It’s Time to Get Social

The importance of social media is steadily growing as more and more people join these platforms on a daily basis. We don’t see this trend dying out anytime soon - and we’ve got the numbers to prove it

• There are currently 3.4 billion active social media users1
• There’s a new social media user approximately every 10 seconds1
• The average daily time spent on social is 116 minutes a day2
• 21% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands that they can reach on social media3

Those numbers are undeniably impressive, so even if your current marketing strategies are working, it might be time to consider jumping on the social media bandwagon. It’s important to stay competitive and to reach your customers where they are - and they’re on social media. Let’s dive into exactly why you should be including social media as a part of your overall business strategy. 

Builds Brand Awareness -

Building awareness is so important when promoting any brand or business. That’s why 44% of local businesses said they depend on social media to generate brand awareness. And we’ll let you in on a little secret, your competitors are most likely included in that 44%. So, the time to get ahead of your competition is now - start having a social media presence of your own. Being on social media allows you to stay visible and relevant to both returning and new customers. By posting consistently on social media, you have the opportunity to be a voice in your industry and the local community - keeping consumers coming back for more. 

Allows You to Engage With Your Customers -

As we briefly mentioned, your customers are already on social media, so use that to your advantage. If you haven’t entered the social media space, the opportunities are endless - you have the power to reach a completely untapped market of people who could potentially be interested in either buying an RV or looking for advice from a trusted source just like you. It’s also important to realize consumers love authentic engagement, and social media lets you interact and build relationships with potential customers in an organic way. 

Helps Show Your Brand’s Personality and Expertise -

Social media lets you show off a bit, and there’s no harm in that. It’s important to remember you are an expert in your field - there’s no need to be modest. Social media gives you the opportunity to share your expertise and advice with your customers and position your dealership not only as a place where someone can make a purchase, but a place where interested buyers can come to gain knowledge about the RV industry as a whole. Don’t forget that social media usage can be fun. When posting on various social channels, you have the opportunity to show off your dealership’s personality through the different content that you post. Another thing to keep in mind is that consumers love brands with personality - and it’s crucial to humanize your business so potential buyers feel a true connection with your brand, even before visiting your dealership in person. It’s important to put the focus on the conversation you are having on social media rather than just the inventory you’re trying to sell. Posting inventory can be great, but sharing advice, tips, and tricks can also go a long way in building more of a relationship with your potential buyer. 

Can Help Drive Leads and Increase Traffic -

If new information or content is just sitting on your website, it’s going to take a lot longer for consumers to find it. That’s where social media comes in handy. When you are consistently posting (and linking your site) on social media, you are giving consumers more of an opportunity to find this valuable content on your website, in turn, boosting your traffic. 

Don’t forget that social media can be used as a tool - make sure you are using it to your advantage. And if you want to have a presence on social media, but just don’t have the time or resources to make it happen - we get it. That’s where RV Trader can help. Our GoSocial product can kickstart, or supplement, your existing social media efforts by managing your Facebook for you. GoSocial includes weekly posting and management for Facebook, a dedicated monthly advertising spend, and monthly in-depth reporting - saving you valuable time and costing a fraction of what it would take to hire a team. And if you don’t already have a page, we’ll even help you set one up. If you’re interested in learning more, contact your RV Trader representative today at 887-872-3373 - they’d love to walk you through it.

If you’re craving more social media content, you’re in luck. We’ll cover specific social media channels and tips on how to use them in future posts - stay tuned. To hold you over until then, check out our tips on using Instagram for your business here.

1 https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/amazing-social-media-statistics-and-facts/
2 https://www.socialmediatoday.com/marketing/how-much-time-do-people-spend-social-media-infographic
3 https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-statistics/

2019 Marketing Trends You Need to Know

The need for, and use of, digital marketing has been on the rise for years - and it’s no surprise that the digital landscape consistently changes and evolves as new technologies are introduced and others lose relevance and popularity. We know it can be hard to keep up with the trends at the rate they are moving - but that’s why we’re here to help. We’ll catch you up on the marketing changes, updates, and trends that are on the rise in 2019. Check out our findings below.

Content Still Matters -

As Bill Gates says, content is king - and we couldn’t agree more. We love content around here (clearly), and so do consumers. Content marketing is on the rise and providing general content is great, but more and more businesses are creating specialized and personalized content specific to their industries and they are seeing significant results. According to HubSpot, 55% of marketers say blog content creation is their top inbound marketing priority. Have you thought about creating a blog or resource center on your website? If not, it might be something to consider. The blog/resource center could house helpful information like “What to Know Before You Buy”, an article covering information on “Picking the Right Type of RV for You”, or even a guide on the best local destinations near your dealership - the possibilities are endless. Don’t forget that you are an expert in your field and potential buyers will be looking to you for information. You want to market your business as not only a dealership, but as a true resource center for potential buyers.

Time to Up Your Video Game -

We weren’t surprised to hear that, according to Forbes, YouTube is America’s most popular social media platform. YouTube’s following has been growing like crazy over the past couple of year and we expect that to continue to rise because consumers LOVE video content. Videos are a great tool for businesses because they give you the opportunity to share important information quickly and clearly. When it comes to the RV business specifically, potential buyers want to see units before they even step on a dealership’s lot, and video is an amazing way to showcase an RV in its entirety. Check out our additional tips on incorporating video into your business strategy here.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is on the Rise - 

AI is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems.1 Computers are getting smarter by the minute and AI can actually be used for marketing purposes and we expect to see those use cases rise in 2019. So what is AI marketing, exactly? AI marketing is a method of leveraging customer data and AI concepts, like machine learning, to anticipate your customer’s next move and improve the customer journey.2 By gathering this big data, AI marketing can help businesses better target consumers by boosting campaign performances, and increasing ROI in the long run. We are going to keep a close eye on AI marketing this year, and we’ll take a look at how RV Trader actually uses this technology in a future post - stay tuned.

Voice Search - 

Do you hear the phrases “Alexa do this”, “Siri do that”, and “Ok, Google” being used on a daily basis? You’re not alone. Voice search is becoming increasingly popular and we can predict that this trend will grow as smart speakers get more advanced. In fact, according to research conducted by NPR and Edison Research, 39 million Americans use smart speakers and 65% of them say they wouldn’t want to go back to life without their voice-controlled assistant. Consumers are searching for anything and everything with voice search, so if they search for your dealership’s hours or directions to your dealership - will they find up-to-date content? It’s important to make sure all of your information is current so consumers can find it when using voice search. We expect to see advertisements make their way into the smart speaker world sooner rather than later, which means buying voice ad space could be a new marketing tactic in the future - we’ll keep you posted.

Social Media Stories - 

Social media is here to stay, and if you’ve been avoiding it for your business, we recommend jumping on the bandwagon ASAP. Social media usage is consistently growing and we are seeing particular interest in not only posting regular content but participating in social media stories. From Instagram, to Snapchat, to Facebook - there are a ton of new ways to get your stories out there. So what is a ‘story’ exactly? Stories enable users (like you) to create photo and video collections that can be viewed only a few times before disappearing after 24 hours. You can add to your stories throughout the day and add fun text, GIFs, and graphics to your posts to tell your brand story, highlight an event you have coming up, or poll customers on questions you’re eager to ask. We suggest experimenting with this feature as it will no doubt become more and more popular in 2019.

There you have it. The top 5 marketing trends you need to be aware of in 2019. As always, we’ll continue to keep you aware of any marketing trends, changes, and updates we see throughout the year.

1 TechTarget
2 Emarsys