Internet Marketing Tips for Car Dealers – The Dealer Geek

The Dealer Geek gets an Extreme Makeover!

by Ryan Thompson on December 8, 2012

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Is this even the same blog?

After reaching 2 years in the blogosphere, I felt that The Dealer Geek needed a fresh new makeover before we head into the new year.

A lot of people ask me how I can make a WordPress site look so unique and different then the Plain Jane “out of the box” blogs they are so used to reading.

Here is my secret…..

I have little to no website design skills. Writing HTML code is something I really have no interest in learning.

What I love doing, is writing content that is going to help car dealers across Canada and the United States. There are many different platforms you can use for your business’s blog but I’ve been very successful with WordPress, and more specifically the Thesis Theme.

MY REAL SECRET WEAPON IS A GUY NAMED BRENDAN WENZEL

I met Brendan through some online research I was doing on Contest Marketing. It was actually my first ever blog post on TDG, you can read it here; “How to run a social media campaign with Contest Burner” (the only comment was from Grant Cardone).

Brendan is an on-line marketing whiz kid from the U.S.A. who has escaped the 9-5 grind and setup shop in Costa Rica. There Brendan is obsessed with surfing every day and starting online businesses.

My obessions is producing content and helping dealers. Brendan makes things kick ass on-line. It was an easy decision to outsource the design. I see too many car dealers with hideous blogs. If you don’t have the time to learn web design, OUTSOURCE IT! [click to continue…]

Does Social Media Sell Cars? w/Paul Potratz – Recorded Webinar

by Ryan Thompson on November 10, 2012

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When Paul Potratz agreed to host a webinar for the new series I’m producing with Kijiji, I was super excited.

A lot of dealers have been asking me how Social Media is supposed to help them sell cars. Paul is the man on this topic, so I knew I had to reach out to him. Let’s get these dealers some answer for once and for all!

Twitter feed was loving the webinar

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Canadian Website Vendor Review: How does your vendor display used cars?

by Ryan Thompson on November 4, 2012

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I’ve been getting a lot of dealers ask me which CANADIAN website vendor should they go with AND who is the best? This is such a complex answer that I don’t really know where to start…… so I decided to explore the used inventory.

SEO, CRM, Blogging platforms, and Lead Management systems are not included in this post. This is simply my favorite, the good old bread and butter of dealer leads……. The Used Car Inventory

I took 3 separate screenshots from 7 of Canada’s most popular Dealer Website Vendors. This way you can easily compare each vendors search results and display pages to decide what will work for your store.

Some things to consider when talking to your vendor about conversions (HOW MANY VISITORS SUBMIT AN INQUIRY ON A USED CAR):

How long are the forms? This can prevent the visitor from filling out the form completely if it takes too long.
How many different type of leads can your VDP generate? (Best Price, Test Drive, Credit Application, CarProof)
How do these pages look on an IPAD?
What does the mobile version of the site look like? Pull the Iphone and see for yourself.

Used Car Section is your money pages!

If you check your Google Analytics (you do have those right?) you will notice that used car inventory is always in the top 3 of the most popular pages. If you don’t believe me see for yourself. I’m guessing your Used/New Vehicle specials pages also attract a lot of attention. [click to continue…]

Webinar: Does Social Media Sell Cars?

by Ryan Thompson on October 8, 2012

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After hosting my first ever Webinar with Kijiji Autos, I am officially hooked on using this platform to share content. I have attended dozens of Webinars over the last few years and am excited to finally be in the game. You can view the slides from the debut here: Writing Ads for Classified Sites that Work!

We had over 70 car dealers across Canada and the U.S.A. tune in for the first edition! This really inspired me to keep cranking out content and working with other industry pros to make sure Canadian Car Dealers were on top of their game. I’m expecting those numbers to double after the feedback I received from the attendees.

Special thanks to Lewis Howes for putting out the Ultimate Webinar Marketing guide which was a fantastic crash course. I learned some great tips and tricks on using the Go To Webinar software in this E-Book.

I asked dealers what topics they would be interested in learning more about. Social Media for Car Dealers was top of the list, so I figured we should start there.

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Guest Post: Should My Dealership Invest In WalkAround Videos?

by Ryan Thompson on September 22, 2012

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Walk around videos have been around for a few years and are incredibly effective, but the process of creating these videos has been cumbersome, arduous and time-consuming…until now.

We’ve all heard that the Internet has changed everything. And it has, but not in the way you may think. Pretty much every dealership now has a dedicated Internet Sales Department or BDC who’s responsible for either selling vehicles through the Internet or driving those prospects into the dealership.

But just as everyone now believes in the power of the Internet to sell cars, the Internet has actually made it more difficult for dealers to distinguish themselves. From a buyer’s perspective, another dealership is just a click away. Dealers need a way to immediately capture the customer’s attention and differentiate themselves from their competition. Video does that, especially when everyone else is sending the same text-based auto-response emails.

Be different! With more people consuming video, dealers can use this ‘zero moment of truth’ to show each prospect how much they want their business by creating a personalized Walkaround Video just for them. There is no better way for a prospect to feel connected to the vehicle they inquired about than to have a personalized video of it in their inbox. [click to continue…]

Online Reputation Mangement Interview w/ Mitch Gallant

by Ryan Thompson on August 30, 2012

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Mitch Gallant is one of Canada's Brightest

Online Reputation management is something that The Dealer Geek nation is being sold, coached, and frightened into caring about. I thought who better than my main man Mitch Gallant, who works out of the Regina Ford Dealer Capital Ford to do a little Q & A with.

Q: Mitch, can you give our readers an overview of your position at Capital Auto Group?

You bet, my title is Director of Marketing and Communications. Under that umbrella I help our business development centre (BDC), our marketing team and our front end customer service folks do the best job they can each day, and oversee those 3 departments.

Q: How important is a dealer’s online reputation and how long have you been super focused on this for your stores?

I think that reputation in general has to be a priority and trying to divide your online from your offline reputation would be a messy thing, being that they’re one in the same thing. Customers are looking to make a purchase from a dealership they know will stand behind what they sell and make the ownership experience a pleasant one. Your online reputation is the easiest way for customers to get a feel for how their shopping and ownership experience will be and so I think it’s a critical part of dealership operations. For our dealers, we’ve always been focused on reputation but our online strategy has been in place for no more then 2 years. [click to continue…]

The Dealer Geek