Drawing visitors to your dealership should start with creating a broad inbound marketing strategy. The first step in inbound marketing is attracting visitors to your website.
Generally effective inbound marketing strategies prioritize search engine optimization, blog writing, paid search and social media tactics to attract visitors to your site.
A key component of your social media strategy for your dealership should be Twitter, because of its immediate impact, popularity and effectiveness with engaging customers, and, it’s free!
Businesses with 301 to 1,000 Twitter followers had over 5 times more website traffic than those with 1 to 25 followers. Furthermore, businesses with the same range of followers had over 4 times more leads than those with 1 to 25. Read more facts in our lead generation ebook:
If your auto dealership has not adopted the use of Twitter, you should consider its advantages:
- Highly effective networking tool—Like other social networks it helps your auto dealership discover new customers and market segments. You may not experience an immediate surge in followers or visitors to your showroom, but as you gain in popularity and branch out to follow others, you will experience a steady increase in followers.
- Tweeting is fast—While Facebook and LinkedIn have a lag between the time something is posted and visitors finding it, Twitter can generate almost immediate responses. These instantaneous reactions can be highly gratifying at the emotional level for both the Tweeter and the recipients. This allows the quick transmission of information from all levels of the industry; for example, news about new models can be announced as soon as it is received.
- Provides information about competitors—Paying attention to the activities of your competitors is a critical element of maintaining a lead in the market. If other auto dealerships are not utilizing Twitter, then you already possess an important advantage; if they are you can easily discover any issues they are having. This awareness of your competition should also guide what information your auto dealership decides to release through Twitter.
- Showcase your creativity—Tweeters who can express breaking news or intriguing facts in 140 characters or less with humor or cleverness will find others following them merely for their ingenuity. This can enhance your image as a thought leader and will encourage engagement from your followers.
- Builds brand loyalty—Dealerships that maintain energetic and compelling relationships with customers through effective use of Twitter are more likely to retain customers. A few simple tweets a day may be enough to convince a past customer to remain with your dealership when it comes time to trade in or buy a new vehicle. Furthermore, by simply tweeting daily, you'll be continuously putting your brand in front of consumers.
- Platform for coupons—Many companies like American Express and Bank of America have effectively used Twitter to distribute coupons. These coupons could include discounts on service or deals on auto accessories. This encourages people to follow your Twitter account and rewards them with incentives.
- Keep up with other dealerships—If your dealership isn’t engaged on Twitter, you are at a serious disadvantage. With almost 200 million users, Twitter is an excellent means of reaching a large audience. It is also likely that the other dealerships in your area ARE on Twitter, so they are stealing customers away from you. (Infooninternet.com)
- Research customers—Being involved with consumers provides insights into their buying habits and decisions. Twitter enables you to know which models, features, or colors are most desirable. It also sheds light on what advice consumers are sharing with one another. In some cases, it can help identify individuals who are currently in the market for a new car.
Twitter is probably not a secret to you, but you may be surprised at how effective it can be for your auto dealership.
Unlike other components of your inbound marketing plan, Twitter requires relatively little investment. With a few well-chosen Tweets on a daily or weekly basis, you could see dramatic boosts in visitors online and eventually in the showroom.
What are some best practice tips you utilize when using Twitter?
