Dealers can enliven their online brand image by following a few simple rules aimed at capturing consumer interest, Terry Hogan, Motoring.co.uk managing director, told the AM Digital Dealer Conference.

Motoring.co.uk opted to reduce its search engine optimisation spend, but improve its social content at the same time by searching out subjects with wide appeal, engaging with users via a newsletter and “acting like a bigger brand”. The lead generator struck gold when one of its articles, entitled ‘Cyclists! Why do they ride in the middle of the road?’, attracted more than 500,000 visits and was shared worldwide.

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“The way people search has changed dramatically,” said Hogan. “Traditional SEO search strategies, which relied heavily on links, no longer achieve previous levels of reach or engagement. Social sites, which are content-dominated, offer a great way to attract new visitors, but not without a lot of trial and error.

“When people are actively looking for a new car, then car reviews are important, but that’s not going to get the internet reading and sharing our content.

“We keep a close eye on Twitter and we look at the topics which are trending and then tailor our content accordingly, so we immediately raise our chances of our blog posts, tweets, Facebook posts and other social media content being shared.”

Hogan’s top tips for shareable content

♦  Ask users what they like/dislike.
♦  Keep topics broad.
♦  Be consistent with your theme(s).
♦  Raise subjects that stir emotions.
♦  Use newspaper-style headlines.
♦  Identify influencers and engage with them and their audience.
♦  Make it easy for users to comment on your site.
♦  Use social share buttons.