store.  

Keep in mind that customer experience and customer expectations are closely related.  Mobile and contactless options have become normal during the COVID pandemic.  Your dealership should build on those new innovations as things continue to get back to normal.

What is the description of today’s car buyer?  A male or female Millennial or GenXer, well informed about the vehicle they are interested in, and likely to communicate online at some point during the transaction.  How can we improve the car buying customer journey?

automotive customer journey

8 Tips For A Better Automotive Customer Experience

  1. Customer Appreciation Events. Schedule events throughout the year for new buyers to get to know their vehicles better with on-site help, refreshments, upgrade opportunities, and even live entertainment. Live events also help tremendously with digital marketing efforts.  You can assist your SEO by posting links to your website about the live event that others can link to.  We all know that live video performs much better than recorded video on social media, so be sure to “go live” at the appreciation event.
  2. Service Drive Perks. Obviously, you need to have Wifi, coffee, water, and refreshments.  Also consider nail salons, video games for kids, or even meeting rooms for corporate and business clients.  The service drive also presents the best opportunities to discuss vehicle trade-ins.
  3. Consistent Branding. Make sure your dealership matches your website.  The offline and online experience should be visually aligned.  Use images and video of the store front and vehicles on the lot.  Whatever specials are posted on the website should have signage in store. You want to make customers aware of all your trade programs and incentives.
  4. Mobile Services. If resources and logistics are available, offer mobile options such as driveway delivery, offsite test drives, onsite oil changes, pick-up and delivery brake repairs and tune-ups.
  5. Incentivize Vehicle Repairs. Offer discounted vehicle repairs during slow periods.  Create contests and other social options to win free services and branded merchandise.  These strategies also help increase your social media followers, likes, and subscribers.  We provide our dealership clients with FastCoupon. It helps you sell more by offering quick and easy to use discounts.
  6. Improve Online Experience.  A white paper by CDK Global states that “[Millennials] spend more than 17.6 hours shopping for cars online before ever stepping foot on the lot”.  This means the use of video is more important than ever.  If your dealership doesn’t have test drive videos or content about your cars, ask about our Wheels TV website plugin.  We can help give the experience they are looking for.
  7. Communicate With Messaging. The reality is, digital marketing is likely a key component of how the car buyer found you.  Be open to communicating entirely through text message, Facebook private message, Instagram DM or Twitter mentions.  We also know that most of the research happens on the car dealership website. Offering an online chat feature is a great way to communicate with interested website visitors.  Ask about our ConnectChat website chat solution that is powered by real people.
  8. Improve Transparency.  The most challenging part about the car buying process is usually financing.  It’s the negotiation process with the sales representatives, then the follow-up with finance managers, before finally getting to a price much higher (due to fees, taxes, etc.) than originally negotiated.  It only gets more complicated when including a trade-in.  Our developers have created online tools to solve this problem.  FastLane Leads is one of our flagship products that seamlessly streamlines the entire process (including a soft credit pull, trade-in value, and payment arrangements), and integrates directly into your dealership website.

Depending on the size of your dealership, you may be able to take action on some, if not all, of these tips to improve your automotive customer journey.  We’d love to see you succeed. Please comment below with what problems your dealership is experiencing with customers, or contact us to discuss the digital marketing solutions for your dealership.

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How to Market Electric Vehicles Online

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How to Market Electric Vehicles Online

Electric cars and trucks are more popular than ever before in the US. Data from Experian indicates Americans registered 133,509 new EVs in the first four months of 2021 alone – a 95 percent increase over the previous year.

But how can you convince motorists to purchase your electric vehicle over the ones available at competing dealerships? Through the magic of digital marketing, of course!

Let’s take a look at some of the best ways to market your EVs online.

Search Engine Optimization

  • When a driver decides they want to buy an electric vehicle, they are likely to head to Google to search for one of the following phrases:
    • “Electric vehicles for sale near me”
    • “Best electric cars under [PRICE]”
    • “[EV1] vs. [EV2]”
    • “Electric vehicle tax credits”
    • “How to charge electric cars?”
  • If you want to increase the chances of them choosing to do business with your dealership, you will need to make sure your site appears near the top of the search results for these phrases. You may accomplish this objective by optimizing your website for search.
  • To optimize your dealership’s site for EV-related keywords, all you need to do is follow these steps:
    1. Choose the keywords you wish to target. Tools like Ubersuggest and Long Tail Pro can help you with this step.
    2. Publish information-rich content on EV-related topics. Insert keywords into your posts in a natural way.
    3. Add EV keywords to the headlines and descriptions on relevant pages.
    4. Build backlinks from reputable websites. Guest blogging is one of the best ways to generate these links.
    5. Reduce your loading times. Compressing images and reducing the use of redirects can speed up your site.
    6. Ensure your website is mobile-friendly. Enter your URL into Google’s testing tool for a detailed analysis. 
  • Taking these six steps will show Google your site is trustworthy and full of useful EV-related information. As a result, it’ll be much more likely to send interested shoppers in your direction.

PPC Advertising

  • Want to start generating new electric car sales as soon as tomorrow? PPC (pay-per-click) advertising may be the answer. 
  • Google Ads is by far the largest PPC advertising platform in the world. Its ads generated about $300 billion in sales for companies across the globe in 2020. As such, you may wish to focus your efforts there. 
  • When creating a PPC ad for the electric vehicles on your lot, you would be wise to keep the following advice in mind:
    • Write in the second person. “Find your new electric car here” is likely to perform better than “We have a wide range of electric cars.”
    • Include relevant keywords. As a general rule, you should try to have your main keyword appear at the start of your headline and again in your description.
    • Outline the benefits of electric vehicles. Tell users how switching to an EV can save them money and reduce their carbon footprint.
    • Include relevant facts and figures. A phrase like “save up to $200 a month on gas by switching to an EV” is sure to draw attention to your ad.
    • Add a compelling call to action. Tell users what step they should take next to purchase one of your electric cars.
  • Once you are happy with your ad, set it to run in the areas your customers call home during the hours your showroom is open.
  • When your ad goes live, don’t forget to monitor its performance and make edits as necessary.

Social Media Marketing

  • 54 percent of people use social media apps like Facebook and Instagram to research products they would like to buy. If you can help them with the research process, they might decide to do business with your dealership. 
  • You can provide social media users with information about your EVs in the following ways:
    • Live Videos: Live videos are an excellent way to give users a tour of your electric vehicles. Be sure to answer any questions you receive during your stream.
    • Product Photos: High-quality interior and exterior images can give shoppers some insight into the look and feel of your EVs before they arrive at your showroom.
    • Reviews: Did a previous customer love one of the features in your EV? Sharing their review on social media can help to highlight the best things about the car.
    • Comments: You will receive lots of questions in the comments of your EV-related posts on social media. Providing detailed answers can give shoppers the confidence to take the next step in the purchasing process.
  • You can also drive electric car sales by letting your social media followers know about the incentives and discounts you currently offer.

Need Help Marketing Your EVs Online? Contact the Experts at FZA Digital!

  • Would you like a team of experienced marketing professionals to help you promote your electric vehicles online? Then please don’t hesitate to reach out to FZA Digital! We have been assisting auto dealerships like yours with their marketing needs for years – so we know what it takes to succeed.
  • Call (424) 232-0810 or fill out our online contact form to talk to a member of our team today!

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