What Defines A Successful Automotive Social Media Strategy

[ed.brooks]

3 posts in and you opt for picking a Social Media fight with Ole Uncle Joe???? I think the 1200 plus views this post has should skyrocket soon.....

And Craig, did she say "Just because creativity and technology is not your strong suit"?

I'm settin' up a table and charging a cover!

 

[Ryan Thompson]

3 posts in and you opt for picking a Social Media fight with Ole Uncle Joe???? I think the 1200 plus views this post has should skyrocket soon.....

I knew the bloodbath had started once the Unicorns got dropped.

 

[Ryan Thompson]

I understand your resistance, and I ABSOLUTELY agree that dealers have a different place in SM and other PR/Marketing channels than other industries, but that doesn't mean it's not relevant.

I'm no "FB fairy," thank you, and I do work in your vertical. I've been in the business for years. Just because creativity and technology is not your strong suit, doesn't mean that it doesn't have a place in the industry. It does; I found it and ran with it. So noting that I did not make a research error ... I stand by what I said. And in agreeing that our customer base often believes that we are out to rob them, you cement my argument that PR is a very important piece of your business. SM is crucial to PR nowadays. And once again, there is more to SM than FB. Social Media = media channels that incorporate a social feature to their operation.

FB as a sales reps personal tool = Great! FB for a dealer = Great too (if you do it right). Including Fixed Ops into SM = Awesome! I've created several SM marketing plans revolving around fixed ops. Dealerrater reviews on a FB page are great ... but is your FB page linked with your FB place page? Have you built a targeted audience? What about Twitter? Youtube? What about other LBS? How's your local SEO doing? What are people saying about your dealership outside of dealerrater.com? Are you listening? If there is ONE thing that SM is best for, above all else, it's listening to your customer base, and learning from them.

This is what makes me questions your social media knowledge. First as a disclaimer I am no expert on this subject.

I believe Social Media is similar to going to a party. If you did not know one person at the party, you wouldn't run around throwing business cards and telling everyone what you sell. You would introduce yourself and when you had built some rapport you start asking the right questions and providing the person with some insight on "I do this..."

You on the other hand - basically drop kicked the door down in this party, stood on the table, and went Vince Lombardi on what is right and what is wrong.

Hopefully my comment wasn't too offside and I don't mean anything personal as I'm sure you have a successful business.

Also.. with the fixed ops SM plans you have built possibly you could share some of the actions you took and the results that were accomplished.

My $0.02

 

[ed.brooks]

Getting back to Brian's original question, "how do we define success?" David really nailed it when he said he said "engagement".

Now there have been a wealth of other great points here:

• It's difficult to get people to "Like", "Follow" or "Fan" a dealer online when most dealers aren't really liked all that much in real life.
• Dealers are notorious for wanting dollars spent today to result in a car sale tomorrow.
• There are a huge number of marketing opportunities available to dealers that offer a more consistent and immediate return on the investment of time and money than Social Media.

I'm reposting a response to an earlier post: Facebook #1 Referrer to my site??? (not because it's extremely insightful, rather because I'm lazy and still believe it)

Every great salesman I ever worked with back in the "olden days" kept 2 boxes of cards under or in their desk. One was filled with greeting cards, the other was a tickler file of customer's dates: birthdays, wedding anniversaries, the anniversary of their last car purchase, etc.

No one ever expected the card they sent on a Monday to sell them a car on Saturday. They did expect to stay top-of-mind with their customers, maybe get a referral or two and have a better than average shot in a year, 3 years or 5 years when their customer was ready for a new vehicle.

I'd submit that Social Media is the equivalent of those greeting cards. The ROI won't be measured in days, weeks or months, but rather in years. Is it worth the time? Every dealer has to be the judge of that for themselves.

But I'll repeat, every great salesman, back in the day, kept in touch, developed an on-going relationship, built trust and a referral business. Even if the medium is different today, why can't we do the same thing?

Is Social Media worth pursuing? I think a dealer has to ask a few other questions first: Are my core processes in place and working flawlessly? Are my cars getting online with great photos, enticing comments and the correct price? Am I doing right by my customers - Do they like me in real life? If you can answer yes to those questions, invest some resources in Social Media. If the answer is no, fix those core problems first.

Most of all, dealers are always searching for the next 'Silver Bullet' or maybe the next 'Shiny Object'. I don't think Social Media fits that bill. It should it be a part of your Community Relations program, but I don't think it should be the cornerstone of your Online Marketing.

Success in Social Media is a very long term proposition - not something that will sell a car this weekend.

 

[TonyK]

Isn't that the golden question?

It's not about Social Media Strategy, It's about your Vision and Mission how to use the Internet for your Dealership.

Social Media is just another tool to show your dealership's digital face to consumers and let them know YOU ARE ON THE SAME PAGE because YOU CARE and WANT THEIR BUSINESS WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT.

Your Vision and Mission will outline your Social Media Strategy. Don't forget, main goal is to tie down everything you have and maximize your opportunities.

I won't talk about a strategy that is focused on totaly giving away cars and just cares about units. I don't know nothing about that, was never interested.

Let's talk about a strategy that is focused on the CONSUMER. Why iPhone is a really successfull product when It comes to sales? Because It was designed for idiots, meaning ease of use, with one button and finger movement controls but is appealing to EVERYBODY.

You can't outline the customer crowd that is going to use your online services. You have to make all of them easy to use that gives second, third, forth chance to consumer. So, they can use your services at one point.
Appealing to EVERYBODY while ease of use is maintained.

Here is an example. A Major dealership owns a Digital Billboard air time on a really busy freeway.
We started to Display Personal Messages of drivers (Wedding proposals, Birthday messages, Anniversary, etc..) and highlighted our trade-in appraisal (Thank you KBB Trade Appraisal) , Easy 30 second credit application and our website's other features on that Billboard instead of a loser new vehicle ad.

All place pages with real reviews were setup and tied down to eachother (Social Media isn't just Social Media anymore. Can you show me any media that is not Social? It's just MEDIA, ADVERTISING, BRANDING.)

Tags were active that is highlighting our Customer Oriented SALE broadcasts not "WE ARE LOSING $10,000 SALE".

(Social) Media friends were growing like crazy and website hits were off the roof due to "Personal Message" display steps customers were going thru.

We actually put a kiosk on our Service waiting area where customers could send a brochure to their friends thru Facebook, or links thru twitter (Ops, I think the "The Machine" is just revealed..). All this increased our Media friends count and effective display of our customer oriented ADs.

Does that answer your question?

 

[CassieLee]

This is what makes me questions your social media knowledge. First as a disclaimer I am no expert on this subject.

I believe Social Media is similar to going to a party. If you did not know one person at the party, you wouldn't run around throwing business cards and telling everyone what you sell. You would introduce yourself and when you had built some rapport you start asking the right questions and providing the person with some insight on "I do this..."

You on the other hand - basically drop kicked the door down in this party, stood on the table, and went Vince Lombardi on what is right and what is wrong.

Hopefully my comment wasn't too offside and I don't mean anything personal as I'm sure you have a successful business.

Also.. with the fixed ops SM plans you have built possibly you could share some of the actions you took and the results that were accomplished.

My $0.02

Hi Ryan. I apologize for not introducing myself, however people come to forums for questions/answers and discussions, not howdy-ya-do. I'm not claiming to be an expert either, I don't particularly believe that anyone can be an expert on a subject that is changing daily. However, I do know something ...

I've made 3 main points/arguments in here.
1) SM is more than FB - There are hundreds of social tools to be chosen from. You pick which ones best suit you & your business & your company.
2) A social media strategy - which was my very first answer - shouldn't just be a "SM" strategy. In order to be effective it needs to be integrated.
3)ROI comes in many forms, it can be tracked, to some extent. There are metrics to be measured, I listed some earlier. And the tools to track these metrics are evolving daily.

I wasn't trying to pick a fight, just trying to open the discussion. Not a single post had mentioned the impact of SM on your SEO efforts ...

 

[ed.brooks]

@ David - There is a HUGE difference between fans of Broadway shows and customers of car dealerships. I spent many a long night drinking in Theater District bars with my Local 1 buddies (the stagehands). We all put up with the theatergoer's oddities (you know, stopping as a group on an Eighth Ave. sidewalk, Playbills in hand, as four 250 pound guys plow into them from behind), because they paid the bills for the whole neighborhood and allowed us to drink cheap while they paid full price.

You have to hand it to these folks, they LOVE the theater. They LOVE to talk about the theater. They are PERFECT for Social Media. Customers of car dealers? Not so much love.

Best of luck with Theatrestory.com

 

[Craig]

And Craig, did she say "Just because creativity and technology is not your strong suit"?

I'm settin' up a table and charging a cover!

He is "Old" Uncle Joe......maybe he's lost his creativity and has fell behind on technology

 

[TonyK]

Hi Ryan. I apologize for not introducing myself, however people come to forums for questions/answers and discussions, not howdy-ya-do. I'm not claiming to be an expert either, I don't particularly believe that anyone can be an expert on a subject that is changing daily. However, I do know something ...

I've made 3 main points/arguments in here.
1) SM is more than FB - There are hundreds of social tools to be chosen from. You pick which ones best suit you & your business & your company.
2) A social media strategy - which was my very first answer - shouldn't just be a "SM" strategy. In order to be effective it needs to be integrated.
3)ROI comes in many forms, it can be tracked, to some extent. There are metrics to be measured, I listed some earlier. And the tools to track these metrics are evolving daily.

I wasn't trying to pick a fight, just trying to open the discussion. Not a single post had mentioned the impact of SM on your SEO efforts ...

Somebody actually got the point! Very smart.

 

[Ryan Thompson]

Hi Ryan. I apologize for not introducing myself, however people come to forums for questions/answers and discussions, not howdy-ya-do. I'm not claiming to be an expert either, I don't particularly believe that anyone can be an expert on a subject that is changing daily. However, I do know something ...

I've made 3 main points/arguments in here.
1) SM is more than FB - There are hundreds of social tools to be chosen from. You pick which ones best suit you & your business & your company.
2) A social media strategy - which was my very first answer - shouldn't just be a "SM" strategy. In order to be effective it needs to be integrated.
3)ROI comes in many forms, it can be tracked, to some extent. There are metrics to be measured, I listed some earlier. And the tools to track these metrics are evolving daily.

I wasn't trying to pick a fight, just trying to open the discussion. Not a single post had mentioned the impact of SM on your SEO efforts ...

Ok we're cool! Maybe the SM tactics you applied to Fixed ops could be posted on a new thread, sorry Brian for taking your post into outerspace.