Google has now launched its latest venture, Google Offers, its entrance into the world of online deals. Sites like Groupon and LivingSocial have seen incredible success with offers that people buy into and then invite their friends via social media, and Google is now providing some competition. Dealers seeking fresh automotive marketing ideascan look to a tool like this to market service…

Today, Facebook is launching a deals program similar to those on sites like Groupon and Living Social, testing offers in five major cities across the U.S. These deals will include major discounts and exclusive offers for tickets, passes, and more. People can then share it by “liking” to potentially get greater discounts if friends buy into an offer. Although this program is still in a test stage, once released in all areas it will have great potential for…

Many dealers are hesitant to let their salespeople use Facebook because they expect employees to waste too much time chatting with their friends, playing Farmville, etc. This concern is understandable when you want your salespeople to be on the floor selling, following up to leads over email and phone, and making the most of their time. But you can’t ignore the fact that the majority of your potential leads are using Facebook and it is a legitimate tool for…

Although the iPhone app was intended to let users stay connected with their Facebook friends while on the go, auto dealers can also take advantage of this technology to make their automotive mobile marketing campaigns more interactive and more in-tune with the social media. With the release of Facebook for iPhone’s newest version (version 3.4), one added feature is particularly useful for business owners: the ability to check-in at actual events.

Checking-In to…

What items stand out the most to you in search results? Often pictures and especially video will initially draw your attention more than plain text results. Videos posted to sites like YouTube show up especially well in search listings. Auto dealerships need to take advantage of this free exposure by creating videos of walkarounds, customer testimonials, test…

As smartphones grow in popularity, advertisers are turning to location-based marketing applications like Foursquare to engage consumers. At Potratz, we have implemented location-based campaigns on social sites for multiple clients to encourage users to check in on their phones. Here are a couple examples:

Steve White VW Audi offers $15 off parts/service when people check in

The Bill Rapp Superstore offers a $10 NYS Inspection and car wash for every…

Ideally, an auto dealership should be running a pay-per-click campaign through Google AdWords, but what if you just don't have the staff or the time to manage an AdWords campaign? Google now offers a simplified option called Google Boost through Google Places in which you can basically "set it and forget it." Unfortunately, this platform is only available in certain markets but…

What’s your ultimate goal in running a search engine marketing campaign for your car dealership? To get more clicks on your ads? To lower your cost per click and get the most for your money? To get more conversions when people fill out forms to get a quote? All of these things work step by step closer to your ultimate goal: to sell more cars. That’s what it comes down to.

An…

In marketing for auto dealers around the country, we spend time analyzing their competition to see how they’re doing with everything from social media marketing to website lead management. In order to beat your competition out in sales, your dealership needs to take the time to look at what competitors are doing. Here are a few quick tips to analyze…

This weekend, I was comparing website analytics for 2010 vs 2009 for one of our dealers, which got me to thinking about how 2009 compared to 2010. Before I knew it, I was digging into analytics for 2008 and 2007.

Limiting myself to just one dealer's analytics could taint my findings with the improvement of the website, lead generation, SEO, SEM, etc. So to ensure the most accurate…

Polk/AutoTrader.com Study Finds Online Vehicle Shopping Influences Dealership Choice

02/07/2011…

While watching your dealership's TV ads, people with smartphones are probably using their phones and more than likely are online. In fact, according to a recent article by Engadget, a study by Nielsen and Yahoo! found that 86% of mobile internet users are browsing on their phones while watching TV, whether using mobile apps, browsing the internet, accessing social networks like Facebook or Twitter, or…

Potratz, a full service automotive advertising agency is pleased to welcome Jordan Wolfe to its team as Senior Graphic Designer to help take auto dealer clients to a new level. With over 12 years in advertising, Jordan prides himself on the unique path where his career has taken him.

He has worked in the sign industry, trade show…

Social media campaigns for auto dealers should be designed to deliver performance and ROI for dealerships and dealer groups. Not all campaigns should be evaluated the same, nor should the same metrics be used. In order to track the success of a campaign, dealers should set objectives upfront to help identify key performance indicators.

First, dealers should determine what their campaign sets out to…