Auto Dealer Digital Marketing Trends for 2018

The shopping behavior of prospective car buyers have changed drastically in the last couple of years, and so have the digital marketing strategies of auto dealers. With an exciting holiday season and the New Year around the corner, let’s take a look at the auto dealer digital marketing trends poised to make a big impact in 2018.

Auto Dealer Trend 1: Responsive Dealer Websites

Most car buyers tend to visit dealerships only twice, mostly to sign and take delivery of their vehicles. The bulk of the decision-making – which car, which dealer, which package, and more – happens even before they stepped into a dealership. That’s because prospects rely on the web – mostly mobile web – to research cars and dealers, compare features and prices, and even to find deals.

For all practical purposes, what used to happen in dealer showrooms is now happening online, on auto dealer websites, and up to 94 percent of prospects visit these websites from their mobiles. That’s why responsive dealer websites which realign and deliver great user experiences on any device, including mobiles, are now a critical marketing requirement of any auto dealer.

If you are one of those dealers who still have an older generation adaptive website, make it a top marketing priority to switch to a responsive dealer website in 2018, or even earlier.

Auto Dealer Trend 2: Video Marketing

With 1 in 3 online visitors watching car videos at least once a month, video is proving to be one of the most powerful marketing tools for auto dealers, and this trend is all set to gain more ground in 2018.

Here are three reasons why video marketing makes sense to auto dealers.

• Video has the power to retain viewer attention far longer than textual or visual content.
• Video can also compress far more information into a far shorter timeframe than either text or visuals.
• The details in a video are retained by viewers far longer than the textual or visual content.

Remember to add more video to your websites and social marketing in 2018. The best bets will be friendly customer reviews at the dealership, which you can even record with a cellphone camera, and professional vehicle presentations. In fact, a video brochure like the izmotion video brochurecan deliver the entire content of a full-length car brochure in less than 60 seconds.

Auto Dealer Trend 3: Social Advertising

Facebook has 214 million users in the U.S. alone, and upwards of 90% of your local prospects are likely to be on it. What is more interesting is, on average users spend 35 minutes on Facebook every single day, and more than 80% of them are on their mobiles.

Even more interesting is the fact that Auto dealer advertising on Facebook is yet to reach saturation. That makes Facebook advertising a god sent opportunity for dealers – while it lasts.

While you are at it, remember that engaging social media content is the key to effective social advertising.