Content marketing has become somewhat of a buzzword recently. With developing technology and the Internet taking over our lives, PR and marketing terms constantly develop and shift in meaning. So, I thought a little primer on content marketing might be useful!

The classic definition of marketing typically involves activities such as ads, coupons and direct…

One of the most frustrating things for marketers and public relations professionals is that companies tend to be so focused on producing sales, and/or marketing to prospective clients, that they become a bit like horses with blinders on -- focused on the single carrot in front of them – namely, customer acquisition.

Don’t misunderstand me; whether you’re a…

When it comes to providing the ultimate customer experience, can technology go too far and instead, backfire by…

Before the Internet people chose who to do business with based on their community and word-of-mouth. There were no review sites. Now, however, review sites are flourishing -- just about every third party listing service has adopted them and there are many stand-alone services too.

Consumers increasingly conduct their research online during their car shopping…

Most companies view content marketing as a means to rank higher in search engines, establish thought leadership and engage with their audience. Content, such as newsletters and blogs distributed via email and social media channels, enables businesses to stay top-of-mind with clients and prospects. It can be used to educate existing customers and any prospects investigating a…

I bet that title got your attention. Imagine a world where automotive manufacturers prohibited dealerships from producing and publishing video content of any vehicles during dealership sales events. That would seem a little ridiculous, right? Social media can produce great results and lead to sales. However, if the manufacturer mandated that dealers couldn’t publish that…

In this era of dealership expansions and acquisitions, groups are often put in the unenviable position of inheriting promises or perks that were offered prior to the dealership acquisition. One would think that it is simply a matter of grandfathering the customer into a perk offered by the previous owners. However, one automotive group chose to take a different approach, as…

Last week, a UK based travel company received an interesting Facebook post – a user posted a screenshot of a travel itinerary that listed a layover of 413,786 hours (or roughly 47 years). This, of course, was a technical glitch, as the itinerary did not show the traveler arriving at their destination 47 years later and I’m fairly certain the post was simply to inform the travel company about this technical glitch. The social media team – or one person on that team in particular – chose to…

All too often, a company gets intrigued with content marketing and decides to give it a try. But then, after just a couple of blogs, executives decide that there just isn’t any tangible return on their investment, or that it’s not measurable, and so lessen their content output, or abandon the initiative altogether.

In most cases this is due to poor planning…

Consumers increasingly use their smartphones to research which businesses they should patronize. These days, online reviews are a big part of that decision process. If managed incorrectly, these reviews can easily flip your prospective customer away from your dealership and into the lap of your competition. And it’s not just a bad review, it’s how you respond to them and…

These days, most companies have a social media presence. Some are healthy and vibrant, while others merely exist. Regardless of how well any particular company presents itself on these channels, social media has transcended beyond the term “social media” and could now also be said to be a:

1. Marketing channel
2. Content distribution channel
3. Customer…

While lead generation is important, according to this article on Inc.com, many companies would see far greater results (and better, more-qualified leads) if more emphasis were placed on nurturing, engagement, and providing value through content…

Video content has pretty much become the preferred medium for consumers. Social media platforms increasingly give video content preferential reach and content producers have adjusted their strategies accordingly.

In retail automotive, video is used very effectively to market dealerships and their inventory, because the content successfully attracts consumers’…

Social Media has become an important channel customers use to reach out to businesses. From tweets expressing their displeasure, to Facebook wall posts asking for additional information, increasingly, customers utilize these channels to engage and communicate with you.

Facebook realizes this and, as a result, has opened up new ways for customers to…

Today, it’s a content-drive world. There is so much content in existence there’s simply no way any person could ever truly absorb all of the messages being thrown their way. Consumers have to get picky about what messages they choose to pay attention to and which to ignore. Frequently, that decision is made in seconds. So you don’t have a lot of time to grab the reader’s…

Dealers are in for a wild ride. The next 5+ years will be filled with revenue from recall work; a shortage of technicians; shop capacity that can’t keep up with demand; parts availability issues; and, as a result, irate customers.

Recalls certainly challenge consumers’ patience and dealers can find themselves in a constant battle, fighting to put out fires,…