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Brian Pasch of PCG Digital Marketing is offering dealer professionals an in-depth review of automotive digital marketing strategies.  In his upcoming seminar scheduled for September 8^th at the Innovative Dealer Summit in Denver, Pasch will explain how some digital marketing methods are actually hurting a dealer’s own direct website traffic.

Pasch’s leadership message is entitled: “Car Dealers are Under Attack,” and dealer professionals will learn why at the Denver summit. Pasch will explain why some very popular inventory advertising models can actually drive traffic away from their own site, as well as how dealers can fight back against online attacks on their brand name.

Information is power, and according to Pasch, dealers will leave his seminar with the proper information needed to protect their digital marketing investments. Tim Jackson, director of the Innovative Dealer Summit, said, “Brian’s presentation will be very timely and one of the most popular and interesting of the conference.”

Innovative Dealer Summit

The Innovative Dealer Summit is considered one of the premier leadership functions for dealer advancement. Summit attendees will include dealer principals/owners, general managers, senior dealership managers and directors, Internet sales managers, business development managers, F&I managers, key dealership leaders, sales leadership, advertising and marketing consultants, controllers and other key decision makers.

Attendees will learn the latest in innovative technologies from seminars devoted to 30 emerging, compelling topics during the 12-hour conference. Topics include Internet strategies regarding search engine optimization, dealer reputation management, social media marketing, lead generation and follow-up, and more.

Brian Pasch, CEO and Founder of PCG Digital Marketing (http://www.pcgdigitalmarketing.com) is a popular speaker and writer on automotive digital marketing strategies.  He is an active blogger on the most visited social networks and forums for car dealers who seek to learn more about SEO, SEM, social media and leveraging the Internet to grow dealership sales.

Brian Pasch is also creator of the popular ASMA Awards (http://www.asmaawards.org) which recognizes the best digital marketing platforms in the automotive industry.
The Innovative Dealer Summit was created as a directive and priority of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association. For more information visit http://www.innovativedealersummit.com

I can imagine Austin Powers dressed in a blue velvet leisure suit saying:

It’s Social Media Baby!

If you haven’t noticed car dealers are being pushed off of Google Page One for the cars that they sell. To throw salt in the wounds, it seems that every month another car dealer “review site” pops up.

This means when consumers type in a car dealership name, more sites are vying to capture and suck the equity out of the brand.

In reality, many of these sites are just Google Adwords and banner advertising sites that are making money from optimizing website pages on a car dealer’s name.

There is nothing illegal about this and over 60% of car dealers are allowing their name to be leveraged for other people to profit from.

In the area of car dealer reviews, have you take a minute to see just how many websites seek to be the “authority” for car dealer reviews?

Here is a quick sample of the sites that I have found that want to be found in Google, Yahoo and Bing search for the phrase “Car Dealer Reviews” or “Auto Dealer Reviews”:

Car Dealer Specific SItes

• www.mydealerreport.com
• www.cardealercheck.com
• www.dealerrater.com
• www.cardealerreviews.org
• www.prestoreviews.com
• www.dealerscene.com
• www.dealershipratings.com
• www.carsdealersreview.com
• www.autodealerreviews.com
• www.dealerreviewer.com
• www.autodealerreviews.com
• www.edmunds.com

General Review Sites

• www.my3cents.com
• www.insiderpages.com
• www.yelp.com
• www.citysearch.com
• www.judysbook.com
• www.merchantcircle.com
• www.yellowbot.com
• www.switchboard.com
• www.superpages.com

Automotive IRM Confusion

The reason I bring this trend up on this blog is because it can be confusing for a car dealer to know where to focus their Automotive Internet Reputation Management strategies.  So let me give you some practical advice:

1. Look at your own Google Maps listing and see which review websites are being summarized on your Google Maps page.  Focus on getting positive reviews posted on these sites first.
2. Of course, getting posts directly on Google Maps should be a car dealers #1 priority because the “star” ratings are directly counted if a consumer posts on Google Maps.
3. Once you have seen which review sites are being summarized on your Maps listing,  focus on getting more reviews on those sites via email, calls and in store coaching.
4. To see if other sites are having an impact on your business, Google your exact business name and see which review sites are showing on Page One and Page Two.
5. Any sites on Page One or Page Two should get some attention to build positive reviews.

If a review website is not on Page One or Page Two, I would hold off investing any labor on these sites  until the steps listed above are complete.  Then, I would add positive reviews to the largest website vendors first and ignore the lesser sites that only have their own self interests in mind.

Summary:  There are hundreds of websites trying to capitalize on your car dealership name.  Don’t get overwhelmed and just focus on the most visible websites that appear for your car dealership name or the cars you sell in your PMA.

If you need help, call 732-450-8200.

Car dealers are turning to a second career to jumpstart their online sales: movie director.  Consumer engagement in social media coupled with the popularity of online review sites has forced car dealers to rethink their automotive advertising strategies.

Video production which was once was cost prohibitive for dealers to do themselves has now become an affordable tool for creative automotive professionals. In growing numbers, car dealers are turning to FlipCam video cameras to create video testimonials for their customers, walk around car videos and now a move to create social media viral videos.

These videos are being integrated into their websites, Google Maps, Facebook and loaded on popular video websites like YouTube to extend the reach of their brand.  Customer testimonial videos are becoming standard operating procedure as studies show that consumers trust their peers five times more than a statement from an automotive dealer. 

One of the newest place to leverage a car dealer’s video testimonials in on Google Maps.  I recommend that you load a new car, used car and service testimonial video to your Google Maps listings. 

You should also add 3 or  good photos of customers getting delivery of cars and delete those photos of your building.  When you enhance you Google Maps listings with positive eneergy, watch what happens to your click through statistics.

Pioneers in this field of FlipCam videos include Tim Jennings, Ken Beam, Christine Knowles, and a host of advance thinkers who have made their websites come alive with multimedia. 

Get Ready To Laugh

One of the rising stars in automotive videos is Acton Toyota who first made me laugh with their A++ Toyota Warranty videos that you can see on this link:  Toyota Extended Warranty

Toyota Dealer Shines for FlipCam

One innovative car dealers has been nationally recognized for their innovative videos using a FlipCam is Acton Toyota.  The Boston Toyota dealership was recently featured in the national magazine “Toyota Today” for their spoof videos that were inspired by the popular Mac vs PC TV commercials.

Acton Toyota had no previous film or editing experience yet their videos have attracted thousands of visitors to their websites. The recent article in Toyota Today highlights that car dealers are just beginning to embrace social media communications that include these creative viral videos.

With the ease of which the FlipCam can create videos, more car dealers should investigate how they can bring their static websites alive with tutorials, testimonials, better display of the cars they sell and warm introductions for the services they offer.

I would estimate that less that 10% of all car dealers in the United States have testimonial videos on their website or integrated into their social media processes.  He who acts first will increase their marketshare and brand awareness.  Are you ready?