We’re seeing real growth in online ad buys. Buying strategies have changed markedly over the past year, particularly in the automotive and light duty truck sectors.

Manufacturers have made a decided change in their marketing strategies. There is a lot of emphasis on driving customers to manufacturer websites where consumers can use dealer locator features to find a dealer within their area. The locator then pushes the user to the local dealer’s website.

There is also a strong strategy by the automotive manufacturers to develop social media advertising programs. Both manufacturers and dealers have begun using Facebook and Twitter as means to grow online communities that are centered around the manufacturer’s brand and the dealership’s brand. These marketing plans have demonstrated some early successes, particularly for after-sale services, where “members” receive alerts for discounts for services.

The way people buy cars has changed significantly over the past two years. Nearly 90% of all car buyers research make, model and dealer information before going to the dealership. We need to get in the middle of that process. I think one of our strategies for 2010 has to be to find ways to drive prospects to our customers’ websites. We can do this with both our print and online products.

If we can demonstrate that we are driving additional eyeballs to our customers’ websites, we’ll continue to be a valuable part of their media mix. Simply putting a phone number and URL are not enough. We need to insert ads that drive people to go to the website – something like: “Get an oil change for just $9.95 – see our online specials at InsertYourDealershipNameHere.com.”

Our ability to drive traffic is based on our very close ties to the communities which we serve. Our customers need our traffic. Let’s make sure that we effectively drive our readers to our customers’ websites.