Why Are Dealers STILL Not in Social Media?

[Gerald]

Hey Alex- good to hear from you. LOL, no I am not privvy to what you and Jeff are writing...

However, as you say the paranoia of social media can best be illustrated by the now infamous case of the young woman who fired for fbooking her boss was a wanker and some other quality remarks about her place of employ.

the point is, she is an illustration of why it is important for a business to keep a reign on what is being published. By keeping it in the hands a select few with control will minimize that business' liability or embarrassment in the online AND real communities

 

[Gerald]

Great point Joe. The old days were "How many people are in your Rolodex?" Can't remember the last time that was asked.

 

[Alex Snyder (blog)]

Gerald - it isn't like we don't see each other every day on twitter and facebook - lol

The paranoia I speak of, inside IT Departments, is on two levels:

1. Security as viruses are passed through holes in Flash code and deception in links that most people aren't savvy enough to see.

2. The work environment can be plagued by time wasted on social media sites not doing work. On top of that it is virtually impossible to block the porn or other things that shouldn't be seen from these sites.

 

[Jay Campbell]

Oh Alex! Just force Dealers to buy Macbook Pro's!

I did 2.5 months ago and I'll never look back. Although I do peer at the glowing green light in my docking station under my desk to see if my Dell hasn't died.

There are great answers here. For the most part I agree with Joe. If you don't embrace and maximize conversion from unique visitation, it's hard to justify an effective Social Media or CGC strategy.

Do a better job of understanding the what-why and how of traffic to your site and Social Media becomes a natural extension.

 

[Jason Breck]

First of all, if history tells us anything, it's that when it comes to technology, car dealers are usually among the last to adapt. Social media is/will be no different.

Secondly, too many dealers want that report that you speak of, Jeff..."how many cars will this sell me this month?" From a dealer's perspective, I can understand this. They want ROI, and they want it immediately. Social media simply does not provide for an immediate ROI.

Dealers need to approach this topic more as social branding and engagement, as others have stated, not as social media. All of the tools and applications available with Web 2.0 make it easier and more cost-effective than ever to brand your business and engage your customers. In fact, other than time, using Web 2.0 tools cost virtually nothing. Dealers need to see the big picture and look at the long term ROI possibilities, rather than the "how many cars will this sell me today?"

Think about it. The traditional media (TV, newspaper, and radio), while they may allow you to help build your brand (less and less every day), do any of them allow you to truly engage and interact with your customers? No. Furthermore, with the Internet, DVR/TIVO, and satellite radio, how many people is your brand actually reaching? Fewer than ever. Yet, these media remain very costly.

Until dealers learn to adapt more quickly to changing technologies and changing culture, they will continue to spend their resources that provide for immediate (albeit significantly smaller) ROI, rather than the longer term (and potentially much higher) ROI.

 

[Tyler Robbins]

I, like so many others are on facebook, and for the most part, it WAS a means to connect with old friends from high school university, etc. which I would wholeheartedly agree has little to no value in the workplace.

HOWEVER recently, business contacts began "adding me" as their friends and soon businesses that I have done work with began adding me as a "friend" or inviting me to join their "Group", and so I am embraced it - NOW my facebook page has grown to be both business and social.

The reality is, most people log in to fb (or their social network of preference) almost everyday, and yes, I see the mundane comments of a an old friend who just got a new puppy, but I also see the newest Pre-Owned units at some of my clients stores or that they just got a load of the new 2010 Whatever in stock....

Talk about being "top of mind"!!!

For a dealer to be "in front of" their customers on a daily basis in any manner is invaluable!

Facebook or any social network is simply where the "customers" are, and those dealers who are using it, no doubt are realizing RETENTION of their customers moreso than a dealer is who is not.

 

[Mitchell Brenner]

The answers to this are the same as Why We Suck! Even the people in dealerships that do, and can, handle Social Media are not given the due respect because, "Yeah but did you sell a car today?" is all most GM's and GSM's know how to say. Until we as an industry can stop living in the past we will always be way behind the times when it comes to all the things a good eCommerce manager has to do on a daily basis. We might not have, "sold a car today" but we certainly influenced 80% of the cars that the dealership sold.

 

[joe.webb]

One question I ask many dealers is "Why ARE you using social networking?"

Countless dealers are on these sites, but have no one regularly managing it, no idea how to leverage the platform, and no goals. They simply created an account BECAUSE it is a buzzword. That is unfortunate. A waste of time and effort unless you have a specific plan in place to achieve results. If dealers are not properly using it, social media serves no benefit. My recent Digital Dealer article titled "The Social Networking Gut Check" speaks on this very topic.

It is like my mother always said, "if your friends jumped off a bridge, would you too?"
Just because others are utilizing it to its fullest doesn't mean it is a breeze to see results. It must be managed, maintained, monitored, and measured.

If your dealer has accounts on these sites, you have many questions to answer internally before you can truly say you are in the soc med game.

 

[Steven Moore]

@alex here is the link for my bookmarks on social media policy guidelines.

http://delicious.com/Hjumper/policies

the Ibm one is here.

http://www.ibm.com/blogs/zz/en/guidelines.html

There is also a wiki that I am trying to find that is of documented business case studies and another one with SM policies... Hope this helps you with writing about the need for these in dealer biz. I am at @smallbiztwit on twitter and from there you can get all my contacts points online and off.

 

[Jim Bell (blog)]

We look at the social networking sites as a great way to have a dialogue with our customers all the time. We can share information with them that they might call up and ask about, such as how to maintain proper tire pressure or get their cars ready for winter. We can tell them about money-saving services. We can introduce our staff, so that our customers feel comfortable when they come in. And we can hear back from our customers all the time, on any topic, in a way that’s very easy for them. We want to know what they’re thinking, what they need and what they like.

Our business success is built upon relationships with people who buy and service their cars with us. Being on Facebook and Twitter and writing a blog is a great way to develop those relationships. We can connect in a very non-obtrusive, helpful way and be a real resource in the community. Our customers become our friends, so we look forward to staying in touch.

We just got involved in the social websites in the last month or so. We have a blog that is updated 3 times a week and is tied to our twitter and facebook. Check us out and see what we are doing.

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