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Facebook has been a challenging venue for marketers and advertisers ever since it started really getting popular in 2009. At that time, it was clear that it was the social network to beat and the company started trying to cash in with different types of advertising options. Most of them failed miserably for the same reason that many marketers continue to fail today: people go to Facebook to be entertained, not to be the recipient of ads.

Today, it’s getting easier. People are more accepting of ads. A lot of it can be attributed to the way that Facebook has handled their promoted posts. They have done an excellent (some would say Draconian) job of keeping messages off of news feeds that are too promotional. Between the manual vetting they do of ads and the 20% text rule they apply to images, they’ve been able to keep a relatively strong balance between letting advertisers get their message out and keeping their users happy through minimized spam.

When it comes to putting out a message that resonates, that users can enjoy while still getting the promotional message out, businesses (local ones in particular) should consider adding a touch of fun and flair to their posts. In the example above, the goal of the car dealership in question is to promote their oil change special. There are a couple of different ways to go about doing this. They can make it a Facebook offer which can be very effective if the special is a true Facebook-only special. They could make it an event, but they would have to really make it a true event for that to work and few people would consider car maintenance an event. They could be direct – post about the special and throw some ad money at it. This is not recommended as the negative sentiment would murder the page’s EdgeRank.

In this case, they added the localized and timely flair of focusing on a wonderful aspect of living by the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It’s spring and people are thinking about what they’re going to do when school is out, when vacation time comes, and when the weather is in a state of awesomeness that they can venture forth and enjoy the world. The message is clear and ends with the “pitch”:

“Spring in Waynesville, NC. You know what that means, right? Time to plan a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

“Before heading out, make sure your ride is in “Mountain Ready” condition. Here’s an oil change special just for your trip…”

By positioning it in a way that takes a positive aspect of local life and applying the marketing message at that point, it allows for the post to flourish. Even though the page itself has around 700 fans, it was liked by 80 people, shared by 3, and commented on by several. Branding was achieved. Positive sentiment was achieved. The link to the special itself on their website received a nice amount of clicks. Most importantly, the message was seen by around 10,000 locals.

There’s a fine line between tricking people into interacting with a post to click on an advertisement and actually engaging with them on their terms and getting the message to them as a result. Using local flair is one of the easiest ways to make this happen.

There are all sorts of tips, tricks, and techniques to drive more traffic to a blog. They usually involve either paying for it in some way, improving an avenue such as through search engine optimization, or building subscribers. The reality is this – all of these things take time. What doesn’t take time other than the effort that is required to make it happen is writing better blog post titles. The right titles can increase blog traffic. The wrong titles can desperately hurt it. This is an immediate effect.

More and more businesses are starting to blog today. They are syndicating, optimizing, promoting, and doing all of the best practices that the gurus are giving them. Still, they are only seeing small increases in traffic if at all. Every now and then, they see a post that spikes. Was it amazing content? Possibly. Was it shared by the right people on social media? Probably. Did it have the right title? Almost definitely.

It blows me away when I see so many titles that simply suck. Yes, they suck. They aren’t attracting anyone.

The title in the blog post above attracted people. It was wildly shared. It was blogged about on other websites. It made an impact. Despite being wildly popular and talked about around the web for weeks, the story itself wasn’t that interesting. It was good, but not good enough to make it the talk of the blogosphere for as long as it was. The title, however, was brilliant.

Depending on your style of business and blogging voice, here are some quick examples of blog post styles. This is a very basic sampling. You can do better.

• Emotional Statement – The Biggest Reason Your Blog Traffic Sucks
• Numbered List – 7 Reasons Why Top 10 Lists Still Work
• Play on Common Phrases - Why Good Guys Really Do Finish Last in Sales
• Contrary Statement to Common Phrases – Good Guys Finish First if They do These Things
• Big Time Promise – Cut Your Blogging Time in Half While Doubling Your Posting Frequency
• Three Worders (use sparingly) – The Blogger’s Conundrum
• Nonsense Titles (that make sense) – The Best Blog Titles Work Best if You “Backwards Them Write”

Again, there are plenty of other types of titles out there. The key is to check out the right sites. See how other blog posts are being written and what titles they’re using. Just because it’s a business blog doesn’t mean that it has to be bland and boring. Titles drive traffic quickly. Make them count.

Fresh off another successful week, putting good people together with great Dealerships.

I had a blog post request (felt nice, my first one), how when do we call back Unsold Showroom Traffic?  Best answer URGENTLY, but seriously here is my game-plan.

Let' start with what to say, and then when to call.  We need to use the most motivating factors we have, the 4 major components of paying for a car; Payment, Down Payment, Trading Value, and Price.  The highest motivational factor for a client is movement on one of the four ends.  In that light the schedule below is going to roll through incentives on each area, until one hits the client's hot button and brings them in.

First call:

This is a two-part.  When the client's taillights are on the driveway, leave a message on either their home phone, a text, or an email.  This is going to be a "Great News" message.  "Thank you Mr & Mrs Client for allowing me to try and earn your business.  I have some great news for you, and will give you a call in a few hours."

Get off the phone and ask your Management if it is okay to have the client revisit the store to have a secondary appraisal done.  Once you get the go-ahead call the client (in about 2 hours) and say, "As I mentioned I have great news, I have a second Manager here at ABC Motors that is willing to take a second look at your vehicle and try and enhance your trade value.  We would really love to see you and your car again.  We are sincerely eager to earn your business.".

If that doesn't get an appointment for you next step is to set up the call for the next day.  "I am really motivated to help you, so I am going to ask our Finance Manager tomorrow morning what he can do to sweeten the finance package.  I will call you at ____"

Call Two:

The following morning, corner your Manager and ask what can be done about getting a better interest rate, or term to lower the payments.  Call the client and say, "I had a productive talk with Management about your deal, and I feel we have everything in line to get this done.  Your new payment is ______, it is a significant savings because we really care about where you buy your next car."

If that doesn't motivate an appointment, time to move on to Price.  Set up your next call with, "I never mind rolling up my sleeves and putting in the extra work to save my clients a few bucks.  I am going to bug the General Manager tomorrow morning, and see what can be done to really WOW you.  I'll give you a call at _____"

Call Three:

First thing in the morning, go to Management.  Tell them you have had a client floating for 72 hours now, and need to give them a jolt to get in the door.  This can be done through a coupon, incentive, or discount.  The important part to understand here is that the odds of retaining this client are now getting to a critical stage.  This person has now been shopping for 72 hours and has more than enough information to make a decision.  

"Mr & Mrs Client, this is fantastic!  I really feel like I have a winner here for both you and I.  Your purchase price will be ______.  Would like to come here to finish this, or should I just head over to you with a Buyer's Order?  (if no)  You don't need to do this today do you?  (Almost everyone says no, why?)  This might not be the only car for you, in order to give us both a little flexibility why don't I check not only what I have on the ground, but what I have coming in the next few days.  What time tomorrow are you available for me to go over the results?"

The last portion is a take-away close.  Either the client bites back on the car you are selling, by telling you the car is perfect, he just has some other objection, or the client backs off and tells you to research inventory.  That tells you the client wasn't sold on the car.

If you treat every client that leaves like a Five Alarm Fire when they leave, you will get more back.

Next blog post, objections, why you should love them!