Ally Next Practices - A9

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"It's becoming the
main access point
for their everyday
activities. So, investing
in social space isn't
just about social
media anymore. It's
about the mobile
phones, because they
provide access to your
audience."
- CHAD RUMMINGER,
senior group manager for Twitter
Client Solutions-Automotive

radio and direct mail," says Trace
Przybylowicz, autos lead for Facebook.
"The goal was: 'How do I get this
shopper to my
showroom to buy
a car?'
"But with the
birth of digital, the
roles have been
reversed. The rules
Trace Przybylowicz
have changed
for every industry. Now it's important
to get the inventory to the consumer
first before getting them to the
showroom. That digital showroom is
as or more important than the physical
showroom."
A dealer's digital showroom now
encompasses the dealership website;
its presence on third-party sites; its
own social media pages; and all its ads
on search engines, social channels and
the like. For many potential customers,
a dealership's brand will be built by
how it operates in all those places.
MANAGING A DIGITAL BRAND CAN BE
"as basic as making sure your search

information is right
- that on Google,
your hours and
location are correct,
that your photos
are appealing and
that your website
Melinda Toscano
is optimized for a
mobile phone," says Melinda Toscano,
director-digital for Spark Foundry. "Your
digital appearance shows a lot about who
you are as a business. That has a lasting
impression.
"Customers say: 'I see they have a
great online experience - that they're
welcoming and efficient. Great. I'm going
to check them out in person.' " Like it or
not, a dealership needs to consider digital
marketing simply because more people are
spending more time on their phones. The
firm eMarketer estimates that "nonvoice
time" spent per day by smartphone users
will rise to an average of two hours and 42
minutes by 2019, a daily increase of almost
thirty minutes in five years.
"When you think about the
consumption of media today-whether
it's cord-cutting or people just looking at

content in different ways-people are
spending more time in front of their
mobile phones," says Chad Rumminger,
senior group manager for Twitter Client
Solutions-Automotive. "It's becoming
the main access point for their everyday
activities. So,
investing in the
social space isn't
just about social
media anymore. It's
about the mobile
phones, because
Chad Rumminger
they provide access
to your audience."
Whatever a dealership is doing in
terms of digital marketing, it can ensure
the best results by taking advantage
of the data available to guide digital
marketing buys.
"One of the most important things
we tell dealers is they need to be
making decisions based on data rather
than a gut feeling, or what they've
always done, or what the competitor is
doing," says DealerOn's Gifford. "Do it
yourself, test it and prove what works
for your dealership."

JUNE 2018 | ally | 9
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Ally Next Practices
