What’s New & What’s Staying the Same in 2016 

Each year there are shifts and updates in social media. One minute, a platform is the hottest new thing around, and the next, it’s been deleted off everyone’s smartphones and a new one’s taken its place.  In 2016, it’s important your dealership stay on top of the latest trends and consumer insights in order to continue taking advantage of the social media platforms that matter, as well as move on from those that are no longer relevant to your audience.

Trends to Stay on Top of this Year

Mobile Will Take Over

The consumer shopping journey in 2016 is—and will continue to be—primarily mobile. 80% use their smartphones to shop or research, and mobile media time is now higher than time spent on desktops or other media. Furthermore, car shoppers have completed up to 70% of their buyer journeys before they contact you, or they’ve already made their final decisions before even heading into to your dealership.

This means 2016 is the year your dealership can benefit most from having a presence online that’s accessible across all mobile devices, not only for ease of access to consumers, but also because consumers won’t bother to find out what you’re offering if it’s not readily available to them online.

Video Is on the Rise

Transformation in the marketplace is driven primarily by the growth of video from 2015 into 2016. According to Google’s head of Agency Marketing Cenk Bulbul, mobile video will dominate video conversation in 2016. By the end of 2016, it’s predicted global IP traffic will skyrocket, with a large part of the fuel for this massive growth being online video. Consumer video on demand traffic is also predicted to double by 2019, showing it’s important to get in on the ground floor while video is quickly rising and marketing is in the process of shifting.

For your dealership, 2016 can be the year you bring video to the forefront and meet increased consumer demand for this visual storytelling medium.  The popularity of video will continue to grow, and when you meet this need with creative marketing, you’ll boost your brand and be relevant to a broader audience.

Snapchat

Snapchat has been making waves for most of 2015. With the combination of video and mobile taking over in 2016, Snapchat is becoming a serious contender in the social media world.  It was declared the app to pay attention to by FORTUNE in 2015. Snapchat is expected to shape the way people use technology to communicate, and “companies who see Snapchat as a toy or plaything without any real competitive advantage should probably reassess their position,” according to  social media and technology expert Mathew Ingram.

If your dealership wants to take advantage of the powerful mobile and video combination of Snapchat along with its appeal to millennials, check out our article with advice on using Snapchat to combat showrooming.

Social Selling Is Key in 2016

Instead of blindly pumping content and information out on social media platforms, brands and companies are focusing on targeting their content toward individuals, specific consumers, and certain generations. Your dealership can benefit largely from customizing the content it shares and the interactions it has based on customers’ specific needs.

It’s also key to get your employees involved in social selling for your dealership. 79% of salespeople who use social media outsell their peers, and 65% of buyers feel vendor content had an impact on their final purchase decisions. Gamification is a great way to get your employees involved, sharing, and ultimately earning more for themselves and your dealership.

Social Media Platforms You’ll Want to Keep

As predicted, several of the large, traffic-driving social media platforms will remain relevant in 2016. The platforms you’ll want to continue using are Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, primarily. A couple additional platforms your dealership may want to consider utilizing, if it doesn’t already, are Instagram and Pinterest.

Each of these social media platforms and 2016 trends can be powerful tools to help your dealership connect with consumers and provide relevant content that gains more attention, followers, and in turn, customers. The platforms staying relevant in 2016 continue to rise in the social media world, and this year’s upcoming and current trends will benefit your dealership and help you boost sales as you continue to grow your audience and reach out to new consumers.