“Sell something, create a customer today. Help someone, create a customer for life.” ~Jay Baer, Keynote at 14th Digital Dealer Conference.

I’m privileged to be a contributor in the creation and sharing of information around automotive Social Media marketing. I’ve been in the space for about 5 years now and it’s clear to me that many, many dealers (and other small businesses) still haven’t adapted to the ever-changing landscape of inbound and Social marketing.

What continues to baffle me is that many dealers and business owners consider Social Media an anomaly. Pure and simple, Social is a medium to promote your message and increase leads and sales. Customers use this medium to share experiences with each other. Being part of those conversations is vital to your marketing success. It’s not the medium that’s Social, it’s the people!

The rules of business have changed. Today, every brand/seller competes for customers’ attention. Your marketing messages are intertwined within posts from friends, family, viral videos and cute kitty pictures. Businesses have been asking the wrong questions: how can we make our products/services even more exciting…how can we create more hype…how can we sell for the cheapest price?

I was honored to spend a few minutes talking with Jay Baer (@JayBaer) recently at the Digital Dealer Conference in Orlando. He’s got a great new book coming out called “Youtility.” Jay says, “What we should be asking is how can we help?”

In a world of information overload, the perfect marketing strategy is to cut through the noise by providing real customer service to people who need it. Businesses can do this by connecting with customers on the platforms where they spend the most time and deliver valuable information they can’t live without.

Think about how you buy something, especially a big ticket item. Do you generally just go out and buy it? Probably not. You consider the product and who you might know (like & trust) that can help you get the best deal. You search online for every bit of information you can find. You ask friends and family what they think. We all want to make the best choice, right? Well then why wouldn’t your customers do the same thing?

The customer experience is what sets every great business apart from the rest. We are blessed today to have a medium that facilitates our “social” exchanges. How wonderful it is to be able to enhance our customers’ experience by helping them buy. Here are 3 useful tips to help you utilize technology to differentiate your business:

1. Develop your content strategy. Content is what you post on Facebook status updates, tweets, youtube videos and blog posts. Ask yourself, “How can we help?” You must develop the mindset of delivering all your customers’ information needs, in all the places they’re searching for it, across each stage of the buying process. Helping means sharing your expertise, solving problems, and sometimes even entertaining your ideal customers. You become a trusted brand when you’ve helped someone understand something they didn’t know. You become remarkable when you’ve taught them something they didn’t know they didn’t know.

2. Empower your employees to participate with content. Marketing is not suited to a closed-end mindset. Crowdsource your content. Employees are your closest connection to your customer. Give them a voice to create and share ideas about what the customer needs or wants. Maybe they have an idea for a “How to” video series. Perhaps they’d like to blog but are apprehensive because they “don’t write.”  Encourage them. Make it easy for them to contribute. Your Social Media manager can edit it once they contribute. Recognize there truly is strength in the crowd.

3. Start a blog and post often. Keeping your content strategy in mind and utilizing your staff as often as possible, create a blog for your business. Your blog posts should be compelling to read and deliver that needed information your customer is looking for through all stages of the buying process. Your store becomes the “likable expert” bringing people back again and again. Blogs also create visibility and influence with search engines. Your content gets found by your most ideal customers thereby opening the door to more leads and sales.

Like Jay Baer says, “Make your marketing so useful that people would pay for it.” It’s not easy and it takes extra effort to succeed at being the “likable expert.” The payoff is you’ll beat your competition hands down.

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” ~Dale Carnegie

I was in Orlando last week speaking at a conference. I had a free morning so I asked the concierge where the best place to walk might be. He answered, “The Nature Walk.” That conjured up beautiful images in my imagination and I couldn’t wait to get going. The Florida Everglades are a natural wonder and for someone who grew up in Southern California, they are very intriguing.

I walked out and around the hotel’s golf course then onto the path and came upon a sign with information about the Nature Walk. It reminded people to watch out for ant hills along the way. “Ok”, I thought. I walked about a 1/2 mile further and the scenery was breathtaking. I saw beautiful birds and wondrous plants that can only be found in the Everglades. I took another turn and came upon a gorgeous clearing. I looked ahead a few feet and saw this sign:

When a hotel concierge describes something as a “Nature Walk”, one never really thinks about it being an exercise in food chain economics. For a moment, I thought about moving forward but then realized that these were REAL alligators, not the ones I’m used to seeing on the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland. So, I started to get scared because all the while I’d been on the lookout for those ant hills, an alligator could’ve been sauntering along getting ready to pounce. I scanned the area like the Terminator and high-tailed it for the golf course filled with the less-harmful animals.

Later that day after my speech, I walked the exhibit hall floor and met the most delightful car dealer and his Internet manager. They were from the South and were probably very comfortable with alligators in their midst. What they were apprehensive about was Social Media. They’d been hearing about it for awhile and knew they needed to find out more but it just wasn’t sitting too well with them for a myriad of reasons:

• Who is supposed to handle Social Media?
• How do we keep employees from saying the wrong things?
• What do we post?
• Where is the return on investment for Social Media?
• Why do we have to be on Social Media?

I got to thinking about how scary it must be for dealers (and most all business owners) who are new to Social Media. Those of us that adopted early and are in the trenches everyday don’t take enough time to realize how fearful this “open and connected” economy can be for someone new. What a metaphor that Nature Walk experience was for me.

The best way to face your Social Media fear is to crack out of your comfort zone, breakdown the components and load yourself with enough information so that you can make the right decisions:

• Spend 15 minutes everyday reading blogs that focus on Social Media marketing.
• Sites like CBT News offer short, information-packed videos that require a very small time commitment.
• Find people you trust or those that have credibility in the industry who can guide you without trying to sell you.

The next step is to take action and experience Social Media yourself:

• Get a Facebook account and start lurking. You don’t have to interact but it’s oh so much better if you do.
• If Facebook isn’t your gig, then check out Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or Linkedin. The concept of Social networking is the same on these sites so find that one that you feel good about and go for it.
• Spend 15 minutes everyday interacting with those you’re connected to.

Information is power. That sign on the path gave me information to make a considered decision. Social Media is nothing to be feared. It’s a way to connect and engage your customers at every level of the sales process. Once you’ve taken the few steps outside your comfort zone, you’ll start to see how valuable Social Media is to your business.

For years now you’ve heard everywhere that you can’t measure Social Media ROI (return on investment). I’m not sure if it’s been an excuse to discount Social Media’s value or a fear of adapting to a new marketing model. Perhaps a little bit of both.

Marketing Charts recently outlined on a new report by the Platt Retail Institute, conducted in association with the American Marketing Association comparing marketers’ rankings of various channels’ budget allocations against the channels’ perceived importance and ROI. The study reveals that of the 11 channels identified, Social Media marketing ranks 4th in both current importance and ROI but ranks only 6th in budget allocation.

Scott Monty of Ford Social explained in his blog that “The study reveals there’s a mismatch between marketing budget and effectiveness in key areas. Two are mass media and customer support, which are being overspent on versus their return on investment. Alternatively, email and social are being underspent on while they have a more effective ROI.”

When you know more, you can do more. Social Media’s ROI can be tracked. But keep in mind that tracking is only the measurement of the result of your efforts. You must be able to tie those results back to your objectives to get real return on investment.

The following are Facebook objectives and results we track here at Kruse Control on a weekly basis:

1. Community Growth: number of likes obtained. This metric shows how your page is growing and can be tied in with budget spent on Facebook Ads.

2. Engagement: number of likes, comments and shares. Content is what drives your Social Media success. When you track how your content is being received by the audience, you get smarter about what to post in the future.

3. Total Reach: number of people that viewed your content. This is another metric that can be tied to Facebook Ad spend. Facebook allows you now to pay to reach more people. While it’s a lot different than even last year at this time, as a Facebook marketer I’m glad to have that available to me.

4. Popular Posts: The posts got the highest engagement. This is a useful metric for content curation. As marketers, we always use our best guess as to what the audience is looking for. Keeping track of your most popular posts allows you to give your audience more of what they like. I have a client who shares a lot of content around a certain female service advisor. She’s well known in the community and has a bubbly, enthusiastic personality. Their posts with Mackenzie get off-the-chart engagement.

5. Budget Spent (Facebook Ads, software tools, design, etc). Facebook is not free. You have to pay to play. If you want to increase your reach then you need a budget for ads. Beyond an ad budget, you’ll need money for software monitoring tools, scheduling software, photos and graphic design. Since it’s actual money spent, this is the easiest one to track.

6. Leads: number of leads generated. This is the golden ring here folks. There are two types of leads from Facebook – organic and traditional. Organic leads happen in the comments section of your posts. Share a special offer and many times someone will ask, “How long is this on for?” or “Do you service Nissans?” Be ready to answer their question and pose another one to keep them engaged.

The traditional type of lead comes from a more proactive approach. It involves the strategic use of Facebook Ads that click through to specific landing pages. There are thousands of ways to use this tactic, it all ties back to your objectives and the results you’re looking for.

7. Sales: number of sales closed. Because of their very nature, organic leads will be known intimately by your Social Media manager. They’ve had conversations with the lead sometimes over months. When you’re running more traditional campaigns with landing pages, it’s helpful to have lead tracking software to know who the leads were so you can follow up on them.

Social is a medium. How your business capitalizes on it is up to you.

I speak almost daily with people who work at dealerships and other businesses who are limping along with Social marketing simply because their boss told them to create a Facebook page. While they are masters at the job they were hired for, many of these great people have little to no skills in marketing a business. They’ve had no training to speak of and they’re out there communicating messages about your store for the world to see!

If your staff has been saddled with the responsibility of succeeding on Social Media, give yourself and your staff the best, most ideal environment to do just that. Many bosses choose someone to handle Social marketing who’s been on Facebook for personal reasons and then never followed up to see if they have any business marketing acumen.

This is a common mistake. It’s like the blind leading the blind. You (the boss) is not spending much time in the Social space. When someone on your team expresses an interest, you give them the keys to the kingdom. They dazzle you with what they’re doing because you have no idea what success really looks like on Social Media. Does this sound familiar to you?

Please don’t do your business (or your customer) a disservice. Avoid this common mistake by doing these 3 things:

1. Ask the right questions when hiring (or promoting) a Social Media Manager. Not everyone who says they can do Social Media marketing actually knows what they’re talking about. I wrote a post here covering the 10 Questions to Ask When Hiring a Social Media manager. Review it. Utilize it. It will save you a lot of time, money and effort.

2. Always review your metrics. I’m a firm believer in knowing where you are so you can plot where you’re going. There’s a lot of talk out there saying you “can’t measure Social Media ROI.” I happen to disagree. There are plenty of tools available to measure your results. The bigger issue is that very few dealership marketers actually set clear objectives. Once you’ve set goals and objectives, you can tie your results back to them and decide where to put your foot (and your budget) next.

3. Supply training and support for your designated Social Media manager. I just had a gal who works at an auto group reach out to me saying that she’s in charge of all their Social Media marketing AND online reputation. That’s a big job and it would be tough for even the most savvy, experienced marketing manager. She’s lost and desperately wants to get herself some training. Do yourself a solid and get expert training for your staff. With a proven track record, the right coach/trainer will make your employee seem like they’re walking on water because they’ll have been shown where the rocks are.

Many dealers and other businesses want to succeed in Social Media but they don’t consider the time or internal resources required to do it effectively. Just like the other marketing mediums, Social is a place where people go to spend time and be entertained. It requires the same focus, time, skill and budget as the other mediums (ie: Cable, Radio and Online).

Because it is conversations on Social Media that turn into sales, you need to have someone who knows HOW to market your store and HOW to talk with fans/followers to convert them into sales. There is no such thing as a quick sale. It’s an illusion to believe that someone is going to do business with you without doing their online due diligence. Avoid the common mistake and set yourself up for success. Take the steps and make sure the person in charge of your Social Media provides great information, engages your prospects and compels that next customer to think of you first!

Successfully managing your online reputation can mean the difference between winning the sale or allowing your competitor to take it away from you. 85% of consumers are searching for local businesses online (Yelp.com). 7 out of 10 consumers refer to online reviews before they make their purchase decision (autorevo.com). Your business cannot afford to ignore what’s being said about you – online or off.

Your customers and prospects’ experience starts during these conversations. Whether it’s in real life or online, Social Media or review sites, people are already forming their opinions about your business by talking about it with their friends, family and network. The sum total of the early interactions a person has with your brand is contained in these conversations. You need to be listening, responding and interacting to ensure you close the sale.

I had a very negative experience at a local “discount designer retailer” recently. I’ve been in the car business all my life and I consider every retail operation the same – it should be customer centric. I’ve been shopping with this company for over 15 years and we all know the routine with these types of stores: no frills in exchange for lower prices. I’ve never thought this was a smart business plan because why not treat people the same no matter what price they’re paying? In any event, this company has not realized the key component to protecting their reputation – Listen.

On this particular day, I was the only person standing near the desk waiting to pay. There was a gal behind the counter who I anticipated would be happily ready to take my money. I waited patiently for her to cheerfully wave me on but alas, it was not to be. I noticed there were six other employees congregating around the check out desk and I made eye contact with each one of them. Not one acknowledged me. For a second, I thought I was invisible. Finally I asked if someone would like to “take my money” and the gal behind the counter said, “Yes, just a minute.” I’ll save you the laundry list of things that happened next but suffice to say I left feeling like I had just done business with the devil.

I’ve recently shopped the competition and at one store, you don’t need to wait at the counter or in line. All you have to do is look for the associate’s green shirt and tell them you’d like to pay. They use their iPhone and email you the receipt. There was such a contrast between these two retailers that I felt compelled to write online reviews for both (and share this with you here on my blog).

Every retail business must impart the customer-centric experience. Your reputation depends on it. If you suck in real life, you suck harder online. Employees need to be conscious that they are on stage – they are giving a customer service performance. Some will get rave reviews. Some will not. In today’s economy, there’s no room for error. It is the details that make your store memorable – positive or negative.

This concept is as old as dirt and with online ratings sites it’s become exponentially more important. The subtle differences between a business that understands customer experience and those that pay no attention to it, or have substandard management processes, are the differences that win the competitive advantage. Anyone can sell from price but when everyone is, where do you go from there?

Listen in all the ways you’re able to listen. In real life and online. Software to monitor conversations always helps but don’t get lazy. Implement proactive internal processes such as training employees to listen to the customer and recognize customer behavior. Listen, respond and interact so customers know that you’re interested in what they have to say. When employees spot opportunities to delight they can act on them. If they’re not trained on what to look and listen for then you never get your chance to be memorable.

In real life or online, when employees are oblivious to their performance, your customer’s experience turns negative. It gets broadcasted on every channel available. Think about it – you’d want to broadcast it, right?

Social Media marketing is a great way to boost interest in your brand and increase leads and sales. But are you aware of the precise types of content that will make your marketing successful?

I see dealerships and other businesses jump into Social and many lack the solid foundation with which to build their online community. Social is a medium just like TV, radio or print. You must first design a marketing strategy for your audience. To succeed, you must break things down in order to build it up.

Your Social Media house is only as strong as its foundation. The key is to start with a sensible and effective marketing plan that includes development of your content strategy. You need to design what you want to share because it will be what drives the engagement on your page.

What is content strategy? It’s your mindset, culture & approach to delivering your customer’s information needs in all the places they’re searching for it, across each stage of the buying process. It takes a solid plan to pull this off.

Winston Churchill once said, “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.” Nothing could be truer with respect to your Social marketing. It’s the planning that must come first before you move out into the world of Social Media. Many times people skip over the planning and then give up because, “It didn’t work for us.” Without a comprehensive plan, three things will happen:

• You won’t be ready for prime time and you could potentially damage your reputation.
• You’ll waste your budget on things that you don’t need.
• You won’t generate leads and sales.

The first steps of your plan will be to focus on who you want to reach and leveraging your already-existing customer database is a smart move. They are most likely to want to connect with you on Social Media because they’ve bought from you already. Their “word of mouth” has always been the most valuable form of marketing. They carry a lot of weight when they rave about doing business with you and Social Media amps that reach.

Of course it’s important to include a spend on advertising to acquire new customers. But constantly focusing on new customers and ignoring the huge opportunities available in engaging your repeat customers is one-dimensional and leaves a lot of money on the table to be scooped up by your competitor.

Providing content to satisfy your customer’s needs is difficult and sometimes tricky. People are becoming more and more accustomed to getting what they want, when they want it. Dealership marketers must make every attempt to understand the customer – their likes and dislikes, their problems, their interests – so they can design a content strategy that’s relevant to them.

There are 3 categories of content that are most ideal and should factor into your overall Social marketing plan:

1. Personality. This type of content focuses on subjects outside of your store, your products and your services. We’re talking about fun, humorous and engaging content that people generally enjoy seeing and interacting with. Irresistible community-related stories and interesting subjects that peak peoples’ attention are what you’re going for. It’s the hardest type of content to produce and it gets you the highest engagement. Drilling down and brainstorming with a content strategist will certainly help you get traction and move you quickly to where you want to go. It is an art and not many people have the gift. (Percent of total content: 70%)

2. Brand. This type of content revolves around your dealership’s brand – the characteristics that compel people to buy from you. This would be things like interesting stories about your customers (with pictures), video interviews/testimonials, coverage of local events that you’re participating in, your blog posts, “How to” videos and certainly anything focusing on employee recognition. (Percent of total content: 20%)

3. Product. Here’s where you get to share specials and spotlight cool features of your vehicles and related products. Service specials work really well here and very often generate organic leads in the comments section. Most everyone knows by now that Social is not a broadcasting tool but don’t be afraid to post sales-related content. You’ve worked hard to build trust with the audience and you’re allowed to reap the benefits. (Percent of total content: 10%)

Take action now. Develop your Social marketing plan utilizing these 3 valuable types of content. You’ll see the results you’re looking for sooner and with more consistency. Build it the right way and they will come.

Every customer who’s considering a purchase is looking for credible information to support his or her decision. If your business is the voice that’s giving them that important information then that customer is more likely to buy from you.

Blogging generates leads and sales. My friend, Marcus Sheridan (thesaleslion.com) has proven the fact that when customers consume 30+ pages of your content, you have an 80% better chance of closing the sale. With every post, you provide each customer/prospect another opportunity to connect with you. It used to cost you thousands to reach a customer. Now, you reach them with your blog content.

For dealerships and other retail businesses, the daily operation may not conform to the creation and constant feeding of a blog. If you’re the owner or manager, it’s hard to even know where to start. This fact may be keeping you stuck. I would like to un-stick you because the value you get from blogging outweighs any excuse you can muster.

Content is what drives your business’ ability to be found in search results. Google is looking for valuable content for their users and you need to give it to them. They’ve spent the last 18 months morphing from a “fact” based channel into a “knowledge” based channel. Their desire is to give users the BEST possible answers to their query. Fresh, robust, trustworthy content is the “knowledge” Google is looking for.

Content is what drives your Social Media success. Sharing others’ content on your Social platforms is great but when it’s your own it offers up a whole lot more value for your business. Using Social Media to promote your own content can lead to “earned” media – where others find your content so valuable they share it to their network, friends and family.

Blogging is an extended conversation that goes on through every level of the sales process. Here are 6 tips to help you get your blog up and running:

1. Stake Your Claim

• Branding is important here so choose a URL that’s memorable. A good choice is to use your dealership business name with “blog” after it (example: ABCMotorsBlog.com). If you’ve done your SEO homework then people will find your site. Optimize your blog to give users more of what they’re looking for.

2. Build Your House

• The ideal platform for dealerships is WordPress (self-hosted). Download a theme (framework), add your custom branding (design) and then further customize it with plugins (small pieces of software that enhance your blog).
• The self-hosted version of WordPress allows you to own all your content. Another platform like Blogger or WordPress.com houses your content on another’s server.
• WordPress offers visibility and influence with search engines.
• WordPress provides nice options to converse with your readers (prospects) in the comments section.

3. Open the Gates

• Once your blog is built, it’s time to think about what you’re going to say. Think like your customer. What are the things they are searching for? Make a list. Brainstorm with your staff – they are the ones who talk to your customer everyday.
• One of the best ways to stay informed and remain inspired is to consume content. Spend 15 minutes a day reading others’ blogs and information about what your customer is interested in.
• Be open. Be aware. There are opportunities for blogpost ideas everyday at your dealership. It’s just a matter of shifting your mindset and honoring the process.

4. Avoid Excuses

• As the saying goes, “Writers have the cleanest kitchens.” It’s human nature to avoid or resist things that we know we’re going to be judged on. Blast through that because it’s BS. You know more about your product and services than anybody else on the planet. Your perspective is highly valuable to those who are searching for it.
• One of the most frequently asked questions I get from dealers is, “What do we write about.” This often stops dealers from exploring blogging further and keeps them stuck. This is harmful to your brand and your bottom line!

5. Perfect is the Enemy of Done

• When I first started blogging a few years ago, I devoured all the books and blogs I could about successful blogging. The Huffington Post’s book on blogging gave me the above advice and it’s never been far from my consciousness ever since. Do your best with your post, make sure it speaks to your brand and your customer, polish it up and hit publish. Don’t get caught up in the minutiae – perfection is an illusion.

6. Share Your Work

• Attach your blog to your website. If your website provider can’t do this for you, then at least make sure there’s a tab so customers/prospects can find it. You’ll still get the Google juice from your blog and this may create new and different ways to be found online.
• Syndicate your posts on all your Social channels and Social bookmarking sites. Create a unique place where your customers/prospects can go to find the information they’re looking for.

“Without promotion something terrible happens… Nothing!” ~ P.T. Barnam

Every business wants to get the most out of their Facebook page. It’s difficult to grow your page without defined strategies. If you read my blog with any consistency, you know I continually reinforce the need for your business to have a solid content strategy. Great content is how you continue to engage with your current and future customers and should always be a cornerstone to your Social marketing.

Many businesses find the job of creating and publishing great content to be challenging. They feel more comfortable in the “traditional” marketing arena known as Promotion. Promoting your Facebook page is another important component of your overall Social Media strategy. But promotion is all around us, and it can be difficult for businesses to break through the noise.

Even though the medium is different, the concepts behind promotion haven’t changed: get eyeballs on your message. The ultimate goal is to make a connection, have a conversation and, with some finesse, convert that into a sale. If you don’t have a strategy to promote your page or your business on Facebook, those conversations will take place elsewhere.

I’ve had many dealers and other businesses say to me, “You can’t measure Social Media ROI.” Respectfully, this is a misguided mindset. You most certainly can measure Social Media ROI if you know what your objectives are and you tie your results back to your goals. A solid promotion strategy includes analysis so you know which efforts are successful.

Promotion strategy is an integral part of your Facebook marketing plan. Keeping fans engaged with content is crucial but just as important is attracting more of those people who are most likely going to buy from you.  Answer this question, “How are we going to continually increase our Facebook fan base to generate leads and sales?” If you don’t have the answer right now, you’re not alone. Here are 5 tips to develop your Facebook promotion strategy:

1. Awareness in Real Life. What we see, we remember. Signage and other visual reminders in your store help boost the awareness of your Facebook page to your customers AND employees. It takes an effort to get employee buy-in and participation on Social and reminders are always necessary. Having a designated Social Media manager comes in handy here. They can continue to foster awareness around your page and instigate participation.

2. Facebook Ads. Perhaps the single greatest device for growing your fan base and increasing sales. Facebook makes it easy and affordable to amplify your reach with Promoted Posts (spending $5-$20 to show a post to a wider audience). The Ads Manager helps you create ads which target those that are most likely going to buy from you. Once they like your page, that opens up all opportunities to connect, converse and close deals.

3. Landing Pages. Facebook users like to stay on Facebook. Facebook Landing Pages are perfect for facilitating specific marketing campaigns. Whether you want to grow your likes, offer a coupon for Service, or get more people in your store this weekend, drive people to your Landing Page that gives them every reason to comply.

4. Calls to Action. If you’re utilizing Landing Pages, please make sure you have the ideal marketing language to compel the user to do what you want them to do. A call-to-action (CTA) is the part of your message that convinces a person to perform your desired action immediately. People need to be shown or told what to do next (ie: drive them down the sales funnel).

5. Tools. You’re going to need a designer to create your Landing Pages. You’re also going to need help installing Landing Pages on your Facebook page. There are tools like Heyo and Shortstack that help you facilitate these two endeavors. Both of these apps have templates for Landing Pages that are very useful. You may want to consider a custom design if you’ve got the budget. Custom design always has advantages because it communicates your brand more effectively.

Are you currently promoting your Facebook page to generate leads and sales? Now’s the time to start before your competitor gets the same idea.

Are you still waiting for the Social Media fad to blow over? It’s crazy but many dealers and other small businesses are lagging behind in the Social marketing game. Cars.com issued a study recently saying that 46% of Social Media users have shared their recommendation for a dealership. 41% say they saw a post that caused them to rethink their purchase decision. Do you really want to be missing out on nearly 50% of potential business?

I wrote a post recently about business’ lack of commitment to Social Media marketing. Automotive retail has never really been an early adopter and that’s certainly true with respect to Social Media. In fact, many dealerships are still waiting for others to test the waters before they dive in. Retail operations has worked the same way for 50+ years (I was in the thick of it for 30 of those years) so why change now? Having been at the inception of automotive Social Media nearly 5 years ago, I can say that change is here folks. The customer changed. Your time for waiting to see if Social works has evaporated.

I do a lot of training Webinars and a lot of people who attend are dealership personnel. I hear from many who are doing Social Media “in their spare time” with no training or budget. Actually, some are trying to do it without the slightest hint of interest or support from management. Some of my content is free or very reasonably priced so these folks attend to increase their knowledge with hopes that someday the boss will see the light. I’ll say it now: this is the road to hell. Doing something halfway, especially Social Media, can actually damage your brand. I can’t tell you how many dealership Facebook pages I see that are failing.

It’s caused me to rethink what I do because while I want to offer good advice to people who are new, the others who’ve been doing Social for a while have not progressed. I don’t want to perpetuate them being stuck. Whether they’re too busy to take it to the next level or they’re fearful of asking the boss for time, training and budget, they need to take a hard look at why they do it and devise a plan to take their next steps. Isn’t it time to get serious about reaching thousands of loyal fans and followers and converting them into customers?

There’s another group out there who won’t take action even if they’re offered really great advice or almost a step-by-step curriculum. Some don’t want to have to think. Some say they want to be leaders but can’t pull the trigger on generating leads and sales with Social Media. Those are the people I can’t help and I’m sorry to say this but I see a lot of that happening right now. As a former executive manager, it hurts my heart to know that management doesn’t care about the value of Social and staff cares just enough to be stifled.

It’s time to take action. If you’re an employee of a dealership who knows Social can produce results and your boss doesn’t agree, then set up your goals, produce the results and prepare a reporting of those results for him/her. THEN you can say Social works without a doubt and ask for training and a budget. You stand a better chance of getting what you really want instead of being stuck in limbo.

Business success depends on leads and sales. Social Media produces results but only when it’s done correctly under the guidance of an expert. Get the information you need, especially the stuff you don’t know you don’t know. Spend the time and effort to do it right. Stop being stuck in recess. It’s time to get to class.

One of the things I like best about Social Media is it gives businesses the chance to connect with their customers on a deeper level. This allows the business to know more about who they sell to so they can deliver more of what the customer wants. Social Media also allows the customer to align themselves with brands who matter to them.

I was looking for a new pair of glasses the other day. I had heard about a company called Fetch Eye Wear. They offer high quality frames at affordable prices AND they believe (as I do) that buying the things you need should support the things you love. They donate all profits to The Pixie Project to improve animal welfare through rescue, veterinary care and education. They let you try on the frames at home (free shipping and return) too! I love when I get what I want.

Legendary car dealer Carl Sewell famously said, “Find out what customers want and give it to ‘em.”

The only way to find out what your customers want is to know who they are. The days are gone where mass advertising blocked communication between the seller and the buyer. We have a two-way conversation now which gives businesses an opportunity to really connect with every person in their local community. We can deliver great content though Social channels and attract those most likely to buy.

Content strategy is a strange phrase. It’s not something we’ve heard before in automotive marketing. The fact is, it’s always been there but businesses never had to really think about it. We left that to the advertising companies. Content has always been valuable but now it’s even more prevalent because customers are searching for and expecting purchase information online.

Content strategy is your mindset, culture & approach to delivering your customer’s information needs in all the places they’re searching for it, across each stage of the buying process. The channel you choose (Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, YouTube, etc.) is the one where your customer spends the most time.

Designing a content strategy for your business’ Social Media can be challenging. If you’re new, it helps to have guidance from a strategist with industry expertise. A content strategist is someone who defines the content you’re going to publish and why it’s published in the first place.

What would happen if you asked your salesforce to identify their ideal customers? Chances are they wouldn’t know where to start. This is why a lot of dealerships and other businesses are having a tough time with Social marketing and the answers are vital to your success. Outsourcing doesn’t make it easier. You and your staff are the only ones who can really know who your customer is.

There are two questions to answer that will help you start developing your content strategy:

1. Who is my ideal customer? Define the identity of your customers.

• Where do they live their lives everyday? Describe the community’s characteristics and attributes.
• What do they do? Outline their general lifestyles such as professions, activities and groups they affiliate with.
• What challenges do they face everyday? Especially when it comes to shopping for your product and/or service.

2. Are we using the correct voice? What you publish speaks for you. Is your content relevant to those ideal customers you just identified? It’s okay to publish information about your products/services but pay close attention to the frequency and make sure your audience is engaging with it. Ask yourself: Would I like this page based solely on this one post?

Identify who you’re trying to reach, who’s most like to buy from you, and design content strategy around them. You’ll start attracting the right customer for the right reasons.

Social Media has cleared away all the fluff. We used to broadcast messages to the masses with hope that a few would hear us and decide to buy (and the decision was usually based on price). Now we can laser target our time, effort and budget to be much more efficient. It takes know how and not everyone is cut out for it. Make the decision to dive deeper into content strategy. Engage your ideal customers and increase leads and sales.