Last week Snapchat announced a new feature, Context Cards, which underscores how important it is for businesses to share accurate location-based data and content across the digital world. Context Cards matter to dealerships because they give you a better understanding of all the potential places your location can be found if you manage your data correctly.
Context Cards give Snapchatters the ability to discover location-based data and content such as addresses, photos, and customer tips about places that appear in a Snap. As this video demonstrates, when a Snapchat user sees a Snap on their phone screen, they can use a “more” button to learn details about where a Snap was taken, such as customer reviews of a café where a Snapchatter posts a Snap of pile of pancakes being eaten.
Now, picture a car shopper at your dealership Snapping a photo of a new car purchase like this one – only when other Snapchatters view the Snap, they tap on it to find out where the dealer is located, its hours of operation, and even customer reviews. Context Cards will make that hypothetical experience a reality – but only if a business shares accurate location data and content with a Snapchat partner such as Foursquare that supplies a business’s location information to Snapchat.
And Snapchat is just one example of the expanding sea of digital touchpoints where people can learn about your locations. As the recently published 2017 U.S. Local Search Ecosystem shows, brands need to publish accurate location data (such as name, address, and phone numbers) across a broad universe of touch points ranging from social platforms to review sites.
If the 2017 U.S. Local Search ecosystem seems complicated to you – well, it is. As we have discussed on our blog, automobile shoppers navigate multiple touchpoints as they research vehicle and dealerships options (including, of course, resources such as Cars.com and DealerRater). Dealerships need to be present on all the places where their brand is discovered beyond their website.
Sharing accurate data and content with the businesses that distribute and publish your data, such as Google and Foursquare, ensures that your dealership locations are visible and findable when shoppers are ready to take their search to the lot.
Managing accurate location data is a way to protect your brand and to keep it visible. Doing so means using tools such as DealerRater’s Listing Visibility Reporting to stay on top of your data listings on the most popular places where people search for your business:
The dashboard displays these different sources, along with information such as data discrepancies and a link for dealers to use in order to update anything that needs fixing.
And, of course, don’t forget to claim your business locations on crucial discovery platforms such as Google My Business and Facebook.
Bottom line: make it easier for car shoppers to find you and your dealership, and you’ll attract more leads. Contact Cars.com to help you maximize your brand’s visibility.
