Car dealers guide to automotive social media

1. A TK Carsites White Paper
800.899.7791
TKCarsites.com
The Dealers’ Guide to Automotive Social Media in 2011
By JD Rucker
Director of New Media
1-25-2010

2. Contents Introduction
Social media has reached a tipping point in
Introduction 3 2011 that all but requires 80% or more of
The Social Media Mindset 4 North American car…
Facebook Techniques 6
Twitter Techniques 8 The Social Media Mindset
Video and Blogging 10 Before learning techniques, you must enter
Summary 12 into a social media mindset. Being active
and…
Facebook Techniques
Having the right Facebook strategy requires
more than just getting “likes” to your…
Twitter Techniques
Turning Twitter into a 2-way conversation
rather than a megaphone is challenging…
• Twitter as a Conversation Finder
Twitter is an entry point into
conversations. You don’t need to
have a ton…
• Twitter as a Conversation Starter
This part is easy. Take what you
learned in the previous Facebook
section and…
Video and Blogging
The biggest challenge that car dealers face
when engaging in social…
Summary
Social media done wrong can be more of a
detriment to your business than a benefit.
Putting together a basic strategy…
TK Carsites: The Dealers’ Guide to Automotive Social Media in 2011 Page 2

3. Introduction
Social media has reached a tipping point in 2011 that all but requires 80% or more of
North American car dealers to take social media seriously and establish or enhance their
plan. With 600 million users on Facebook, 200 million users on Twitter, and…
… we’ve all seen the stats and they seem impressive, but they’re just numbers.
The stats shouldn’t scare you. They also shouldn’t encourage you. Most “gurus” preach
the sheer bulk of the social networks but few offer any assistance that can produce a
tangible return on investment, both of money and time.
This White Paper is not designed to convince you of the importance of social media. It’s
not going to offer “out of the box” advice using flowery terms such as “engagement” or
“community.”
What you are about to read is geared towards car dealers with the goals of selling more
vehicles, improving fixed ops business, and creating a strong online reputation. It is
practical advice that will not preach the benefits of social media. Instead, it will seed the
application of proven practices, techniques, and tips that are relevant in automotive social
media for 2011.
Many of these practices will be obsolete by 2012. Some will change earlier than that. It’s
the innovative nature of social media that makes it a constantly moving target.
If you’re using 2010 strategies, you’re probably not doing it right.
You will be, soon.
JD Rucker
Director of New Media
TK Carsites
TK Carsites: The Dealers’ Guide to Automotive Social Media in 2011 Page 3

4. The Social Media Mindset
Before learning techniques, you must enter into a social media mindset. Being active and
involved in social networks currently is not necessarily the only thing that you’ll need to
enter into the right mindset. You’ll have to step away from the selling part of business to
understand the best way to sell on social media.
We’ll go into more details shortly about the specific differences between a Converting
Message and a Conversational Message, but for now understand that converting
messages lead social media contacts (Twitter followers, Facebook likes, Blog readers,
etc.) to a page or location where they are intended to become a conversion. Everything
else is a conversational message.
• The data for this graph came from 5 different dealership case studies.
• The size of the ball represents the number of conversions that the dealership
received.
• The vertical axis is the percentage of converting messages – the higher the ball,
the more often they asked their social media contacts to visit a lead form, landing
page, or other locations for conversion.
• The horizontal axis is the number of social media updates the dealership posted in
a month.
The Dealers’ Guide to Automotive Social Media in 2011 Page 4

5. One thing should be very clear: the less they try to sell, the more effective they are at
doing it. The dealership with the most leads had just under 300 updates, but less than
20% of those updates were converting messages.
The dealership furthest to the right had the most updates, but nearly 60% of their updates
were converting messages. As a result, they were barely ahead of the dealership
represented on the far left who had the least
number of updates (less than 1/4th of the
number for the dealership on the far right) but Posting "converting
also had the second lowest percentage of messages" non-stop
converting messages. will hurt you
algorithmically and in
The two dealers closest to the top were using general.
the standard approach: “Sell, sell, sell, sell,
converse, sell, sell, sell, sell, sell, converse,
etc.”
They might as well have been saying “Me, When people like
me, me, me, and more about me. Oh, and did I what you are posting
mention me?” normally, you "earn"
the right to post
Unfortunately, their style is the most common converting messages.
by far amongst dealers currently attempting to
utilize social media in their marketing efforts.
There are distinct algorithmic reasons that you
want to converse much more and attempt to Remember where you
convert less, but let’s look at it from the are... social media is a
visitor’s perspective. Remember, they aren’t place to converse.
going to Facebook to buy a car. They’re going Remember the
to Facebook to share, relax, enjoy. They want "cocktail party"
to see interesting posts, follow entertaining mindset.
links, and generally get away from business
(for now).
Through participation and by engaging in conversations, you can affect the placement of
your converting messages. Again, more detail on that shortly, but the valid business
reason for engaging in conversation rather than selling, selling, and more selling is that
your converting messages will be much more visible both algorithmically and through
the appreciation of your audience if people enjoy what you post.
It’s been said before and will be said again: the “social media mindset” is similar to the
“cocktail party mindset.” If you walk in and join the conversation, share some laughs,
discuss some interesting topics, and generally participate in the party, people will like
The Dealers’ Guide to Automotive Social Media in 2011 Page 5

6. you more. If the conversation comes up about cars, you talk about it. If it never comes up,
as long as you have been likable throughout you will be able to bring up the topic of cars
and people won’t mind. They will be much more likely to discuss the topic with you in
dialogue.
If you walk into the cocktail party and start telling everyone about your cars, you will not
be liked. Most people will avoid you. Some may even make rude comments to your face.
Most will only be thinking rude comments about you. You will be a monologue without
an audience. Nobody wants to be “that person.”
Facebook Techniques
Having the right Facebook strategy requires more than just getting “likes” to your page.
You have to set clear goals and use techniques specifically designed to elicit conversions.
We want more leads. We want more sales. There are right ways and wrong ways to go
about getting both. Remember the 4 “I”s.
• Ask questions that • Offer facts and
people would news that will be
enjoy answering. It interesting to the
doesn't have to be users who like
auto-related. your page.
Interesting Informed
In Business Involved
• Post links or • Express your
instructions with opinion on
converting important local,
messages. Be regional, or
frugal with this. national news.
The Dealers’ Guide to Automotive Social Media in 2011 Page 6

7. Your goal is to sell more vehicles, but meeting your smaller goals will help you achieve
that ultimate goal. Facebook is not all about branding. How you put out your message
and the personality that you create are the keys to truly doing business on Facebook.
The simplified glimpse of a proper Facebook posting cycle will help, but it’s important to
understand why you should be using Facebook like this. Your goal with 3 out of the 4
components of the cycle is to get comments and likes on your status updates. The more
that people like and comment on what you post, the higher your posts will appear on their
News Feed.
If you take nothing else away from this White Interesting: "Who takes the
Paper, you must understand this: what toll road? Is it really worth
$1.25 to you?"
happens on your Facebook page is
infinitesimal compared to what happens on
the News Feeds of the people who like your
page (and the friends of those same people).
Informed: "Tolls are going
This is the most overlooked aspect of Facebook up next week to $1.50. Be
marketing – most in the industry from OEMs to sure to bring an extra
dealers to vendors to customers are not even quarter! [LINK]"
aware of this very definite fact.
Your first mini-goal on the road to the sale is
getting impressions for your messages. People Involved: "We support the
will rarely visit your Facebook page directly. If March of Dimes and will be
they like the page, your updates have a chance walking next week. Will
of appearing on their news feed. The more that you join us? [LINK]"
they and their friends like or comment on your
updates, the higher on the News Feed your
updates will appear.
In Business: "Stan's Burgers
will be feeding our hungry
A Facebook page with a strong percentage of customers at this
people liking and commenting on their updates weekend's Toyotathon
will dramatically affect where your converting [LINK]"
messages appear. If you post a high percentage
of unlikable converting messages, nobody will comment or like them and none of your
posts will appear high on anyone’s News Feed (if they appear at all).
By using and playing with the 4 “I”s, you’ll be able to demonstrate more interest in your
messages to the Facebook algorithm and expose your converting messages more often
and more prominently.
In other words, the less you try to convert, the more you’ll be able to convert. Your
converting messages will only be seen if they are part of a proper mix.
The Dealers’ Guide to Automotive Social Media in 2011 Page 7

8. Twitter Techniques
Turning Twitter into a 2-way conversation rather than a megaphone is challenging
sometimes. Despite the fact that Twitter requires the least amount of time to post an
update (it’s just 140 characters or less) it is often overlooked as a nuisance.
When we polled several dealers who had abandoned or turned their Twitter account into
an RSS feed, most said they simply didn’t see the value.
Here’s the value in 2 parts:
Part I: Twitter as a Conversation Finder
Twitter is an entry point into conversations. You don’t need to have a ton of followers
(though they do help for part II) to engage in active conversation finding. Use the
search. Look for conversations based upon keywords. Reply and expect to get a reply
back.
I did a local Twitter search for “Jeep” and didn’t have to go to page 2 to find a
conversation that allowed entry into a conversation.
The Dealers’ Guide to Automotive Social Media in 2011 Page 8

9. Don’t sell. Now is not the time. In a situation like that, being sensitive is of the utmost
importance.
Notice casual speak: “sucks.” The guy just got in a wreck. It does suck. Represent your
dealership professionally but don’t act like you’re writing a formal letter. I wouldn’t
curse, but mild colloquialisms are fine.
Also, notice I said “I”. It’s a business, but there is a human behind the business. You are
Tweeting because you ran across his Tweet and you wanted to express your empathy
towards his situation.
The goal here is to spark a conversation. This is not the easiest example, but it’s realistic.
There will be times when you’ll find people Tweeting “Looks like my Jeep’s on it’s last
leg. In the shop again.” In a case like that, the path is more clear.
You aren’t going to simply search for your brand. Be creative. Do some test searches
(don’t forget to push “Tweets near you”) and see what other searches make sense. It
could be competitor brands, direct competitor names, or even something direct like “need
to buy a new car.”
Imagine seeing a Tweet that says, “I’m having a really bad experience at [competitor’s
name] Jeep. These guys are so pushy!”
Now you REALLY know what to do.
Part II: Twitter as a Conversation Starter
This part is easy. Take what you learned in the previous Facebook section and do it twice
as much. As a general rule, you can Tweet twice as often as you post to Facebook, not
including conversations. Once you’re in a conversation, you can @reply people more.
Avoid posting more than 1 converting message for every 4 or 5 Tweets.
When you can spark conversations, now you’re able to get people talking to you and
about you. The more conversations you’re having, the better your chances of a sale.
The Dealers’ Guide to Automotive Social Media in 2011 Page 9

10. Video and Blogging
The biggest challenge that car dealers face when engaging in social media is finding the
time and/or hiring the right person/service to handle video creation and blogging. This is
bad, as they are integral components for the most successful automotive social media
marketing campaigns.
You can get away without them. You can also get away without power windows, locks,
or steering, but it’s a whole lot easier when you’re not fighting the wheel, hand-cranking
up the window, or reaching over to unlock the door.
Facebook and Twitter are about content sharing. Videos and blog posts are about creating
the content that your followers and likes want to see.
Testimonials are the easiest and most relevant type of content that your prospective
buyers will want to see. They are the story about you by people your customers can relate
to: other customers.
Post your customer testimonials as a “light” conversion tool. You may not be directing
them directly to a contact form, but you are giving them entry into your site and offering
them feedback that can give your dealership more credibility and better branding.
The Dealers’ Guide to Automotive Social Media in 2011 Page 10

11. One may wonder why a dealership would want to post recall
information on their blog. In this case, it’s because it’s a Tips: "How to SYNC
your MP3 Player."
Nissan dealership.
Conquest marketing on social media is growing. A blog is the
best venue for “talking a little trash” on a competitive brand.
Opinions: "The new
In blogs, you are allowed to express your opinions, but your city tax is unfair to
opinions will always be judged as biased. “Of course you citizens."
think the Altima is better than the Accord, Mr. Nissan Dealer.”
Facts and news, however, are a way you can express your
opinion backed up by other sources. They make for good reads Events: "The Tweet-
(and hopefully videos if you’re adventurous). a-Price Sellathon is
This Weekend."
There are dozens of other ways you can use video and
blogging. Some of those ways are listed to the right, but don’t
rest on those. Be creative. Use your personality. Put out great Offbeat Facts: "Who
content and you’ll start to find more people talking to you Drives Better, Men
through social media and in real life. or Women?"
The Dealers’ Guide to Automotive Social Media in 2011 Page 11

12. Summary
Social media done wrong can be more of a detriment to your business than a benefit.
Putting together a basic strategy does not take much time or even expertise, but it does
take dedication.
The most successful dealers in 2011 will be the ones who take advantage of the tools,
tips, and techniques that make for a strong social media strategy. If you think from the
customers’ perspective and understand that social media is a listening tool as much as a
broadcasting tool, you will soar ahead of your competition and make real strides in the
overall sales at your dealership.
About TK Carsites
Founded in 2002, TK Carsites made a name for
ourselves through lead generating tools. The
Internet was relatively new as a marketing
platform and the innovative tools that TK offered
helped dealers to make the most of this “new frontier.”
We expanded quickly into the automotive website design field and put the same practices
to work that garnered our initial success. We grew well over the next few years, but it
was in 2004 with the rise of automotive search engine optimization that we truly started
to excel beyond the competition.
As an early adopter of SEO, we developed properties and techniques that have stood the
test of time and helped our dealers achieve and remain at the top for the major searches in
their area. Traffic was and is unprecedented. In 2007, our exploration into the best SEO
techniques helped us find our next area of domination: social media.
Our first car dealer social media product launched in early 2008, well before most
vendors had dipped their toes into Web 2.0. A new and improved version has emerged
every year, reaching a tipping point in 2010 with our launch of Power Social.
2011 has the release of Power Social 2.0 in the near future, an upgrade that allows our
current Power Social customers to seamlessly upgrade at a minimal expense. The outlook
for the year is bright for both TK Carsites and our wonderful family of dealer clients.
JD Rucker
Director of New Media
TK Carsites
800.899.7791
The Dealers’ Guide to Automotive Social Media in 2011 Page 12