Top 5 Readers’ Choice Articles of 2022

We often advise dealerships to assess their marketing efforts when planning for the new year: what worked, what didn’t, and why. In this same effort to search for successes this past year, we looked at our own content to identify what readers liked the most, and compiled them here in case you missed it (or you just wanted to reread our top tips). Dig in! More than 500 readers enjoyed these articles throughout the past year.

Most-read dealership marketing blog posts of 2022:

1. Struggling to Acquire Used Car Inventory? Marketing Can Help.

Inventory acquisition is a huge part of daily life at a dealership. Beginning in 2021, and dragging into 2022, we saw a shortage in used cars that made it almost impossible for dealerships to find the used cars they need. As cars are being sold faster than they can be replaced, many dealerships faced the challenge of keeping a decent-sized inventory.

Quick Tip: Expand your inventory search online; sites such as Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist cater to people looking to sell their old vehicle privately.

Read more to discover other strategies that may help as you begin your search for scarce inventory.

2. How to Maintain a Fixed Ops Marketing Strategy Pt. 2

Marketing isn’t a tool that can be easily neglected; it’s an ever-changing, strategic method of generating business. As you hit the road to create or adjust your service marketing strategy, it is important to keep maintenance in mind.

Quick Tip: Keep up with site maintenance by tracking KPIs on your landing pages. Once a customer gets to your landing page, watch out for your bounce rate, length of session, and conversions metrics.

Look back to the first part of this series, or dive into other important performance indicators to keep in mind when maintaining a fixed ops marketing strategy.

3. ABC’s of Dealership Marketing Pt. 1

There are several essential elements of dealership marketing that you can use in combination to achieve your desired results—they’re the ABC’s to any successful marketing plan. Covered in this article are the first half of these basics, starting with letter A and moving all the way to L.

Quick Tip: Advertising (the “A” in this fun series) is where a majority of your car buying market is going to hear about your inventory and services. Make sure that your market is receiving the right message from you!

Also, check out part two of the series, where we uncover the rest of the alphabet and ensure that your dealership’s marketing plan has all the necessary tools to create a comprehensive strategy.

4. How to Create a Newsletter People Will Actually Read (and Why You Should Want to)

If you feel that your newsletter might be lacking in “wow” factor, remember that you can build true value with consistency over time. A newsletter, done well, represents your best opportunity to regularly reach a targeted audience with specifically curated messaging – week after week, month after month, year after year – and there is a lot to be said for dependability.

Quick Tip: Quality content used in newsletters has the following characteristics: helpful and/or educational, timely, and actionable. Ask yourself if your content checks all these boxes.

Keep reading for the tools to create and maintain effective newsletter campaigns.

5. Guide to Effective Dealership Advertising on YouTube

There are so many possibilities when it comes to advertising your dealership on the internet. With search engines, social media, and customer reviews, it can be hard to create an advertising campaign, and even harder to ensure that it is reaching the right audience at the right time.

Quick Tip: Grabbing your audience’s attention from the get-go is vital when it comes to advertising on YouTube. If you don’t give viewers a reason to continue watching your ad within the first few seconds, they will press the skip button or zone out.

With over 2.5 billion users, read more on how advertising within YouTube has become an essential aspect of almost any marketing plan.

Data-driven marketing and dealership strategies are evolving every day, and we are so happy that you’ve followed us through the assortment of days that made up 2022. As the new year continues, we know that dealerships and customers alike are beginning to make meaningful decisions. We want to invite your dealership to consider if your current marketing strategy is achieving the results you desire, or… if it could use a revamp in 2023.