2023 Dealers United Wrap Up

2023 Dealers United Wrap Up

2023 Dealers United Wrap Up

That’s a wrap on 2023!

A lot has happened over the past 365 days, or 8,760 hours, or 525,600 minutes… 

No matter how you count it up, the count down to 2024 is over. This annual Wrap Up blog is one of our favorite traditions to end the year.

As a team, we produced 7 videos, 3 webinars, 8 case studies, 3 trade show seminars, and 19 blogs!

We also welcomed 4 new faces to #TeamDU, celebrated the addition of 10 new babies (4 human and 6 fur) and visited 12 countries (mostly by our Controller and HR Guru Josh).

While ALL of that was happening, our main focus was on connection. We are most proud of the relationships we have built and continue to nurture with dealer partners, social platform teams, and industry colleagues. Big shout out to our dedicated team who has kept their sights on creating IMPACT and real results for our clients. 

Lastly, we are so grateful for being able to spend this year with YOU. 

Now, enjoy seeing how we spent 2023!

January

  • Three team members started 2023 by adding to their families! Performance Managers Alix and Meg added a corgi named Jӧri and a frenchie named Moose to their families. Kevin, Director of Engineering, adopted two cats named Adventure and Orange. 🐱😸🐶🐶
  • 🚘🚘 Two team members purchased new rides of their own! Sandra, Ad Productions, purchased a 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan (she’s been in the VW family since 2008 #brandloyalty) and Carrie, Performance Manager, opted for a 2023 Kia Seltos!
  • We published our first Dealership Case Study of the year for Dahl Ford, highlighting their “Market Disruptor” campaign on Meta and TikTok. Click here to see how they matched over 85 sales to their social media ads!

February

  • Sandra was promoted to Manager of Ad Strategy! Congrats, Sandra! 👏
  • We fueled up attendees at NADA in Dallas with our Herbster Coffee Truck. It’s always amazing to get to see our dealer partners in person. (Hi, Sam and Lindsay! 👋) Looking forward to NADA 2024!
  • Thanks for this awesome testimonial Josh Hall! We love working with KMA Auto.

March

April

  • Cute babies alert! Sarah, Manager of Partner Experience, welcomed her first daughter, Zinnia, and Nathan, UX UI Developer, welcomed his first son, Jonah!
  • This month we opened a virtual office using Kumospace! As a 💯 remote company, finding ways to nurture meaningful connections is a big priority. Think of Kumo like Zoom meets “The Sims” – each team member has their own “office” they can decorate, and there are plenty of open meeting spaces for co-working and meeting with dealer partners. It’s been a fun addition to our remote culture.

May

  • We were so excited to host a session at Digital Dealer Tampa! You can still get the resources from our session, “The Strategy That Yields More ROI Than Radio, Billboards, Direct Mail & Newspaper Ads Combined” by clicking here!
  • We hosted a Cinco De Mayo Cocktail contest in Kumospace. In lieu of a taste test, MJ and Meg tied for “Best Name” with their drinks “Strawberry Marj-arita” and “The Large Marge.” Special cheers to Rob Sight Ford who helped Alix win “Most Likely To Reorder” by naming her drink “The Island Delight” 🍹
  • This was a really cool Meta + Pinterest Ads Case Study for Healey Brothers Hyundai (if we do say so ourselves). You can download a PDF copy here or watch this video break down of their Social Media Omnichannel strategy producing impressive results.
  • Our social advertising services expanded to feature auto manufacturers such as Stellantis, HondaHyundai, and Mitsubishi, to provide customized solutions tailored to each brand’s marketing needs and audience.
  • Our favorite ad of Q2 was this model comparison Pinterest ad for Zeigler Subaru of Kenosha. The goal of this ad was to educate auto buyers on the Outback’s benefits in order to re-capture market share from the local competitor.

June

  • Our SVP, Justin, bought a new house and moved from Massachusetts to North Carolina!
  • Alix started a podcast! Check out “Little Too Much with A.K.” wherever you listen online.
  • We hosted a Team Jeopardy in Kumo. The questions were generated based on a fun employee survey to find categories like: “First Car,” “Spirit Animals,” and “Growing Up I Wanted To Be A…”

July

  • Ad Strategy Analyst MJ bought a 2024 Kia Seltos!
  • Rachel joined the Performance Management Team “DU-CX” (also known as the Mighty DUCX 🦆)
  • The Culture Club hosted one of our favorite annual events: a virtual scavenger hunt! The team has 5 minutes to find as many items as they can from around their house like paper clips, a sparkly shoe, or Italian seasoning. 🤣
  • Thanks for this five-star review Hugo Marciales! We appreciate the partnership with Anyone Rides.

August

  • Say hello to baby Reed! Performance Manager Meg welcomed her first baby boy.

September

  • Ad Strategy Analyst Mitch picked up and moved from Arizona to Oregon! 🚚
  • Another cute furry friend joined Team DU: say hi to Pixie, Controller Josh’s AussieDoodle
  • A virtual corn maze?! Yup. Kumospace has several fun, interactive, templated scenes including a (really hard) corn maze! Our virtual team was scattered around the maze trying to find our way out, and some were faster than others…
  • We hosted a webinar to share the Secrets To TikTok For Car Dealers. 🤫🔓You can watch the replay here!
  • Our favorite ad for Q3 was this football themed ad for Lasco Ford!

October

  • Surprise, Account Manager Amy: you are the owner of a new kitten! Amy’s husband’s pool cleaning company rescued this cutie in a pool skimmer… Meet Skimmer! 
  • Oh boy! Creative Lead Katelyn welcomed her first son, Tucker!
  • We met up with the TikTok Automotive team at one of their Florida locations in an effort to continue building a powerful partner relationship, plus learn more about new beta opportunities and best practices (Hint: TikTok Lookalike Audiences!)
  • WHO DID IT?! Was it Colonel Mustard with the Candlestick? Or Director of CX Andrew in the Kumospace parlor room?? We hosted a virtual Murder Mystery party and a Costume Contest in our Halloween themed Kumospace office.
  • Thanks for the Review Mitch Randall! We appreciate the partnership with Toyota of Warsaw.
  • We would bet on this crew any day! Kelly Majauskas, Senior Partner Manager at Pinterest, Lindsay Latsko, Director of Internet & Marketing Operations for Zeigler Auto Group, & Justin Friend, SVP of Dealers United, took the Keynote Stage at Digital Dealer Las Vegas to present “Discover, Decide & Drive: The Road To Dealer Success on Pinterest.” 
  • In preparation for a MAJOR announcement in November 👀 we welcomed Dale Hewett, VP of Search, and Melissa Liu, Head of SEM!

November

  • Congratulations are in order for two team members on magnificent milestones! Support Analyst Eugene closed on his first home- best wishes on creating happy memories in your new abode. 🏠 VP of Marketing Brooke got married to her fella in a magical ceremony followed by a super magical honeymoon in Thailand! We love all the love. 👰🏼‍♀️♥️
  • The #TeamDU Culture Committee planned a company give back initiative by teaming up with Letters Against Isolation. LAI’s mission is to “Fight senior loneliness one letter at a time.” Our team created 62 greeting cards that were sent to 5 assisted living centers around the country! 
  • It’s time for our most exciting announcement of the year…🎉 In 2024, we’re going BEYOND social to expand Dealers United’s Full-Service Digital Solutions with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM). Through the power of best-in-class Search AND Social, Dealers United is ready to double down on digital to provide even more value, more impact, and more results for the auto industry. You can learn more about our Full-Service expansion here.

December (so far)

  • Performance Manager Aleena moved from Chicago, IL to West Lafayette, IN! 🏠
  • Congratulations to Chaz who was promoted to Sr. Support Analyst! Thank you for all that you do for our team and partners.
  • Special WELCOME to Jessie Sigel-Dean who started as a Performance Manager, and Jorge Lafosse who joined as a SEO Manager! We are so excited to have you join Team DU.
  • Who doesn’t love a little friendly competition? Our most competitive culture event of the year is our annual Gingerbread House build. The creativity comes out in full force! This year’s winners: 
      • Winner Takes the Cookie (1st Place): Andrew’s “Team DUBB Super Bowl”
      • Second Best Baked (2nd Place): Aleena’s “Ellie and Carl’s Up House”
      • Most Likely To Be Eaten (Get in my belly): Rachel’s “Dunkie Junkie Mojo Dojo Casa House”
      • Family Fabrication (Made with your family!): Eric’s “Alice in Wonderland — but make it Barbie”
      • Simple Yet Sweet (Not too much, Not too little, Just right): Lauren’s “Winter Wonderland Went Wrong”
      • Decorated Those Halls (Most Festive): Shea’s “Palmer’s Log Cabin”
      • Unique Treat (They WENT there!): Melissa’s “The Gingerbread Trap House”

WOW! What a year.

With a heart full of gratitude and a tank full of rocket fuel, Team DU is blasting into the new year in a major way. 

We are so excited to expand our digital solutions to provide even more for our dealer partners. No matter what – our lens will always be focused on what is best for our customers and rock star team. 

By the way…we are hiring! If you know someone looking to join a fun remote culture that embraces the finesse of balancing between “work hard, play hard” – send them to www.dealersunited.com/careers

See you in 2024!

Dominate SEO, SEM, & Social

Blog Author - Molly Dennehy
Written By Molly Dennehy
Molly Dennehy is a marketing expert who has evidenced effective digital marketing strategies across six different industries. Now, she brings her diverse experience and creativity to automotive dealers. From audience targeting, campaign set-up, and content creation, Molly is passionate about sharing new and innovative ways to drive results.

2022 Dealers United Wrap Up

2022 Dealers United Wrap Up

2022 Dealers United Wrap Up

Wow, what a year.

It’s safe to say a lot happened in 2022. The days seemed to fly by as fast as minutes, and I think we are all asking the same question: “Where has the time gone?”

The biggest lesson from the year is also a great reminder for 2023: Stay 👏 Resilient👏.

As the automotive industry evolves and customer behavior changes, so do our processes and strategies. In the words of Friends’ Ross Gellar, “PIVOT!” 🤣

However, there is a ton to celebrate!

At Dealers United, this Annual Wrap Up blog is one of our favorite end-of-year traditions. Thank you for being a part of our year, and enjoy seeing how our team spent 2022!

January

    • We officially launched Omnichannel Advertising so that our dealers can advertise on ALL available channels: Meta (Facebook & Instagram), Pinterest, Snapchat, and TikTok. 🚀

    • We started a monthly wine club, where our team sips and streams for a virtual Tasting Room. 🍷

    • Our team onboarded 2 new members to help our dealer-partners grow! MJ Belada and Aleena Bowman both joined the DU Customer Experience Team!

February

    • Launched a brand-new format of Partner Updates! Instead of a live webinar, we now offer a short video + blog! Watch or read, your choice: See “What’s New At DU” here.

    • We welcomed Mitch Lucky to the DU Customer Experience Team! 👋

    • Eric Lichon, Operations Specialist, welcomed baby girl, Claire Elizabeth, into the world! 
    • What an HONOR it was to be recognized by #GrowFL as one of “Top 50 Companies To Watch!”

March

    • While in Las Vegas, DU sponsored a GROW! Women’s Leadership Luncheon. 💃🍴 

    • Our entire team flew down to Sarasota, FL for a 3-day company retreat, where we held team-building exercises, workshops, outdoor activities, and more! 🤩 🌴

April

    • Andrew Rogers, Director of Customer Experience, officially passed his Meta Blueprint recertification! Great job AR – way to #learnandlead
    • We released our 30th Dealer Success Story 🤯 with Nelson Auto Center! Check it out here!

    • An eggciting spring tradition: egg painting competition! Each team member painted an egg and we voted on the best…Social Media Designer Samantha’s “Mon-egg Lisa” took 1st place! 🥚🖼

May

    • Justin Friend, DU’s VP & GM, co-hosted a breakout session at Digital Dealer Tampa with Allison McConeghy, Senior Partner Manager, from Pinterest: “How to Sell Where Your Customers Are Shopping with Dealer Inventory Feeds on Pinterest.”

    • The morning of our Digital Dealer session, we learned Healey’s Shopping Ads Pinterest Case Study was featured by Adweek!

June

July

August

    • Our Director of Ad Operations, Phil M, tied the knot and took on another role as “husband!” 🔔
    • We welcomed Carrie Zaydel to the Customer Experience team!

    • Awesome press highlighting Healey Brothers Automotive’s success with Pinterest in Auto Dealer Today!

    • We published our *First* Omnichannel Success Story 🏆🔥 South County Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram leveraged Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat to drive some impressive Q2 results. Download your copy here!

September

    • Hurricane Ian hit South Florida, the hub of Dealers United’s team…thankfully the non-Floridian team-members embodied our “Jump In” core value to help the team with tasks where needed…everyone stayed safe and even made the best of it!
    • Performance Manager Alix Knox became a proud homeowner! I mean… could the house (and the couple) be any more adorable?

October

    • What a month for leveling up our skills! Aleena Bowman, Mitch Lucky and Bryan Moore passed the Meta Blueprint certification! 😱 🥳
    • Huge shoutout to Allison McConeghy from Pinterest and Jay Healey of Healey Brothers Auto Group for joining Justin Friend on the Digital Dealer keynote stage! Their session focused on how to diversify messaging and ad strategy on Pinterest: “Yes, Pinterest Can Sell Cars…But That’s Not All!”

    • The DU Culture Club hosted a virtual Murder Mystery Party! The crew dressed to impress for the Speakeasy theme, and had a blast acting out their characters.

November

      • DU proudly sponsored the University of South Florida’s “Brunch on the Bay” that raised funds for the construction of a planned Nursing/STEM building.

      • Our VP of Marketing, Brooke J, got ENGAGED to her Man! 💍
      • We launched the annual State of Automotive event in a big way! Justin Friend and Molly Dennehy produced 12 on-demand interviews with some of the biggest thought leaders in the Automotive and Digital Marketing industries. PLUS produced over 35 actionable resources to help auto dealers go into 2023 strong.

December

        • To celebrate the holidays, the entire team joined in on a virtual White Elephant gift exchange.
        • The Annual Gingerbread Contest was a HIT! And wow do we have some talented, creative people on our team…but Meg Hughes-Ritter’s “Hagrid’s Hut” took first prize! 🥇

        • While we enjoy being a remote company, it’s always a treat to meet up in person! Justin Friend had the opportunity to visit with our partners at Zeigler Automotive Group (check out that studio!), and join Ali Fawaz with our partners at Pinterest!

And that’s a wrap!

We are so lucky to work with the best team and coolest clients. Thank you for being along for the ride!

(Not yet part of the DU community yet? Find your solution today, help us grow by reviewing us or referring a friend, or check out our available careers!)

Blog Author - Molly Dennehy

Written By Molly Dennehy
Molly Dennehy is a marketing expert who has evidenced effective digital marketing strategies across six different industries. Now, she brings her diverse experience and creativity to automotive dealers. From audience targeting, campaign set-up, and content creation, Molly is passionate about sharing new and innovative ways to drive results.

What’s New At DU: Dealership Culture In The Age Of Social Media

What’s New At DU: Dealership Culture In The Age Of Social Media

What’s New At DU: Dealership Culture In The Age Of Social Media

What impact does social media have on your culture? 🤔

 Check out the video above to hear from Justin Friend, VP & General Manager, and Molly Dennehy, Brand Manager, or skim the highlights listed below.

 💡 Pro tip: You can jump to different sections in the video by using the video navigation tools or by clicking any “(Watch at #)” linked below.

 Agenda:

  • Social Media & Dealership Culture
  • Customer Spotlight: Zeigler Auto Group 👏
  • TikTok Best Practices

Social Media & Dealership Culture (Watch at 0:35)

With social media platforms capturing attention at an increasing rate, it definitely has an impact on our culture. Dealerships who embrace social media and incorporate it into their culture both internally and externally are seeing remarkable results.

Getting your staff involved not only is a great way to create content for your brand and share what the culture is like at your dealership, but also a method of team building!

The Top Reasons People Visit Your Social Media (Watch at 1:20)

We recently learned that the top reasons a user visits your social media pages are: 1) to read reviews and 2) to check out your culture. People want to learn about your customer experience and meet the people they would be interacting with.

Start A Team Content Contest (Watch at 2:07)

Creating a social media content contest can jump start your efforts to improve your social media footprint on your dealership culture. Here is how to do it:

  • Determine the prizes. We suggest prizes for most engagement + most votes for creativity. Get the community involved with voting! (Google Forms is great for this.)
  • Set the topics or categories. Think about what’s trending & sharing your culture. Do they have to say a buzzword or phrase? Use a prop or sound? Show off the team or inventory?
  • Set the duration. For each category, set the time to measure results. We suggest 1 week per video.
  • Have regular check-ins. Hold brainstorming and training sessions before, during and after! Share the winning video across channels.

If you hold a contest, we want to help! Share your videos and accounts with us, and we will help promote your content! Email: [email protected]

Customer Spotlight: Zeigler Auto Group (Watch at 3:59)

Our Customer Spotlight of the month is Zeigler Auto Group! We chose Zeigler to be our spotlight because they truly are embracing social media into their culture, and have put together some unique programs to promote content creation amongst their team.

This group spans 24 brands in 4 states with over 35 rooftops.

Lindsay Latsko is the Director of Internet and Marketing Operations for several of their locations, and she is a member of our Customer Advisory Board. In this month’s meeting she shared that they have created an internal program called “Driving Social”.

Their team meets once a month to brainstorm and inspire each other on creating content by sharing ideas, tips, and training on the platforms. By adding some friendly competition, it is truly ‘driving’ some great content and camaraderie!

TikTok Best Practices (Watch at 6:20)

We recently hosted a webinar on the #1 most downloaded social platform in the world- TikTok. If you are interested in learning best practices for creating content for your dealership, you will want to catch the replay! We have also put together some resource guides that you can download to help you get started or optimize your current strategies.

Click here to watch the replay! https://www.dealersunited.com/resource/webinar-taking-on-tiktok
Click here to download the TikTok Organic Guide! https://www.dealersunited.com/wp-content/uploads/TikTok-Organic-Guide-Dealers-United.pdf  
See some of our favorite TikTok examples: https://www.dealersunited.com/resource/tiktok-examples-car-dealers/  

Blog Author - Molly Dennehy

Written By Molly Dennehy
Molly Dennehy is a marketing expert who has evidenced effective digital marketing strategies across six different industries. Now, she brings her diverse experience and creativity to automotive dealers. From audience targeting, campaign set-up, and content creation, Molly is passionate about sharing new and innovative ways to drive results.

What’s New At DU: Pinterest Check-in & NEW Webinar

What’s New At DU: Pinterest Check-in & NEW Webinar

What’s New At DU: Pinterest Check-in & NEW Webinar

Wrapping up Q1 on a high note 🎶

Welcome back to the new format for Dealers United Partner Updates! Check out this month’s info in two ways: print or video.

💡 Pro tip: You can jump to different sections in the video by using the video navigation tools or by clicking any “(Watch at #)” linked below.

Agenda:

  • NADA Recap
  • NADA Workshop Webinar!
  • Customer Spotlight – Dahl Ford  👏
  • Pinterest Check-in
  • Dealers United Team Updates 😎

NADA Recap (Watch at 0:19)

This year’s NADA Show 2022 was a blast! The event took place March 10th-13th at the Las Vegas Convention Center. It was great to be in person once again to reconnect and celebrate our industry. 

The theme of the show was centered on the future of our industry, with a focus on Electric Vehicles. The show’s content emphasized the importance of educating and informing auto shoppers to help guide them through upcoming industry changes and trends.

NADA Workshop Webinar (Watch at 1:19)

Pete Petersen, CEO of Dealers United, hosted a workshop, “7 Undercover Direct-to-Consumer Platforms You Need In 2022,” on Sunday, March 13th. 🔥

After the session, there were so many questions from the audience that we went overtime (NADA literally had to cut us off). 😅

So, we decided to host this virtual session to answer ALL of your questions about advertising on social media.

Discover the direct-to-consumer channels that will help your store engage, influence and close buyers. 🔑 Three key takeaways:

▶️ Explore 7 social platforms that are helping other dealers reach more auto buyers: Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Snapchat, TikTok & Instagram.

▶️ Understand how to use data to target your ideal audience and in-market auto shoppers, and what sources you can leverage now – including some that you already own!

▶️ Identify the right messages (with examples!) to leapfrog your business ahead of the competition and increase market share.

Can’t make the live event? No worries – register anyway and we’ll send you the recording!

Customer High-Five (Watch at 1:49)

🖐️  Dahl Ford is our Customer Spotlight of the month!

We are excited to celebrate 1 year of working with the team in Davenport, IA, who leverage Facebook + Instagram and Snapchat for a full funnel Omnichannel strategy. 

From February 2021 to February 2022,  their campaigns had an average match rate of 24.8% with 344 sales attributed at a $107.57 CPUS. Their average CPL was $22.12 with 48,550 total landing page views. Absolutely incredible!

Pinterest Check-in (Watch at 3:42)

On Pinterest, positivity is the key to success! Pinners come with a positive mindset and expect the same from your content.

When your brand delivers positive, authentic content, you benefit from higher engagement with your followers.

📌  Three Pin Tips:

  • Create content that supports your audience’s personal style, judgment-free.
  • Encourage your followers’ aspirations by introducing them to new ideas.
  • Help your audience take the next step with actionable suggestions.

Pinterest is a highly personal experience, where individuals come to be inspired, plan their next life event, and discover new ideas. By building a presence on Pinterest, your auto dealership can become a part of their lives and help them find the perfect vehicle for their lifestyle.

Dealers United Updates 😎 (Watch at 6:02)

It has been a BIG month for #TeamDU! At the start of the month, we brought all our crew together in Sarasota, FL for some team building, bonding.

It was an action packed few days filled with games, gratitude and giving back to our community.

We are a fully remote company, and while that has its perks, it was so amazing to bring people from 19 different states together to celebrate each other and nurture our culture.

However, one person who couldn’t join us in Florida was Customer Success Manager Mike Miller, because he was welcoming his son, Lando, into the world!

Congratulations to Mike and his growing family, who officially wins the cutest new Zoom background when baby Lando makes an appearance. 👶

Are we in the right lane? 🚘 (Watch at 7:02)

Hopefully you can tell how proud we are of #TeamDU, and we are just as honored to have this partnership with you. We truly strive to build a relationship with our members so that it feels as if our team is an extension of your team.

Thank you those who have recently written reviews on Facebook or Google or texted us feedback, because it is so valuable. We want to know if we are driving in the right lane with you, and if there is anything we can do to improve or enhance our partnership.

It would mean so much if you could take 30 seconds to leave us a review on Facebook or Google.

Thank you for tuning to this month’s updates! ✌️

 Questions? Compliments? Ready to maximize your success? 

 Reach out to us at [email protected] or schedule a 15min consultation.

Blog Author - Molly Dennehy

Written By Molly Dennehy
Molly Dennehy is a marketing expert who has evidenced effective digital marketing strategies across six different industries. Now, she brings her diverse experience and creativity to automotive dealers. From audience targeting, campaign set-up, and content creation, Molly is passionate about sharing new and innovative ways to drive results.

What’s New At DU: Top Automotive Ad Campaigns & NADA

What’s New At DU: Top Automotive Ad Campaigns & NADA

What’s New At DU: Top Automotive Ad Campaigns & NADA

New Updates Coming In Hot 🔥

Welcome to the new format for Dealers United Partner Updates! We have provided this month’s information in two ways: print or video. 

Prefer to watch? Check out the video above to hear from Justin Friend, VP & General Manager, and Molly Dennehy, Brand Manager, or skim the highlights listed below.

💡 Pro tip: You can jump to different sections in the video by using the video navigation tools or by clicking any “(Watch at #)” linked below.

Agenda:

  • Omnichannel Check-In – Trending Results 📊
  • Suggested Playbooks
  • Customer Spotlight – South County DCJR  👏
  • NADA Show 2022 – RSVP for our D2C workshop!
  • Dealers United Team Updates 😎

Omnichannel Check-in – Trending Results (Watch at 0:54)

The biggest buzzword right now in digital advertising is Omnichannel.

At its core, an Omnichannel strategy puts the customer at the center of everything by serving full-funnel automotive ad campaigns across multiple social media platforms.

To execute this strategy, advertisers leverage user data signals with sophisticated API integrations to present the next logical ad message to the ideal target audience, creating a frictionless online customer journey and optimized ad spend budget.  🤓

In Q3 2021, Dealers United led the way in the automotive industry by providing auto dealers the ability to tap into this powerful strategy, and the trending results of the Omnichannel automotive ad campaigns are amazing!  *chef’s kiss* 🤌💋

Here are the month-over-month KPI results from December ‘21 to January ‘22 for the automotive ad campaigns on Snapchat, Pinterest, Facebook+Instagram, and TikTok:

Snapchat (Watch at 1:57)

  • CPM ⬇️ by 31%
  • CPC ⬇️ by 43%

Pinterest (Watch at 2:55 + Bonus $1000 Media Credit! 🎁✨)

  • CPM ⬇️ by 35%
  • CPC ⬇️ by 39%

Facebook & Instagram (Watch at 3:59

  • CPM ⬇️ by 24%
  • CPC ⬇️ by 21%

TikTok (Watch at 4:44)

  • CPM ⬇️ by 45%
  • CPC ⬇️ by 44%

Blended Omnichannel Metrics (Watch at 5:24)

  • CPM ⬇️ by 32%
  • CPC ⬇️ by 40%

As you can see, the results from Omnichannel automotive ad campaigns are more than just industry buzz, but driving some awesome returns. So…what results can your dealership expect in your market? 

The updated Dealers United MarketAnalyzer can not only provide audience size and demographics, but also calculate a suggested budget and return on investment. 

Check it out at https://app.dealersunited.com/analyzer#/


Yes, we geek out on data and targeting. (I mean, the MarketAnalyzer predicts conversion rate and expected sales!) But, it’s what we do with it that really counts…

Each month, our Ad Operations team analyzes the best-of-the-best performing automotive ad campaigns to create Dealer Ad Playbooks. 💪

Recommended Playbooks (Watch at 6:25)

Playbooks are proven sets of ready-to-deploy ads built to help solve business challenges–  preset with audience targeting, ad creative, copy, AND campaign strategy. They are specially crafted to reach consumers that can take action and drive leads to your CRM.

These playbooks are recommended based on what’s working right now across our network.

Now Available:

  • 2022 Vehicle Acquisition & BuyBack 
  • 2022 Custom Order (OEM specific: CDJR, Ford, Chevrolet)
  • 2022 Tax Season Playbook
  • 2022 Generic Hiring Ads 

New Model Line Playbooks

These playbooks are designed to meet co-op needs and reach your local market with specific model lines. Each model line contains videos, carousels, and images to help promote, inform, educate, and excite consumers on a specific model line.

We recommend these playbooks go to Model Line SRP pages or landing pages specific to the promoted model.

Just Released:

  • 2022 Dodge Durango
  • 2022 Dodge Challenger
  • 2022 VW ID.4
  • 2021 Jeep Renegade
  • 2022 Hyundai IONIQ 5
  • 2022 Hyundai Elantra
  • 2022 Ford F-150
  • 2022 Ford Escape
  • 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  • 2022 Chevrolet Blazer
  • 2022 Subaru Crosstrek

Dealers United Partners can browse all available playbooks & ad creative by logging in to the dashboard and navigating to “Playbooks.”

Are we missing a playbook? Let us know and we’ll add it shortly!

Customer High-Five (Watch at 10:35)

🖐️  South County DCJR is leveraging Pinterest, Facebook + Instagram, and Snapchat ads going full funnel Omnichannel, resulting in 511 leads with a CPC of $0.90 and CPL of $13.98.

We’re hosting a workshop at NADA 2022! (Watch at 12:10)

Heading to Las Vegas in March? Pete Petersen, CEO of Dealers United, is hosting a workshop, “7 Undercover Direct-to-Consumer Platforms You Need In 2022,” on Sunday, March 13th at 10:30am. 🔥

Pete says, “As a dealer, you have a HUGE competitive advantage over the national providers. They need to reach and engage shoppers in over 40,000 zip codes… you only need to master your Primary Area of Responsibility.

 You now have the ability to reach and direct ALL automotive shoppers to your dealership’s website during their path to purchase.”

 Register for the slides and RSVP for the session at: bit.ly/NADA2022

Welcome to #TeamDU (Watch at 12:34)

We are excited to welcome three new Customer Support Managers to the team! Please say hello to Aleena Bowman, MJ Belada, and Mitch Lucky! Happy to have you on board!  🥳  

All-Hands Company Retreat!

Dealers United is investing in bringing our entire team, from across the country, together to celebrate, connect and align on Wednesday, March 2nd, and Thursday, March 3rd, in sunny Sarasota, FL. 🌴☀️

Our teams will have all partners’ March templates built out and ready to deploy, but please let our team know of any early content or rebudgeting needs as soon as possible.

 That’s all folks!

Thanks for checking out what’s new with DU. Did you like this new format? Ready for Justin & Molly’s blooper reel? (Oh yea, best believe we have got that on deck.) 😜✌️

 Questions? Compliments? Ready to maximize your success? 

 Reach out to us at [email protected] or schedule a 15min consultation.

Blog Author - Molly Dennehy

Written By Molly Dennehy
Molly Dennehy is a marketing expert who has evidenced effective digital marketing strategies across six different industries. Now, she brings her diverse experience and creativity to automotive dealers. From audience targeting, campaign set-up, and content creation, Molly is passionate about sharing new and innovative ways to drive results.

The 2021 Dealers United Wrap-Up

The 2021 Dealers United Wrap-Up

The 2021 Dealers United Wrap-Up

Whoa… 2021 has come to a close! We don’t know about you, but it’s exciting and almost unbelievable at the same time. What we CAN believe, however, is that it was one of our most innovative years yet: we forayed into omnichannel advertising, doubled-down on remote work, and strategized around our industry’s low inventory challenges.

Check out some of the major accomplishments we’ve had over the last 12 months in our 2021 Wrap-Up.

January

  • Chris S., Partnership Manager, and Stefanie B., Executive Assistant, joined the team!
  • We launched the 2021 Tax Season Playbook with 20 different assets.
  • Dealer-Partner South County CDJR had their first DU Success Story published, detailing how they switched Facebook Ad partners and matched 164 vehicle sales to their new campaigns in just 92 days!
  • Our first blog of the year, “8 Resources To Jumpstart Your Dealership’s 2021 Sales Strategy,” hit the presses!
  • Shea earned the top performer and Sales Manager of the Month honors!
  • We launched our Offline Event Uploader so our dealer-partners could upload their own Offline Events and match their vehicle sales to Facebook Ads. 
  • We put the finishing touches on our “2021 Essential Guide to Dealership Facebook Ads” resource that was presented at Digital Dealer Now.

Customer High-Five:

🖐️  Gullo Ford’s retargeting specials campaigns crushed it in January at $0.43 cost per Landing Page View!

February

  • We welcomed Sandra S., Facebook Specialist, Bryan M., Performance Manager, and Craig A., Project Manager, to the team. As of February 28th, we earned the milestone of having our employees #WorkingFromWherever in 15 states! 
  • The Ad Ops team churned out tons of new playbooks, including campaigns for Honda Zero Percent Event, Ford Truck Month, Nissan Service, and Toyota Certified Pre-Owned.
  • Rachel B. got Facebook Blueprint Certified!
  • DELLA Mazda was featured for their latest Success Story around their model line and branding campaigns.
  • The Marketing team showed dealers how to combat Vroom and Carvana’s brutal superbowl ads.
  • We love our Ford Dealers! We added a new page on our website showcasing how our Ford Facebook and Instagram strategy works.
  • Many of our dealer-partners were caught showing off some DU swag!

Customer High-Five:

🖐️  In February, Briarwood Ford matched 34.6% of their total vehicle sales to their Facebook and Instagram Ads!

March

  • Jeff C., Sales Development, Melissa B., Performance Manager, Phil M., Head of Ad Operations, and Molly D., Brand Manager, joined the ranks!
  • Wow – what a month for our employee certifications! Kristen H., Shea P., and Sarah B. became Facebook Blueprint Certified, and Sandra S. and Chris S. received their Customer Value Optimization badge! 
  • To be more in-line with Facebook’s Best Practice guidelines, the Ad Ops team began creating new video ratio sizes for all accounts!
  • The Creative Team wrapped Q2 with a whopping 110 Model Line Playbooks added to their arsenal! 
  • We released a new Success Story featuring How Healey Brothers Automotive Matched 193 Sales To Facebook In 1 Month!
  • Love shiny objects? We do, too, which is why we couldn’t help but show off our dealer-partners’ shiny new dashboard (+ 6 features they love) in this blog.
  • We published our secret sauce behind our Mazda dealers’ Facebook Ad strategies!
  • In March, we first began sharing our vision for “Omnichannel” social advertising, where shoppers’ actions are monitored and targeted across more than one or two platforms. (Wait to see how this vision came to life in upcoming months!)
  • Katelyn M. closed on her 1st house, and we all competed in a very competitive Egg Decoration contest…(Shoutout to Samantha K. for taking home the win with her rendition of Egg Starry Night!) 

Customer High-Five:

🖐️  3-in-1! Harry Green Chev/Nissan matched 38% and Motorworld matched 53% of their total sales in March to Facebook, while Jim Baier doubled their sales MoM!

April

  • We quickly bolstered all of our technology and client accounts in preparation for iOS 14 changes to ensure they mitigated as many changes to their ad performance as possible, including helping dealers ensure their domain was verified ASAP. (Huge shout out to the entire DU Team for tackling this head-on!)
  • Katelyn M. finally got hitched after her wedding was postponed last year!
  • With inventory at an all time low, the Creative Team launched a new Buyback Playbook, full of 13 assets. Catch the ad previews here.
  • Cody L. was awarded “PM of the Month”!
  • One of our long-time team members, Miranda, welcomed a baby girl into the world!!! 👶 
  • The Marketing and Sales teams gave dealers a look behind-the-curtain into how our Full Suite Advertising package works throughout the Auto Buyer Journey. Watch now! 

Customer High-Five:

🖐️  Serra Ford Rochester Hills decreased their Cost Per Lead month-over-month by 38%!

May

  • The DU Sales Team attended a 3-day Sales Summit to sharpen their skills.
  • Andrew R. was promoted to Manager of Customer Experience. Well-deserved!
  • Bryan M. closed on his 1st home!
  • In our first dive into Omnichannel, we activated ALL U.S. dealer-partners on MSN Autos Marketplace!
  • In April, our dealer-partners’ ad spend growth was Up 117% YoY.
  • The Creative Team updated the Buyback Playbook to deliver “cash offer” and “buy back event” messaging and released a new version with exclusive creative for our Canadian dealers.
  • 4 dealers were featured in our Buy Back Success Story: Nelson Auto Center, Zeigler Cadillac, Paoli Ford, and Dahl Ford! Catch their results here! 
  • We unlocked our “Got Buy Back Ads?” resource to help any dealer overcome their inventory challenges.

Customer High-Five:

🖐️   Westlie Ford matched 41% of their total vehicle sales in May to their Facebook campaigns, and achieved a Cost Per Unit Sale of $86/unit!

June

  • Chaz S., Support Analyst, joined the team and immediately hit the ground running!
  • We hosted our first of many Customer Advisory Board meetings with some of our most innovative partners! 
  • Lorenz D. bought his 1st house and Nathan P. got engaged!
  • 100% of the Client Services Team (Facebook, Creative, Performance, and Partner Teams) got their Snapchat Essentials Certification!
  • Bob Boast VW snagged their very own Success Story detailing their 66% YoY climb!
  • We helped 3 of our dealer-partners present their “Best Idea” at their 20 Group Meetings.
  • The Marketing Team uncovered “Everything Your Dealership Needs To KNow About Snapchat.”
  • Did you know Snapchat has an Auto Playbook, just like Facebook?! Check it out here.
  • What the heck IS Omnichannel? We put together this Omnichannel website page to explain our new vision and help dealers join our alpha and beta tests.
  • What’s better than one Digital Dealer presentation during Digital Dealer Tampa in June? Three! Check out the two speaker sessions we hosted below:
  • 27 Questions You Need To Ask About Your Facebook Strategy (Live w/ Pete Petersen)
  • Boosting? Marketplace? Ads? How To Choose The Right Facebook Path (Virtual w/ Molly Dennehy)

Customer High-Five:

🖐️  Dahl Ford had a RECORD BREAKING MONTH in the dealership’s history in May, despite having the lowest amount of inventory they have ever had.

July

  • Our education breakout, “7 Undercover Direct-to-Consumer Platforms You Need In 2022” was accepted to be presented at NADA 2022! 
  • Sanjay M. bought his 1st home and Danny W. completed construction of his new home!
  • It was a HUGE month for education! Cody L. earned his Customer Value Optimization badge and Lauren B. snagged her Copywriting Specialist badge; Melissa B. became Blueprint Certified; Kristen H., Sarah B., Jordon S., Andrew R., Sandra S. and many more finished their Snapchat Ads Manager & TikTok Ads Academy courses.
  • Our CAB (Customer Advisory Board) dealers went LIVE with their Snapchat Ad  beta tests, and we began alpha-testing TikTok and Pinterest ads.
  • Our remote team was getting stuck in the “noise” of emails, Slacks, and meetings, so we set up an internal 4 hour time block on Wednesdays to help our teams be more productive, where internal communication goes COMPLETELY quiet. (It’s been a huge success!)
  • Molly D. hosted our 1st of many external “Learn it Live! sessions where we dive into the Facebook Automotive Playbook for Dealers! 
  • Healey Brothers snagged their SECOND Success Story about their incredible Buy Back results…20.6% of their units that were “bought back” were attributed to their Facebook campaigns!
  • We restructured our Performance (PM) Team into Pods to increase the amount of attention placed on our dealer-partners accounts.
  • One of our dealer-partners, Power Ford, was featured in AdAge for their success on Facebook! Congratulations Power Ford Team!

Customer High-Fives:

🖐️ Harry Green Chevrolet Nissan matched 102 unit sales to their Facebook campaigns in July!

August

  • We welcomed Liz H. to the team as a Partner Specialist!
  • Chaz S. became Facebook Blueprint Certified; Samantha K. became Community Management certified while Joshua C., Melissa B. and Sanjay M. earned their Copywriting specialist badges; Phil M., Miranda K., and Rachel B. finished their Snapchat Ads Manager courses!
  • Molly D. established DU’s “First Friday” Newsletter, which recaps the top industry news, DU updates, and more each month.
  • Jeff C. made the cross-country move to San Diego, CA!
  • We hosted two “Learn it Live!’s” around “Maximizing Fixed Ops”, one of which was joined by Casey Jenkins at Jenkins & Wynne Ford, Honda & Lincoln.

Customer High-Five:

🖐️  Ray Skillman Ford matched 20% of their total used vehicle sales in July to their Facebook campaigns, and achieved a Cost Per Unit Sale of $81.47/unit!

September

  • On September 13th, Facebook removed the ability to post inventory automatically to Facebook Marketplace. Here’s what we did to help our auto dealers navigate this massive change.
  • Both CEO Pete and Brooke J. closed on their new homes: Pete’s in New Jersey, Brooke’s in the middle of nowhere!
  • Brand new pilot campaigns were launched on TikTok & Pinterest, and we added more A/B tests to our Snapchat campaigns.
  • Shout out to the Ad Ops team, who willingly jumped in and aligned under a new team structure, and quickly organized around a new direction! 
  • Samantha K., Chaz S., Jeff C., and Liz H. all received DigitalMarketer certifications ranging from Data Analytics to Email Marketing specialties, while Jordon S. and Chaz S. got Facebook Blueprint Certified!
  • Pete and Molly hosted one of our favorite Learn it Live!’s about the importance of an Omnichannel strategy. Watch it again here.
  • WOW! Gearing up for the new year, the Creative and Ad Ops team added 31 new Model Line playbooks, and created 73 templates for 2022 Model Lines! 
  • Leadership team met in New York for our quarterly retreat for the first time since the pandemic! 
  • Two more dealer Success Stories got the spotlight in September: Paoli Ford and Jim Baier, Inc. were both recognized for increasing unit sales and profits.
  • We launched 3 new product pages on the DU website to educate our dealers on Snapchat, TikTok, and Pinterest! 
  • The Development and Product teams finalized Omnichannel reporting and onboarding in the Dealers United Dashboard, helping auto dealers easily visualize their results across multiple platforms.

Customer High-Five:

🖐️  2-in-1! Westlie Ford matched 53%, Fast Lane Auto matched 52%, and Fulkon CDJR matched 48% of their total sales in September to Facebook!

October

  • We unveiled the most powerful tool in the auto industry: the “MarketAnalyzer,” which helps auto dealers determine what channels they should be on, how much to spend on each, and even expected ROI!
  • Alix Y. earned her Customer Value Optimization certification, Rachel B. received her Service Software certification for Hubspot, and Bryan M. got Facebook Blueprint Certified!
  • We hosted two “Learn it Lives!”: Know Your Audience and The Importance of Team Culture.
  • Cody L., Shea P., and Sanjay M. went to Chicago and helped Zeigler present their dynamic and innovative ad strategies to the rest of their auto group..
  • We began alpha testing ad campaigns on Pinterest, initiated “Buy Back” campaign tests on Snapchat, and launched full-funnel Messenger-based Lead Forms on Facebook!
  • Shea P. had her wedding after needing to postpone it due to the pandemic!
  • One of the most popular campaigns this year, the “Custom Order” playbook, was released!
  • Kristen H., Rachel B. and Sarah B. were represented one of our Core Values, “Jumping In,” always doing much, much more than their typical job duties.
  • Facebook rebranded to “Meta!” Here’s what this means for auto dealers.
  • Our team went to Vegas for Digital Dealer and DrivingSales, where we met up with some of our CAB dealers, presented two speaker sessions, and gave away $1,500 in free ads to attendees!

November

  • Our VP of Marketing, Brooke J., was selected for the SRQ Magazine’s 35 Under 35 Competition, which recognizes young professionals who have distinguished themselves with their leadership in the field. Congratulations, Brooke! 🏆
  • Bilal M., Frontend Developer, joined the team!
  • CarFive presented Dealers United at their 20 Group and won best presentation!
  • Our Leadership Team, Directors and Managers all completed a Gitlab + Coursera course on “How to Manage a Remote Team” to help us be better leaders in a remote world.
  • Shea earned Sales Manager of the Month, for back-to-back months!
  • In honor of one of our Core Values, “Learn and Lead,” many team members set up massive Google Classroom training courses to help our team cross-train and level up!
  • We hosted our “Seasonal Mixology” culture event, where we brought in one of Sarasota’s favorite bartenders to teach our team how to make 3 fun drinks, virtually over Zoom! 🥃
  • The Ad Ops Team developed new, highly-engaging Black Friday ad creative and campaigns.
  • Dealers United sponsored University of South Florida’s, “Brunch on The Bay” event to invest in our young leaders! 

Customer High-Five:

🖐️  Elko Motors matched 27.78% of their total vehicle sales to Facebook, and saw a $45.83 cost per unit sold!

December

    • We hosted a Leadership, Director and Manager Retreat in Sarasota, Florida, where we did the Spaghetti Tower Challenge, were inspired by Steve Stauning’s “Ridiculously Simple Leadership” principles, and made huge strides in team building, objective alignment, and amplifying our vision!

  • The Marketing team organized one of the biggest events of the year, State of Automotive, “5 Days of Omni-Social,” which gave agencies and vendors access to exclusive interviews with Pinterest, Facebook (Meta), Snapchat, and TikTok, plus over 23 FREE, brand-new resources. Catch the FULL recap here! 
  • We hosted a local nutritionist in as a team-wide virtual event to help us understand the nuances of all things “nutrition!”
  • To celebrate the holidays, the entire team joined in on a virtual White Elephant gift exchange, where some of the gifts included a Burrito Blanket, Baby Yoda NFT, and a Portable Campfire!
  • We also hosted a Gingerbread House contest, where the only limit was our imagination…kudos to Justin for taking the “cake” with his New England Sugary Seaside creation! (#1 on the collage below)
  • As a gift to all our team members for their hard work this year, we decided to close down our office on the final week of December to give everyone a chance to reset, relax, and be with their family and friends.

Customer High-Five:

🖐️  Magic City Ford reported a $77 cost per unit sold after only a few months using Facebook and Instagram to advertise their store.

That’s A Wrap!

We are so lucky to work with the best team and coolest clients. Thank you for being along for the ride!

(Not yet part of the DU community yet? Find your solution today, help us grow by reviewing us or referring a friend, or check out our available careers!)

Blog Author - Brooke Jensen

Written By Brooke Jensen
Brooke handles all of Dealers United’s digital marketing. In addition to her love for design and copy, Brooke also adores her two dog-like kittens, playing the electric violin, and walking barefoot around the office.

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