Ray Reggie

I sat down with the Mostly Automotive Marketing with Matt Wilson podcast where we discussed chatbots, chat forms, and how Chat is Dead! If you’d like to listen to the interview or read the entire article I wrote titled Chat is Dead, simply click on the link below and you’ll be sent to my website. Listen to the podcast interview here: https://bit.ly/39u4183 Read “Chat is Dead” by Ray Reggie here: https://rreggie.com/chatisdead

In New Orleans, a city that is known for food, I find the biggest challenge is finding enough time to enjoy restaurants. With 1,300 restaurants in Metro New Orleans alone, time is the biggest obstacle. So many people fall into routines, or what I call “restaurant ruts,” when you frequent the same eating establishments over and over. It’s easy to fall into that “rut” since so many our local places have such great food, you want to go over and over. I have fallen into that rut a few times. In my opinion, the key to eating out in New Orleans is to make a plan to try a set number of restaurants per month that you have never been to, or that you haven’t been to in over 5 years. One of my favorites is solid, all, New Orleans food places named Jack Dempsey’s. Jack Dempsey’s has been serving amazing and excellent food in New Orleans for over 30 years. I first went there about 30 years ago and after talking with so many friends, it’s time to for a return. It’s just a short jump from my home in Mandeville to 738 Poland Avenue in the Bywater area of New Orleans. They are open every Tuesday – Saturday for lunch and dinner. My favorites are the baked macaroni and cheese, the stuffed artichoke, and the (fried) crab claws. All the platters are huge. The portions are very large! The Po-Boys are also very good. I like their veal cutlet po-boy and their soft-shell crab po-boy is terrific. Read more: https://bit.ly/2HbO6iK View Menu: http://jackdempseys.net/menu/ www.RayReggie.com Ray Reggie

– Ray Reggie www.rayreggie.com

Mardi Gras may just be a seasonal event, but the carnival never stops at Mardi Gras World. This special warehouse in New Orleans allows you to go behind the scenes to learn all about the history and preparation that goes into the biggest attraction in New Orleans—Mardi Gras. It’s not just a tourist attraction, locals of all ages will have a blast here. Let’s take a closer look. Read more: https://bit.ly/2tly9D4

Like it or not, Millennials are the current generation your dealership needs to be focusing on. Now in their 30’s, Millennials are one of the key demographics for purchasing both new and pre-owned vehicles…but they’re a different type of customers. According to a new study, in which almost 75 percent of American Gen Z and Millennials told researchers that they prefer to talk with other people via text message–as opposed to actually talking with them. So basically, if your sales team and BDC do not understand the importance of being able to close deals via chat systems, you’re missing out on sales. My son for example ordered his last vehicle site-unseen, and didn’t even want to take the vehicle for a test drive because he did the research and knew exactly what he wanted (all the way down to the trim level). Millennials are smart, educated, and often have money burning a hole in their pocket. In short – don’t overlook this key demographic. So what do you need to do besides close the deal? Well, for starters get their attention. Quality social media management for your dealership means unique content focused on the community, people, and social events – not sales. You don’t really need to “sell” this age group because they know what they want before they even reach out to you. The best part is though, when they show buying signals, you know they’re (usually) serious about that specific vehicle they inquired about. Don’t be pushy, don’t be salesy, just keep it casual and conversational. 9 times out of 10 the deal will manifest itself. My best advice for selling to Millennials is to connect with them in any way possible that allows them to skip phone calls and skip the showroom as much as possible. They don’t want to sit in your expensive customer lounge or eat at your dealership’s cafe. They want to be in and out just like Amazon or the self-checkout line at Target. Ray Reggie

What SEO strategies and tactics will work and help you dominate in the SERPs and earn more revenue in 2020? Here are 5 important trends you need to know in 2020 from Ray Reggie, a digital marketing expert and digital consultant. 1.  User Intent & Understanding Your Audience What does your audience prefer – Video? Audio? Text? Knowing this will all be more important than ever in 2020, according to trends and SEO professionals. Have a set plan for your business as you transition through Q3 and Q4 of 2019 and be ready to hit the ground running on January 1. 2. Think Bigger Than Google Search There’s rumors that Amazon and Apple may cut deeply into Google’s search dominance i 2020, right now is the best time to consider optimizing for other ‘engines’. “In 2020, you have to at least consider optimizing for devices”, said Ray Reggie, digital expert and SEO consultant. 3. Using Structured Data Markup Use structured data whenever possible! AI is becoming increasingly important for Google, structured data is becoming more important as well. If Google wants to move from a mobile-first to an AI-first world, structured data is key. No matter how good your AI is, if it takes too long to ‘crawl’ the required information, it will never be great. AI requires a fast processing of contents and their relations to each other. 4. Content Is Key Google algorithm updates in 2018 and 2019 revealed that Google is intensifying its focus on evaluating content quality and at the depth and breadth of a website’s content. If you’re still creating content just to keep your blog alive, that won’t be good enough moving forward. Take your time and put out content that actually has value! 5. Increase Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness Establishing and growing your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness – better known as E-A-T in Google’s search quality rating guidelines – will be another key trend in 2020. Although the E-A-T guidelines are written for Google’s algorithm raters, rather than Google’s algorithm itself, it helps us to understand where Google is heading in the short term.  You cannot rank so easily writing authoritative content unless you are already an authority on a given subject. If you’d like to contact Raymond “Ray” Reggie or have questions, please visit his website at www.RReggie.com.

Bread pudding can be a pretty divisive dessert, you either love it or you hate it. If you’re in the latter category, then you should give the bread pudding from Mulate’s a try–it’s so good it’ll put you back in the team bread pudding category. In my opinion, it’s one of the best dessert dishes in the Warehouse District! Learn more about Mulate’s entire menu by clicking here: https://mulates.com/ – Raymond Reggie www.RayReggie.com

Matthew Carter, the 17-year-old who was shot during an armed robbery over the weekend, has unfortunately passed away. The Comeaux senior succumbed to his injuries Wednesday morning at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center, where his organs were donated to improve the lives of others.“Today Matthew left this world with a final and fitting act of love for others,” the Carter family said in a statement. “He was always there for someone in need and now even in death, he will continue to give to others by donating his organs, making him not only our hero but also a hero to many others.” “Our lives will be forever changed,” the family said. “Please hold us in your hearts and prayers as we begin the hardest journey we will ever travel. Pray with us as we remember our beautiful boy Matthew and all he means to so many.” To sign up to be an organ donor, please tap or click here: https://bit.ly/2GfXYYj

Raymond Reggie

Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean you have to stay indoors! We have the perk of not having to deal with those harsh winters our northern friends do, so why not take advantage of our mild winters and get outside and do some exploring? These seven trails are all within an hour of New Orleans and will take you through some of the most beautiful natural scenery in southeastern Louisiana. See the list here: https://bit.ly/35v4CDW