Under Frederick the Great, the Prussian army was considered by many to be the finest fighting force in Europe. To behold their perfectly honed war strategies and flawless battle march was to strike both fear and awe in their enemies. In fact, many would consider the Prussian army to be one of history’s most prolific fighting machines.

I'm not a scientist. I don't get a kick out of doing research to find out what environmental conditions promote a healthy fruit fly population, but I do like to look at things in ways that most people don't. Take yesterday as an example, when my 7 year old daughter asked me why there is always Diet Mt. Dew in the house for her mom and dad to drink, when on most days there is nothing but water for her and her brother.

Of course, a typical answer would be, "because you and your brother drink up all the juice/milk/kool-aid as soon as it's brought into the house." In fact, that's what my wife said, but my answer was completely different.

"Isn't cool that your mother and I have the money to buy Diet Dew, whenever we are running low?" I said.

My daughter gave me a crazy look but said nothing, "It's because we have the monetary capitol, or money, to make the purchase, but you have the ability to get stuff bought for you too, it's called social capitol."

"Oh, God." My wife groaned. (yes I talk about social media at home too!)

"You see Katie, you have the ability to take the initiative to do things around the house. To contribute to the family and be part of the team. Each time you do something to help out around the house you get something worth more than money, it's called social capitol.

Social capitol can then be used to influence your mom and I to do stuff for you, like buy you gum (her favorite thing in the world). In fact you can get so much social capitol that when you do something bad, that would normally get you grounded, you'll get nothing more than a slap on the wrist."

I wasn't really sure if she got the gist of what I was saying but not an hour later, while I was sitting in my office, she brought me a drink. Later, without being asked, she starting putting away the dishes and even cleaned up after dinner.

I was so proud of her! I gave her big hug and said, "See, that's social capitol!"

"Can I have some gum now?" She asked.

"Katie, while it's okay to ask for the "sale" you use less of your social capitol when you don't ask."

"Huh."

"Okay, let's say that you have 10 social capitol bucks and you ask me to buy gum that costs 1 social capitol buck, you are then left with 9 bucks. But, because I feel so impressed about what you've done and I feel so good about rewarding you, that same pack of gum wouldn't cost you anything, all because you didn't ask for it!"

Don't worry, I bought her the gum and I assure you, it didn't cost her one social dime!

Conclusion

In teaching my daughter the value of doing things for other people, I taught her a valuable lesson, one that she won't soon forget. But, let's take a look at your dealership, what are you doing to earn social capitol? I assure you, what I taught my daughter will work for you as well, after all social capitol is the new currency and relationships run our new social economy.

I know it's a stretch for any business, and one exceptionally tough for a dealership to grasp, but the more you're able to give to your community the more you will get in return. If you work to engage your community in a positive manner the less you will have to pitch yourself because people will feel good about sending people to buy from you, after all you will be "One of Us", instead of the dreaded "One of Them."

David Johnson is the Digital Marketin Strategist for PersuasiveConcepts.com and Next Generation Dealer Services.

While I do NOT condone doomsday cults or what they represent if you keep an open mind there is a lot that we can learn from them in regards to persuasion. Take a look at the likes of Jim Jones, David Koresh, Hitler or a number of others and you will find masters of persuasion. Some would use the word manipulation instead of the word persuasion but in reality they mean the same thing, one just has an uglier sound to it. Keep in mind that neither persuasion nor manipulation is bad no more than guns kill people, remember it’s people that kill people.

It has been said numerous times that “power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely,” and that holds true for master persuaders. A great American once said, “with great power comes great responsibility” (Uncle Ben, no not the rice guy!) so use what you are about to learn wisely, don’t persuade for the wrong reasons and always remember that morality above all else is what sets us apart from the fore mentioned cult leaders.

Have you ever wondered what these cult leaders had over their followers that would make them murder, steal and commit suicide? No, it’s not that their followers were stupid or even crazy, most of them are just like you and me. These followers were given something of tremendous value, a gift paralleled by no other, a gift more valuable than even life itself. Do you want to know what this gift was, it’s the gift of hope.

Now that does sound crazy doesn’t it? Hope. It’s a powerful motivator, it’s a release from the day to day, it’s a way out of almost any circumstance and it can be used to motivate almost anybody to do almost anything. Hope can be used to sell more cars and as you’re sitting there reading every word of what I’m about to say you’re going to learn how to do just that.

The Problem

Car shopping isn’t fun for most people, it’s downright frightening. It’s like preparing to jump into chummed waters when sharks are present, it’s not something most people would want to do. It’s a situation that most people would rather not have to go through, but something we know we must.

It’s in our nature to look for the easier way out, we don’t like to go against the stream and if something looks in the least bit difficult we don’t even want to do it. Having said that, each time we get ourselves in a predicament that we don’t want to be in we tend to lose hope, if only somebody would come along and find it for us…

There’s Persuasion in Hope

Do you know what it’s like to find hope after living without it? It’s as if a veil has been lifted and you will do anything, ANYTHING not to lose hope again. That’s where your power of persuasion will come from and that’s what I’m about to teach you.

Three steps to building hope are:

Step 1: Begin with an Incongruity If you can show a prospect that you are different without saying that you are different your prospect starts believe that you are different. Remember that people will sometimes believe what they are told buy will always believe what they conclude.

Try saying something different to bring them to the conclusion that you are different, something like: “I like to be as up front as possible and I want you to know that my goal is NOT to sell you a car today, I’m not even going to try. My goal is to answer all of your questions, show you a few cars and if you want to buy, then see to it that it’s the one you want, that it’s affordable, but most of all that your happy with your decision.”

Can you imagine the look on their face when you say something like that! That is the absolute last thing anybody would ever expect a car salesman to say. You’re now that much closer to your prospect hoping that this time will be different.

Step 2: Bring Their Fears Out into the Open People want answers, no they need answers and they will do anything to gain a sense of hope. Frustration causes stress and stress makes people do crazy things so it’s your job to confront those frustration and push them aside. Here is an example of what can be said:

“Owning a new car is one of the most exciting moments in anybody’s life but the whole car shopping process can be a bit tedious and frustrating. If it wasn’t such a necessity most people wouldn’t even want to go through it, just so they wouldn’t have to deal with pushy sale people looking for a commission check, I know firsthand because I bought cars long before I sold them.”

"People will sometimes believe what they are told buy will always believe what they conclude"

What? Did a car sales person just say that to me? If you can voice what they are thinking then they are going to conclude that you are different, especially if it’s something that could potentially paint you in a bad light. I purposefully didn’t put in there to say, “I’m different, I’m not like that,” because if you did they wouldn’t believe you.

Step 3: Paint a Picture of Understanding People like to be understood, they like to know that they aren’t alone and that their feelings do matter. Don’t discount anything that they say let them know that you understand what they are feeling and they are right to feel the way they do. While anything is rarely as easy as it is to write I want you to take the time to really dive into building hope with your prospects, they will follow you to the end, just make sure that you don't give them false hope and always follow through.

A Few More Idea

• Support Their Dreams People like to feel supported, they like to be told that they are doing the right things and that they should pursue their dreams.
• Failures Are Okay--Let Them Know Nothing makes a person feel as vulnerable as failure. Support their failures, let them know that they did their best and to try, try again.
• Ease Their Fears If you can make somebodies fear go away or at least make them easier to face you have built a relationship for life.

These are just a few more ideas to build trust, use the power wisely and happy persuading.

If you would like to learn more about persuasion I highly recommend Blair Warren.

David Johnson is the Digital Marketing Strategist for PersuasiveConcepts.com and Next Generation Dealer Services.

The last year that I sold cars, before starting a BDC, was 2003. While 7 years doesn't seem like that long it was a lifetime in technology, and if I had to do it all over again I'd do it the same way. What? That's right, I'd do it the same but I would go about it very, very differently. You see, even back when I first started selling cars I understood the value of creating positive, win-win relationships with my customers, in fact, a lot of the things I train on today, in regards to social media, I learned while working lot traffic and building my own book of business.

One of the first things I did when starting my very first job selling cars is have two sets of post cards made, one for sold traffic the other for unsold traffic. The first thing I would do when a customer drove off the lot is send them a post card, maybe it was a post card thanking for them for their business or one thanking them for their time, but every person I spoke to got one in the mail.

Once a month I put a newsletter together with Microsoft Publisher and walked down the street to a printer and had it printed up. I would then address them by hand, stamp them and put them in the mail, one to everybody in my database, whether they bought a car from me or not. I would even clip out magazine or newspaper articles if I found one that would interest one of my customers and mail that to them as well.

I would devote part of my day calling my customers, keeping track of them and building relationships each and every chance I got. I understood that the value was in the relationship, and that relationships were worth more than the commission check I earned from selling them a car, you see I wanted them to come back and buy another car from me and another, I even wanted them to send me referrals, and you know what? They did, and they were happy to do it.

So earlier when I said I would do it the same way I meant it, and by the same way I meant that I would still build relationships, because that's where the real value comes from. Of course, I would go about it differently because I have so many tools at my disposal today that I would have a much easier time going about it. Back then I would talk to service customers and talk to the HR department of X-plan companies (I worked at a Ford Store) to get more business, all of this took time and I had to do a lot of this stuff on my own time, at home or on my rare days off, but as I look back it was well worth the experience I gained.

But I ask myself now, how would I go about this differently if I sold cars today?

I'd have a blog. On that blog I would write about the same things that I wrote about in my newsletter. I would write funny stories, stories about my family and my experiences as a car salesman. I would still interview the detail manager about how to best take care of leather or how to get those pesky stains out of the upholstery. I would upload my customer testimonials along with pictures of them enjoying their new vehicles. I would even go so far as to interview them, just like I did for my newsletter, but this time I would blog about how their experience was working with me versus the other guy down the street. I'd blog about the makes and models at my dealership, really show my passion for the products I sold. I'd use my blog to build relationships, not sell cars. I would let people know, through my actions, not my words, that I wanted to get to know them, that I'm in the car business to take care of them, not to rip their heads off.

I'd have a Facebook profile that I'd use to keep up with my customers. I would upload pictures of them, that I took, just before they left the lot and tag them in it. Then I would go to their Facebook wall and say something nice about them on their wall, on the picture that I tagged them on. I would do that because I know that they would feel compelled to say something nice about me and then all of their friends would see it. A kind of impromptu testimonial. Then I would listen. I'd watch to see what my customers were talking about so that I could get to know them. I would then find articles online that interest them and post it on their wall with a little note saying that I came across it and thought about them. I would also partner with local businesses and get coupons from them so that I could give them to my customers. I'd give as much as I could, I'd give advice when I could and offer my service whenever I had a chance, even if I had to mow the grass of one of my elderly customers who's grandson was out of town for two weeks and couldn't get to it (Yes I did do that).

I'd create videos. Lots and lots of videos. I would create walkarounds that I would post on Youtube, my blog and on Facebook. These wouldn't be ordinary walkarounds but the fun kind where I see how many people I can fit in the trunk. I would post videos teaching my customers how to operate the navigation, the memory seating, and any other number of things. I'd get a service tech to show my customers how to check their fluids and the importance of proper maintenance. Whenever one of my customers, or a potential customer wanted to know more info about a particular vehicle I would take a video of the car and show it to them, making sure to use their name in the video. I would then upload their video, with the proper meta tags to Youtube so that they rank in the search engines.

I would have a LinkedIn account where I would connect with as many of the influencers in my market as possible. I would find as many opportunities as I could to refer the people in my network to them. I would do this because I know that the people on LinkedIn carry a lot of authority, and if I could get an endorsement from a few of them, it would bring me more business. I would go to great lengths to be a connector of people, build as much social capitol as possible so that they would in turn connect people to me.

I would organize as much face to face as possible. I would organize meetups at the dealership where the finance manager could talk about budgeting, credit repair, or the value of gap insurance. I would even have the service manager conduct new car care clinics. I'd invite customers in to test drive new models so that they could give me their opinions on them, of course I would record the whole thing and upload the videos to Youtube, Facebook and to my blog. I'd organize networking functions so that I could bring my customers even closer together so that they could network and get to know one another. I would organize giveaways every month, dinners for two, or tickets to the theatre. I would use these to create excitement around me and my dealership.

The Good News

If you're selling cars you don't have to wait for customers to walk on the lot, you can build relationships with your past customers at the same time you build relationships with new ones. The hard cost is next to nothing, you could partner with a local restaurant for the free dinners or at least get a discount. Of course, this all takes time, but if you devote just a fraction of your time each day to building relationships, before you know it, you will be working by appointment only.

This is the 21st century and as salespeople we need to use the tools that are available to us to build a community of raving fans around our personal brand. It doesn't take much work to put a strategy in place but I assure you, once you start building relationships with your customers and take care of them in any way that you can, they will, in return, take care of you. What are you waiting for, get started now!

David Johnson is the digital marketing strategist for PersuasiveConcepts.com and Next Generation Dealer Services

Here's a good rule of thumb for you about new technology: if it limits customer interaction it's probably not a good idea to go with it. That is, if a new technology, no matter how much time it saves you, takes AWAY from your ability to build relationships with your customers, then you're better off without it. Earlier, I was talking with B.A. Nerison, owner of Wheel City Auto in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, he had this to say about the lack of relationship building opportunities that debit card and ACH payment options has brought to BHPH, "In days past customers used to pay in person, at the dealership. This gave us the opportunity to build relationships with our customers, one-on-one. With today's automated payment options it has become increasingly more difficult to build personal relationships with our customers. This has had a direct impact on the delinquency and repossession rate at buy-here-pay-here dealerships."

I'm not against these types of payment methods, they do make things easier, but at what cost? While building customer relationships is important to any dealer, it's even more so to a BHPH dealer. Sure, we're all happy when a sale is made but without the ability to collect payments, a BHPH dealer is out of business. With the onset of social media, BHPH dealers are, once again, given the ability to connect with their customers and in a very personal way. As B.A. said, later in our conversation, "We don't want people thinking, 'it's okay if I default on my loan at the dealership,' we want them thinking, 'I don't want to let Jeff down, he took a chance on me when nobody else would.'"

The whole idea behind social media is to bring us all a little closer together and it can and should be used as a tool to connect with our past customers, as well as connecting with potential customers. Imagine if, as a BHPH dealership, you were able to bring your default rate down just half a percent, how about a full percent, two percent or even five, do you think it would be worth implementing then? Of course it would!

Increasing Relationships to Decrease Delinquency

It's common practice for a BHPH dealership to tell their customers that they want to aid them in rebuilding their credit but few of them actually follow through, and I'm not talking about just reporting to the credit bureaus but making the actual effort to teach them how. Here are a few quick and easy steps you can use to follow through on your desire to help.

Step 1: Create a series of videos on credit repair, the difference between secured and unsecured loans, getting out of debt, the fallacies behind only paying the minimum amount on your credit cards and anything else that relates to finances, credit and debt. These don't have to be professionally produced videos, in fact I urge you against it. They should be videos created by your staff, staring your staff and include helpful information that will actually benefit your customers. You can make as many as you would like, the topics are endless and the more people at the dealership that are involved the better.

Step 2: Create a fan page on Facebook (you can create a blog for this as well, but let's keep this as simple as possible). Upload your videos, making sure to label them so that they are watched in a specific order, this way if you reference what was said in a previous video, then you know that its already been watched.

Step 3: Interact! Have daily, weekly, and monthly contests and giveaways to keep your fans engaged. Get your employees to shoot short bio videos explaining why they work for the dealership and upload those as well. Create excitement, be real and let your customers know that you're not some brick and mortar business but real life people that want to make a difference in people's lives.

Step 4: Once a month invite your fans to the dealership for a workshop, feed them and teach them, record the whole thing and get testimonials. Not testimonials about the dealership but about the information provided. Get them to talk about how the workshops have impacted their lives.

Step 5: Have fun! These is no better feeling in this world than knowing that you have made an impact on people lives. Rinse and repeat.

Conclusion

Some people may be thinking, how can this lower my default rate? If you take a look at what all of this really accomplishes then you see that all it is, is a way to connect with the very same people that put you into business in the first place. They will start to see their car payment as a bill that they have to pay, it won't be one of those, "oh it can wait a month." In fact it will open up a line of communication that will involve them calling you, instead of you having to call them, when they are unable to make a payment. What are you waiting for, go make a difference and see a difference.

David Johnson is the Digital Marketing Strategist for PersuasiveConcepts.com and Next Generation Dealer Services.

“If you expect above-average results you must learn, implement and perform above-average concepts.”

“To the extent you can match another person’s behavior, both verbally and non-verbally, you will be able to increase your level of rapport and trust.”

It’s not a theory, it’s not even the future, it’s happening now and time is getting short. Auto dealerships are notoriously late adopters of any new technology but in our current state of rapid technological advancement more and more dealerships are falling by the way side and closing their doors. While many different theories can by hypothesized as to the reasoning behind this I’d like to bring forth the idea of Digital Darwinism.

“The idea that the development of Internet based companies is governed by rules similar to Darwin's theory of evolution, and that those that adapt best to their environment will be the most successful”

We are in the midst of a huge economical shift, consumers aren't as trusting as they use to be, we live in a world of digital transparency, but still dealers want to hold onto the old way of doing things, just because it's the way it's always been done. It's that very same thinking that is causing dealerships, all across the country, to close their doors for good. Sure, they put up a good fight, blaming everything and everybody, except themselves that is.

For those of you that were in the car business when the internet first rolled around you know first hand how dealers resisted the change. They fought it saying that people wont go on the internet and interact with a dealer through their website. They insisted that print ads would always reign supreme and lot traffic would never dry up. If you could go back, knowing what you know now, what would you tell them?

Right now, this very second, we are in another shift, its a little different but still it's technology based. More or less, we are going back to the way things use to be before the internet. If you haven't guess it yet, I'm talking about social media, and all social media is is a new way to use an old tool. That old business tool is networking and things are going back to the village mindset (thank you Jack Perry).

What do I mean by that? Well, before the the internet, actually technology in general, we use to consult our neighbors, friends, and family members about things going on in our lives. Now we have the internet and and can Google just about anything, but before the modern marvel of online search we use to have community meetings, one-on-one discussions, and asked for each others opinions. Like they say, history repeats itself and now the internet, through social platforms such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter, are bringing us, once again, closer together.

Why then, are all these positive changes causing dealers, once again, to want to discount whats really going on? Digital Darwinism is alive and well and it's just a matter of time before the old school car dealers become extinct, they want to fight the fact that the customer is in charge of the process. Instead of fighting them it's the progressive dealer that's able to relinquish control and starts to think in terms of "how can I make this new way of doing things work for?"

In reality, this goes much deeper than the onset of social media, this happened a long time ago and will take a tremendous shift in an old car dogs thinking to really get it. We are in a relationship economy, no longer can dealership afford to put the sale before the customer, it's time to put the customer before the sale. Their needs come before money, it's a fundamental shift in thinking that will propel a dealership to new heights and will allow them to take market share like never before.

Embrace the changes my friend, don't fight it. Don't try to stuff a customer in a vehicle because that's all you've got, find something that the customer both needs and WANTS, even if it's at another dealership. Honestly, I feel that if an auto dealer is against what I proposed in the last sentence then a time will come when they are either filing for chapter 7 or selling out to somebody that gets it.

Embrace It.

David Johnson is the digital marketing director of PersuasiveConcepts.com and Next Generation Dealer Services

Is social marketing for everybody? Should every dealership jump on the social media bandwagon? I'm sure most social media consultants would say yes, without even thinking about it, but I would have to disagree with them and say no. Yes, you heard me correctly, I said no.

No because not every dealership is ready for the prime time. By prime time I mean the public eye. While its true that we live in an age of transparency, there are some dealerships that would do well by trying to stay out of social media all together. I've consulted at a lot of different dealerships, all across the country, and without naming them, I can think of two or three that would cut themselves with the double edged sword of social media.

One dealership in particular, which was run by and for the sales people (you know the type of store I'm talking about), was in no position to engage their market using social media. Of course, to better understand my point of view, you have to understand that I don't see social media as just another outlet to advertise you specials or to showcase your inventory. It's a way of marketing your influence and building word of mouth, while at the same time engaging in relationship building tactics that puts community before the pitch.

It's a strange concept for any dealership to grasp, but while utilizing social networks, the less you pitch the more you sell. Social media requires not just a face lift but a whole shift in the outlook of the entire dealership. What I mean by that is you can't try to portray yourself one way then treat the customers another way entirely when they cross the threshold.

Think about it. You're engaging people where they live, on Facebook, on Myspace, on Twitter and on blogs, its just a matter of time before you get the reputation of being a car dealership. I think you know what I mean by that comment and that I didn't mean that in the literal sense or in a positive way.

It takes only one bad day for a sales person, a sales manager, or even a service adviser to post something that could lead people to form the wrong opinion of the dealership. In other words, the reputation of the whole dealership is on the line, each and every day, day after day. Some would argue that's the case with or without social media and I agree , but you also have to think that because of services such as Facebook and Twitter, the bad apples now have a bullhorn to yell into and the world is listening.

Not only is it listening but what's being said is indexed and can be pulled up for days, weeks, months, years-- forever. Do you really want to give a voice to somebody you can't trust, who at your dealership would you NEVER allow to speak on your behalf. What about on the behalf of the dealership? (Dealership Social Media Policy)

Now imagine if you had a store like the one I mentioned at the beginning of this post and you, as the dealer, wanted to implement a social media strategy. How long before you had pissed off, social media savvy, customers blasting you all over the web, how would that impact your business?

If anything I hope this post has gotten you thinking. Think of the negative impact a social marketing campaign can have on your dealership if the players aren't ready for prime time.

What say you? What potential fallout can you see happening because a dealership isn't ready to live up the reputation their trying to portray on social networks? Leave a comment below.

David Johnson is the Digital Marketing Director for PersuasiveConcepts.com and Next Generation Dealer Services.

Be honest, where is your dealership at with social media? Don't worry, this isn't a test and the only person that's going to know your answer is you. It's time, before you get too far down the road, to analyze what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. Keep in mind that what's right or wrong for your market isn't necessarily what's right or wrong with another market. That being said I see a lot of dealers duplicating what they saw another dealer do in their dealer 20 group, with the hopes of duplicating some of the success the other dealer had.

I'm not saying this is a bad idea, but it may not be the BEST idea for you and your dealership. A lot of dealers start a fan page on Facebook or grab a Twitter account with the thought, "Let's see what happens." They are, in effect, putting the cart before the horse. They are choosing a platform before they design a strategy or even choose what their objectives are. What they aren't realizing is that they are limiting the scope of their creativity to that specific platform. How can you think out of the box if you've never explored what lies beyond its sides?

To see the value of social marketing you must first research your market, define your objectives, design a strategy, then find platforms that will aid you in reaching your objectives. In essence, finding the right platform is last, not first.

Below, you will find the three phases of dealership social maturity, which phase is your dealership in?

Phase 1: Platform-Oriented - This is the most common phase, its defined by a dealer that has a Facebook Page, a Twitter account, maybe a YouTube channel and is playing the 'wait and see' game. They are using new media the same way they used old media and that is as a one-way communication tool to talk about themselves, they have no real strategy, objectives or goals put into place.

Phase 2: Transitional - Dealers in this phase have had some luck with phase 1 and are starting to see the benefits of social marketing. They have begun to implement a few strategies here and there but aren't really following them 100%. The dealer in this phase has the "lets dip our toes in, the water looks nice" type of mentality but are still a ways off from seeing the true potential of adopting an iron clad social media strategy.

Phase 3: Strategy-Oriented - This dealer gets it. They understand the power of building social influence and adopted a strategy, they've even put specific people in place to ensure that it's carried out 100%. The dealer in phase 3 enjoys massive amounts of word of mouth advertising by building a loyal community around their brand, they employ both online and offline strategies and are only using social networking platforms to further their strategy, not the other way around.

I ask you again, where is your dealership at with social media?

Do you know everything there is to know about Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube? If so how are you getting your fans, followers, connections and subscribers to engage you, what are you doing to build community? I ask you these questions because they are all very important and ones that you should be able to answer on the spot.

I encourage you to challenge your strategy, or lack thereof, and ask yourself the tough questions. What can you do better to engage more people, where are the holes in your strategy, what can you do to build awareness around your brand?

Social media is more than a platform, social media is more than just Facebook, it's about networking on a massive scale, it's about word of mouth by the masses and for the masses. You can use it to get your community to help you market, you can even use it to work people into such a frenzied state surrounding your brand that they will even stop people, in the checkout line at Wal-Mart, when they hear the person in front of them talking about buying a car. Of course, the choice is yours, it's always been yours to make and whether or not you adopt it, this whole social media thing is only going to get bigger, the only question is, are you going to get bigger along with it?

David Johnson is the Digital Marketing Director for PersuasiveConcepts.com and Next Generation Dealer Services.

As the saying goes, an elephant never forgets, neither does the internet. Everything said, everything posted, every video created and image uploaded is there for the world to see. People are forming opinions about your dealership without ever having to be a customer, of course this could be good or bad, it just depends on the opinions being formed.

It's becoming increasingly more important to monitor your employees and how they interact on the internet. In a transparent world it's easy to connect what a person says to where they work, that can be a problem if one of your employees lacks integrity, and is posting defamatory, pornographic, proprietary or libelous material about the dealership, employees, customers or even the competitors. In fact, they don't even have to mention anything that relates to the car business but through association can have an impact on the public opinion about your dealership.

After careful research (and borrowing) I put together the following policy to get you started creating your own social media policy. Keep in mind that I am not a lawyer and the following policy should only be used as guide and is not a stand-in for legal advice. I encourage you to download it, take a look at it and draft your own policy.

Social media can be a powerful supplement to any marketing campaign but it can be a double edge sword, use it wisely and make sure that you know what your employees are saying, it could be the different between positive word of mouth and negative word of mouth. As we all know, negative word of mouth can spread like wildfire and before you know it , it can engulf the whole dealership. Be vigilant.

The following policy is saved in an RTF format, it can be opened with most word-processing programs on both PC's and Macs.

Automotive Social Media Policy

David Johnson is the Digital Marketing Director at PersuasiveConcepts.com and Next Generation Dealer Services.