Websites, SEO, SEM, Display, Social, Marketing

Joe Pistell highlights the emergence of a specialized "Community Manager" role as social media marketing matures in the automotive industry, noting that forward-thinking markets are already seeing measurable ROI from this position. He references an external article detailing community manager responsibilities, suggesting this represents a new job function dealers should consider adding to their marketing teams. The thread identifies community management as a distinct discipline separate from traditional marketing, driven by data showing social media's growing business impact.

A dealer shares that Google is testing a new $25/month local listing highlighting feature in San Jose and Houston before rolling it out nationally. The discussion evolves into dealers venting about persistent Google Local/Maps issues—including difficulty removing old listings, managing reviews from multiple sources, and unexplained disappearances from maps—with limited recourse from Google support. The key insight is that while Google offers new paid features, dealers still lack meaningful control over listing accuracy and review management on the platform.

A dealer discusses the strategy of "page saturation" — filling the first Google search results page with positive content about your dealership when customers search your company name — as a cost-effective way to bury negative reviews and control your online reputation. The post emphasizes using microsites and leveraging Google Local's new $25/month review highlighting feature to dominate search real estate and prevent bad feedback from appearing prominently. The key insight is that controlling the first page of results for your dealership name is more achievable and valuable than many dealers realize.

MattScalcione asks the DealerRefresh community about innovative applications of Facebook Connect on dealer websites and inventory pages, sharing examples of successful implementations from other industries. The single reply suggests using Facebook Connect buttons strategically in shareable inventory items, blog posts, press releases, and dealership history pages to encourage social sharing of interesting content.

A Honda dealership inquires about implementing SMS text messaging to capture leads from marketing materials (e.g., "text 4532 for more information"), with the goal of having their BDC team follow up with interested customers. Multiple vendors are recommended as solutions, including standalone texting platforms (DealerHD), Teletext Solutions, Dealer Specialties, and HomeNet Automotive, with several forum members providing direct contact information for sales representatives.

Dealers discuss strategies for generating online reviews across platforms like DealerRater, Google, and Yelp, with a strong consensus emerging against offering incentives for positive reviews. The most effective approach highlighted is simply asking customers verbally to leave reviews during their dealership visit, then following up with a direct email link to the review platform—a method that reportedly generates significant review volume without compensation or legal risk.

Joe Pistell introduces two free SEO grading tools (Website Grader and GetListed) and uses them to score local dealership websites, with the primary goal of highlighting the importance of local SEO optimization for car dealers. While some participants share their scores and find the tools useful, TuneyFish cautions against over-relying on automated grading systems, arguing that hiring a trusted SEO professional who provides ongoing education and improvement is more valuable than chasing a high score. The thread's key insight is that local search optimization—where Google returns location-based results for dealer-related searches—deserves more attention from dealerships than most realize.

Rick Buffkin seeks feedback on BZ Results' digital marketing package, which uses behavioral retargeting (cookie-dropping and display ads) combined with PPC to drive dealership traffic. Key insights emerge that retargeting itself is not exclusive to BZ and can be implemented through multiple vendors, and that while BZ's newer Pegasus platform shows improvement over their legacy sites, dealer success depends heavily on thoroughly understanding the integration of their various tools (website, CRM, PPC) rather than relying on vendor promises. The thread ultimately concludes that dealers should do thorough homework before committing to any all-in-one vendor solution, as implementation details and customer support matter as much as the technology itself.

A DMEautomotive whitepaper resource is shared that addresses social media fundamentals and strategic applications specifically for automotive dealerships. The post covers the importance of social media for dealerships and provides practical insights on how to integrate social platforms into dealership marketing strategies. The thread serves primarily as a direct resource link rather than a discussion, making it useful for dealers seeking foundational guidance on social media adoption.

Rick Buffkin discovered Google's real-time search feature displaying live Twitter and Facebook feeds within search results (specifically for "Mercedes Benz"), which other dealers confirmed seeing as well. The group discusses that this feature, known as Google Real-Time Search, appears intermittently and may be filtered based on user login status and social media connections, though its practical value for automotive dealers remains unclear since it lacks algorithm prioritization for source authority.

A former dealership employee-turned-vendor initiates a discussion about effective sales practices and relationship-building in the automotive industry, emphasizing that every customer interaction is an opportunity and that vendors should be honest and respectful of dealers' time. The thread evolves into practical advice from experienced dealers and vendors covering cold-call tactics, the importance of knowing your prospect, persistence, thick skin, and opening strategies that mention the prospect's name and lead with value. The consensus insight is that success in vendor-dealer relationships requires earning trust through honest communication, professionalism, confidence without pushiness, and understanding that dealers prioritize efficiency—both in the call itself and the solution being offered.

Several users discuss the timing and location of an upcoming Bootcamp training event, with tentative confirmation that it's scheduled for June in Chicago. There's some lighthearted debate about the early 6:30 AM start time, with at least one participant advocating for a Vegas location with later classes instead. The thread establishes basic logistics but doesn't provide final confirmed details about the event.

Mitchell Brenner requests help growing Precision Acura's Facebook fan page and receives advice from community members on legitimate growth strategies, including offering exclusive content to new fans and leveraging salesperson networks to invite actual customers. A debate emerges about whether recruiting fans from DealerRefresh professionals constitutes "fake fans," with some arguing that non-customer followers yield little ROI despite boosting numbers, while others contend there's nothing wrong with building a mixed audience of industry professionals and genuine prospects. The key insight is that sustainable Facebook growth requires targeting real customers and prospects rather than chasing vanity metrics, though the thread doesn't reach full consensus on the value of recruiting industry peers as fans.

Dealers debate whether posting the same content across multiple platforms (blogs, social media, content sites) constitutes "social spam" and risks Google penalties, with participants discussing related concerns about duplicate content. A key insight emerges that duplicate content is problematic, though modifying verbiage and anchor text can help mitigate the issue, though no clear consensus emerges on exactly how much content modification is necessary to avoid Google's filters. The thread reflects broader industry uncertainty about best practices for multi-platform content distribution and SEO risk management.

This thread outlines a bootcamp session on leveraging social media for dealership marketing, prioritizing goals in order of importance: engagement, reputation management, branding, SEO, and traffic driving. Jerry Thibeau provides a practical strategy for growing Facebook fans by having salespeople invite customers through personal profiles first, then to the dealership page, with incentives like exclusive specials. The key insight is that effective social media growth requires a human-to-human relationship approach rather than direct business-to-customer outreach, combined with clear value propositions to motivate fan page follows.

A 2010 industry study reveals that only 25.5% of U.S. dealerships had Facebook pages and 10.9% had Twitter accounts, with Chrysler and Toyota leading their respective platforms. Respondents highlight the need for deeper metrics beyond adoption rates—such as engagement frequency, follower counts, and actual customer interaction—to understand whether dealerships are effectively leveraging social media or simply maintaining dormant accounts. The discussion also introduces GOSO as an emerging social media management tool designed specifically for dealerships to automate posting and integrate inventory.

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A small used car dealer with 25-30 vehicles asks for recommendations on website vendors, triggering debate between templated solutions (Dealer.com, eBizAutos) versus custom agency builds. The consensus favors templated platforms for smaller dealerships due to cost-effectiveness and proven conversion rates, though some vendors emphasize the importance of integration with inventory management systems and SEO compliance over design aesthetics.

A dealer asks about "hypercasting" vendors and squeeze pages for lead generation, prompting discussion of their effectiveness and costs. Participants share mixed results: while squeeze pages and contests can work, dealers report that online contests generate fewer leads than simpler incentives like discounted gift cards, and that success depends heavily on combining digital landing pages with traditional media like radio, print, and direct mail. The thread's most concrete example is Mitch Gallant's HolyTruck.ca campaign, a low-budget squeeze page using humor and weekly prize drawings integrated across multiple marketing channels, which he reports is generating modest but steady results after one week.

An SEO vendor (tracourt) who built and retained ownership of a domain like "houstonforddealer.com" for a dealer client was terminated and sought advice on how to value the domain for renting rather than selling it. The thread reveals that valuation should be based on traffic metrics, lead generation, and the cost of equivalent paid advertising (like Google Ads), with the vendor holding strong legal ground since domain ownership was clearly stated on every invoice and the domain uses a generic brand name rather than the dealer's proprietary name.

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Dealers debate whether Facebook is a worthwhile sales and marketing channel, with opinions sharply divided: some report modest success using it for brand awareness and personal relationship-building, while skeptics argue the ROI doesn't justify the time investment compared to optimizing their website and converting existing traffic. The key insight is that Facebook's value depends heavily on how it's deployed—personal, authentic engagement from individual salespeople shows promise, while corporate broadcast-style marketing delivers minimal results and poor visitor quality metrics.