Automotive Advertising Agencies Use Social Networks and Search Engine Algorithms to Sell More Cars

Automotive advertising agencies are challenged to provide more for less to serve a consolidating auto industry and today’s Internet has provided them with the media and the methods to do it. Budget conscious consumers are firmly in the driving seat on the Internet Super Highway and auto dealers have directed their marketing messages to their online showrooms vs. their brick and mortar facilities to get their attention. More accurately, they are following their customers onto the World Wide Web and hoping that their past and pending customers will find them there.The days of hard sell retail messages in conventional media like radio, T.V. and newspaper as well as dealer-centric banner ads and websites promoting daily dealer specials are numbered. Today’s car shoppers have been empowered by the search engines to filter out dealer messages in favor of information on exactly the new or pre-owned vehicle they are searching for. In addition, Social networking communities of online friends have rallied their support and opinions to help car shoppers decide what they should buy and from which dealership they should buy it from. After all, what are friends for!The consumers’ new found source of information on the Internet to assist them in their car shopping process hasn’t replaced the need for automotive advertising agencies in the retail auto industry, but it certainly has changed their role in it and the methods that they must use to earn their agency fees. The first adjustment that an automotive advertising agency must make in their business model is to recognize that the internal profits that they used to realize in their radio, T.V. and print production departments can no longer be supported by their auto dealer clients. Reduced sales volume and profit margins on the auto dealers’ side of the table demand a better R.O.I. for every dollar and while these departments are still required to produce digital marketing material for online campaigns the production costs must be a fraction of previous pricing to remain competitive with the newly developing online resources that an auto dealer has access to.The agency must still provide creative that is relevant to the market and they must define the target audience that would be most receptive to it, but once again the World Wide Web has changed the rules and automotive advertising agencies must learn what they are and follow them. Top of the mind awareness is still job one for automotive advertising agencies who understand that they can’t time the buying cycle for everyone on the Internet Super Highway and therefore they must maintain a consistent message across multiple channels to be on the short list when the customer is ready to purchase a vehicle. Diversification across multiple media and frequency of targeted messages to qualified buyers isn’t a new practice but the methods, media and skill sets required to get the job done have changed.Networking and the related referrals and sales sourced from it has been an integral component of internal selling processes for auto dealers since the first vehicle was sold but it has had little to do with conventional advertising — until now that is. Social networking and the related Internet media channels that have grown to support it are now a primary target audience for automotive advertising agencies. Word of mouth advertising has grown exponentially as viral messages travel through social networking channels with the opinions of like minded car shoppers who use these online communities of friends to share their car shopping experiences before, during and after their buying cycle.Initial attempts by automotive advertising agencies to market to these social networks from the outside through the use of banner ads or as wolves in sheep’s clothing trying to invade a network of friends were soundly rejected. Members valued each other’s opinions and shared experiences over a self serving auto dealer or their automotive advertising agency.Monetizing social networking has been a challenge but new technologies that integrate established marketing channels with social networks from the inside out have provided the solution. ronsmap, for example, is a game changing consumer-centric online inventory marketing platform that embeds a social networking engine on their communal site as well as every vehicle posted on it by participating auto dealers. Their application, vBack, provides an Ask-a-Friend / Tell-a-Friend feature that solicits feedback from friends on the various social networks that an online car shopper trusts. These influences then act as agents of the auto dealer — without their knowledge — under the direction of a friend which allows the automotive advertising agency to market from the inside out vs. from the outside in. C2C marketing vs. B2C marketing is the key to monetizing social networking and ronsmap is a new technology based exit on the Internet Super Highway that has opened this new channel to auto dealers.In addition, ronsmap enhances the value of the leads generated from within the social networks by accumulating the information gathered through their SellersVantage application. In addition to the anticipated name, IP address and vehicle information requests their new Intelli-Leads include the online shopping selection and vehicle preferences of the initiating car shopper and the comments accumulated by his online network of friends. These enhanced leads allow the auto dealer to anticipate the needs of their potential customers before they open negotiations with them. As a result, the consumer is provided a more relevant and transparent vehicle selection in response to their initial inquiry and the auto dealer has a competitive edge to quote the best price on the best vehicle for the consumer. This is a win-win scenario that increases closing ratios and profits for the auto dealer while offering the consumer the advantage of the information and referrals he gathered from his online car shopping experience.The internet is far superior to conventional media on many levels and social networking is only one of the newest reasons. Automotive advertising agencies must be prepared to direct their clients beyond marketing through social media. They must also provide more than advice on search engine optimization, S.E.O., search engine marketing, S.E.M. and banner ad placements or transparent and relevant website designs. The search engines hold the key to the Internet and understanding the algorithms that determine the rules of the road on the Internet Super Highway that they control are the responsibility of the automotive advertising agency.Google, for example, has clearly stated the weight that they place on video vs. copy or other means of online digital marketing. Today’s Internet consumer grew up watching television and the explosive growth of YouTube proves that their preference for video has survived onto the World Wide Web. One vendor that has listened to Google and their subsidiary YouTube is SiSTeR Technologies with their Video CarLot platform. SiSTer is able to take the existing pictures and vehicle information posted on an auto dealer’s website and convert them into professionally produced videos.More importantly, their videos are fully index-able with multiple schema layers making them interactive and more transparent to the online car shopper. These videos are placed on the auto dealer’s website as well as any third party advertising sites that the auto dealer is linked to. In addition they are driven through a dedicated API to YouTube with individual URLs that extend the reach and frequency of the dealer’s inventory and marketing messages — a proven formula for success in conventional automotive advertising that also applies to Internet advertising.Automotive advertising agencies are not reinventing the wheel by extending their reach and frequency with consistent messages across multiple channels by leveraging access to social networks or by manipulating the algorithms on the search engines. They are simply applying proven and established advertising wisdoms and best practices to an auto industry that has only one constant — change!

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How To Build A Successful Online Business – Online Marketing Mentors

How to build a successful online business may take time and effort. Most that come here fail, but why? Usually it is due to a lack of real information on how to build, brand and manage their business or, they simply did not try.Time and time again have I seen individuals, small business owners and everyone else, try to truly build a successful business or even presence here on the Internet. With the multitude of cheap affiliate programs and so-called guru’s pushing their products around I was amazed at the failure rate. The so-called professionals continually tell us for years that 98% fail here, but my question is why? Why, if their product is so good are so many failing here?What Does It Take To SucceedDetermination and follow through would be the mindset for any successful business to be built, online or offline. Within the Internet marketing community itself failure should not be an option as success can most likely happen at some point. What I mean is that if you stick around long enough, know how to market and brand yourself and products here, it will happen, time is what kills the entrepreneur here.There are many “flash in the pan” opportunities we see all day online, but these are completely full of hype and usually without any solid platform from which to learn and grow your business. The affiliate marketing industry is full of these types of programs that promise the world for success online, only to have 98% or more fail. STOP THE FAILURE.Know What To Do OnlineBuilding brand awareness, starting off on your future with an online business is simple. Learn what it takes to not only survive here, but learn how to market properly and effectively. The one piece advice anyone, including myself who has found a good deal of success know that it came from learning and applying the fundamentals.There area host of some very simple platforms and strategies you can learn, and it can be mastered in a very short amount of time. But, this is where the “flash in the pan” idea of getting rich quick online hyperbole has taken hold of your mind, letting you believe that if in days you see no real income, you will never see success.NOT TRUE. While some of us have seen our businesses grow rapidly online, it was still a few months or so before the real success began. It took days to learn and weeks to apply to where we began to see the traffic we knew was already there waiting for us. Your customers, clients and prospects are here, they are on the Internet and they are waiting for you, but they have to find you.Proper Marketing StrategiesThere are many basic platforms you must use when building a business online. Regardless of what the so-called Guru’s may say, the basics are the basics and even they built lists this way and continue to do so.· Building a website and blog are extremely important, and how to build them correctly.· Understanding Search Engine Marketing is a must for the online entrepreneur.· Learning how to create valuable information and content that get found online.· Video marketing and it’s important role of truly branding you and your business.· Article marketing.· Sales copy and how to convert your traffic through the sales funnel.· E-mail marketing.· Social media marketing and how today it is the rising star for any successful entrepreneur online.These are just a few of the most familiar and basic foundation you should not only know, but use in your daily method of operations online. Even local business owners looking to build there presence online and drive more traffic through their doors are beginning to see the importance to their survival with Internet marketing today.Online Marketing MentorsAs an online marketing mentor, and those who have worked with me for years have seen, failure was due to only two factors: no real knowledge base of online marketing and building a business here or, they were simply lazy and looking for the “flash in the pan” way out. The former however, this was the biggest reason for failure with any would-be entrepreneur online, no real solid understanding of search engine marketing and how to convert the traffic that is here.There are a few simple keys to success with any business online, understand online marketing, know your business here and follow through with effort and patience. For those who have seen people get rich here overnight with their businesses, remember, they were here for months or years before that day just like you, trying to figure it all out.

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Fashion Design Programs

The fashion industry is a fierce business. The cliche “One day you’re in, and the next day you’re out” really holds true to this trade. Numerous fashion designers have already come and gone but if you will notice, those who are still out there have reliable, solid collections. For example, designers such as Tom Ford have gone from one fashion house to another, making Gucci an in-demand brand in the 90s. Betsy Johnson has created hip, funky, and crazy designs that are still making waves in the fashion industry, regardless of the fact that they are not really wearable.Fashion design schools play a major role in shaping and honing the next Betsy Johnson and Tom Ford of the fashion industry. Programs set by the school board every school year usually determine if the students can cope with the real world. Internships to famous fashion houses are also included in these programs so student can apply what they have learned in fashion to school to the real fashion scenario.The International Academy of Fashion program was described by critics as a comprehensive, technical and very demanding. The fashion curriculum provides a solid learning program with a specific goal of developing in their students creative individual thinking and a sense of uniqueness as well as preparing them for a professional career. An associate in science degree in fashion design and marketing or a bachelor of fine arts degree in fashion design and marketing are usually the choices offered to students.The American Intercontinental University, on the other hand, has an Association of Arts degree in fashion design that fashion experts say is designed to inspire the individuals to construct innovative and edgy designs. Computer skills in designing are also taught so students can combine traditional techniques with computer-assisted designs. An association of arts degree in fashion marketing is another program offered to talented and fashionable students. The programs in this curriculum offer teach the inner operations of retail and wholesale fashion, market analysis, and evaluation of the production needs of the fashion industry.

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