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Using social media in a business setting is important. Social media allows you to reach certain audiences, gain a following, and bring traffic to your websites. It’s necessary that you know just how to use social media, and how to improve it as well. If you’re having trouble understanding social media, and struggling with ways to see if your social media platforms are successfully reaching your target audiences, there’s a few things you can look into.

 There are a handful of free resources for you to acquire your social media data from. For example, “Twitonomy” allows Twitter users to see how often they tweet, how many links they tweet, how many replies they receive, how many re-tweets they get, and how many favorites. This resource also allows users to see what hash tag is most popularly used. Knowing this information can help you figure out whom your tweets are reaching, what you can do to reach other audiences, and which hashtags seem to be getting you the most attention. This information can be used strategically to ensure that your social media skills improve.

 If your business uses multiple social media platforms, you can link all of them to “SumAll” and receive emails containing information about all of your social media statistics. This is a good tool because it groups everything together, allowing you to obtain information on all of your social media platforms in one place.

 Social media is becoming a huge part of the business world, and it’s important that you know exactly what you’re doing and how to continuously make your platforms stronger for your audiences.

http://www.BradleyOnDemand.com 856-546-2440
Make Money Mondays with Sean V. Bradley - "Is That Car Available?" - Car Sales - Word Tracks

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Overview

Whether your business is up-and-coming or well established, there are still certain rules every brand needs to follow in order to achieve peak brand recognition and identity. But creating a brand identity can be difficult if you don't maintain a certain level of standards across all of your channels. 

On this episode of the Hard Facts, learn how to increase your brand recognition by following a few simple strategies.

Many people have the common thought that if they are not good at writing they are good at math and vice versa. While this is not a fact, it is said quite often. However, what people who think this fail to realize is math and their big social media marketing campaigns are related. If you are a business on a larger scale, this especially applies.

The proper way to use economics in social media is to identify which specific posts or investments are resulting in the greatest number of engagement. You can figure out how to reach the greatest number of people in doing so. By knowing which activities increase results you will know how much money you need to spend or how many posts or words you need in a post to reach the amount of people you want in your target audience. Instead of guessing how you can receive more social shares, calculate it. If you are marketing and seeing results you are using math. If you are not, you need to start applying it to your social media marketing efforts today.

For more information, check out the original article here.

Today’s Women’s Wednesday is a must-read as we focus on the cost to your dealership when women walk out.

In the Wall Street Journal last month, it was reported there are now more women drivers on the road than men. The last several years the auto industry has witnessed a big and not so surprising shift in the car buyer demographics particularly in terms of gender.

This leaves many dealerships shifting their paradigm in terms of how to re-strategize their business and marketing plan to truly optimize sales to women. And, it’s leaving other dealers unsure as to exactly how to do that!

Women Walkouts: A $4 Million Cost Analysis
Dealerships don’t even know that they can increase their sales another $4 million dollars a year. How? Most walk 10-15 women out their door each month and don’t even know it. By paying more attention to women and providing critical respect + trust the whole way through the sales engagement process; those browsers can be converted to buyers. Easily.

Want more information on this all-important topic?  Click here to read

Want to Sell More Cars and Distinguish your Dealership to Women?  Click here

Did you receive a Free copy of the 2014 Women’s Car Buying Report? Click here

Does your brand have a unique image, or are you forced to market by price in order to compete with other dealerships? Advertising by price will get people in the door, but it can't be sustained over time if you ever expect to increase profits.

I explain how you can use video to establish a creative image for your brand on this week's Think Tank Tuesday!

  Are you wondering why you should attend the Internet Sales 20 Group in Boston this year? This two and a half minute video will answer that question for you. Watch and see car dealers, dealer principals, general managers, Internet directors, and BDC managers explain why Internet Sales 20 Group is the most energetic, enthusiastic, interactive workshop in the automotive industry.

 Tom King, dealer principal at Brown Daub Kia says, “Twenty-five years in the car industry, and I’m trying to rack my brain to find a better experience.”

 Auto Success Magazine calls Internet Sales 20 Group “the number one workshop in the entire automotive industry.” Danny Benites, general manager at Greg Lair Buick has 28 years of experience in the automotive industry and says that the Internet Sales 20 Group is “the number one event” that he’s been to.

 You still have time to register, so what are you waiting for? Come experience this powerful, unique, and educating three-day workshop September 22-24 in Boston, MA. It’s time to get your action plans in motion!

A recent Wall Street Journal article titled “Car Sellers Refine Pitch to Women” revealed that more women are driving than men. In fact, there are 105+ million women on the roads today, as opposed to 104+ million men and more elderly women are holding on to their driver’s license (USA Today, Nov. 2012). As the relationship women have with their cars tightens, it’s time the industry takes notice and adjusts their pitch to reflect a more engaging “hello."

So how can a dealership make that emotional connection with women? Rattle off horsepower numbers? Well, sure that’s one way. Another innovative way dealerships can connect is through the discussion of UV damage through windows and the windshield. Melanoma is on the rise and women’s hands bake in the sun while driving. As Americans, especially Californians, spend more and more time on the road (up to 600 hours a year), that’s more time spent exposed to the deadly powers of the sun.

Did you know that skin cancers occur more commonly on the left side of the body because that is the “driving” side (www.skincancer.org). A woman’s left arm and hands are constantly exposed. With hundreds of hours spent in the sun every year, her skin is increasingly at risk for skin cancer. Additionally, her skin is significantly aging (and let’s face it, the hands always give away a woman’s age).

The Skin Cancer Foundation provides guidelines for preventing skin cancer. The first, and best, line of defense is covering up with clothing, preferably UPF-rated clothing—not sunscreen. While sunscreen is the second best alternative, it must be applied every two hours to work. Rarely is this done; sunscreen is messy and reapplying is inconvenient when a woman is driving to and from work, picking up the kids from school, or running errands.

Beyond health concerns, think of it from a marketing perspective. Your concern regarding UV damage shows that you care. As buyers, women want you to care about them as people, not just the safety factor of the car. They would love it if you left a pair of fashionable UPF driving gloves in the car as a “safety precaution” and thank you gift. They would tell all of their friends about that and you would have a friend for life!

This is why you should meet Sundriven UV Apparel. After having lost relatives to melanoma, the founder was determined to create safe, fashionable products for women that prevent against sun damage. The result was the perfect driving glove with a UPF 50+, the highest rating. There is no sunscreen on the market that can protect like these eco-friendly, sustainable, and luxury driving gloves can.

For more information to assist with information for your women clients, sharing more information on your social channels, or offering this innovative type clothing when driving, contact Sundriven. Women’s Month is just around the corner!

http://www.BradleyOnDemand.com 856-546-2440

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Direct Mail Is Alive And Well

When used correctly, direct mail has the ability to double response rates among shoppers. It has withstood the test of time and is an effective marketing tool in delivering targeted, personalized messages to specific audiences. 

Samantha explains some of the benefits of using direct marketing for your sales strategies on this episode of Hard Facts!

An official complaint has been filed with the authorities on behalf of dealers that never received the 30 day notice that ups relocated their shopping experience to online asphalt.  Dealers who did receive the notice in a timely manner are monopolizing these leads on behalf of the entire industry.  These dealers gained exclusive access to stats that showed them that the ups were visiting 7 or 8 dealer websites and narrowing their asphalt choices down to 2 or 3 and were actually buying after 1.3 visits to a physical dealerships.

     Once armed with this preliminary information these dealers began to turn their online advertisements into online showrooms.  Some of the more aggressive dealers even had the audacity to bring the sales process to these online locations.  It started with an initial meet and greet, allowing customers to communicate with the dealer by email and evolved into an online chat capability.  For a handful of dealers it did not stop there.  These dealers began to offer online video to help the customer both select a car and participate in a virtual walk-around presentation.  Dealers were finding that the more dynamics of the sales process that they could bring to these online asphalt locations the more they separated themselves from other dealers.  The boldest of the dealers and salespeople actually figured out a way to bring the most effective element of the sales process online which is rapport.  They began communicating with customers through personal videos using email, text, websites and personal youtube channels. 

     Customers are now showing up to these select showrooms more prepared to take delivery not because these dealers are skipping steps but because they have taken them.   For the dealers who did not receive the 30 day notice, you can continue to rest easy.  I have filed the complaint with the proper authorities and I am expecting a call back.  I told them to ask for “Blue”.  I will be holding my breath.

Dave Cribbs                                                                                                                                                   

 We have over 200 registered attendees for The Internet Sales 20 Group this September in Boston. This is the best interactive, powerful and unique workshop in the automotive industry! It will bring together the best of the best speaking professionals and give you three days of intense training. You are sure to walk away with useful information and extreme motivation to make sure that you achieve more in your automotive sales! You could also be entered to win a $,1000 cash prize!

 Don’t miss out on this awesome opportunity because you forgot to register. Time is running out! Register here!

Here's the promo from last year, but this year, you can expect bigger and better things.

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Eva Kraus, Automotive Sales Manager Teaches How To Set Up For The "TO"

What if you could have a one-on-one relationship with every single lead on your website? Imagine being able to understand every potential customer's wants and needs without endless hours of work. Have your sales staff spend time on valuable leads instead of wasting hours chasing after people who aren't interested. All of this is made possible with a smart technology that streamlines the entire sales process.  

I explain this technology and the potential it has for your brand and your sales team on this week's Think Tank Tuesday!

This year at the Internet Sales 20 Group in Boston, Tim Martell, founder of Wikimotive is ready to give away “fat stacks of cash” to the winner of The Best Idea Contest. The Best Idea contest urges dealers to come up with an idea to improve sales in their dealership. It could be based on something that the dealership is already doing, or something you’ve seen before but have elevated to the next level.

 Tim Martell himself, along with several other judges will narrow down the best 3-5 ideas, and then the Internet Sales 20 Group attendees will determine the winner. If you think you have what it takes to win $1000 of Tim Martell’s money, get your ideas brewing, and be ready to present them at the Internet Sales 20 Group September 22-24 in Boston.

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Automotive Sales Trainer, Joseph explains best practices for new hires on what to do and how to do them... 

Your potential shoppers are watching video to influence their buying decisions. Studies show that 1 in 4 people are watching at least one hour of video about products they are interested in. If you aren't already using video to increase your business, then you're missing out on potential leads. 

On this episode of Hard Facts, Samantha discusses how you can use video to drive and nurture leads.

Facebook Offers For Auto Dealers

As an auto dealer, you are probably used to hearing that you should be on Facebook. It gives your brand more visibility, it's an opportunity to connect with customers, and so on. But you might also be frequently reminded that, when it comes to selling cars, Facebook is anything but effective. Experts claim that only a small percentage of car shoppers use social media as part of the car buying process. But what if there was a way to change that?

There might be a real solution, and it's called Facebook Offers. Read on to find out more about this new tool, and how it can bring more sales to your dealership.

How Do Facebook Offers Work?

ddpavumba/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Facebook Offers is one of the ad tools offered by Facebook to owners of business pages. Currently, Facebook is lagging behind Google when it comes to online ads, so Facebook Offers is clearly a way to gain a bigger share of the market.

The way Facebook Offers work is very simple. Once your dealership's page has at least 50 likes, you can create an offer, which is exclusive to the people you choose to receive it. It's easy to think of it as a modern version of а direct mail pamphlet, which comes with a 20% discount coupon, for example. You upload a photo with a description of the offer, and you can either put a limit on how many people can claim it or you can make the offer limitless. Then you pick a budget, and depending on the dollar amount you enter, you can get an approximation of how many people will be reached by the ad.

Target the Right Audience for Best Results

sheelamohan/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

But here is by far the best thing about Facebook Offers. What makes Facebook Offers especially suitable for your dealership is that you can be very specific not just about the number of people, but also the type of people who will receive your offer.

Facebook will give you a very specific set of criteria to fill out, with which you can target your specific buyer persona, so your money won't go waste. For example, you can make your offer available only to people with a particular make or model of car, people who have driven the same car for a certain number of years, people who tend to go to dealership with a certain frequency, or many other specifications. Because Facebook is partnering with data brokering companies, the available criteria reach far and wide and can get so specific, that you'd be surprised how useful the results will be! And you don't have to worry about your clients' privacy, because the algorithm works with anonymous data, without revealing their personal information.

How to Use Facebook Offers in Your Dealership: 3 Strategies

Once a Facebook user likes your offer, they can “claim” it, after which Facebook will send them an email containing instructions on how to redeem it at your dealership. In order to tempt the maximum number of people with your offers, make sure you come up with something creative. Here are just a few suggestions:

• Target people with cars older than 5 years, and make your discounted cars available only to them through a Facebook Offer. People buy a lot of new cars -- even though not all of them plan to, a tempting offer often makes them change their minds.
• Offer to do a routine check for free, since your target buyers' vehicles probably have a high mileage by now. How about people who tend to visit service shops rarely? Send them an offer explaining the benefits of regularly changing a car's oil, along with a 25 percent discount if they come to your dealership for an oil change? Or the air filter? The possibilities are many, you just need to be creative.
• Accompany each offer with a curious educational fact to make it more appealing. Or make a contest on your Facebook page, awarding a Facebook Offer to the winner. And this will have the added benefit of increasing engagement with your page.

Conclusion

Facebook Offers is definitely a good way to harness the power of social media for more than just brand-building. If you are not feeling confident about running ad campaigns, you can always use the services of a dealership consultant.

Have you used Facebook Offers yet? Was your campaign successful?

And what other ways are you using to keep your social media audience engaged? Share your experience by leaving us a comment below.

Sean V. Bradley, founder and CEO of Dealer Synergy just launched his brand new training platform, Bradley On Demand. The curriculum includes interactive training techniques that are guaranteed to boost your personal, financial and professional success. The comprehensive curriculum will help you sell more cars, more quickly.

 The platform includes a core curriculum targeted towards things like, show room sales, social media marketing, Internet sales, and more, but there are advanced courses on leadership, work-life balance, and other topics that are needed to ensure that you make money. 

 There is no need to question if Bradley On Demand is right for you. Everyone in your dealership should be using it. It allows you to upload personal documents such as your orientation program, and sexual harassment policies. This makes important information available to all of your employees.

 Why postpone your success any longer? With Bradley On Demand, you will be selling more cars, and making more money in no time.