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Social Media Success Video 
I get teased at work sometimes.
"Aren’t you supposed to be going after Google? Why are you spending so much effort on Twitter?"
When I tell them that Twitter is the future of search and the reason that Google has shown so much interest in buying them, they normally laugh. "What, are people going to search for ‘What’s JD Rucker doing right now?’"
With changes made yesterday to Twitter search, it appears that CNET, Mashable, and Techcrunch/Washington Post are finally starting to agree with me.
Twitter is going to start to index the links that are posted on their site in Tweets. This is a significant development in the world of search engine optmization as the need for real-time data that Google and the other search engines have never been able to master will come to life in the world of Twitter.
Most believe that the interest shown by major companies like Google, Apple, and Facebook in buying Twitter has been a result of its exponentially-increasing popularity on the Internet and in mainstream media. Celebrities like Ashton Kutcher, Oprah, and President Obama have made thousands of headlines with their exploits and uses of Twitter.
While the popularity is definitely a factor, the real value in Twitter is in the accumulation of limitless amounts of data. What’s hot? What’s the best for this or that? In essence, an advancement in Twitter search is positioning it to become a major player in the search engine marketplace.
What does this mean for Automotive SEO? If Twitter is able to pull this off either by itself or through partnership/acquisition by Google, Microsoft, or someone else interested in getting into the search market, they will become the most relevant source for data that people look for every day. It isn’t that they’ll become a replacement for Google. They will become a real-time source for information on what people need now.
For car dealers, this means that people may use Twitter search over other search engines when looking for a "Used Toyota Camry in Baltimore". Where Google can give decent results for this kind of search, they are not always current. If a dealer adds one to inventory today, chances are it won’t appear on the search engines front page very quickly.
On Twitter, it will appear seconds after it’s posted. Can you see why people will use it?
Now, the problem that car dealers will face is in getting their "word" out to the people. There will be an algorithm added to the Twitter search sometime in the future that will take into account several factors. Spam will overrun much of the Twitter results, so there will be a "Trust Rank" added similar to Google Page Rank that takes the source of the data into account. It won’t just be the link but also the linker as well. Otherwise, spam will rule the results and Twitter will fail.
There is nothing in print anticipating this currently. In other words, you’re hearing this before anyone else. I am going to give a few details about me and my company (against my better judgment) because it’s important that you understand my credibility in this department. If you read any of my posts on here, you will not find self-promotion. Still, it’s important that I "brag" a little because there will be more written about this topic in the coming days and weeks and I want you to understand that the perspective I’m presenting you is reliable.
There seems to be many "Twitter Experts" popping up in the automotive industry. I have followed the activities of all of the ones that I’ve found so far and their techniques in using their own accounts as well as molding the accounts of others are amateur at best.
- On WeFollow, I am the top Automotive Twitter user with over 55,000 followers
- We have been offering Twitter and other social media services for 2 years, well before most automotive marketing firms had their own Twitter accounts
- My team includes 32 Twitter users who each have more experience and followers than any other automotive "experts" offering their services
Again, I want to make certain that this doesn’t sound like a pitch. I simply want you, the reader, to understand and be wary when Twitter "experts" come knocking offering their tremendous-amazing-superawesome services to you. Twitter and social media in general are hot items being sold to car dealers right now and nothing bugs me more than to see dealers paying good money for worthless services that do nothing to truly help them attain their goals.
If you have any questions about Twitter, SEO, or social media, I promise that I won’t pitch you. I will gladly and freely help any dealer by answering questions and offering advice on the use of social media in the automotive industry. All you have to do is ask.
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Read more about car dealer social media on this blog.
Tags: automotive social media, twitter
I see twitter bringing real value in automotive marketing but I am not so sure it will work at the dealer based on what I have seen in the space so far.
Eric Miltsch has done a good job from what I have seen but there are many dealers that are hiring companies to basically spam twitter with rss feeds of inventory.
Proper use of social media / networking at the dealer level still has a long way to go. The ones doing it right “interacting with others, joining the conversation, becoming a resource to others” will be so far ahead of the game versus the dealers that think they just have to be there, because everyone else is.
Social networking is about personal interaction and building trust not just popping links to crap. There are so many examples of automotive firms bastardizing these platforms because they think gaming the systems for the value of a link or two is how social media sites should be leveraged.
I just hope I was not who you were referring to “I have followed the activities of all of the ones that I’ve found so far and their techniques in using their own accounts as well as molding the accounts of others are amateur at best.”
The fear I have with social media is that is truly a double edge sword and it is sharp on both sides. In the past if a dealer ran a horrible ad campaign they didnt lose much, except the cost of the ad. Sometimes the really bad ads were talked about so much that they ended up delivering positive value to the advertiser. This is not so with social media.
Social media circumvents much of the middle man agency and allows real dialogue between two parties. Think about it, would you buy a product more because an ad said it was good, or because a trusted friend said it was good. We always go for the trusted source. Hence the double edge sword in social media, it can help you in incredible ways - or- if you break that trust it can HURT you in incredible ways.
Like paul said, I recently saw on twitter a dealer who signed up for a “social media” service and all they did was a rss feed from their inventory every couple hrs, there was no human engagement and no value to the tweets. Who is going to follow this dealer? (hint: nobody) but worse of the dealer is now being avoided and ridiculed by customers using soc media. Think about it, you are harassing people even before they come to your store… why would they come in for more? (Worse off, the dealer is likely headed to brag at a 20 group meeting that ‘I am on twitter”- ouch)
There is no doubt social media has huge implications on our industry. I agree w/paul @auctiondirect certainly at the top of his game. So is @carsetcinc and I also saw a dodge dealer tweeting frankly about how the chrysler BK should and should not hinder your purchasing. It was genuine information of good value. There are many good examples, but in short:
build trust = succeed. Spam & Break trust = FAIL.
Thanks JD and Paul, will watch and listen as this continues to evolve - inspiring stuff and EXCELLENT info for everyone to have.
@Paul - You’re one of the only people I know on Twitter who DOES get it when it comes to automotive social media. There’s a reason why over 20,000 people are following you, yet some of these “experts” have a few hundred followers.
@Jared - Great points. I’ve seen a handful of dealers who are simply being mislead down the wrong path on Twitter. It’s an important tool now and will grow in importance in the future. How we act now will determine how we will be viewed in that future.
The problem we face with getting dealers to properly use social media/networking is what my friend J. Kershner calls “The Shiny Button Syndrome”. It takes skill and time to cultivate a proper social media presence versus instant gratification and being able to see it right away. Billboards, TV Spots, Print Ads and Radio Blast provide instant ego edification as well as a spam accounts on Facebook and Twitter, all will provide the same level of ROI. << Great topic for my next post.
Back on topic though if and when indexed twitter links start appearing in SERPs I hope that they deploy an algorithm that keeps the spam account with 8 followers from showing.
@JD Glad to know I was not in that same group!!
[...] friend JD Rucker did a post about links being indexed at twitter, unfortunatly it will probably cause more dealers and consultants to say this is the proper way to [...]
JD is dead-on with twitter search potentially becoming another key element among SEO strategies and a viable tool fitting in with a greater strategy.
Google loves twitter content. Twitter has already rolled out their site search function. Status updates are indexed almost in real-time.
I’ve read speculation about a twitter algorithm that would rank relative content higher, based on the ranking of the user profile…
IE: Automotive content & links tweeted by JD would receive the equivalent of a 1st page Google result - because of his profile’s authority ranking within the automotive segment.
Whereas a post about women’s shoes may not rank as high from JD…
Definitely interesting things on the horizon that may change perceptions.
That should quiet down those naysayers in the office, JD!
@ Eric - Luckily I won’t be posting about women’s shoes.
JD - lol…with your follower base, a shoe affiliate program may actually work well for you!