The auto industry is one of the most competitive markets out there. With buyers researching every option before stepping foot in a dealership, standing out takes more than just flashy ads or a strong social media presence. A successful marketing strategy isn’t about throwing everything at the wall and hoping something sticks, it’s about creating a well-rounded, multi-channel approach that keeps your brand top-of-mind at every stage of the customer journey.
That’s where the power of paid, owned, and earned media comes in. When these three elements work together, they create a marketing ecosystem that builds visibility, generates high-quality leads, and, ultimately, drives sales. Let’s dive into why this strategy works and how you can start implementing it today.
The Power of Paid, Owned & Earned Media
To illustrate how this works, let’s look at a real-world example: A dealership network that partners with us and successfully integrated paid, owned, and earned media to increase foot traffic and online leads.
A balanced marketing strategy relies on three key elements:
- Paid Media – Bedford Advertising helped a certain automotive group invest in Google Ads and Facebook promotions to target in-market car buyers. These ads highlighted new inventory, financing options, and special promotions, driving immediate traffic to their website.
- Owned Media – We maintained an active blog for this group with car-buying tips, financing advice, and vehicle comparisons, positioning themselves as industry experts. Their dealerships social media pages regularly showcased customer testimonials, behind-the-scenes dealership content, and engaging video tours of new arrivals.
- Earned Media – As their online presence grew, happy customers left positive Google reviews. Local automotive bloggers even mentioned them in articles, boosting their credibility and organic search rankings.
The real magic happened when these three worked together. Paid media drove traffic to their website, owned media provided valuable content that kept customers engaged, and earned media, built trust, leading to higher conversion rates.
Why This Strategy Works
Using Bedford Advertising’s work with this automotive group as an example, here’s why this approach was so effective:
- You’re Everywhere Your Customers Are – Buyers saw their ads on Facebook and Google, visited their website for research, and later found glowing reviews on Google—ensuring consistent brand exposure at every touchpoint.
- You Build Trust and Authority – A well-placed ad might get someone’s attention, but their high-quality blog content and strong customer reviews kept them engaged and solidified their reputation.
- You Get More Out of Your Budget – Rather than relying solely on paid ads, our partners maximized their impact by creating valuable owned media and leveraging customer testimonials and press coverage.
- You Can Track, Optimize, and Improve – By analyzing website traffic, ad performance, and engagement metrics, they refined their strategy, and tweaked their approach to maximize ROI.
Test, Refine, and Keep Evolving
Marketing isn’t a one-size-fits-all game. What worked for this automotive group might not work the same way for another dealership, and that’s okay. The key is to test different approaches, see what resonates, and refine your strategy over time.
Experiment with different ad creatives, content formats, and messaging. Track your website traffic, engagement rates, and conversions to see what’s driving real results. The more you test and adapt, the more effective your marketing efforts will become.
A winning auto marketing strategy isn’t about choosing between paid, owned, or earned media— it’s about using all three together. When done right, this approach boosts visibility, strengthens customer trust, and drives long-term success.
Just like Bedford Advertising’s work with our automotive partners, you can create a well-rounded strategy that keeps your brand top-of-mind and drives real results. Stay proactive, keep experimenting, and always look for new ways to innovate. The auto industry moves fast—make sure your marketing does too.
Drop us a line if you want to discuss your automotive marketing needs.
Alyssa Mohammed
Digital Strategy Director