Selling your expertise: why specialist car dealers need editorial web content

There comes a time in the buying journey for a classic or performance car, right after they've checked out prices on car sales aggregation websites, that the would-be owner wants to find out more information. For this, most people head straight to Google. What Google needs to answer their questions is relevant, credible and up to date content.

By far the biggest and most frequently refreshed source of content on specialist car dealers' websites will be the stock. Make, model, variant, a short description and some technical data is pretty much all you will find on the vast majority of car sales websites. This content is important, as without it customers towards the bottom of the sales funnel won't know what you've got to sell, but it does little in the way of informing potential customers or building trust and credibility.

Editorial content, by which I mean longer form articles not specifically focused on selling, lets you demonstrate your knowledge, experience and authority to both raise awareness of your brand and inform potential customers much earlier in their buying journey. It also helps improve your search engine rankings and click through rates.

By making your expertise available on your website or blog, you become a go to source for people looking for answers and information on specialist cars. Editorial content will help build trust in your brand; it's not directly selling products or services but selling your expertise and over time building trust in your opinions. This trust will give the customer more confidence in accepting your advice and buying a car from you when the time comes.

As you build up a library of editorial content relevant to classic or performance cars, you will also be seen as an authority within the industry by other dealers, specialists and journalists. When others start creating content about you, or referring to you, the credibility of your business increases dramatically.

You can also make use of such content again and again by sharing across social media, sending out email newsletters or as printed collateral for events. Insightful, "thought leadership" articles will attract new audiences who may eventually become customers. People like stories as well as helpful information and if you publish frequently they may subscribe and return regularly.

Regular site visitors and subscribers, whether they are customers or not, become familiar with you and are a much more fertile lead source to be sent other more sales-focused content such as new stock or promotions.

Finally, a library of strong editorial content can also be shared and spread by others across social media, hugely expanding your reach and getting your name in front of a much wider audience. A good piece could even go viral.

For ideas on what kind of editorial content a specialist car dealer might need or how we can help you build your credibility - get in touch.