(Graphic is from last fall, but still full of detailed info & provides a nice industry summary)

Personal Finance Image from Mint.com

GM made sure everyone heard the good news - they paid back their TARP funds in full and ahead of schedule.

Instantly, company naysayers do an about face upon learning this. This has to be a good thing. Maybe things are turning around for GM. But are they? Do you recall hearing how they were able to accomplish this? Here's an interesting explanation of how things went down.
 

What's your take? Interested in hearing from GM people as well...

Originally posted on WhyBuyUsedCars.com

Can Foursquare be an effective social media communications tool for retail car dealers?

Foursquare is a location-based social networking site which requires the use of your mobile phone or device to check in to venues.

To “check in” requires you log in to Foursquare, pull up a list of places or venues that have been added to foursquare.com by other users and use the Check In button. If the venue doesn’t exist you can add it by entering the name and address. Beyond the individual aspect lies an intriguing marketing opportunity.

I’ll share some of the activities used within the Auction Direct USA Foursquare Venue during the next AC Social webinar Thursday May 13 at 11:30am EST.

Some of the topics covered will be:

• New-school engagement using “location-based marketing” concepts
• Creating memorable, interactive experiences for guests
• Leveraging our networks w/regards to surrounding businesses for promotions & the breadth of our personal networks
• Improving brand recognition
• Driving traffic
• Creating sales opportunities

Join us on Thursday May 13 at 11:30am. We will begin with a brief orientation of the AC Webinar Series and Registration Process; the presentation will last around 30-40 minutes.

To register for this event use the button below. If you are already registered with the AC Social webinar series then there is no need to re-register. Likewise if you have an interest in this topic but can not make this particular webinar, click here to view our schedule of events or sign up to receive email and text alerts for all upcoming webinars.

Click here to register for the AC Video Webinar Series

 

Listening.

Individuals and businesses alike work so hard at trying to engage, interact, promote, distribute, create link-bait, re-tweet etc.

Sure, those items need to be done and should find their place within the communication mix. Yet, listening is consistently overshadowed or just missing.

If your goal is effective social media, start listening more. Listen to your buyers, your industry influencers and anyone else willing to share their feedback & experiences.

These gems will improve user experiences while also teaching you incredible lessons about the people you think you know so much about.

Are you actually listening to the people who will make the biggest impact on your business?

Michael Stelzner recently published a new White Paper:  2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report. 

The purpose of this paper was to understand how online marketers are using social media today. He does a nice job of digging deep into the activities, tools and other subtelties within this segment:

• The top 10 social media questions marketers want answered
• How much time marketers invest with social media activities
• The top benefits of social media and how time invested impacts results
• The most used social media tools
• Marketers future social media plans
• And much more!

For more info about Mark, check out his site here: SocialMediaExaminer.com

What if you went car shopping based on your occupation or profession?

• Firefighters: A Chevy Blazer
• Entomologist: Mitsubishi Spyder
• Meteorologist: Honda Element or Buick Tornado
• Astronomer: Mitsubishi Eclipse
• Optometrist: Ford Focus
• Ornithologist: Ford Falcon
• Prison Guard: Ford Escape
• Lawyer: Honda Civic
• Housekeeper: Plymouth
• Mountain Climber: Chevy Avalanche
• Fortune Teller: Saturn Aura
• Marathon Contestant: Toyota 4Runner
• Foreigner/Traveler: Hyundai Accent

And what would historical figures drive? What about celebrity cars?

• Dawg The Bounty Hunter: Mercury Tracer
• Cruella: Cadillac Deville
• Picasso: Nissan Cube
• Jacques Cousteau: Plymouth Barracuda
• Clint Eastwood: Dodge Magnum
• Carl Sagan: Mercury Comet
• Bruce Jenner: AMC Javelin
• Stephen Hawking: Smart Car
• Michael Phelps: Ford Freestyle
• Neo: Toyota Matrix
• Courtney Cox: Mercury Cougar
• Dizzie Gillespie: Dodge Coronet
• Thomas Edison: Chevy Volt
• Arnold Schwarzenegger: Ford Flex
• Ben Franklin: Jeep Liberty
• Christopher Columbus: Ford Explorer
• Daniel Boone: Mercury Mountaineer
• Greek poet Homer: Honda Odyssey
• King Arthur: Excalibur Phaeton
• Vern Troyer: Mini Cooper
• Jesus: Any Model from “Christler” – Maybe an Accord
• The Edge: Ford Edge
• Turtle: Hyundai Entourage
• Tiger Woods: Buick Rendevous

Can you think of any more?

Need another reason why your business should have a Foursquare Venue Page? Take this one to your boss, or whoever else is stone-walling your efforts to provide your company the most cost-effective methods of getting your business in front of more people.

Bing is developing a system to provide access to real-time Foursqaure check-ins and to-do lists within their maps feature. Now people will be able to see what others are saying about different places on the map. Bing is positioning this as: “An interactive day planner, designed to help find the best things to do in that area.”

Very interesting note: They’re also developing a way to rank tips based on the user’s reputation. Foursquare users unlocking more achievement badges and checking in more frequently will be able to boost their own authority.

Appears a deal like this will create more ways to connect with your network, better ways to find current user opinions & reviews and even more ways for businesses to leverage social media optimization strategies.

Does your business have a Foursquare Venue Page? How are you using it?

I always enjoy ringing in the new year - the thought of working with a fresh slate to create bigger and better things is both refreshing and exciting. I'm curious to see how the newest technologies adapt to become viable solutions and strategies for progressive companies and individuals. Here's my list of the technologies with incredible potential for creating new solutions for automotive consumers and professionals in 2010.

1. Real time Search: Google and Bing are squaring off in the first round of real time search results by providing real time results from the likes of Twitter and Facebook. While we don't see these results in the same format as regular search results now, this will move from being a silo to being a primary search result visual. Search Engines such as Topsy will help the competition ramp up improved methods of displaying real time results from relevant and influential sources; other players in this space: Collecta and OneRiot.
2. Geolocation Services: It will become increasingly easy to engage with prospects and customers with the advent of GPS style functions within mobile phones, social channels and smart phone apps which harness geolocation capabilities. Geolocation API's will increase the ability to communicate with consumers; your own creativity is the limitation. For example, Whrrl's Merchant Program is a simple way to extend your online footprint and offer an incentive for consumers to visit & engage them with new discount/promotional ideas.
3. Mobile Video: Video has become a standard for the automotive segment within websites - mobile video will be a new frontier. Smart phone video usage will continue to explode as it becomes easier to stream from your phone - and to users phones. Network expansion from 3G to 4G and Google's entry into the spectrum will open up new creative possibilities. The first step was gaining mobile acceptance and basic usage. Nine million users accessed their Facebook account via their mobile phone in 2008; that number exploded to 88 million in 2009. Huge opportunity for mobile video in 2010.
4. HTML5: The newest version of HTML will host a suite of user features and benefits that improve online experiences. Rich applications (video & animation) will be easier to integrate as Flash and Silverlight won't be as heavily relied upon. The goal is to create simple user experiences which function like a desktop application and also allows next-gen features such as offline data support and drag and drop capabilities. Hopefully more automotive web developers will recognize the opportunity this presents to provide dealers and their visitors more memorable and effective experiences.
5. Social Centralization: This is my term for the direction of car dealer social networks and the value added services they will provide automotive professionals. Dealer network sites will evolve into centralized destinations that provide more than blog posts and discussions. As user acceptance and awareness increases, greater value will be driven by segment specific research, access to video libraries and vendor ratings. I see the culmination being the eventual cross-pollination of content and resources from major industry brands into their own specific communities. I also see the user gaining greater access to this content, whether they act as a contributor or a reader, via simpler access points such as smart phone apps.
6. Social CRM: The entire CRM segment will be shaken up in 2010. Old systems dealers have been subjected will be turned upside down with the advent of more web based systems. The biggest changes could also come from the integration of the social channels to these systems to help improve and monitor customer communications. Major CRM solutions have already made this leap; I'm confident these solutions will make their way into the newest CRM tools being rolled out. I wouldn't be shocked if an open source DMS-CRM solution sprouted up. Salesforce.com is adding a new data tool to their offering called Chatter. Other companies such as Yammer have rolled out creative solutions which mesh internal and external communication efforts.

We're experiencing another round of significant changes in the automotive markets. Improvements in the retail process, customer service and online user experience will continue to move at break neck speeds in 2010 and aren't limited to the above list; they're certainly not limited to simply technological solutions - these are simply tools to help make the improvements easier to achieve. The biggest change will undoubtedly come from how the professionals in our market react to the needs of the automotive consumer and work towards creating a better overall customer experiece. The automotive retail change movement has already begun, how will you become a part of the solution?

A lot of people are beginning to play with Google Wave - even some of us within the car dealer social network community. Many are confused as to what it is, what it does and how it can help you. In a nutshell, it can be whatever you need: A clunky chat-room, a private workspace to share rich content or something even more engaging by using installable gadgets such as napkin, brainstorming and HTML... I like the simple features over other sites like Basecamp. A Google Wave iPhone app is also available for $1.99 - it is't an official Google app, but it looks and feels like the full application - just smaller. It seems to run slow - but does allow the same basic functionality. Here's The Complete Guide to Google Wave to help with pretty much anything you may need to know. Hope it helps... http://completewaveguide.com/ BTW - I'm eric.miltsch@googlewave.com How have you used it?

Today’s social media technologies make it easy to connect with great people. Last year, I met Jason Kintzler, Founder of PitchEngine.com and was immediately impressed with his new start up.

Jason is shaking up the PR world with his Social Media Release solution. The SMR is a cost effective, easy to use solution that I recommend every company should consider; I created a social media newsroom for Auction Direct USA.

Not familiar with PE or Jason? Here’s a few questions Jason answered that will open your eyes about the exciting things he’s doing.

Share your own quick pitch about PitchEngine.com…and a brief overview of your unique proposition.
PitchEngine is PR for the social web. We make it easy for you to share PR assets like video, images and more with media, friends, fans and followers via Facebook, Twitter and more!

What prompted you to go in this direction? What was the problem you aimed to solve?
Initially, it was purely about giving PR pros and media a better way to exchange information and assets. People were frustrated by clunky email attachments, mailing image CDs and just managing the exchange of data.
It grew to be about much more, including rethinking the way we package press releases and interact with media and consumers alike.

Has the reception of PitchEngine met your expectations?
It’s been fantastic. In just about 6 months we’ve had about 3500 brands sign on and those companies range in size from some of the biggest, to some of the smallest.

Have you seen industries/companies adopting your SMR that you didn’t expect to see? Or usage that you didn’t expect?
Yea, almost every week. There’s really no limit to who/what industries can benefit. From the automotive sales industry to legal and real estate, there are some interesting uses I’m seeing.

How has the economic uncertainty affected your business?
Not really, to be honest. I think we’re positioned well as companies want to try something different, but at a minimal cost. We’ve become an alternative for some small companies.

Where do you see your market segment going - what changes would you like to see happen?
I believe that PR distribution will change dramatically in the next few years,just as news distribution has. Used to be, you’d have to wait for the morning paper to see the news. Not anymore. Currently, public companies have use wire services to distribute their news. Logic tells me that isn’t going to last long either. In fact, the SEC is already addressing the possibility of using the web as a legal means of disciminating earnings statements and PR.

What other challenges do you still see & how are you preparing to overcome them?
We’re not tied to any mega-corporate ideals which means, we can be more nimble and flexible than anybody. We’re going to continue to innovate by pushing PR and media to engage in new ways. Our list of additions and updates doesn’t have a bottom now, and I don’t see it happening anytime soon. Every business has its challenges, but they’re all fun.

Thanks Jason…Keep up the great work!

Follow PitchEngine on twitter.

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