facebook is over 6 years old now, but it has only found the mainstream-online-car-industry in the last year or so. In a very short time, in our industry, it has worn out its welcome. Nobody is selling cars off of it and maintaining a facebook page is a waste of time. I just don't understand why any dealership would want to be on it?

Could it be the wealth of consumers who participate on facebook every day? Could it be the potential to have your message branded to an extra 200 people per each fan your dealership has? Might it be a communication tool with a better chance of having something read than an email (who doesn't read their direct facebook messages)?

If you're like me, and capitulated to the requests of a very persistent young blonde woman to get the dealership on facebook, then let me tell you why I'm not sick of hearing about it....not yet anyway.  In our few months on facebook we have created friendships, headlines, philanthropy, controversy, and even some profit!  It has all been fun, but it hasn't all been easy.

When we first started, fan pages were just coming out. We didn't know what we were doing, so we started a regular account. We discovered quickly that many people did not want to be friends with a business because that business can see everything inside their profile and photo albums when they're friends.  However, we were still able to amass over 1,000 friends, but once we broke the 1,000 friends mark we showed up on the facebook policy team's radar. They shut our account down.  And they were unwilling to allow us to send one message to our friends stating we were moving to a fan page, so we basically had to start all over again.  I'm watching Grant Cardone go through this right now. Dealers - make a fan page. You'll be sorry if you don't.

facebook is a communication platform.Nothing more, nothing less. It is another telephone, email device; just a point to have direct conversations. Of course, there is the potential to spread the right ad message, but don't go into it thinking you're going to be able to advertise unabated. Your fans will squelch you and I'm sure another new facebook policy change is just around the corner. If you do this, you're a spammer.

facebook isn't for everyone.

1. If you plan to start a facebook fan page, but haven't spent at least 3 months on there with a personal account - don't.  Sign-up, reconnect with your old high school buddies, become a fan of a few businesses and check the site at least once a week. Get a feel for things before you dive right in.  Figure out what you like to see on there.
   
2. If you attack facebook like a lion, put a fan-us icon on your website, and then stop updating you're going to look like a fool.  The old adage, ""if you're going to do something, do it right" is fully at play on facebook. One of my favorite competitors has facebook plastered all over his website, but hasn't updated his fan page since November of 2009.  What does that say to a customer?
   
3. Do you like facebook?  If you're not excited about it, I think you should stay off of it. It takes time and commitment and that requires you honestly asking yourself whether you really want to do it. If there is any leaning toward a "no" then don't do it. You're only going to get out of it what you put into it.

I have been absolutely shocked by the SEO value facebook has had for us since we got over 1,000 fans. Anything we link is instantly shot up in search results.  Instantly! Some companies will say this is reason enough alone to setup a facebook page, but those companies have a tendency to forget about the content and personal attention an endeavour like this needs. If you have 11 franchises, do you really have the man-power to keep up with all 11 different facebook fan pages as you should?

On the DealerRefresh forums we've been asking if facebook has helped sell cars.  So far, almost 60% of the participants have said it has ABSOLUTELY helped them sell cars.  Some tidbits from that thread:

facebook adword campaigns have not yielded great results for anyone.

One dealer is using facebook as a free billboard that has the side benefit of SEO value.

Very proactive vendors are asking why a dealership would block their employees from accessing facebook at work.

DealerRater is seeing more quality traffic from the people who visit from facebook.

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My personal thoughts:

facebook isn't for everyone. If you don't give it the full effort, you will not receive a full return. Don't let your vendors tell you that you have to be there - you don't have to do anything!  I'm leery of companies who will handle facebook for you because there is no way a 3rd party will ever do as well as you can do. If you hire a third party to handle your facebook fan page for you, you're lazy, unless you're just using them to help develop a strategy.  Make a fan page - not a regular account!

Waltham, MA (February 1, 2010) – DealerRater, the nation’s premier car dealer review Web site, announced today that their Web site has been updated with a new look and improved features. In an effort to stay fresh-looking, easy-to-use and informative, DealerRater has made cosmetic changes and added new features.

New Site Look

The new look is crisp and fun, and allows DealerRater to convey a sociable feel to their Web site helping users connect with the simple, clean and friendly experience that is a hallmark of DealerRater. Users might first notice a streamlined logo. The new logo has maintained the circle and checkmark elements, but removed shading to provide a clean design. The signature font has been changed to a style that also has rounded edges, but is easier to read at various sizes. The company has decided to remove the “dot com” from the logo name and going forward will be identified as “DealerRater.”

Users will notice changes to the color placement on the site that gives lightness to each page. White has replaced gray as the page background color and a colorful header will replace the navy blue marquee. DealerRater will display playful versions of the header that will rotate to mirror the seasons and DealerRater events.

“The new look for DealerRater is a fresh take on our continued efforts to have our Web site be as welcoming and friendly to users as possible, with the goal of everyone having an outstanding experience on our site,” said Chip Grueter, president of DealerRater.

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Web Site Features

DealerRater’s new Ratings Graph feature offers more rating information on each Dealer Review page. The new feature is a link located within the ratings box which connects to graphs that will show up to 24 months of review trends, as well as details about Dealer Sales versus Service rating comparisons. This new feature shows the monthly average rating for a dealer and the overall number of positive and negative reviews.

“We are excited to offer the new ratings feature on Dealer Review pages,” said Grueter. “This added detail will allow DealerRater users to better understand reviews for any dealer which helps them make more informed decisions about choosing the right dealer.”

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The new Classified Ads feature located on the upper left column of the Classified Ads landing page adds a quick view option for car buyers who are looking for affordable vehicles less than $10,000. This feature provides increased visibility for sellers who post in this popular price category.

About DealerRater
DealerRater was founded in 2002 as the first car dealer review Web site worldwide. DealerRater is committed to providing a central collection point for informative reviews. The site currently features more than 24,000 US and International car dealers and more than 100,000 user reviews. DealerRater provides the opportunity for users to search for car dealerships, read current reviews, write their own review, and find car deals – all for free. Car dealers are rated on the criteria of customer service, quality of work, friendliness, price and overall experience. DealerRater users also have the option to recommend the dealer to other users and provide a descriptive review. Web site users and car dealerships may post free auto classified ads. DealerRater visitors may request vehicle quotes and Certified Dealers receive free vehicle leads.

About Chip Grueter
Chip Grueter is the president of DealerRater.. Mr. Grueter founded the company in 2002 as a way for Web site users to share their sales and service experiences at automotive dealerships with other Web site users. Mr. Grueter holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College. Mr. Grueter’s favorite dealership customer service perk is free vehicle loaners.

For DealerRater information or to interview Chip Grueter, please contact Michelle Oldershaw at 800.266.9455 or visit www.DealerRater.com.

Contact:
Michelle Oldershaw, Director of Marketing
DealerRater.com, LLC, Waltham, Massachusetts
800.266.9455 x706
[email protected]
www.DealerRater.com

New ActivEngage Program Helps Toyota Dealers by Providing Consumers Recall Information and Communication on Auto Dealer Websites

Orlando, Florida, January 28, 2010— ActivEngage, the automotive industry's premium dealer chat software with business intelligence, today announced the launch of a unique program to help Toyota dealers communicate recall information to customers on dealership websites via live chat. ActivEngage proactively compiled all relevant recall information and details, including information from their Toyota dealers. The company then educated their virtual sales assistants and added special website graphics to all ActivEngage Toyota dealer websites, letting site visitors know that live chat is available to discuss any recall issues or questions. As a growing number of Toyota vehicle owners seek information and answers about the safety recall, ActivEngage's Toyota dealers are now prepared to handle their customers' concerns efficiently and effectively online.

ActivEngage anticipated the jump in Toyota dealers' website traffic and the increase in visitors with recall questions last week, and prepared by creating the program to help its dealers in a time of need. There has already been a large spike in website traffic, which has increased an average of 15-20% this week, with a proportional spike in chat conversations. The ActivEngage program allows dealers to focus exclusively on phone calls and people walking into the dealership.

“Our Toyota dealers can now direct concerned shoppers to their websites for information, using the sites as hubs of communication, instead of relying on personnel at the dealership,” commented Ted Rubin, ActivEngage executive vice president. The company's program lets more Toyota customers find recall information online quickly and easily, effectively decreasing the number of calls and meetings dealers must take in person. The program not only helps alleviate dealers' increased communication needs, but also builds consumers' trust and dealership preference by creating a consistent message during each conversation. Further, when the recall issues are resolved, dealers can use the data captured from consumers who chat about the recall to schedule service appointments for fixes.

"We knew consumers were going to utilize the web as the primary source of information (just as they did with Cash for Clunkers) and we are now helping our Toyota dealers online," commented Todd Smith, ActivEngage president. "Our chat agents can deliver consistent and comprehensive recall information via websites, rather than sending people to the telephone or into the showroom. We have access to all recall information, and we will continue to educate and update all our virtual sales associates about how to handle the recall chat conversations. We are actively assisting our dealers to help their customers get the best recall information, quickly and easily online."

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About ActivEngage: (www.ActivEngage.com)
ActivEngage’s dealership chat software and proprietary business intelligence helps automotive dealers meet the needs of shoppers by providing dealerships easy to use, powerful website tools. Advanced live chat services let dealers identify, initiate interaction and communicate with website visitors in real-time. The essential person-to-person Meet & Greet that dealers require at the physical showroom is now possible on the dealership website through ActivEngage. This proactive website engagement decreases abandonment rates and increases website lead generation with the thousands of visitors the average dealership receives each month. ActivEngage provides the edge that dealerships need to engage more customers who browse for information because it starts building a personal relationship with shoppers from the moment they hit the dealership website. ActivEngage offers three tiers of service to ensure that all website visitors' experiences are enjoyable and uncomplicated, thereby increasing the value of dealership websites through better lead generation.