At a time when customers’ data is bought and sold, and when readers of some of the biggest newspapers in the world can be advertised to without even knowing it, there is a real need for honesty, legitimacy, and a return to form for the world of marketing.
Content marketing is the mutually beneficial practice of giving your customers something valuable, informative, or entertaining, in return for nothing more than their awareness of your brand, and their knowledge of what you can do.
There’s no hoodwinking, no subliminal message, just great quality, free content.
Within the automotive industry, the big brands are already well on board. Let’s take a look at a few prime examples, and how dealerships can capture this same idea on a local level, with their own content marketing strategies.
Honda Stage
This year, Honda America launched its own YouTube music channel, Honda Stage, which posts regular exclusive concerts and interviews. These are funded, organised, and staged entirely by Honda, and there’s not a car in sight.
It’s not, actually, that new an idea. Companies have been producing initiatives like this for over a hundred years, if you consider the tobacco industry’s production of baseball trading cards in the early 20th Century.
It’s done for the simple reason of getting your name out there, – as well as for the not-so-simple reason of marrying a culture and set of ideals with your brand. With Honda Stage, the brand has identified itself with young music lovers, showed that it has its finger on the pulse, and that it is a current, fun, and forward-thinking brand.
Panda to Sochi
In the run up to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Fiat teamed up with international arts, culture and news publishers Vice, for series of videos. The videos followed a ‘freestyle team’ of snowboarders, skaters, and BMXers, driving in a Fiat Panda from the brand’s hometown of Torino, Italy, to the Winter Olympics.
Over three months, videos were uploaded, competitions were run, and bespoke social media accounts got thousands of people involved in the campaign.
Again, the focus was not on the car, but this time it was on contributing great quality content to engage with the public. Fiat reached out to current and potential customers, not to ask them if they’d like to buy a car, but to develop a relationship.
The awareness, interest and engagement garnered from these campaigns have been proven time and time again to greatly improve sales in the long run.
Over to you
Cutting edge music events and cross-country road trips are all well and good for the global brands with, let’s face it, a great deal more budget to play with.
But on a dealership level, digital magazines and social media interaction have proved invaluable to some forward-thinking dealers who understand the value of a loyal customer.
Fully separate from the occasional offer-driven booklet or new vehicle alert, a full digital magazine which is engaging, readable, and interesting, is a proven way of developing customer loyalty, while keeping readers abreast of new models, servicing promotions and news within the dealership.
Take a look at some of our covers on our Pinterest page. Click a cover to read the full magazine.
For more information on content marketing at dealership level, or for more information on our magazines, don’t hesitate to get in touch with GoldSand Digital today. Call 0203 598 2782, or email info@goldsanddigital.com