Online vs. radio advertising: which should your auto dealership choose?

auto dealership marketing

We’ve been talking quite a bit these last few weeks about the various types of marketing available to auto dealerships.  We addressed the pros and cons of television commercials, outdoor ads, and print ads in relation to online advertising options.  While there are certain advantages to every type of marketing, we’ve found at Stratosphere Studio that digital marketing tops them all. 

But what about radio advertising for car dealerships? 
Are you currently on the fence about whether to produce a radio spot or not?  Since marketing can often feel like a crapshoot, no wonder you’re not sure what to do.  Combine this uncertainty with a continually struggling economy and the fact that your auto dealership marketing budget is often the first cutback when times are tough, and you are certainly faced with a monumental decision. 

Radio can be an excellent form of advertising, but if you’re trying to find the most strategic place to allocate your precious marketing dollars, here’s our list of reasons why you should consider online advertising for your auto dealership, instead:

auto dealership marketing

·         Digital marketing is much more targeted than radio.  People typically listen to the radio while they’re engaged in some other activity, like driving, working, or shopping.  As an advertiser, you can only hope that people will both listen to your ad and pursue you either online or by phone afterwards.  With online marketing, however, you can easily target people who are looking for auto dealerships in your area. 

·         Digital marketing is more cost-effective than radio.  As you probably already know, it can be pretty expensive to place a radio ad.  First, you can spend upwards of $1,000 to produce your spot and then it will cost you thousands more dollars just to run the spot for a month.  While radio advertising is usually not quite as expensive as television, depending on which market you’re in and which station you’re buying with, radio is still a costly medium.  Digital marketing, on the other hand, can mold itself to your budget.  The more you put into it, the more you’re likely to get out of it.  Even if you don’t have a large budget, though, you can still get much more online for the same money you’d spend on a radio spot.

·         Digital marketing is easier to track than radio.  With any online marketing you do, you can easily track the number of people who click on your ads, visit your website, respond to your social networking posts, watch your videos, follow your calls to action, and so on.  With radio, you’ll have to rely on your customers to mention that it was in a radio spot that they heard about your dealership.

auto dealership marketing

·         Digital marketing provides you with more options than radio.  With radio advertising, you are limited in how many options you have.  Basically, you can pick how long you want to run your spots and on which stations.  Yet, with digital marketing, the sky is the limit!  You can host a cross-platform contest, a text messaging campaign, a social media spree, a fresh website design, a YouTube series, a selection of Google ads, and much, much more.

Ready to bring more business to your car dealership?
If you’re looking for an agency that specializes in auto dealership marketing, then give Stratosphere Studio a call.  We have an excellent track record for bringing our clients more business.  Our clients span the U.S. and are some of the most successful auto body shops, auto repair shops, and auto dealerships in their respective cities.  We would love to help you next!