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What Defines A Successful Automotive Social Media Strategy

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#101
TuneyFish said:
I did an interview with a Nissan dealership blogger and his rule of thumb was no more than one tweet about the dealer for every 3 tweets about what others were discussing. I loved it, simple and effective way to get started.
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I agree that this is a pretty good rule of thumb. Although I'd go a little further to say that less than 25% of your tweets should be about yourself, the rest should be conversation & sharing. Same general idea though. Glad you brought that up :) I'd also like to throw in that you must get involved in conversations; social media was not meant for one-way communication. I see too many companies that are following that rule of thumb, sharing good relevant information, but aren't interacting with others, and it hurts them significantly. And I'd say that covers all forms of social media whether it be blogs, twitter, facebook, youtube ... etc.
 
#103
Great thread no doubt.

Everyone's a social media guru now days.

It's SOCIAL. People are involved, there is no real answer on how to make it "work". Yes, there are some best practices but a best practice across one vertical does NOT mean it's going to work for our business/industry. The car business is a different business. However, that doesn't mean you need to approached it from a completely different mindset. Be willing to test, be willing to fail.

Can a Dealership be social? Not really, I don't think so.

Can an individual (s) - sales, service, GM, Owner, dealer appointed online brand specialist be social? Absolutely. They (can) become voice for the dealership. They help amplify the brand.

Amplify your brand!

Some quick thoughts after reading thru this thread for the 10th time - and YES, that's what makes this so freaking awesome. A time capsule for off great opinions and information.

It's easy to sit on the sideline and watch others play ball. Some like to call it a calculated strategy - I for one do this at times. I'll sit back and wait to see whats going to happen.

I wanted to implement QR Codes 3 years ago when I read about it in a FastCompany article. But what for? WTH was a QR Code over here in the states 3 years ago? 6 months to a year from now I believe we'll see this form of mobile marketing and engagement explode. Had I jumped on this, I would have a much better understanding of the technology but more importantly I would be ahead of everyone else. Let me repeat - I would be ahead of everyone else.

We can always say "But I need to get our ground work established before moving onto the next project", and this can/does hold merit. It's up to each businesses budget and resources to determine on what they are willing to tackle next.

Although, you'll most likely NEVER be 100% at the basics (again, people are involved) and while you are waiting for achieve 100% on your groundwork, there are others surpassing you in other mediums. I doubt Social Media is a medium one should sit out on and watch others play ball before deciding to get in.

What I like most about tackling new projects, new marketing mediums, is the knowledge that comes along with the execution. You learn. And many times you find synergies across your other projects and just maybe something that allows you to take your ground work projects to another level to achieve that 100%. :)

I have been back and forth with Social Media for my dealers. NOT because I think it won't work but due to lack of resources. I need a dedicated champion.

I'm in Jason Ezell's camp - "use Social Media as the “Face†of the dealership on-line…your dealership’s personality, perks, softer side, community involvement, local sponsorships, club meetings, feedback manager, FAQ, Sales and events promotions, opinion gatherer, new vehicle promos, etc."

I follow the 80/20 rule.

80% PR / News / Reputation
20% Soft Sales Message

Play or sit on the side line....you decide I know which one I want to do.

What Defines A Successful Automotive Social Media Strategy?


I'm not sure yet. Like many I have many ideas. But I'm still working on this and since it envolves people and it's social - this could be in ongoing measurement.
 
#104
Great points Jeff, and although I think it's better to move forward based on the value it brings in terms of awareness and differentiation, I'll take the devils advocate towards the careful approach.

One word resonates from your post, thats the word Champion. I believe this is somewhat of a conundrum because it's self defeating before giving it the opportunity to evolve into something remarkable.

Most CEO's that I know who've built technology companies literally started as a result of their blog. SEOmoz, is an example of this. Rand started blogging about his experiences trying to figure out the wonderful world of search, and as a result you see the beginnings of a company like SEOmoz form.

Jeff's brought up another good point, perhaps technology is a great place for social media and blogging but dealerships? Maybe not so much.

I think that misses the opportunity because blogging and social is all about relationships, which can be one of the largest sources of referral business (the heart of what can make a dealership extremely successful). People want extraordinary service, but they aren't going to listen to the dealership's commercial that promises it, they're going to turn to social media. Here's why.

People trust social media because it balances out. Just look at reviews from consumers about a product. Just because there are a few bad reviews doesn't mean the product is bad. What it does mean is that somebody had an experience they felt compelled to share because they thought it might help someone else whose making a similar choice.

If you want to see social media in action, try this out and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Little test I did with my wife that proves the power of social influence on buying behavior. My wife is big on brands, if I try to buy something on sale that isn't a "preferred brand" often times it's met with opposition so I decided to try something.

I went to a local store, and went to the home section where they sell towels and all kinds of stuff I don't normally buy. I called her and said, hey check this out I found a really good deal on a product. She said no thanks, as expected. I then proceed to send her to a link that was a forum of women who'd recently been discussing this great product. Within a few minutes she'd read the link I sent and responded with the message to buy.

This is where I think social media is extremely compelling, authentic and trustworthy. You can't as a seller get that into an advertisement or anything that has quite the influence, but you can be aware of this conversation and track whether it is producing favorable traffic that could become part of your online marketing strategy.
 
#105
Brian Pasch, You started this thread, it's all your fault! ;-)

I am 110% in Jeff Kerschner's camp. He totally NAILED IT.
"Can a Dealership be social? Not really, I don't think so."
"Can an individual (s) - sales, service, GM, Owner, dealer appointed online brand specialist be social? Absolutely."

When Rob Fontano Speaks, I LISTEN!
"The perception of Social Media to businesses changed when some genius added the word "Marketing" to it"
"We focused on “friending” other local businesses, and we all began to cross promote each other, gaining a crossover between clientele"
"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."
"Any business that thinks that they need to be on facebook should take a good hard look in the mirror and make that their current reputation warrants it. This is not a place to change perception."
"the dealers voice and core beliefs should be the foundation of their presence on any social forum and that cannot be out sourced."
http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f43/...e-social-media-strategy-1435-7.html#post11998


The always wize Ed Brooks offers us...
"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."
"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."
http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f43/...e-social-media-strategy-1435-5.html#post11974

Eric Brown drops a giant eye-popping data bomb on us all
"..We recently posted a free Social Media report in our data library that outlines Social Media usage among auto shoppers who access dealerships sites from a social media sites....less than 1% by the way. Usage data was pulled from activity of 1.5 million auto shoppers we tracked"
http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f43/...e-social-media-strategy-1435-9.html#post12041

Even Guys in Canada like Ryan Thompson are smart!
"I would intern for Joe any day of the week."
http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f43/...e-social-media-strategy-1435-4.html#post11936
hahaha


I can't tell you all how helpful this thread has been. I am in a SM beta with socialdealer.com. More as it comes.
 
#106
JoePistell said:
Brian Pasch, You started this thread, it's all your fault! ;-)

I am 110% in Jeff Kerschner's camp. He totally NAILED IT.
"Can a Dealership be social? Not really, I don't think so."
"Can an individual (s) - sales, service, GM, Owner, dealer appointed online brand specialist be social? Absolutely."

When Rob Fontano Speaks, I LISTEN!
"The perception of Social Media to businesses changed when some genius added the word "Marketing" to it"
"We focused on “friending” other local businesses, and we all began to cross promote each other, gaining a crossover between clientele"
"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."
"Any business that thinks that they need to be on facebook should take a good hard look in the mirror and make that their current reputation warrants it. This is not a place to change perception."
"the dealers voice and core beliefs should be the foundation of their presence on any social forum and that cannot be out sourced."
http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f43/...e-social-media-strategy-1435-7.html#post11998


The always wize Ed Brooks offers us...
"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."
"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."
http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f43/...e-social-media-strategy-1435-5.html#post11974

Eric Brown drops a giant eye-popping data bomb on us all
"..We recently posted a free Social Media report in our data library that outlines Social Media usage among auto shoppers who access dealerships sites from a social media sites....less than 1% by the way. Usage data was pulled from activity of 1.5 million auto shoppers we tracked"
http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f43/...e-social-media-strategy-1435-9.html#post12041

Even Guys in Canada like Ryan Thompson are smart!
"I would intern for Joe any day of the week."
http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f43/...e-social-media-strategy-1435-4.html#post11936
hahaha


I can't tell you all how helpful this thread has been. I am in a SM beta with socialdealer.com. More as it comes.
Click to expand...

I guess we aren't so social in Canada because I'm one of the only participating members on the best Dealer Forum on earth (and mitch). I guess we're too busy watching our boys in the world juniors.

Thread for the history books that's for sure.
 
#107
CassieLee said:
The Most Powerful Part of Social Media That you're NOT Using | Social Media Today - Great article about Social Media by Ralph Paglia. Had to share :) Happy New Year everyone.

Cassie
(Follow Me!)
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Cassie - this is an AWESOME piece that every dealer should read. One note: Ralph Paglia didn't write it - he reposted it from David Johnson's Persuasive Concepts blog onto Social Media Today (with a small attribution at the bottom).

Easy mistake as there is a big 'About the Author' with Ralph's bio...
 
#108
Ed Brooks said:
Cassie - this is an AWESOME piece that every dealer should read. One note: Ralph Paglia didn't write it - he reposted it from David Johnson's Persuasive Concepts blog onto Social Media Today (with a small attribution at the bottom).

Easy mistake as there is a big 'About the Author' with Ralph's bio...
Click to expand...

Thank you for cleaning that up Ed, I did write that post which was feed via RSS to Social Media Today from ADM. And I'm honored you found it worthwhile Cassie, thank you for Sharing!
 
#110
Ryan Thompson said:
David Johnson posts some pretty valuable stuff. I can say I do listen to his PodCast
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Thank you Ryan!

Wow, this is a great thread with a ton of great information in it and if you pardon a newbie (to this forum) I'd love to add to it. For those of you that are familiar with me I will apologize in advance because what I'm about to say you have heard me say it before! LOL

All social media is, is a new way to use an old business tool. That's it, the only thing new about it is the technology and if you use social media how it was meant to be used (being social) then you will begin to see that it's nothing more than networking. Networking on steroids, but networking none the less.

There are as many different ideas on how to "network" using social media as there are social media experts out there (too many if you ask me and I'm no guru and don't claim to be). In my opinion the best way to use social media is by aligning yourself with a social cause. Contests are all good and well and they have their place but after you stop doing the promotions engagement stops.

If you want organic growth, the kind of growth that gets people talking then align yourself with a cause that's bigger than the dealership and the community. Create a..

Purpose Driven Community

As an example let's talk about Metro Honda of Union County and their recent initiative to help fight hunger in their community. Wal-Mart, during their Fighting Hunger campaign, put up $1.5 Million to be donated among the top 6 communities with the most support. $1 Million to number 1 and $100,000 to the next five communities. During that time Metro Honda created videos, sent out emails and engaged their Facebook fans in order to get them to "like" their community. During this time they saw a tremendous increase in their post views, and daily active users.



A lot of dealerships fall into the trap of looking at their "likes" as a gauge as to how well their doing on Facebook, when the best stat to look at is their daily and monthly active users. During the Fighting Hunger campaign Metro Honda saw an increase in their Daily Active Users (people consuming their content) from an average of about 200 per day to over 1000, with their daily post views going from around 5,000 per day to upwards of 25,000! Now that the campaign is over they are still seeing double the number of daily active users and post views than was the case before the campaign begun. That's the power of a purpose-driven community.

Thank you for allowing me to join in the conversation, I've learned a lot from this thread and I hope that in some small way I was able to add to it.
 
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