Digital marketing is not just for advertising agencies and large corporations. In fact, it’s a tool every business should be using to build their audience.

Whether you run a small mom and pop shop that uses local SEO or you need full automotive digital marketing for your car dealership, it’s better to start using these strategies sooner than later.

But, how do you know which digital marketing tools to use?

Here are the top tips you need to use to create the best automotive digital marketing strategy.

Swap Old Pictures for High-Resolution Images

Before you dig deep into the world of digital marketing, take a good look at what your website design is like now.

Specifically, go through your inventory pages. If you have low-quality pictures of the cars on your lot, this is the first priority to take care of.

Hire a professional photographer to come out and get the pictures your automotive digital marketing needs. These will be high-resolution and well-framed. They will make online users feel like they are right there on your lot looking at their choice of cars.

Plus, high-resolution images help you perform better on online search engines.

When you upload them to your site, name each photo with a keyword related to the car or your dealership. This gives you an extra opportunity for search engine bots to find you.

Create Better Copy

Another search strategy you may be missing out on is copywriting.

The copy is all the written parts of web design, in addition to high-resolution images.

Writing strong digital marketing copy is all about keywords. You should be using a mix of short and long-tail terms that are popular in your industry.

Throw some local terms in there as well, like “nearby” or “near me.” These perform well on a search for users that are on-the-go and trying to get to your dealership right away.

Also, include your brand name wherever you can. Use it to talk about contact information and the kind of cars you sell and even service information – like Tokyo Automotive Subaru service.

Whatever kind of keyword approach you take, though, remember one thing.

Always write with human conversation in mind! If you get too caught up in keywords you will end up sounding choppy and pushy. Bots will be able to tell the difference between what is natural and what is keyword stuffing, too. Stuffing may lead to a penalty.

Take Advantage of Social Media

Once your landing pages are taken care of with images and copywriting, it’s time to take care of other channels. Go to your social media accounts and see how they’re performing.

Don’t have social media for your dealership or auto service? It’s time to sign up!

Social is one of the best tools you can use for automotive digital marketing. It creates significantly more opportunities for you to get in front of potential car buyers.

Create a strategy to boost your presence on all the popular channels. This includes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and even Snapchat.

Each account should be well-branded and consistent with the others.

Such an approach makes it easy for users to recognize you, no matter what social account they are on. The more consistent you are, the easier it will be to start building a relationship with your audience.

Share Your Best Reviews

Any business-customer relationship needs trust.

A great way to build trust is with the use of strong reviews.

Start a testimonials page on your automotive website. This is your place to promote the best customer experiences you’ve given, from the eyes of the customer!

Such first-hand accounts will help new potential customers feel more confident in your offerings and service. Testimonials create an added value to what someone is already expecting from you.

More so, a testimonials page creates extra SEO opportunities.

This is another landing page where you can put high-resolution images, keyword optimization, and other tools to work.

Don’t forget your contact information or neighborhood terms to boost your local SEO even more.

Use Inbound Tactics to Build Relationships

Social posts and client reviews are great to establish a strong relationship.

But first, you need the introduction!

Inbound tactics can help expand the reach of your automotive digital marketing. These are tools that bring the customers to you, without you being pushy or too direct.

Here are a couple inbound tools to try out.

Guest Blogging

You may not think of yourself as much of a blogger if you’re a car dealership owner or salesman.

But, writing blogs is really just a way to share what you know about cars!

Guest blogging is a method of sharing what you know to get in front of more potential customers. When you write a guest blog, you submit a piece to another website – like an online industry magazine or an automotive review site.

This is your place to share your expertise. Talk about upcoming car releases, the best parts and maintenance tricks, and anything else car-related.

Be sure to mention a bit about your dealership, too. Even better, add a link that goes back to your automotive website.

Guest blogging establishes you as a person of authority. It builds consumer confidence in your knowledge and experience, then leads the customer right to you!

Opt-In Forms

Still not convinced blogging is in the cards for your automotive digital marketing?

Okay – at least use an opt-in form on your website.

Opt-ins can be for newsletters, special offerings, or regular emails.

These are what give you access to customer contact information while making customers feel special and appreciated. A person who fills out an opt-in form is clearly interested, but maybe not far enough in the buying cycle to make a purchase.

The opt-in is your introduction.

Your follow-up and other digital marketing tools are what help you close the deal.