Can you believe it…2022 is just around the corner! With all the changes in the digital marketing world in 2021, we can only expect that we will continue to be adapting as we move into the new year. As we take a look back at this past year, Apple IOS updated their privacy settings to allow users to opt out of cross app tracking, Google got rid of their broad match modifier keywords, replacing them with phrase match keywords, and Facebook is no longer allowing advertisers to target users under 18 by interests or activity.

As we look towards next year, we have already been made aware of a couple new changes that will be instated. The digital world is constantly evolving and as marketers, businesses, and users of social media, we need to learn to adapt.

Extended Search Ads will be Retired

As of June 30, 2022, Google will not be allowing new extended search ads to be created. Campaigns that already have extended search ads implemented will be allowed to continue to run, pause, or remove those ads however, no additional ads in this category can be created or edited. Rather, Google is prioritizing responsive search ads as their go to ad format. Responsive search ads allow users to input multiple unique headlines and descriptions and Google randomly mixes and matches to find ideal combinations. This leaves more automation and optimization up to Google and less autonomy for the ads manager.

Although June 2022 seems like a long way away, it is important to consider this change now as campaigns created in the next 6 months may be impacted. If you are a fond user of extended search ads, it would be ideal to create any needed ads for the future sooner than later, as the ability to add and edit them will disappear. Alternatively, if you are already a responsive search ad user, nothing will be changing in the set up and run of these types of ads.

Removal of Google Cookies

Google is following suit with many other service providers including Safari, Firefox, and most recently Apple IOS by removing their cookie tracking. These changes are to provide the user with more control of their privacy settings and can choose to opt out of tracking across apps and websites. On the other hand, users can opt in to be tracked and therefore their cookie data will be available to utilize. If your business has or will be affected by the privacy updates that have taken effect in the last year, reach out to us or check out our latest blog to learn more about the cookie-less future! We can help you create campaigns to reach the right people in your area, while still abiding by audience preference for privacy.

Digital Retailing is the Future

It is not new that businesses had to learn to adapt to selling more inventory online during the pandemic. Evidently, this has changed the future of e-commerce and shopping across all sectors. In the automotive industry, dealerships are adapting and innovating to allow shoppers to skip or spend less time in the dealership by completing the car buying experience online. With companies like WebBuy, who are integrating digital retailing directly into a dealership’s current website, it is hard to pass up the opportunity to ease the experience for customers.

As we move into the new year, there will be more changes that arise, and as a digital society we will need to adapt to those changes. At Digital to Dealer Direct, we have a team of intelligent and diligent marketers who are learning and understanding the digital changes that are occurring in our world. We are on top of the 2022 digital marketing trends to provide you with the best advertising experience and success as possible. If you have any questions or would like to discuss how these and other trends will impact your business in the future, contact us today!

The Digital Dealer Conference in Las Vegas last week was a great reminder of an industry coming together to learn and grow like it hasn’t been able to in years. If you were in attendance, you might agree the primary focus was to align dealerships with an even faster changing industry of shortages, advertising limitations and digital retailing. This automotive world that we know is arguably facing one of the toughest eras, but many dealers are coming out ahead.

Dealerships, marketing professionals, and vendors from all over the country headed to Vegas October 11-14^th to take some time to reflect on this era, brainstorm the challenges and triumphs it has presented and acquire some tools for moving forward. Here is one instance where what happens in Vegas should definitely NOT stay in Vegas. Read this recap to get everything you missed!

Automotive Inventory Shortages

I know… I know, you certainly didn’t miss this memo and no, of course, you didn’t have to go to the conference to learn this. However, given this new world where we have no chips and cars are being assembled with nowhere to go until they just aren’t being assembled anymore, it’s time to do something about it. Here are the solutions: digital retailing to sell your in transit inventory and sell it to a much broader market area. Merchandising your used car inventory like never before. Did you know that 40+ images per vehicle have a 75% higher chance of conversion?

Where have all the Cookies Gone?

As if we aren’t dealing with enough right now, the internet has served up another challenge that has actually been ongoing over the past couple of years but could prove to hit it toughest point for advertising in the next year. Cookies – not the delicious chocolate chip kind, but the kind that lets us track online behaviors and target to those individuals have slowly been disappearing since 2017. If you’re an Apple user, or if your digital marketing agency has given you the heads up, one of the latest IOS updates eliminated cookies for these users following Safari in 2017 and Firefox in 2019. Looking ahead, Chrome plans to do the same in 2022 and all cookies are expected to be eliminated by 2023. Since this has been part of the mix slowly for a few years now, we have been handling the situation quietly and helping our clients understand what this means and what we can do, and it seems the information coming from the conference was right in line with what we’ve been saying for years.

Right now, this doesn’t necessarily mean a true disappearance of cookies. I’m sure you’ve gone online whether on your computer, tablet or phone and seen the little screen that pops up prompting you to accept the cookies for the website you’re visiting. The truth is most people DO accept these cookies. Here’s what studies have found over the last few years: people are willing to receive targeted ads relevant to what they want and like. So, the pool of users is still there it will just be a lot smaller. You’ll now get your pool of users from 1^st and 2^nd party data. Our company has been combing and collecting 1^st party data for our clients for quite some time now. Our ID Retargeting program allows you to see the actual people coming in to your website and market to them within minutes. This matches clicks with real people and can even tell you what car they have in their driveway right now. Your 2^nd party data will take a little leg work to obtain. You’ll have to partner with another company who collects their own 1^st party data and purchase it from them.

Show me the Money

Contrary to our winnings at the tables in Vegas, the money is flowing right now. Profits are up and reaching record levels for some dealers and manufacturers. This is one spot (and perhaps the most important) where this tough era is proving to be not so bad. Another more “tried and true” profit center is the service center. Our fixed ops digital marketing tactics have proven successful over the last few years, but there is always room for improvement and learning. Here a few quick tips we picked up at the conference:

• Add specific services to drop menu (popular services like oil change, warranty & recalls, etc.)
• Create a separate Fixed Ops YouTube channel
• Service Market Page > Service Details Page > Appointment page
• 70% of all ROs come from within 10 miles – local campaigns are important!!
• GMB categories – minimum of 10 and no overlapping categories

HELP WANTED

If you’ve been struggling to hire it might be time to consider an automated BDC tool. With plenty of vendors to choose from at the conference here are some highlights that might help you make the move. An automated BDC tool, or AI lead tool can help the sales team you do have eliminate a lot of wasted time. These tools with move leads through the funnel piping them in to your CRM as “hot leads” when they are ready and have requested to be contacted in return. This allows your team to spend less time digging through the trenches that can be that first lead alert and cut right to the good stuff.

For more information on anything you might have missed at Digital Dealer 2021, or for a little help tackling some of these tools above, contact us today!

If you’re running email campaigns as part of your automotive digital marketing strategy, you might be wondering how to get more out of your email marketing. There are some ways to improve email marketing success, and we’ve compiled them here for you.

UTILIZE YOUR SUBJECT LINE & PRE-HEADER TEXT

The subject line is going to be the first thing a client sees when they receive an email. This line is used to grab the user’s attention and make them want to click open. You want to release an offer that customers will not resist or give them some exciting news. For example – when it comes to dealership marketing, using a monthly payment, low APR finance rate, or an all-new vehicle announcement will prompt users to open the email.  These types of subject lines will work even better if you have a segmented email list that fits the buying habit of your customers.

Optimizing your pre-header text to support your subject line is another way to ensure open rates. Many users are opening on mobile, so having a pre-header text provides another reason to open. Using urgency or making this text personal is a plus!

HAVE A GRAPHICALLY PLEASING EMAIL

There are many different types of emails designs depending on who the target audience is. Some email designs have more text, and others are more graphic-based. No matter what kind of email you are sending out, you want to make sure that it draws in the audience. It should be clean, to the point with the messaging, include photos, interactive call to action buttons, and a continuous color theme.

MAKE SURE IT IS MOBILE-FRIENDLY

In today’s digital world, most people are checking their emails on their mobile devices. This is a key factor in creating an email. If your email does not fit the proper size for mobile, it is at risk of getting that automatic delete. People are served upwards of 300 plus emails per day. With that many incoming, you want yours to stand out while fitting nicely on the smaller screen. Each email needs to be effective for any device that it’s opened on.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ACCURATE LANDING PAGES & WORKING LINKS

Accurate landing pages that are linked are what’s going to keep the user on your website. You want each section of your email to link back to your website. The email will be the first step of your client interaction, but your landing pages will determine whether there will be more interaction or a possible sale. You want to make sure that your landing pages mimic what is in your email and provide the user with more information.

Every email that has HTML coded within it – needs to be tested properly before the official launch. If you have an email full of graphics, but broken links, it defeats the purpose of the email. Once you’ve sent yourself a test of the email, take your time to go through each link within the HTML. You want to test your emails with all campaigns, even if they are just text.

Tracking your links is going to be very beneficial for seeing what your users are doing. It gives you insight into what pages they are visiting, or if they click away from them. It helps with future campaigns and to see what is working, and what isn’t working. This coding and linking helps us as automotive digital marketers determine what works best for our client’s audience and improves overall conversion tracking.

TEST YOUR EMAILS

Test everything when it comes to your email campaigns. A/B testing will benefit in seeing what small changes help increase rates. A/B testing is a way to see what is working for your emails.

You test different versions of a single email to see how small changes can impact the results by changing the subject line, content, creative, or times to send. Don’t change too many things at once. You want to keep it subtle, so you know what works moving forward. Changing the subject line can help you increase click-through rates, changing the call-to-action buttons and positioning in the emails can increase click-through rates.

Compare the results after a few different tests. This will help gauge what times your audience is actively engaging with the content, and when it helps increase potential sales.

FINDING YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

TARGETING YOUR AUDIENCE: Finding your target audience can take time and it isn’t always easy. You should have a base level of your audience, and who they are but you want to get to know them better. You must learn about your target audience and their buying habits to be able to curate an email that will attract them. Using demographics such as age, gender, company position, income can tell a lot about a person’s wants and needs. Depending on the email, the target audience can differ.

WHEN TO SEND THE EMAIL: Finding the best time to send your email campaign to your target audience is going to be done by testing. There are no specific days that will work for every business. Tuesday and Thursdays have seen better engagement for some. There are different times you can test. Early morning – to capture the clients who check their emails first thing in the morning. Mid-Day – to catch who check their email during lunch. Late afternoon – for those who need a pick-me-up. Early Evening – for those during/after their work commute. However, every email list is different. Some marketing standards will work for some, but not all businesses. You need to understand your audience and know what days and times work for them.

CLEANSE YOUR LISTS: When you find your target audience and build email lists it’s helpful to keep it clean. A list that is up to date, clean, and exactly the audience you want will help you have higher engagement rates. If you are sending an email to someone who regularly does not open or read emails, that can negatively affect your campaign. Remove subscribers who haven’t opened an email and focus on those who are opening and engaging.

PERSONALIZE YOUR EMAIL

Personalizing your emails to directly incorporate your target audience can give you a better chance at click-through rates. There doesn’t need to be many different ones – start with the basics. Adding in their first name is a good way to catch the user’s eye and attention. Adding it into the subject line is a bonus!

Along with personalizing the email, it’s best to have your email campaign come from a personal email. Most people are more likely to open and engage with emails that come from a person or company. It can push a client away just seeing no reply as the sender’s email address. Not being able to contact you directly through that email, can steer users away.

HAVE A CLEAR CALL TO ACTION

Having a clear call to action is significant for success in email marketing. It doesn’t matter what type of traffic you are looking to drive in, if the user can see the call to action within a few seconds of looking over the email. The buttons usually use bright colors with good placement for the best engagement. They have large text that is easy to read, but you don’t want to go overboard. Keep it short and simple but create urgency. Use the action-oriented text on the buttons to grab the attention of the users.

If you’re thinking about adding email marketing to your advertising mix or think it might be time to revamp your current strategy, D2D can help you with all of the pieces outlined in this blog as well as develop a clean professional look for your emails. Contact us today online or call 877-958-4524.

With summer coming to an end, also brings the crunch time for the last push for vehicle sales in the summer. It’s no doubt this summer has been an usual one with inventory issues, but it’s still a popular buying time if you have a car customers wants! Dealerships can help boost business by doing a special sales event for the last holiday for the summer, Labor Day! This holiday becomes critical because it’s the last big business holiday for the summer season. Don’t let opportunity pass you by, take advantage of it! Make your dealership stand out against the rest and with a fun and creative plan to tackle the holiday weekend.

Get a Plan

Work with your automotive digital marketing agency to figure out the best way you want to celebrate the holiday weekend. Do you want it to just be for the holiday weekend itself, or do you want the sales event to be all month long? There is no wrong answer, both campaigns have certain benefits! Doing a Labor Day Savings Event all month long makes creates notice of what specials and incentives you are offering to your customers throughout the month. By doing this your emails or ads don’t get lost it the million other emails from other companies that blast customers during the holiday weekend. Another option is having a Labor Day Savings Event just for the weekend itself. Once the holiday is over, switch to a Labor Day Savings Event All Month Long. This can catch customers by surprise how the deals are still going!

However, doing a Labor Day Savings Event the weekend of Labor Day carries its own perks. Your creative can change from an End of Summer Savings Event to a Labor Day Savings Event to show urgency and change. This creates an idea of a limited time event on those specials, even if your specials have stayed the exact same from late August. You can add to the excitement by doing a special Labor Day offer on a vehicle or adjust your prices to make people want to run out and see the vehicle before the deal is gone.

Stand Out Against the Crowd

Since Labor Day is such a big push for end of summer business you are going to want to stand out against the crowd. Talk with your automotive digital marketing agency and make your creative fun and exciting! Yes, red, white, and blue are the typical “go-to” but that doesn’t mean it has to be typical. Have exciting graphics of flags, banners or busts to make copy pop. Different shades of red and blue that are more vibrant stands out and catch the viewers’ attention. However, there is a fine balance. Too many stars, stripes, and graphics can also bring in the problem of being too busy and make the text hard to read or where to point a viewer’s attention to.

Certain manufactures come with certain guidelines, so not everyone may be able do certain bright colors or graphics. That’s fine! Our art department is there to make sure your designs pop while abiding by the guidelines all without you having to worry. Even if the creative has to be adjusted to meet the criteria of the brand guidelines, using the right photos and colors can complement your brands identity while still representing the holiday.

Summer is a great time to gain sales as everyone is out and about in the nice weather. Don’t let a holiday opportunity pass your dealership by, create an excitement for just the holiday weekend or celebrate all month long to create awareness of your offers against other dealerships. All in all, make your advertising stand out against the crowd and have fun with it!

Here at D2D we have Account Managers that are organized and dedicated to help you succeed. Our Account Managers are backed by a Design Department that thrives for creativity and making your advertisements come to life from a vision you may have. If you need assistance making sure the sales opportunity Labor Day can bring doesn’t pass you by, contact us today.

It has been a little over a year since the entire world turned upside down because of a little thing called the Coronavirus. While the world is slowly returning back to some level of normalcy, many people and businesses are still feeling the impact. The automotive industry is certainly no exception. Not only has the virus caused a ripple effect on inventory, but it has also changed the way the market and consumers purchase and react to advertising.

From what we’ve seen, collected data on and implemented over the first half of this year, we have a few tips for you to prepare your dealership for the second half of this year!

PREP YOUR STAFF!

You probably have meetings at least twice per week with your staff. What are you covering? Are you reviewing the same information you always have? This likely includes deals in the pipeline, sales goals, sales incentives and leads. Have you talked to your team about what they are seeing on the lot? What are the objections from potential customers? Are they changing the narrative of what brought them to your dealership or why they will or won’t buy? The market is in a very different place right now and people are looking and reacting differently than we’ve ever seen before. Are you having this open conversation with your sales staff so they can provide potentially valuable insight?

PREP YOUR LOT AND SHOWROOM!

Do you have half the amount of cars on your lot than you normally do? I bet you’re nodding your head or rolling your eyes right now because who doesn’t?! A good thing to keep in mind is that car sales are retail sales. What do they constantly do at a retail store? Update the display. The same is true for your car dealership. Updating the way you have the cars sitting on the lot, changing around the order, and even getting creative with how you display your inventory could make it seem like you have more than you do and draw attention to your lot and certain vehicles.

PREP YOUR ADVERTISING!

With market changes and consumer behavior throwing everything off, it’s very important that you sit down and review your marketing strategy. Social media is very important right now and the viewership and usage is at an all-time high. Is your automotive marketing agency taking advantage of this? Are you advertising vehicles you no longer have in inventory? These are just some of the vital questions you should be reviewing with your digital marketing company. If you haven’t done this lately, we suggest setting up a meeting with your advertising team ASAP! Find out what’s working for your dealership, other dealerships they work with and what the industry itself looks like in terms of consumer behavior. Now might be the time to switch it up!

If you need some guidance to get your dealership headed in the right direction for the last two quarters, D2D is here to help. We can evaluate your current strategy and provide some tips and recommendations going forward. We can also help prepare you to talk to your current agency with a full list of questions to ask to make sure you’re getting everything you need. Contact a digital expert today!

If you’re looking for some more info on preparing your dealership for the ever-changing market conditions, download our Used Car Sales Checklist to help you shift your strategy!