Of course, if you already operate a blog for your dealership and you're frustrated by the lack of an obvious ROI, you might be unknowingly making mistakes that are keeping you from becoming that trusted source for your customers and sending them clicking elsewhere.
Routine errors and typos, posting too much (or too little) or even a lack of simplicity can turn off readers, keeping your traffic numbers low and leaving your engagement levels lower. Here are some ways you can remedy those issues and make the time you invest into blogging worth it.
Reduce Your Errors
Everybody that contributes to your dealership's blog should be putting a lot of effort into making sure the content is correct. Are you making suggestions for how to winterize a car? Don't mess up and tell them to put heavyweight oil in their car! Recommending the "Penny Test" for checking tire tread depth? The tread shouldn't be as thin as a penny. It should overlap Lincoln's head! Obviously, you need to verify that your advice is accurate.
However, even great advice can be overlooked if your posts are littered with typos and spelling mistakes. A comments section filled with quips like "OMG! EDIT MUCH?" and "Who edits this thing?" isn't a good form of engagement. Make sure every post is read multiple times by several people in the dealership before you publish it. If your options for editors are limited, give your brain a break after writing a post and review it again a day or two later. After reviewing it with fresh eyes, it should be ready to post.
Strike the Right Frequency
So you started a blog for your dealership and you were really excited about the possibilities. You had a ton of ideas for content and you've been churning them out as fast as you can. Maybe tap the brakes there, Dale. It's great that you have a lot of ideas, but do your customers really want to be bombarded with all of that fresh, new and awesome content all the time?
In theory, frequent and fresh content will help you move up Google's rankings, making it easier for interested customers to come across your blog and maybe even get a viral hit. But viral spikes are only temporary. Long-lasting and meaningful traffic is built by being an authority on what you write. Investing time in writing good, error-free content is more important than a splurge of short posts that hinge on the flavor of the day.
Keep It Simple
Cars are complex. From the sales process to even basic maintenance, it can be easy for somebody in the industry (like you) to forget who you're writing for and slip into using dealership jargon. I know you want to be helpful and give your readers information that they'll find interesting, but not all of your readers will understand complex descriptions of complex practices. Readers won't bother coming back if they can't relate to or understand what you're writing about.
You need to know your audience and keep your writing simple. I'm not telling you to water down your ideas, but try to use relatable metaphors that make a confusing idea sound a bit simpler. For example, explaining the reasons why older cars should be warmed up prior to driving in cold weather can sound boring when you start breaking down oil viscosity numbers. Instead, compare the practice to stretching before exercising.
If you're having a hard time understanding your target audience or knowing if your blog efforts are really generating leads, you need to look into a way to track your lead sources. Have you seen your lead traffic bloom after adjusting your blogging habits? What approach did you change? Let us know in the comments.
