Revenge of the Television

In the age of online marketing many small and medium sized business have shuttered their spends in Radio, Print, and Television in favor of more targeted and provable media. After all, who can afford to compete with major companies like Ford, Coca-Cola, and Geico for share of voice?

While print may be dead (at least in the broad sense), radio has seen quite the comeback. With the advent of digital radio services like Pandora, Spotify, and iHeart Radio, advertisers are now granted the ability to target more specific groups of potential customers, based on interests, geographical areas, and when paired with segment data, even in-market shoppers.

We now sit at the edge of Television's targeted, servable renaissance. Currently, cable providers in many markets allow for "zone-targeting" , but that's just the beginning. As consumers and cable companies begin replacing set-top boxes with "smarter" replacements, advertisers will the be able to serve specific ads to specific consumers. Imagine running an ad for a new Ford to only those homes in a specific neighborhood who have a Chevrolet registered at that address!

While the possibilities of this are limited only by advertiser's imagination, there are still drawbacks. TV usage is still on the decline against streaming services like Netflix and Hulu while those that watch traditional television are using ad-killing DVRs. It's possible that cable companies will start serving ads to DVR users, but only time will tell.

My prediction? As cable boxes become smarter and allow for more targeting, small and medium sized businesses will begin to re-integrate TV (in small amounts) back into their marketing budgets.

What do you think?

5 Pieces of Content You Already Have

While it may seem to be social media cliche' at this point, I am still amazed by the amount of businesses that I talk to who are unaware of the mountain of content GOLD sitting right under their noses. 

These 5 pieces of content are sitting at every business, waiting to be posted:

1. Employee Spotlight: There is nothing better than humanizing your business through focus on an employee. I've always said that each person is the lead character in their own life story, complete with their own unique skills and interests. Telling stories about employees goes a long way for the employee as well.
2. Community Involvement: Whether it's an employer driving program or something that employees are involved in, telling the story of how your organization supports the community is some of the easiest content you can possibly accessed. Pro Tip: Ask around, as there are often things that the company supports that may not be shared effectively with the whole staff (that's where you come in!).
3. The Monotonous: Did someone drink the last cup of coffee? Everyone hates that, including the fans of your business. Sharing the little things that people can relate to allow us to connect more deeply with our community. Extra points if the content is both relevant to everyone AND your business.
4. Solicitations for Help! I guarantee that you or a co-worker asked a question in a meeting recently about how to improve your customer experience. Why ask each other? Ask them! Even if you don't implement the ideas, asking your community for feedback is a great way to stay in touch with the pulse of your clients!
5. Customer Stories: While lots of businesses post "thank you" items about customers that have recently completed a purchase or had a great experience, seldom do they reach out and ask customers to tell their story. Chances are strong that you have dozens of clients that would gladly let you spotlight them a unique aspect of their life.

Ideas to add? Drop them in the comments below!

Worth It

It's Thursday afternoon, which means that Digital Dealer 18 has come to a close and all of my automotive colleagues are either home or on the way. 

While I'll leave specific points and content to a future post, I'd just like to thank some people for making this a really amazing experience:

• Speakers: Over these last 3 days I picked up more than my fair share of insights. While I consider myself to be pretty adept at digital marketing, there were several sessions that absolutely blew me away, suggesting new concepts that I had never considered.
• Vendors: This huge THANK YOU goes out to the vendors that have a true passion for their brand and belief in the industry. I had dozens of conversations with incredible people that provide services for dealers and care about how we as an industry move forward. These are vendors that don't need a flashy car or a painted woman to prove that they know and care about moving this world forward.
• Colleagues: Once (or twice) a year it is great to get away from the store and get a reminder that "we're not crazy" and that common problems exist in every dealership. A huge thank you goes out to the dozens of other dealers and marketing professionals that I had the pleasure of chatting with this week. By just making the effort to learn and grow, dealers in attendance represented the very best the industry has to offer and I appreciate the opportunity to learn from all of them.

As we all arrive home we have the challenge of getting back into the normal routine while bearing the obligation to implement the things we learned into our businesses. Thank you to everyone who made this an amazing trip.