The automotive sales industry is off to a busy start this year. Last week, Jim Ziegler's Internet Battle Plan took place in Atlanta. To nobody's surprise, it was a huge success with the likes of Jim Ziegler, Sean V. Bradley, Peter Martin, Paul Potratz, Cory Mosley, and many more showcasing their intelligence and experience.
"So, when's the next event?" "Later in the year?" Think again.
In just a few weeks, this year's NADA convention will be kicking off in Orlando, FL. If you're planning on attending, be sure to visit Booth #4179 to see Sean V. Bradley, Jim Ziegler, Peter Martin, Danny Alkassmi, and Ralph Paglia introduce Automotive Digital Training!
Following up NADA is none other than the Internet Sales 20 Group. (#is20g on Twitter :) ) The Internet Sales 20 Group, fresh off of its success in Chicago last October, will be taking place in Dallas, TX: March 19-21st. Moderating the Internet Sales 20 Group: Sean V. Bradley, Karen Bradley, as well as Peter Martin, President of Cactus Sky.
From Phone Sales to CRM Processes to Social Media Best Practices and E-mail Marketing, the level of content and knowledge that you will take away from this workshop is unlike any other event in the world. The Internet Sales 20 Group boasts an all-star lineup of Speakers, Expert Panelists, and Presenters, with over a hundred years of total combined automotive experience! On any given day, you will see presentations from Sean V. Bradley, Karen Bradley, Ralph Paglia, Peter Martin, J.D. Rucker, Jim Ziegler, and many more. You will also walk away with our workshop materials, which includes a professionally designed, content-driven workbook with plenty of resources and insight.
I just returned from a VERY successful Dealer Battle Plan that Jim Ziegler hosted! I truly had a great time! I spoke about dominating Google with a Video Search Engine Optimization strategy. I had a tremendous amount of people come up to me and let me know how valuable my workshop was to them and they are excited to go back to their dealerships and implement immediately!
I also had the opportunity to catch up with some AWESOME people!! For example, take a look at this picture:
It was an honor to be around so many talented people, It was great to see both Cory Mosley and Jim Ziegler!
I also was excited to connect with Paul Potratz, Jerry Thibeau, Dave Page (And the rest of Dealer e Process), Peter Martin, Rachel Haro and MORE!!!
I want to THANK EVERYONE who was so kind and attended my session & gave me AWESOME Video Reviews :) I received such a tremendous amount of love! Here are some videos of people that I met at Jim Ziegler's Internet Battle Plan:
Jim Ziegler - Facebook & YouTube
Jim opened up by discussing how powerful and profitable it is to utilize Social Media to sell cars...
He showed examples from youtube.com/sunsethonda
* Elise Kephart has a POWERFUL strategy of sending EVERY single Internet prospect a CUSTOM YouTube / Video email response.
* Good example of good Video "Optimization". They took time creating the descriptions, titles, meta data etc...
* Video emails... Cutting / Pasting Videos from your Youtube Channel and sending them to your prospects.
* Eyejot is a resource that Jim endorsed as a great resource for Dealers...
* Video Email with a dealer BRANDED template...
*** Jim talks about "RELATIONSHIP Selling". Its NOT just about SELLING... its about BUILDING the relationship with the customer / prospect.
*** People ONLY notice when they are NOT happy...
Social Media is about relationships... about engaging with people. Projecting personality, make it fun...
CUSTOMER TESTIMONIALS>>> Very IMPORTANT!!!
** Jim discussed the value of Facebook Ads (Social Media "PPC") & He walked people live through the process of creating the ad.
Bill Parman - Stream Companies "The Google Search Effect"
Bill does a great job in explaining the details of SEO... what it is, how does it work. He explains it in a way that make sense to not only the savy optimizer but also for the fledgling.
*** Bill did a GREAT job explaining the difference between Black Hat versus Whit Hat SEO tactics...
Google Panda and Penguin updates.
SEO Pyramid -
Social, Link Building, Keyword Research & Targeting, Content Quality and Accessibility
*** UNDERSTAND The Lead CONVERSION Path... Utilize Landing Pages. And track the results.
Bill VALIDATES my ENTIRE Presentation about VSEO and concurs that ORGANIC is the MOST POWERFUL. bill states that ONLY 15% of people click PPC.... 85% SKIP and go to ORGANIC
Jerry Thibeau - Phone Up Ninjas / Phone Ups
*** The GREETING is so VERY important. Make sure you make the BEST first impression.
* Specific Qualifying versus generalization qualifying...
* Use good inflection and tones, be animated
* Give CHOICES... do NOT ask open ended questions
* CREATE Urgency
* Quality, Availability, Price...
* # Reason why people do not make an appointment... b/c they NEED their spouses technique
* Pace and Lead.... Pace and Lead...
* If you can not get the in store appointment... GET a phone appointment
*** Jerry just went LIVE, Mystery Shopping a Dealer in the audience... (Sandy Sansing)
Paul Potratz "The Worlds Best Fisherman"
We need to NOT focus on the "Shiny" objects... must focus on the basics.
Talk to people differently... Price, Rebate... the vehicle
7 Types of Re-Targeting
Advertiser or Communicator...?
Mind Reader
... take conventional to your website
Re-targeting, Re-marketing, Behavioral WILL BLOCK other advertisers...
*** Google Key Word Tracker...
*** Wednesday is the MAIN day people shop for used cars...
*** New cars is all 7 days per week...
*** Video on websites is a MUST
* Stay away from YouTube
*** Facebook is a POWERHOUSE 71% reach
Yes, people over communicate but that is a GOOD thing. You can serve them
search.twitter.com
Itweetlive.com
*** VIP Club.... call to action
Dave Page -Dealer eProcess
"Exploding Website Conversion"
* Provide a Value Mark down for your prospects... (I LIKE THIS IDEA)
example... "was", "is" & "get e price"...
** CONFIRM Availability... (All over the site)
** Contact page is important....
** ONLY Pop ups that work are ones that include a dollar figure.... "buy back" etc...
Cory Mosley - Internet & BDC Breakthrough Strategy Series
"Influence & Conversion"
What is awesome about watching Cory speak is that he is an actual "Professional Speaker". Not only is his content great, he is an awesome articulator of information.
* Value FIRST! REAL VPP
* BUILD INFLUENCE, MASTERING INFLUENCE
* How does your process fit with the customer... NOT how is it convenient for YOU
* The head is attached to PRICE... the heart is attached to the wallet
** Segmentation of testimonials...
Testimonials Vs. Influence
*** Influence is NOT closing, it is helping them BUY.
Don't ask "Think" ask how they "feel"
Internet Director of a 9 Store Dealer Group Gives His "Best Idea"....
Facebook Ads!!! He ran an AWESOME Facebook campaign targeting the Military and it was VERY Productive!
Email Marketing was buzzing at the Internet Battle Plan and so were the experts chiming in.
It was also VERY COOL to spend Jim Ziegler's 66th Birthday with him. I swear that I hope to be able to do EXACTLY that on my 66th Birthday... Doing what I LOVE most!
What do you get the "Alpha Dawg" for his 66th Birthday?
Engraved Crystal Decanter Set... Bling, Bling Baby! For that Louie The XIII
What Do You Know About That...?
*** If you are SERIOUS about your Internet Sales / BDC Department you CAN NOT miss the upcoming Internet Sales 20 Group
Do You Have Any Idea How to Make Money in Your Internet Department or BDC?
It is a simple enough question to ask. I am disappointed to have to say that most dealers do not know how to make money in their Internet department or BDC. Some dealers know how to sell cars from their departments, but they don’t know how to build value, which means they cannot make gross on these deals — so they give units away. Even if they are making a little bit of profit, it’s not because of some thought-out strategy, business model or action plan.
If you are reading this article, it means that the world didn’t end. The Mayan calendar had no effect on us. It also means that it is January 2013. 2013. I was selling 110 units online and making gross profits in 1999/2000. If you aren’t crushing it online, it is not because…
… of the election. It’s over.
… of the economy. People are buying vehicles, and we are having record months.
… you can’t make money with Internet prospects. Everyone is an “Internet Prospect” to some degree. More than 90 percent of people go online before they ever step foot in your dealership. If you can make gross on the showroom floor, you have no excuse not to hold gross with Internet or BDC customers.
… you don’t have the right manager. If you actually don’t have the right managers, find them.
… you don’t have the budget. Make changes with your antiquated marketing and advertising strategy.
… you don’t know how or where to even start. Join an Internet Sales 20 Group or hire a consultant — do not settle for mediocrity.
I have a friend who is the dealer principal of a domestic dealership in Chicago. He sells more than 200 units online. He has zero conventional advertising, and his average cost per sale is less than $100 (NADA says average cost per sale is $600 per car). That is how it should be. You should be able to sell more cars, more profitably, more often with Internet sales. I have built hundreds of Internet sales departments all over the country that are ridiculously profitable. It doesn't matter what franchise you have or what region of the country you are in. As long as you set up the business model for your Internet department or BDC the right way, you will make money and lots of it.
Here are some things that you need to make sure you are doing and tracking; if you’re not, you’re probably not making money in your department, or as much money as you should be.
Make sure your average cost per sale with your Internet customers is $200 or less per car. If it’s higher, then that means you have a problem. You either have a problem with your digital marketing or advertising initiatives, or you have a problem with your people not converting the right way. It might be a training or process issue.
Make sure that your gestation period is around 20 days, meaning that the average Internet prospect is a 45 to 90 opportunity, but most dealerships’ “average selling ratio” is only seven to 11 days.
Here is how you can check your status. Take your last month’s Internet sales (let’s say you sold 50 “Internet Deals”), then add three additional variables to track: the date the lead came in on, the date the lead closed and the “window period.” Now, go and track that for all 50 Internet sales from last month. Now, I want you to add all 50 Internet sales’ window period, then divide that number by 50. This will give you the “average window period” or “the gestation period.” You want to make sure you are not just selling to the “low hanging fruit.” Think about it: If the average buying cycle for Internet prospects is 45 to 90 days, then why is your average selling ratio to Internet prospects only seven to 11 days? Exactly!
Make sure that you are attempting to contact prospects during prime time, which is between 6 and 8 p.m. I am shocked that dealers all over the country close at 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. This is like making it to the Super Bowl and saying “no, thank you,” or making it to the Super Bowl halftime and saying “Thanks, we have had enough; we’ll try to see you next year!” This just doesn't make any sense. Think about it: What do you expect if you keep calling someone’s home number during work hours and they are at work? Exactly — you will not reach them. Now, does it matter if you are calling them for 30 straight days, numerous times a day? No, it won’t. Please remember, its not just about working hard. It is also about working smart.
I can seriously go on and on about this subject, but at the end of the day, it’s about making money. If you are not making money in your Internet department or BDC, or if you have no clue if you are really making money or not, e-mail me or call me ASAP.
Sean V. Bradley is the founder and CEO of Dealer Synergy, a nationally recognized training and consulting company in the automotive industry. He can be contacted at 888-3-SYNERGY, or by e-mail at sean@dealersynergy.com
I start to sound like a broken record whenever I recommend to businesses that they need to be as human as possible on social media, that the venue is one dominated by people, and that brands are most successful when they stay professional but avoid being robotic. I’ll continue to say it as long as it stays true, something that is currently slated to be relevant indefinitely. One of the hardest but most effective ways to humanize a business on social media is to inspire, to post ideas, actions, and images that are not business related but that compel the human factor into the mix. It’s risky, but when done right it can be a beautiful thing.
One thing that should be understood is that “inspiring” does not necessarily mean posting Winston Churchill quotes or fighting climate change with likes and shares. On social media, an inspiring message can be one that expresses an idea that fits with current circumstances. Reaching out during tragedies like the Sandy Hook shootings, for example, is an inspiring message. It’s one that is extremely risky even for local businesses and should be avoided by those who do not have a connection. The exceptions, rare though they are, happen when contributions and solutions are offered. For example, Jet Blue was able to fly family members and letters to CT quickly and without charge. Their gesture rang sincere; they didn’t make a big deal out of it. They didn’t have to. People on social media took care of the “promotion” of the action for them.
The other opportunity that is available to every business is the seasonal inspirational post. We have the opportunity as businesses to participate in a human way during holidays and other events by expressing the personality of our companies. That is not the same as running a Memorial Day Special or Christmas Savings Extravaganza. It’s about inspiring through humanity. This is where most businesses fall short. All too often we get generic. This is worse than saying nothing at all.
On one hand, you have the standard, “Wishing all of our fans Happy Holidays from your friends at ABC Motors!”
Meh.
On the other hand, you have what Driving Sales did. They did something fun and turned it into an image that is both noticeable and memorable. They conveyed a couple of messages that helped with branding – they’re fun, they like where they work, they have a “hip” atmosphere (notice the beanbags), and they put effort into their message. It’s the last part that makes the difference. People enjoy effort. They like to know that a post was more than an afterthought or a business requirement recommended by the internal social guru. They like creativity. They reward those who can make themselves stand out from the crowd.
It’s definitely not required to use this type of technique. Some businesses prefer to keep it professional at all times and there’s nothing wrong with this. If you choose to post the occasional inspiring post, be sure to make it work. Don’t go half way. If you want to make an impact, take it well beyond what your competitors are doing. If you’re going to be boring and generic, you’re better off keeping that in the professional realm and avoid the inspirational posts altogether.
As more businesses start to embrace the cost-effective method of social media promotions that Facebook Sponsored Stories offers, I’m seeing some mistakes pop up. As Louie Baur posted last week, you have to be careful what you advertise, as pushing the wrong content can do more harm than good.
I want to take that concept a step deeper using this analogy. It can be confusing to some who wonder why so much money is paid to sponsor racing teams. After all, their logo is placed on something that is attempting to travel so fast that the logos themselves cannot be read properly. What’s the benefit?
The reality is that everyone wants to be associated with a winner. They want to be associated with the sport itself and their hope is that their logo will appear on a winning vehicle and/or piece of racing apparel.
The same holds true with Facebook Sponsored Stories. You can throw money at anything and get it more views than it otherwise would have gotten, but I see too often that businesses are advertising the content that they think needs more help. The spammier it is, the more likely they are to sponsor it. This is the exact opposite of what businesses should be doing with Facebook advertising. If something is a winner – that’s the story you want to be pushing. You want to pick out content that would probably get likes, shares, and comments even if you didn’t sponsor it in the first place.
This has an affect on the rest of the “spammy” content that you might be posting more than if you sponsored the spammy content itself.
The Hickman's were driving a loaner from a dealership in Wichita KS when they came to Long McArthur in Salina KS. They were given a Ritz Carlton like buying experience in Salina KS and decided to leave the loaner with us so that we can return it to the dealer in Wichita KS!!
Posted by Jim Radogna on January 12, 2013 at 9:28pm
Dealership compliance concerns have traditionally focused primarily on the sales and finance processes. However, the unprecedented growth of digital marketing, social media, and online reputation management has invited new regulations and created additional legal challenges for dealers to contend with. Following are six areas that dealers should pay close attention to in 2013:
Advertising Online - Internet advertising may be handled by any number of people in the dealership, such as a used car manager, internet manager, marketing director or perhaps an outside vendor. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state regulators have been taking a much more aggressive stance in examining and challenging internet advertising. It’s vital that anyone who is responsible for writing and posting advertisements online be well aware of state and federal advertising regulations.
A particular area of concern is social media. Despite the fact that social networking tends to be a low-keyed, casual type of communication, advertising regulations still apply. For instance, if inventory is posted or prices/payments are quoted on a social media site, it’s likely that the posts will be deemed to be advertisements and will be subject to disclosure and truth in advertising regulations. A good rule of thumb is to have any information that could possibly be construed as advertising reviewed by upper management or a qualified professional before it is posted online. Remember, advertising violations can be easy for regulators to identify and difficult to defend against.
Online Reviews - The FTC’s updated Endorsement and Advertising Guidelines require companies to ensure that their posts are completely accurate and not misleading, and planting or allowing fake reviews is a violation. Reviewers must never endorse a product or service that they have not used personally or create any other form of false endorsement.
Dealers may also face liability if employees or vendors use social media to comment on the company’s services or products without disclosing the employment or business relationship. The FTC has indicated that companies are fully responsible and liable for all inappropriate actions of their employees and their vendors.
Regulations also require that any reviewer provided with any form of compensation for posting a review must fully disclose the source and nature of any compensation received. So, if a dealer gives away free oil changes or gas cards for reviews and the reviewers fail to disclose their compensation, the dealership may face liability.
Social Media Policies - Social media applications have soared in popularity and it’s important that dealers control the information that’s coming out of their business. Policies and procedures should be put in place to spell out how employees are expected to conduct themselves within social media. A social media policy can help take the guesswork out of what is appropriate for employees to post about a company to their social networks.
In addition, there are a number of legal considerations that every company should be aware of when establishing their social media policies and procedures, such as social media use in employment decisions; potential overtime claims; harassment, discrimination and defamation claims; and copyright and privacy issues. Beyond legal risks, employees can harm a company’s reputation by disseminating controversial or inappropriate comments.
Contests and Sweepstakes - Sweepstakes, contests, and giveaways have become increasingly popular among dealerships, especially on sites such as Facebook. These promotions can be a great way to get word out about your company, increase your social media presence and develop leads. However, entry into a poorly considered sweepstakes or contest can be a trap for the unwary dealer. These promotions are governed by a variety of federal and state laws as well as social networking sites’ terms of service. Failure to follow pertinent statutes and regulations regarding promotions can lead to government inquiries, civil enforcement actions, adverse publicity, and even criminal penalties.
Text Message Marketing - A recent high-profile lawsuit involving a large dealer group that allegedly failed to honor text message opt-out requests ended in a $2.5 million settlement. Text messaging is subject to a number of federal and state restrictions and the rules are extremely confusing. These regulations can be much more difficult to deal with than telemarketing or email regulations - primarily because many consumers are charged for text messages and the government feels that they should be afforded additional protection against unwanted solicitations. It’s wise to always consult knowledgeable legal counsel before launching a text marketing campaign.
Online Privacy - Dealerships typically collect a great deal of personal information from their website visitors through contact forms, online credit applications, etc. What many businesses fail to realize is how vitally important it is to properly handle any Personally Identifiable Information (PII) collected from consumers through their sites. The potential penalties are substantial. It’s important for dealers to examine their policies for handling consumer privacy online and to review the policies with their employees and vendors to ascertain their understanding. The FTC has penalized a number of companies for failing to follow their own published privacy statements.
Posted by Jerry Hart on January 12, 2013 at 3:30pm
With Google Local, formerly known as Google Places decision makers are scrambling to understand how ORM algorithms will drastically affect SEO rankings and high Google scores. Google says Google Local is “a simple way to discover and share local information.” Sounds like business listing are becoming more social.
In other words Google Local helps people like me who could very well turn the urge to buy a car— “Hey, I want to test drive a car today” —into an afternoon outing: “Perfect, there’s a Cadillac dealer with great reviews just two blocks from here. Let’s go.” It’s integrated into Search, Maps and mobile and available as a new tab in Google+—creating one simple experience across Google.
The new system is definitely much broader than the previous star system, given its larger scale. 17 out of 30 doesn’t sound incredibly great but if you look at the scale, 16-20 represents “good to very good”. 0- 30 is pretty wide range to cover the four individual ratings Google goes by:
3 Excellent 2 Very Good 1 Good 0 Poor to Fair
Google takes the average, and multiplies it by ten to come up with averaged scores featuring Zagat scores and recommendations from people you trust in Google+.
Algorithms are incorporated into all kinds of review sites where your brand is being talked about and Google is measuring a combination of indicators across all published reviews to determine your Score and overall ranking.
Survey results released a few months ago indicate that many of the top ranking factors are directly related to reviews, your top keywords in reviews, including Google measuring what kind of feedback or responses you’re providing to the consumer feedback on review sites.
Here is how a few of them ranked, according to that (out of the top 90):
7. Quantity of Native Google Places Reviews (w/text) (REVIEWS) 18. Product/Service Keywords in Reviews (REVIEWS) 24. Quantity of Third-Party Traditional Reviews (REVIEWS) 26. Location Keywords in Reviews (REVIEWS) 31. Velocity of Native Google Places Reviews (REVIEWS) 34. Quantity of Reviews by Authority Reviewers (e.g.Yelp Elite, Multiple Places Reviewers, etc) (REVIEWS) 46. High Numerical Ratings by Authority Reviewers (e.g.Yelp Elite, Multiple Places Reviewers, etc) (REVIEWS) 49. Overall Velocity of Reviews (Native + Third-Party) (REVIEWS) 50. Quantity of Third-Party Unstructured Reviews (REVIEWS) 52. Quantity of Native Google Places Ratings (no text) (REVIEWS) 53. High Numerical Ratings of Place by Google Users (e.g. 4-5) (REVIEWS) 62. Velocity of Third-Party Reviews (REVIEWS) 69. High Numerical Third-Party Ratings (e.g. 4-5) (REVIEWS) 74. Positive Sentiment in Reviews (REVIEWS)
According to Google, reputation management means interacting, responding to, learning from, and implementing ideas and improvements based on customer feedback. The good news is that feedback is everywhere. I’d take that as a hint from Google that a higher Google score is achieved with a multi pronged approach.
Responding to reviews, creating conversation with customers, understanding the underlying issues, and devising possible solutions.
The importance of a high ranking Google score will be directly related to two different potential benefits:
SEO Influence. The exact algorithm for reviews is not completely clear, but Google says the correlation between a higher number of reviews and higher relevance (sometimes ranking) on search engines is apparent in any search query yielding a local result, not to mention fresh content being crawled by robots.
to share their experience, which can help increase the dealerships online reviews and become a more credible source for both customers and search engines.
2. Conversion & Purchasing Influence. The second benefit is the relationship between top level results and the likelihood of a user clicking on your dealer name. If your dealership continuously encourages customers to leave reviews (not from the dealerships I.P) and the reviews received are showing your business in a good light, then it is likely that you will rank higher on review results. See the logical equation below for Google Total reviews + Quality of Reviews = Better Google Ranking (simple version as there are other factors involved)
Better Google Ranking + Management Responses = Higher Trust (good reviews) and therefore Higher Revenue (good reviews at the top of the result page)
Regardless of the ranking of the list above, it does stop and make you think about all the potential factors that could go into your local ranking, and many are certainly worth paying attention to.
Posted by JD Rucker on January 12, 2013 at 10:14am
There’s a plethora of articles, tips, and techniques about automotive SEO that fill blogs, webinars, and training courses. Everyone has opinions about what works best and how to help dealers rank better in search. The biggest mistake that dealers (and their vendors) often make isn’t in the SEO techniques themselves but rather in the underlying keyword principles. It doesn’t matter how good the SEO techniques are; if you don’t have the right keywords selected from the start and make adjustments to the targets on a regular basis, your optimization is not optimal.
Here are some quick best practices to keep your keywords from going stagnant:
When You Hit Your Goals, Move On – This is the most common keyword mistake in the automotive industry. I see dealers and their vendors pushing hard for keywords that they’re already dominating. They likely selected them from the beginning as high priority but never adjusted when they reached the top. If you’re ranked #1 for a keyword, no measure of additional SEO effort will get you ranked higher. Stop. Move your efforts to other keywords. Monitor it – if you fall from the top spot, re-engage with that keyword, but otherwise point your attentions to getting more keywords.
Remember the Variations – So, you’re going after a keyword like “Shreveport Honda Dealer”. That’s great, but what about the others? Order of the words matter. Plural variations matter. Synonyms matter. You should be going after “Honda Dealer Shreveport”, “Shreveport Honda Dealership”, “Honda Dealers Shreveport LA”, etc.
Rightsize Efforts Based on Competition Levels – You don’t need a rocket launcher to take down a rabbit. Likewise, a BB gun isn’t going to take down an elephant. Apply the right measure of SEO pressure on your selected keywords – no more, no less. As a general rule, the more words that are in the keyword phrase, the easier it is to get. For example, “Minneapolis Toyota” takes a lot of effort while “2013 Toyota Camry Minneapolis” takes less. Also, the competition level in a given metro makes a difference. Keywords for “Los Angeles CA” are easier than keywords for “Thousand Oaks CA”.
Go for Top 5 for Some Keywords – There are certain keywords where the effort to get to #1 simply isn’t worth it. This is particularly true for keywords in cities where there is already a local dealership. If you’re in Palo Alto and you want to rank for keywords in San Jose, the chances of beating actual San Jose dealers is low, but getting into the top 5 is usually achievable. Set your expectations properly and focus on getting more keywords rather than moving up a little higher for competitive keywords.
These are just a handful of best practices, but the underlying lesson is clear. Watch your keywords. Adjust them. You or your vendor should be adjusting your SEO monthly based upon where you rank for your keywords. If you let your keywords go stagnant, you’re just spinning your wheels.
Let's face it. Facebook (and Google+) love pictures. It ranks at the top of the news feed food chain above text posts, videos, and links. It's the primary reason that many people visit Facebook in the first place. They want to see pictures of little Timmy sliding into third base, the places that their friends and family are visiting, and cats. Don't forget the cats.
Unfortunately, many businesses have focused on cats (or similar Facebook-friendly images) as their source of content. It simply doesn't have to be that way. It's the lazy approach to find things that make us laugh and then post them on our business Facebook pages in hopes that other people will laugh as well and like, comment on, or share the image. What's worse than the laziness factor is that it's insincere; it's like trying to fit in at a party where people are frolicking in order to spring a sales pitch on an unsuspecting soul while in line for a drink.
What's worse than the insincerity is that it simply doesn't work. Sure, people may like the picture of the Sistine Chapel that your sister posted. They may even share it. You may even be able to loosely justify it by saying that it's improving your branding. These are fine delusions, but they don't address the core problem you have with your Facebook page. You aren't actually becoming anything to your fans other than another interesting page that posts content that they occasionally see and rarely enjoy.
If Facebook (and Google+) are mostly visual platforms and you want to capture some of the "magic" without being a poser, you'll want to find the various treasure troves of content to post. Here are some...
Finding Images for Facebook (and Google+)
One of the most annoying practices that businesses employ on Facebook is that they talk about anything other than their business. Don't get me wrong, it's much more annoying (and completely useless) to post a feed-based flurry of links to your website every day. Still, if you're going to post images (and you should), there are places to find them that will improve your overall presence by staying interesting while also staying on point.
In this example, we'll look at a local Ford dealership. What do they do? They sell and service Ford vehicles as well as used vehicles of other manufacturers. There's no reason for a Ford dealership to post pictures of cats. They have plenty of content available to them that would serve them much better.
Google - The obvious choice. It's the other form of the lazy person's approach, but it works and can still help you to stay on point. Search for specific cars. Search for engines. Search for images from the various car shows around the world. When you find something you like, post the image with a unique description. Be sure to add a localized or otherwise-relevant spin to the description. For example, if you're posting an image of a concept 2015 Mustang, you could ask a question such as, "Is this different enough to make it stand out from the current body style?" or simply make a statement such as "We can't wait to get these here in Fond du Lac!" As always, you'll want to post a link to the source, but only after you've included the image. You don't want this to be a link post with a preview generated, so add the link to the description after you've already selected the image. This works on both Facebook and Google+.
Shutterstock - There are various paid image galleries that offer different packages. These are particularly useful when you're posting content to your website or blog about the local area. In this example, we used Shutterstock to find interesting images of Wisconsin, the home state of the dealership itself. This gave us very sharable content (23 shares from a dealership's website isn't too shabby) on the website itself as well as a dozen images that we can share on the dealership's Facebook page spread out over time if necessary or posted as an album.
Your Store - This is quite possibly the most under-utilized source of content for most businesses. It's also the most useful. Sure, there are plenty of businesses that are starting to post images of their happy customers, but it's not really super-engaging content. The buyer and anyone who knows them might like or share the image, but it's not going to get liked, commented on, or shared by anyone else. However, there is plenty going on other than the customers. In the example of the Ford dealership, there are often "cars with a story" coming through service. It could be a Ford with 300k miles. It could be one that just came back from a trip in the mountains and is now covered in mud. It could be an interesting or funny bumper sticker, a cool modification that someone made to a motor, or even something very simple like a silly outfit the boss wore to work today. There's content floating around the store every day. You just have to keep your eyes open for it.
The Area Around You - Every place has something photo-worthy. Whether you're in a bustling metro area or a desert wasteland, there are things happening or interesting scenes that can be captured with your smartphone. Do it. I couldn't tell you how many times I would stop in every city I've been to in order to take a picture of something cool had I managed a localized social media profile in that city. Take advantage of your surroundings and you'll find treasures that your localized fans will recognize and enjoy.
Your Imagination - This is rarely used as well but when it's done right, it's awesome. By using your imagination, you can explore both the store and the local area and manufacture scenes that would make for great posts on Facebook (and Google+). For example, you can go to the roof of the dealership and take a picture of the lot itself, then apply tilt-shift manipulation to the image for a really cool final product. The image above was a normal image, but when tilt-shift is applied, it makes it look like it's a miniature car.
You don't need cats. You need effort, imagination, and a willingness to be interesting with what it is that you do best. Don't try to fit in on Facebook (and Google+). Try to stand out.
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Automotive Internet Sales Interviews Aaron Johnson, 16 Year Automotive Sales Veteran & NEW Internet Sales Director!
Aaron, is the new Internet Sales / BDC Director for Toyota of Grand Rapids. He visited with Sean V. Bradley at the Dealer Synergy Video Production Studio and was kind enough to give an interview. We can tell that Aaron is a rising star in the Automotive Sales industry.
As social signals continue to rise in prominence when it comes to search engine rankings, there has been a revival in the need for retweets. Google and Bing are assigning a certain level of importance on the sheer organic numbers that are gained when it comes to social sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Google+, and Twitter is the easiest of the numbers for a business to be able to influence quickly. Research is showing that increased engagement on an individual page on a website through social media can improve rankings across the board for the domain.
As such, a day that many of us thought (hoped?) was behind us has gained in prominence again. Today, businesses who do not get a good amount of Twitter activity to their domain must ask for retweets since they are the easiest way to influence search rankings. As a result, it’s time to dust off the old “Rules of Twitterquette” and recall how to make it happen without risking losing followers or effectiveness altogether.
A Brief History
There was a time when Twitter was a tremendous traffic generation tool. I recall several occasions when I received thousands of visitors to my various websites simply by tweeting a link and getting it retweeted by a handful of people. Back then, Twitter was only about 5% links. Today, it’s gone in the other direction.
Over time, the need for the retweet faded and in many ways I was pleased by this. You see, I’m not crazy about asking people for anything on social media. If they find value, they’ll retweet it, share it, comment on it, or otherwise engage with the content that I post. If they don’t find value or simply don’t want to interact, that’s fine. Even when it was effective for traffic, I didn’t like asking. It just didn’t seem sincere.
Now, going into 2013, the need is back. We’ve tested the difference between content and entire websites that get very little social interaction versus similar sites that are able to get retweets, Facebook shares, and Google +1s. The differences are dramatic. Since most businesses are not in a position to generate a ton of social signals simply by posting it, the time has come to pull out the best tool in the bag – asking for it.
How to Ask
Here are five rules. They aren’t technically rules – ask for retweets in whatever manner you like. I’ve just found these guiding best practices have shown to be effective.
Keep the post mid-length. Short posts do not get retweeted as much as longer posts, but if it’s too long you’ll miss the coveted “mention retweet”. Remember, there are two types of retweets. When people see your posts and push the Retweet button, they are actually posting your Tweet on their feed. Your avatar appears and there are no additional characters required. However, if they are doing the “mention retweet”, they are posting it themselves and adding “RT @0boy” or “Via @0boy” somewhere in the Tweet. If your post even appears to be too long, they’ll probably skip it. Keep your posts over 60 characters but under 110.
Request it sparingly. If you ask for retweets every time you have a link, people will stop doing it. As a general rule, there should be at least five Tweets between each request and no more than one a day if you’re posting more than six times.
Make it universally important. By “important” that doesn’t mean that it needs to be something of a pressing nature. It could even be a link to something frivolous on your website, but it has to have general appeal. Avoid using self-references in the Tweets that you want retweeted. “I” or “we” does not play well when someone who is not you is being asked to say something in their Twitter feed.
Ask the right way. Saying “Please Retweet” or “Please RT” is better than saying “Retweets are appreciated” or “Retweet this”. Be polite but to the point.
Tag it. According to a study by QuickSprout, posts with tags asking for retweets are almost twice as likely to get retweeted. The most popular tag? #Twitter.
In many ways, Twitter’s role in business is changing. It’s not longer as great at direct marketing as it is at communication with current and future customers and clients. The addition of social signals as a search ranking component has brought it back into the realm of internet marketing, but don’t get caught up in the SEO value alone. Twitter still has value in other ways. You just have to be willing to put in the effort to find its value for you.
I had thought the days were behind us. Call it a hope, but I believed that the majority of businesses who were active on social media had pushed beyond the plague that once filled our feeds - the worthless post. I was wrong.
It was while auditing an account that followed numerous car dealers on both Twitter and Facebook that I came across the reality of the situation. There are still plenty - over half from the sampling of several hundred that I examined - that were posting the type of "content" on social media that drives people to unfollow, block, or simply ignore them. Recently I've been posting some advanced business social media tips, but it's time to take a step back and go over one of the basics...
If you're going to ask people to do anything at all on social media, whether it's to click on a link, share a post, or engage in any way at all, give them a valid reason to do so.
Don't get me wrong. I realize that social media is still new to many. I realize that not everyone is learning the best practices that it takes to make it successful. I was simply taken aback by the numbers of businesses that were making this profile-killing mistake. In the example above (not the worst example, mind you, but after seeing so many this was the one that was closest to the top for a quick screen capture), the dealership is asking people to do something. They want their fans to browse the inventory of a particular new vehicle. The chances of anyone clicking on this link are miniscule compared to the chances that they'll see this post and unfollow the dealership.
The same thing is happening on Facebook. In many ways, it's worse because people are much more stingy with clicks that take them away from Facebook than they are with clicks that take them away from Twitter.
This needs to stop...
Give them a reason
There are much better ways for a dealership to use social media than to try to get clicks to the inventory, but if you must do it from time to time, make sure there's something enticing to make it happen. For example, a Tweet might say...
The 1st batch of next generation #Mazda6 just rolled off the truck. [link] #SmokinHot even in December!
Our biggest sale of 2012 starts next week. Get a head start by browsing the #special inventory [link]
New incentives just hit for the #Nissan #Sentra. Claim dibs on yours, #Atlanta! [link]
Social media is about now. If people wanted to browse your inventory, they'd go directly to your website or find the car they're seeking on Google. There's no chance that seeing a Tweet or a Facebook update telling them to click to your inventory for no reason will ever work. Give them a reason.
Of course, posting links to inventory is not a best practice. It's something that should be done sparingly (if at all) and only when there's a valid reason to do so. Your goals with social media are many, but two of the basics are (1) improve your branding for future considerations, and (2) catch people in market with something compelling.
Compelling. Give them a reason. Otherwise, the seconds it took to post a meaningless update could have been better spent reciting a limerick.
When Instagram decided to block Twitter from being able to post the images directly onto the platform, we all knew it was a matter of time that Twitter would have its own variation. We didn't realize that it would only take a few days. We also didn't expect it to be such a useful portion of the app.
As it turned out, the app is very strong, possibly even better than Instagram in UI. Granted, it's not a true replacement for Instagram, but with a little manual effort it can actually be used to generate interesting content directly from the lot onto all of your social media pages and profiles.
Here's how:
Understanding the Twitter Photo Filtering Tool
If I have one complaint about what Twitter has done with their photo filtering tool, it's that it's only available through their mobile apps. It would have been nice and a great differentiator between the app and Instagram, but it will suffice.
When you take a picture of something at the dealership with your smartphone, you can then bring it into Twitter. There is a cropping tool, an auto-fix button, and the filters that many are familiar with if they've used Instagram. Adjust the image appropriately and it's ready to post.
Now, just come up with a clever Tweet to go with it and you're ready to go. If you're using a picture that you've already taken with your smartphone, no problem. Twitter allows you to either take an image at that point or insert an image already in a gallery on your phone.
Depending on your smartphone, you may face challenges if you're trying to import an image from your computer. You can always use syncing software, connect your phone directly to your computer, or just upload the picture to an image sharing site like Imgur and then download it to your phone.
Get it Posted to Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, and (yes) Instagram
Now that you have it on Twitter, it's time to upload the image to Facebook, Google+, and anywhere else you might have a strong social account such as Pinterest, Tumblr, and even Instagram itself.
When posting to Facebook and Google+, you'll want to add the image, THEN add the link to the Tweet itself. When you add an image, it prevents the link from expanding. This is important because links do not do as well on Facebook or Google+ as images. Still, you want the link to the original Twitter post for a couple of reasons, most importantly to get some exposure to your Twitter account for some cross-channel promotions.
Why Go Through the Trouble?
There are easier ways to post to the various social media sites. This is a very manual effort and may discourage dealers from doing it like this. Everything listed above is done so for a reason.
Twitter is one of the most under-utilized tools for dealers. Utilizing the filters and linking to the Tweets from your other social networks allows you to highlight your Twitter account and draw in other followers. Used right, Twitter can be a tremendous marketing and communication tool, but that's for another blog post.
The other reason to do it like rather than posting directly to Facebook from Instagram is because of exposure. As cool as Instagram can be, it presents challenges in your Facebook timeline. If you're posting more than one image in a 24-hour period, Instagram photos get "batched" into an album. Neither this album nor the individual images can be liked, commented on, or shared directly from your news feed. People will have to click through to the image to be able to interact with it, and most won't. They'll just pass it right by.
Also, Instagram doesn't post directly to Google+ or Pinterest anyway, so you'll be adding them manually either way. Posting it like I detailed above to all of your social profiles takes about 2 minutes and expands the potential reach greatly.
Lastly, people recognize the filters from Instagram. It makes images look more real. It makes them look authentic. These are your images and people appreciate images that you took more than images you found on the internet. While the Twitter filters aren't exactly like the Instagram filters, they're still pretty darn cool.
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Social media is about authenticity. If you're making the effort to take images at your dealership, you should be taking the time to separate yourself from the competition by positioning the photos in the best possible light. This process, long (2 minutes) as it is, will give you an edge over your competitors and will let your customers know that there are real people behind the profiles.
