Facebook is not an idea that is new, but it is a site that is constantly changing, adapting, and furthering itself within the technological word. Most recently, Mark Zuckerberg announced an organ donor status option for Timeline, in which users will be able to share when they registered and their personal story. This status update isn’t officially registering as an organ donor; you still must contact the appropriate registry, however it provides an opportunity to help more than 114,000 people in the U.S. and millions more around the world that are waiting for that life saving organ transplant.

Now, I know what you’re probably thinking – What does organ donation have to do with a dealership? Nothing really to be quite honest, but don’t miss the bigger picture here, in just this week alone thousands of Facebook users have signed up to be organ donors, in part for Facebook making it easier to register.

Technology plays a huge role in society not only on a professional level, but also on a personal level as well, but I think Facebook itself plays an even bigger role. After all most people have some sort of smart phone with access to apps like Facebook at any given moment. Not too mention, if you take a look around people are always on Facebook; at work, in public places, even in movie theatres. I constantly see people on the social network site.

My point here is that as a dealership, you’re a company that is providing products that are also always constantly changing and furthering themselves. Cars are advancing on so many levels, so why shouldn’t the dealership that sells them be advancing also? How do you do this? USE FACEBOOK; promote not only your dealership but also the advances being made in the automotive industry. Get your fans involved, instill trivia games, give away prizes, and ask conversational questions. Facebook is clearly an innovative tool within technology, having 1,000 users sign up for organ donation within a week? Why wouldn’t you want to be a part of a social network that contains 900 million members?

Listen to Kimberly Roselle's audio blog, as she talks about the importance of going green in your dealership.

National Advertising vs Local Advertising for Auto Dealers...

Advertising is all around us. It’s everywhere. But, that doesn’t mean that your dealerships’ advertising is everywhere it needs to be. Advertise all you want, but if your potential customers aren’t seeing your ad, you've missed the point. Be Everywhere So the question is, how do you ensure that the ad you created is being seen by the right people? The answer: advertise regionally, locally, and nationally. I know what your thinking, regionally and locally make sense but, why would I want to advertise across the country from my dealership? Because buyers know what the want, and will invest the time to find it. They will search for the best deals they can find and for the car they really want, even it if it means traveling or shipping the vehicle. For most, the purchase of a car isn’t a quick decision. It involves research, research and some more research until the buyer is 100 percent certain of the purchase he or she wishes to make. So doesn’t it make the most sense that every potential consumer sees your ad repeatedly while doing their research? Shouldn't every buyer know that you can provide the best car and the best customer service at the price the buyer is willing to pay? Taking The Next Step If you’re ready for your automotive advertising to become recognizable on both a local and national level, it’s time you contact Potratz, and start standing out from the competition. What are you waiting for? There’s no time like the present to begin making changes at your dealership.

By: Toni Riggi

How do you develop a customer’s relationship with your brand when they are always in a hurry? It is no secret that technology and social media have allowed the consumer to be in a power position. They can fast forward through advertisements, subscribe to satellite radio, and simply search (or not search) whatever and whenever they please. Basically, they are too busy to see what they don’t want to see. Selectivity has become the norm.

How does an advertiser brand an organization to this type of consumer? The secret is to utilize the very same media in which millennial are employing. These people are busy, so as an advertiser, we need to fit neatly into their day. General branding, as a focus, should come to the forefront of an advertisers strategy. For instance, develop a remarketing strategy that utilizes cookies. Once a potential customer visits a site, they will then have a cookie placed on their device, and a remarketing advertisement will continue to pop up wherever they go. This simple and non-intrusive tool will enable consumer targeting during their evaluation and purchasing stages of the buying cycle. They visited your site for a reason, so why not remind them why?

By: Joe Cimmino

What does it take to create a ground-breaking advertisement? An advertisement that will successfully communicate a message as well as capture the attention of your audience? Is it a specific color scheme? Or perhaps a certain graphic? Although these are very important to take into consideration, I believe the most important element in creating an effective ad design is typography.

What Is Typography?

Typography is the arrangement of font type into the layout of a design. Arranging text into a design sounds may sound simple, but it often requires a lot of thought, as well as a good amount of trial and error. When laying out text in a design, you need to take into consideration many different factors including different typefaces, point sizes, line lengths & spacings. These text elements represent typography, and with the correct combination, it could be the means to a very successful advertisement and design.

Why Is Typography Important.

When looking at typography from a marketing mentality, it is crucial that you see the importance it plays on the overall appearance and tone you are trying to express. Typography is a way to suggest a reaction or response from your viewer, helping them understand who you are as a company, and what services/products you can offer them, above and beyond the actual words and graphics.

By: Yasmine Syed

Advertising is all about breaking through the clutter to effectively target a specific audience. When it comes to car buying, messaging is usually gender neutral, or tends to skew in favor of a male audience. Men, on the whole, lease or buy SUVs, trucks and exotic cars and the formula for advertising these models is simple enough: highlight power, performance and curb appeal. So, how do you reach women? What kinds of cars are they buying and why?

According to a TrueCar.com study on car buying behavior, which evaluated over nine million purchases in 2011, female buyers gravitated towards imported, fuel-efficient vehicles and compact crossovers. Specifically, the top ten brand purchases by females in 2011 were MINI, Nissan, Kia, Honda, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Lexus, Suzuki, Subaru and Hyundai. In addition, the following models were the top ten female purchases: Volvo S40, Nissan Rogue, Volkswagen Eos, Volkswagen Beetle, Hyundai Tucson, Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Nissan Juke, Jeep Compass and Nissan Versa.

Volkswagen has concrete evidence of this gender-buying shift. This past year, the Beetle got a facelift in an effort to make it gutsier-looking and more guy appealing. What once was the quintessential “chick car” has taken a backseat to VW’s latest edition, the compact crossover Tiguan. Women purchase approximately sixty-two percent of all Tiguans. Why? It’s cute, practical and fuel-efficient.

According to traditional industry statistics, women buy a little more than half the number of cars sold in the U.S. and take part in eighty percent of the family car buying decisions. With more women in the workplace and an ever-increasing number of them becoming the family’s bigger breadwinner, the main draw for female car buyers is value and fuel efficiency. Could you grow your sales numbers with a female-targeted campaign? Yes, you can. And we at Potratz can help.