Social Media Marketing:Which sites you are using?

[joe.pistell]

Rob Fontano nailed it on his post:

"I don’t know how many cars that I have sold because of facebook and I really don’t care, I didn’t come to the party to pitch I came to make friends."

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That statement is a hallmark from a team that is ready for "The Bright Light of Social Media". This simple statement is a product of a rare and gifted leader and their ability to surround themselves with other winners to execute the master plan!

 

[davidmoon]

I won't make this a topic of its own, but since we are AGAIN on this topic ...

I visited the GOSO Website (they advertise here on DR.) Just perusing their services, I'm impressed with the monitoring mechanisms that they have in place. However, I was disappointed when I visited their blog and read a bit about their weekly Webinars. I so was expecting the topic, which reads "...Tips, Success Stories and strategies for the Automotive Industry" to actually have some tips, success stories and strategies for the dealer in the their presentation. There's only comparison and campaigns to top brands and their SM activity. Two OEMs were mentioned, but how does that trickle down to the dealer? One tip for dealers is to add rich media to their social media efforts--you can recommend that for any online channel.

I'm calling them out, because I'm beginning to understand why social media seems like a wasted effort for dealers.

 

[davidmoon]

Rob Fontano nailed it on his post:

"I don’t know how many cars that I have sold because of facebook and I really don’t care, I didn’t come to the party to pitch I came to make friends."

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There is going to be a flip at some point where you don't use the Internet to access your social properties, but use social to access the Internet. So as a beginning philosophy, I can see how-ya-dos and party mingling to be a safe and justified strategy.

 

[Anirban]

Anirban, I don't mean to pick on you ... but this is where we are in the conversation. I agree the social media can be a valuable marketing tool for dealers and their customers.

David, I agree on your points, different aspects for different marketing channels which having different variations, but the thing is if we are getting success for from social media then why dont we get induced on that..the major part of that it has minor investment planning from any other online marketing channel, most of the social media can be managed and maintained by yourself...for that you dont have to invest thousands of $$$.
Most important part is social media enhance the marketing strategy its proven and every online marketers are moving towards that..so we should take a glance(perhaps where investment is only your time, not huge money!)
If we see the research graph from Market research & statistics: Internet marketing, advertising & demographics - eMarketer , we can see on 2008 those companies having head count 100 employees, involved in social media marketing is just 42% but 58% on 2009, 73% on 2010, 80% on 2011, and 88% on 2012.

And another interesting survey published on http://www.emarketer.com, the estimated budget for 2011 online marketing budget:take a look:

"Every good friend was a stranger" like that every marketing tool which is new, we have lots of doubts,debates and question, but when it's a successful part, everyone has to follow it..so its better if we can utilize the positivity to grow our sales, weather its car or computer!But we should act within the proper time to compete the market!sorry for the late response!
Few successful case studies(2010) are:
10 Best Social Media Case Studies

Here is well known face for social media consultation:
25 Social Media Consultants you should follow on Twitter
Specially take look Scott Monty(Head of social media at Ford Motor Company.)I would like to know from everybody to what they think about this news-
http://www.fox23.com/auto/story/Selling-Cars-On-Twitter/wkboKEUO40SSMHDC9JNJgg.cspx
Sorry for the late response!


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[Anirban]

OK, it worked for Dell; assuming that they didn't spend 7 million to gross 6.5 million in sales.

But what's the value proposition for a dealer? A computer is maybe a $500--$1,000 item. A new vehicle is $25,000+ without financing. The difference in price and product is like comparing a walnut to an eggplant. What kind of unique value can you introduce into the social stream that will convert to a sale? Or better yet, accelerate a buyer's spending cycle?

What's it going to cost a dealer to start-up? What's it going to cost to maintain? What tools are available to track and measure activity, loyalty and reputation? How do you integrate it with your other marketing initiatives and how does it fit in the overall strategy and end objective? Who's the best person at a dealership to manage social activity? What are the short and long term effects, and how to do exact a monetary value to justify the investment?

These guys are too smart for "if it works elsewhere ... it can work here." The automotive dealership is an entirely different animal. They will spend money where they get the best results.

@david, can you elaborate what do you mean by "These guys"?

 

[MullerToyota]

Just gotta chime in here, because I use social media a lot. And, by a lot, I mean there is very rarely an hour that goes by that I don't check my twitter account or facebook - and actively participate in the conversation.

And I still haven't figured out how in the world someone is going to make people buy cars because of social media.

Social media is about communication. Typically, about communication around a specific topic.

I have two sets of people I follow currently: Packers/NFL fans/bloggers/media and people in my community.

Furthermore, my facebook friends are comprised of friends from high school, college, and my work life - as well as family.

My linked in connections are primarily college friends and business acquaintances.

The disdain for blatant attempts at marketing to me or my friends is transparent.

The only way to utilize these tools is to be a part of the community around you. This is something you should be doing anyway.

To me, social media is just like church. It is a social setting where you meet people and act like a normal person. Eventually, people will know you sell cars. And eventually, some of those people may ask you about cars. Only then do you engage. You wouldn't go to church specifically to sell cars, would you? Then don't act like that online. Just act like a normal person. Make friends. Take part in the conversation. And then wait for someone to want to buy a car.

 

[davidmoon]

Dealerships are probably more invested in marketing than most companies their size. And the trickled down global advertising and brand awareness from manufactures is enormous. However, there are barriers within the industry on the dealer level. Dealerships are often sales heavy and are not infrastructured for long term investments like social media. Yes, some are, but most lack the structure of a formal marketing department that can see beyond the next month's sales results.

The argument is ... if a dealer can spend $1000 in advertising today, and knows they can get $2000 back in 30 days, why put the investment into social media where the value is near unmeasurable? Warm fuzzies that may calculate into a sale a year later is not a figure you'll see on an end-of-month report.

Social media takes more than money; it takes time. It also takes a well-formed identity, a self-awareness of local brand, a confident and consistent company culture, message, public image and policy. Not all dealers have their stuff together.

The primary focus of their investment strategy is all about greasing the road to the sale. So what's the value proposition of a dealer of social media?

You can spit out 1000 positive studies about social media and how it's infiltrated the way I get up, sleep, get news and poop, but they won't necessarily apply to the automotive point of sale. If you can answer some of the questions that I posed in a previous post, these guys (meaning the industry professionals in this forum) might listen.

Ford, at the manufacture's level, is a world apart from the point of sale dealership. Branding is most of their strategy. Most Ford dealers might say that they don't need to partake in social media, because the OEM does it for them.

 

[Anirban]

Another video I am adding hope that will makes some sense for this discussion!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypmfs...ayer_embedded#!

 

[davidmoon]

Another video I am adding hope that will makes some sense for this discussion!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypmfs...ayer_embedded#!

So if Ford spends 1/4 of their marketing budget on social media, why does a Ford Dealer need their own social footprint?

 

[MullerToyota]

Social media takes more than money; it takes time. It also takes a well-formed identity, a self-awareness of local brand, a confident and consistent company culture, message, public image and policy. Not all dealers have their stuff together.

Here I disagree 100%. Social Media - to really be effective at a car deal level is easy. It is the same thing as selling a car to your wife's co-worker, son's basketball coach or someone on the church council. It is the same thing all successful salespeople do. Interact with the community around you. It is just a different community - and it happens to be infinitely easier to interact with.

There is no game plan, no money needs to be spent. It is as simple as, "Hi. How are you. My name is Clay. Nice to meet you." and then, at some point in time they might ask what you do. And then a year or two later they may say - "Hey, you have any deals on Highlanders?" And then you can work a deal and make a sale.

This is no different. Anybody trying to spend a bunch of time and money on making social media a marketing playground is going to fail miserably. Social media is anti-marketing. In the end, all you will end up doing is making a bunch of friends wtih a bunch of other marketing people - and everyone will be happy they have 1,000,000 friends or followers. Too bad their message won't go anywhere and they won't be selling anything.

Embrace social media for what it is.