Automotive digital marketing has the power to totally transform the car-buying experience. According to Aaron Krane, CEO of the auto platform Modal, modern car dealerships don’t actually have to sell anything—they just have to enable the customer to buy.

As an agency experienced in helping automotive brands like Michelin and Victory Motorcycles get better results by taking risks and staying ahead of marketing trends, we've put together four key tips to help bring in new customers and sell vehicles with greater ease than ever before.

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1. Online Reviews Are the New Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Online reviews certainly aren’t a new trend, but they’re more important than ever. So if you’re not pouring some serious time and energy into garnering online reviews—well, what are you waiting for? Most car buyers still head to the dealership when they’re ready to make a purchase. But before that point, they take to the internet to research their options. This means your online reviews could make or break you, and it’s time to take them seriously. Focus on bringing in a constant stream of new online reviews with these tips:

• Build your email list and ask customers to leave a review.
• Post window clings in your dealership to display your review sites.
• Ask buyers to post a review before they leave the dealership.
• Be active on review sites by responding to customers and aiming to please those who leave a negative review.

2. Beat the Competition with a Focus on SEO

Are you among the top search results on Google? If not, there’s your next project. Search engines are one of the first places car buyers head to learn about cars and find inventory, and the top hits get all the love. (Do you know anybody who scrolls past the first page of results? We don’t!)

Here are a few ways to boost your ranking in search engine results:

• Research keywords for your niche market.
• Build a Google Ads campaign and constantly monitor it to find ways to get better results.
• Create content for your website and include the top SEO keywords naturally in the copy.

3. Don’t Neglect Your Negative Keyword List

Google Ads can certainly be overwhelming to the novice or internal team—but one of the most important things you can do to optimize your results is to pay attention to your negative keyword list.

And what’s a negative keyword list, you ask? In short, this is a list of words that are not relevant to your business. For example, a keyword like “brand-new car” may be relevant to your ad, but a keyword like “new toy car” clearly is not. Yet your ad could show up as a result when someone searches the latter, and if the user clicks on the ad, you’ll still have to pay for it. Bum deal, right?

This is what makes negative keywords so important: By making them a focus of your Google Ad, you’ll avoid having to pay for clicks coming from people that aren’t actually shopping for a car.

4. Enhance Your Automotive Branding with Video Content Development

Your customers have plenty of options when it comes to buying their vehicle—especially with the rise of online car buying. Because of the fierce competition, branding is more important than ever, giving you a distinct way to set yourself apart from “the other guys.”

Video content development is a great way to build your brand and increase awareness, getting your name out to new potential customers. Why? Video content increases shares on social media by 1200% more than images and text. And a whopping 94% of marketers say videos help customers better understand their product or service.

Who knows? Start creating video content, and you just may have a viral post on your hands—which could take your success to unparalleled heights.

Hire an Automotive Digital and Creative Marketing Agency Today

Do you feel like you’re in over your head when it comes to automotive digital marketing? Let the pros take the wheel. Tattoo Projects is a creative ad agency that has helped brands like Michelin and Victory Motorcycles get better results by taking risks and staying ahead of marketing trends. Contact us today to learn how we can help you sell more cars with our innovative digital marketing strategies.