Thursday, May 31, 2012

Donation to a Good Charity Could Lead to a Free Car

Donating money to charity can be very rewarding. I think it gives everyone a heartwarming sensation to know that they are doing something good for a cause that is in need. The best thing about donating to charity is that there is no mandatory maximum or minimum. Every little bit can help change the world.

Do you want to make sure you are donating to a charity that is close to your heart? The more passionate you are about a cause, the less of an expense a charitable contribution seems. At charitynavigator.org, you can find several categories and plenty of charities to choose from. There are charities for everything from wildlife preservation to feeding starving children. Almost all of these charities need as much help as they can get. Majority of the proceeds go directly to the cause outlined by the organization.

Your benefits from donating to these organizations come in several varieties. The benefit that should mean the most is the opportunity to help. Another benefit that many people associate with charitable giving is tax deductions. This one is huge for those of you that are more affluent than others. A popular benefit is tickets to gala events hosted by charity organizations. Other benefits are more tangible, such as free car washes, free food, free t-shirts, engraved bricks, etc. These typically are given for those voluntarily donating miscellaneous amounts of money to the charity.

In some instances, charities have to offer more substantial benefits to get donations from more people. This pushes charities towards such things as Bake Sales, Fundraisers, Raffles, etc. This is where to find free cars. In an effort to raise large amounts of money, charities will use larger item raffles to do it. This opens up the opportunity for those of you looking for a new car the chance to win it. When a car raffle or car fundraiser is necessary, charities have to sell an inflated number of tickets to cover the cost of the vehicle and still raise money for the charity. Although the odds are high, somebody still has to win. Why not you? You could increase your odds by donating to several charities that you have a passion for that are using car raffles or car fundraisers to bring in money.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Car Dealerships For People With Bad Credit

Buy here pay here car dealerships are currently making waves as one of the best options when in need of a car even when you are currently having troubles with your credit rating. These dealers look at things differently, allowing those who have poor credit history to improve their financial situation while also acquiring a solution for their transportation needs.

However, there are those who would oppose people buying from these car lots, telling you that applying for this kind of financing scheme won't do you any good. You might find hints of truth from this advice, but they can also offer you certain advantages that are worth thinking over.

Disadvantages

Due to a lack of regulations and policies for used car dealerships such as a buy here pay here dealership, there are quite a number of them, which can turn out to be scams. These bad credit dealerships are considered as loans-for-profit while other car loans from lenders are regulated from policies for protection against fraud, providing less profit to lenders.

The rates of interest for the bad credit car loan will mainly depend on them and not on any policy that regulates the maximum amount lenders can set for the financing schemes. This might make you spend more for your weekly or bi-weekly payments compared to the total monthly payment for a regular loan from a lender following loan interest regulations.

Advantages

These car lots can be your saving grace from acquiring a car needed for daily transportation even when suffering from financial troubles. Having a bad credit rating will dim your chances of successfully applying for a car loan so a these types of car lots can be the best, or the only, solution you can consider.

There are actually some states that have put a cap on the maximum allowable interest rate for used auto sales. You should check whether these poor credit used car sellers in your area follow lemon laws and warranty rights to protect yourself from odometer fraud as well as making sure that your chosen car can provide you with the benefits you need from it.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Need Different Tyres for Different Seasons

The answer to the title can be viewed by some people differently, however, to be on the safe side, the answer should be yes. When you sit down and think about the logic of cars, you will see how important they are. The tyres are the only parts that are in contact with the road you drive on. So with that in mind taking care and looking after them should be as important as looking after your children. Everyone who has been driving knows that once the weather changes, the car that you are driving feels different.

The way you take a corner or a slight bend seems to be harder, and the reason for this feeling is your traction. Since most cars give you normal ones that are meant for dry conditions, the minute that this condition changes so will your car. This makes driving more dangerous and this will be a serious problem, if left unchecked. Some people whether there are all weather types on the market that are made for these conditions. The biggest problem with these types is that they are only made for wet or dry conditions.

If you live in a place that has four seasons, once winter comes these types become useless in ice and snow conditions. Many people think that just by driving slowly, they will be able to get away with not changing their tyres. Trying to stop a car when the roads have ice or snow on them is like trying to stop a runaway train, without the proper type, you have no control and no way to stop your car in time. This is due to the fact that no traction is being produced when your car is trying to brake.

Winter tyres are made with this problem in mind and they have small spikes on their treads to produce the traction you need. There have been tests done to prove that with the proper amount of control, drivers are able to avoid accidents even on icy conditions. Since your car is the second biggest investment you will make, there really is no reason to save money by risking your safety when the seasons change. In fact, spending a little money to give you better traction might save you more money in repairs from an accident.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Some Tips to Optimize Your Dealership's Social Media Marketing Strategy

Social media platforms are now becoming an important avenue for auto dealerships to generate ROI and good-will. According to a report given by Wildfire Interactive in 2011, 88% of marketers agreed that social marketing increases brand awareness, 85% agreed that it will increase engagement and 58% agreed that it will increase sales/partnerships.

Social media marketing plays a crucial role in an auto dealer's digital marketing strategy. Therefore, auto dealers should optimize it in the right way to get better results. Here are a few tips that will help you optimize your dealership's social media marketing strategy.

Clear Strategy
Social media marketing can improve the performance of your business, provided that you have a well-structured strategy that aligns with your business objective. In order to create a clear strategy you must first define your goals and decide how you want to benefit from social media marketing. Do you want to increase your reputation, influence, credibility, sales, traffic/page views, etc.? This will help you select the right tactics to achieve your desired results.

Network of Relevant Audience
As an auto dealership, you have a niche audience potentially interested in your product. To leverage that audience you must know to whom your product appeals to and build a network around them. Post your ads in the social profiles of those whose interests match with that of your product/service, so that the chances those people will follow you are high. Customize your social networking page to the needs of your audience accordingly. The greater your reach is and the more relevant you are to your audience, the more influential you will be on social media sites.

Schedule your Posts and Content
Posting the right content at the right time is a very crucial aspect of social media marketing. That is why it is important to schedule your posts and content about offers, deals or new services when you believe users are more likely to interact with them - for example, posting content around seasonal discounts. By updating your profile regularly with the latest offers and discounts you can make it livelier. Also, you can track what offers your followers are turning into sales and what offers your followers are responding to the least.

Engaging Content and Attractive Pictures
The content on your business' social network page should be significant. It should be able to engage the attention of your audience. The more you do so, the more it spreads on the Internet. Don't try to push commercial content on social media sites. Understand your audience and create content that compliments your business, while also concentrating on giving users a good experience. One way of doing this is by posting attractive pictures and videos of your auto brands, updating your content periodically and even posting personal content about your business - pictures of your team, corporate functions, etc.

Constantly Stay Active
The very motive of social networking is to build communication between you and your customers as much as possible. In order to build a rapport with your audience, you should be more participative. Engage in chatting live with your audience. Let them present their perspectives. Give instant replies for the queries/feedback posted by them - this makes your followers feel valued and thus, generates a positive impression on your business.

Interact More with Influencers
Not all of your followers are influencers of your business - many of them may like your business, but are less interested in promoting it to others. But influencers on the other hand can help you in viral promotion of your content, helping the message spread faster and further. This will also increase your reach to a wider audience.

Easily Shareable Content
As we pointed out earlier, content plays a significant role in social media marketing. It should be easy to share content with audiences on social networking websites as well as multiple networking sites. To do this you should use widgets and badges that make sharing content more effective. These buttons will help the user share information about your business on social networking sites, from any other site. This is an easy and fast way to promote your content.

Measure the Strategy
Finally, you should quantify the outcome of your social networking strategy. This involves measuring the percentage of your audience that shared your information, number of favorable responses, percentage of your followers converted into sales, percentage of viral promoters, increasing rate of followers, deals/offers getting promoted the most, etc.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

How to Improve the Click-Through Rates of Your Auto Business' Online Marketing Strategies?

In the UK virtually all cars and light commercial vehicles over 3 years old are required by law to undergo an annual comprehensive examination known as the MOT to ensure that they are roadworthy. This testing has undergone changes since its inception in 1960. During the 1940s and 50s motor vehicles were becoming more common on the roads and many of these vehicles were produced before 1940 and were not serviced very regularly or if at all. This meant that there were many lorries on the road that were potentially hazardous with the most common faults being with the braking system, lights and steering. In 1960 Ernest Marples, the then Minister for Transport ordered that all vehicles of more than 10 years of age must have their steering systems, lights and brakes tested every year. This testing became known as the Ministry Of Transport Test, which was then shortened to 'MOT'. In April 1967 the testable age was lowered so that all vehicles over the age of 3 had to undergo testing every year.

The MOT has altered over the years to become more inclusive and it is continuing to develop. In 1968, new tyre tread regulations are introduced so that there is at least 1mm of tread across three quarters of the width of the tyre. In 1978 the test is updated to include windscreen washers, wipers, horn, exhausts, spotlights and indicators. In 1991 petrol emissions, anti-lock braking systems and rear seatbelts are included in the test. The next update comes in 1992 when a review of tyre tread is changed to a minimum depth of 1.6mm. In 1993 additional changes are introduced to include mirrors, rear fog lights and registration plates. 1994 sees diesel emissions added to the test. New changes in 2012 are set to include examination of the electronic parking brake, electronic stability control, towbar and trailer/caravan electrical socket and the function of warning lights. As our vehicles become more complex, more can go wrong with them and this is why more components are added.

From the very start, the British Government decided that the MOT test should be able to be carried out at local garages so that motorists have the handiness of a test centre near where they reside. There are about 19,000 testing stations in the United Kingdom and only the Ministry of Transport had the power to award a licence to the test station. These days the scheme is run by another government agency called Vehicle Operator and Services Agency, or VOSA but they still answer to the Secretary of State for Transport. The test has a uniform set of standards throughout the country, so whether you have your MOT done in Caithness or in Cornwall the same set of tests are performed on the vehicle. The local MOT garage is liable for the quality of the testing at that individual testing station. These garages become known as an Authorised Examiner, having been granted a license by VOSA to perform MOT tests. In turn these AEs have the authority to appoint specially trained people to carry out MOT Tests on vehicles. These MOT Testers become known as Nominated Testers. Anyone wishing to become an NT will have to train at a testing garage before attending a 2 day course run by VOSA so that they can be nominated as testers by an AE.
Pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns are an integral part of any business' online marketing strategy. These campaigns are highly effective in driving a good number of sales in a short period of time. However, businesses can reap these beneficial results only when they clearly understand how to structure and manage a PPC campaign.

Click-through rate (CTR) is the ratio of the number of clicks your ad receives to the number of impressions - the number of times your ad shows up - your ad receives. A good CTR, as such, is not very helpful to a business if they do not convert into sales. A good CTR combined with good conversion rates leads to good quality score which is very beneficial to a business. A good quality score for an ad campaign means better positioning of PPC ads in search engines at a lower cost.

Hence, a well-structured PPC campaign should aim at a good quality score. Here are a few tips which will help you improve the CTRs of your ad campaign.

Compelling, Clear and Specific Ads
To get higher click-through rates it is imperative to create effective ads that attract the attention of your target audience. The effectiveness of ad copy is measured by the relevancy of your ad and the direct and clear message that it conveys to your audience. Make the ads compelling by using customer language and by highlighting the product/service/offers in an appealing way.

Flexible Campaign Structure
While developing a PPC campaign for your business, it is important to keep the campaign as flexible as possible. By doing so, you can understand which campaigns are successful for your business and which need to be improved. The more relevant your ads are in terms of your keywords, ad groups and content in the landing page, the more successful the campaign will be.

• Experiment with Various Ad Copies and Ad Groups
Click-through rates and rankings of PPC ads vary from campaign to campaign and from one keyword to another. While creating a PPC ad campaign you need to perform good keyword research to identify all the related keywords to your business and then organize these keywords into small, tightly knit groups. Also, it is necessary to create different ad copies having different kinds of messages and presentations of offers.

• Experiment with Landing Page Content
The landing page quality is an important factor in improving the quality score of your PPC ad. If your audience, after landing on your page, is not satisfied or feels disconnected with the content/presentation, they are less likely to make a purchase. This way, you may not only lose quality leads, but also waste your money on clicks that cannot be converted into leads.

• Experiment with E-Mail Campaigns
E-mail campaigns designed to promote a specific offer by your business can be highly instrumental in driving sales, as they establish a direct contact with your targeted audience. But, not every promotional e-mail is successful in catching the attention of the audience (unattractive and vague e-mails are usually considered junk by receivers). Hence, have different templates with clear, appealing ad copies and different keywords, so as to see which campaign drives more sales.

Positioning of Ad in Search Engines
Though paid ads are displayed prominently at the top of search engine result pages, they might be ranked low or penalized if the search engines find that there are low click-through or conversion rates. As stated before, having relevant and helpful content in PPC ads leads to a better quality score, which means the search engine will automatically display your ads more often and in better positions. This translates to more exposure and reliability of your ad.

Management of Ad Campaigns
This is the most vital part in making a PPC campaign successful. Better management of your ad campaigns by: knowing the trending keywords and updating the ad copies, consciously experimenting with various ad formats and keywords, targeting different groups within your audience (based on age, income, gender, etc.) at different times and analyzing the quality scores and conversion rates of the campaigns launched. These elements combined will help increase the click-through rates of your ads.