The times they are a-changin'

*actually they changed some time ago. Social media is now part of most people’s daily lives. As a sales channel though, it can be challenging to manage correctly. It provides unique opportunities, but as with all other media channels, the keys are relevant and targeted information and content.

In the automotive sector (but this also applies in many other sectors) from a retailer’s point of view, this can not only seem time consuming and expensive, but a daunting area of marketing in which they lack the time, knowledge and skills to produce and manage anything that will have an impact.

With the Brand’s support and knowledge, this doesn’t have to be the case. It may seem expensive, but on the whole, social media is a fraction of the cost of traditional, locally targeted media. Its targeting is more flexible and therefore accurate, it’s measurable and importantly it can be tweaked whilst it’s live to be even more effective.

These are key benefits that need to be demonstrated to local retailers if they aren’t going to be left behind. It’s clear that some are beginning to embrace this evolution of dealer marketing, pushing through the initial uncertainty to reap new benefits. We are Acuity’s survey for a client’s marketing programme highlighted a clear shift from traditional to digital marketing; specifically, from local press and door drops to Facebook/Instagram, Digital Display and Pay Per Click. Collectively known as ‘paid digital advertising’.

In our role as local marketing experts for some of the country’s biggest brands, we often have their local partners ask us ‘can’t you just manage our paid digital advertising for us?’ So that’s a service that we now offer and to keep things simple we call it Managed Services!

We currently offer paid digital advertising for local partners including Facebook and Instagram, Pay Per Click and Digital Display but have exciting plans to offer many more digital options like Tik Tok and What’s App.

The benefits for your network are many, but include the following:

• Deliver named leads directly to your retailers
• Use of smart lead forms that are fully GDPR compliant and trackable
• Localisation and personalisation of your national assets
• We manage campaign set up, optimisation and reporting
• Tiered subscription packages

So far, the results are speaking for themselves:

• Over 8m local retailer impressions served to relevant audiences
  
• Social media campaigns delivering ‘in market’ leads for just £28!
  
• Over 40,000 visits delivered to local retailer websites
  
• 2,500 sales enquires from Pay Per Click campaigns and over 500 named leads from Facebook advertising
  
• Amazing feedback…’It’s great to have an expert team handle this activity for us!' - Worthing Motors