Calling all questioners. Calling all questioners. This is it. This week, we begin the process of going through all of the questions that you sent last week. We have a ton in already - now it's time to receive any stragglers.

If you ever wanted to "ask me anything" at all in a no-holds-barred format, now's the time. So far, the majority of the questions have surrounding social media, search, websites, and the future of automotive digital marketing in general, but there were a couple of curveballs thrown in there that made me chuckle. One even made me cringe a little. Whatever your question might be, ask away.

No need to be shy.

Send you questions to eric@drivingsales.com by the end of the day Monday.

Calling all questioners. Calling all questioners. This is it. This week, we begin the process of going through all of the questions that you sent last week. We have a ton in already - now it's time to receive any stragglers.

If you ever wanted to "ask me anything" at all in a no-holds-barred format, now's the time. So far, the majority of the questions have surrounding social media, search, websites, and the future of automotive digital marketing in general, but there were a couple of curveballs thrown in there that made me chuckle. One even made me cringe a little. Whatever your question might be, ask away.

No need to be shy.

Send you questions to eric@drivingsales.com by the end of the day Monday.

In my recent exploration of various social media profiles being used by local businesses, I found a disturbing trend. While there are definitely those who are doing it right and utilizing Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest the right way, there are also plenty who are simply failing at it miserably. They are forgetting the most fundamental aspect of managing their profiles, namely posting the right way.

There are components of this infographic by MyCleverAgency that I don’t fully agree with, but they are minor points, opinions really. For the most part, the advice is sound. You should be posting with a mobile perspective in mind onto Facebook. You should be engaging with users on Twitter, not just posting blog post titles and links. Unless a post is about people, don’t include people (particularly faces) in your pins. Tag, tag, and tag some more on Google+. These are great pieces of advice.

Here’ the infographic. Read each point in it and ask yourself if you’re doing these things on your Facebook page or not.

In my recent exploration of various social media profiles being used by local businesses, I found a disturbing trend. While there are definitely those who are doing it right and utilizing Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest the right way, there are also plenty who are simply failing at it miserably. They are forgetting the most fundamental aspect of managing their profiles, namely posting the right way.

There are components of this infographic by MyCleverAgency that I don’t fully agree with, but they are minor points, opinions really. For the most part, the advice is sound. You should be posting with a mobile perspective in mind onto Facebook. You should be engaging with users on Twitter, not just posting blog post titles and links. Unless a post is about people, don’t include people (particularly faces) in your pins. Tag, tag, and tag some more on Google+. These are great pieces of advice.

Here’ the infographic. Read each point in it and ask yourself if you’re doing these things on your Facebook page or not.

A father and son walked onto a car lot and started looking around. As the salesperson approached, the son, 14- or 15-years old, was clearly directing his father towards a particular new vehicle. They met the salesperson in front of a Chevy Cruze and told her that they wanted to take it for a test drive.

As car deals go, this one was a pretty easy one. The negotiations were tough – they were informed buyers who paid well under MSRP after discounts and rebates on a 2013 with 2014 models rolling out – but otherwise it was pretty quick. They knew what they wanted and didn’t need much convincing that it was the right car for them.

When asked what helped them make their decision, the duo surprised their salesperson. “I’ve been following the car for a while on Facebook,” the son said.

She was perpexed. “Following the car?” she asked.

Apparently, the young man had been “following” several cars on social media for a couple of months. He told her something that shook her up a bit, which prompted her to tell her general manager, which prompted him to contact me. The young man told her, “My generation doesn’t trust the ‘expert reviews’ as much as we trust each other. We trust other people. The Cruze has been getting loved on by people all over Facebook and Twitter, much more than anything else in my price range.”

“My price range,” his father corrected.

This was the younger buyer’s car, at least it was going to be if he got a scholarship when he graduated from high school. His father would be driving it until then but wanted his son’s input since it would be his (hopefully) in a few years.

This story sparked my inquiry into my 14-year-old’s social media activity. As a conscientious and terrified father, I keep tabs on my children’s internet activity, but I’d never done a deep dive into her activities. I was looking for boys contacting her, of course, but now I had a reason to ask her some questions. What she told me was somewhat shocking (a hard thing to admit considering the amount of time I spend researching social media).

On Instagram, she had friends at her junior high with tens of thousands of followers. Everything they posted would get hundreds of likes. On Facebook, it was much of the same. The funny part was that they weren’t just posting updates about Lady Gaga or nail polish. I saw posts about Chick-fil-A,  the Nissan Leaf (one of my daughter’s friend’s dream car), Qantas Airlines (they’re already picking airlines?), and even a nice debate about which tablets are best to take on vacation when stuck with the parents for the summer trip.

Today’s youths, tomorrow’s buyers, are turning to social media to learn more about brands than any other medium. They aren’t researching cars on Edmunds or KBB. They’re checking them out on YouTube, tracking them on Facebook, and following them on Twitter. They’re savvy enough to find what others are saying about them.

This is all fine and dandy for the future, but what about today? Then, my daughter pointed something out. Many major decisions are made by the family rather than just the parents. It’s more common today than ever before. Teen children are often major influencers when it comes to buying decisions.

Does this mean that businesses should turn their social media attention to be more like Justin Bieber or The Hunger Games? Of course not. Still, it’s important to know that it’s not just the direct buyers that are watching businesses on social media. It’s also important to note that tomorrow’s buyers are more connected through social media than today. This means that every day, as kids enter the buying market, more consumers are influenced by social media. It’s an important part of marketing today. It’s growing to become even more important over time. In the future, one might make the connection that social media could be the most influential component of a buying decision. That may be hard to imagine today, but the trends are clear.

* * *

“Tomorrow’s Buyers” image courtesy of Shutterstock. Article courtesy of Techi.

A father and son walked onto a car lot and started looking around. As the salesperson approached, the son, 14- or 15-years old, was clearly directing his father towards a particular new vehicle. They met the salesperson in front of a Chevy Cruze and told her that they wanted to take it for a test drive.

As car deals go, this one was a pretty easy one. The negotiations were tough – they were informed buyers who paid well under MSRP after discounts and rebates on a 2013 with 2014 models rolling out – but otherwise it was pretty quick. They knew what they wanted and didn’t need much convincing that it was the right car for them.

When asked what helped them make their decision, the duo surprised their salesperson. “I’ve been following the car for a while on Facebook,” the son said.

She was perpexed. “Following the car?” she asked.

Apparently, the young man had been “following” several cars on social media for a couple of months. He told her something that shook her up a bit, which prompted her to tell her general manager, which prompted him to contact me. The young man told her, “My generation doesn’t trust the ‘expert reviews’ as much as we trust each other. We trust other people. The Cruze has been getting loved on by people all over Facebook and Twitter, much more than anything else in my price range.”

“My price range,” his father corrected.

This was the younger buyer’s car, at least it was going to be if he got a scholarship when he graduated from high school. His father would be driving it until then but wanted his son’s input since it would be his (hopefully) in a few years.

This story sparked my inquiry into my 14-year-old’s social media activity. As a conscientious and terrified father, I keep tabs on my children’s internet activity, but I’d never done a deep dive into her activities. I was looking for boys contacting her, of course, but now I had a reason to ask her some questions. What she told me was somewhat shocking (a hard thing to admit considering the amount of time I spend researching social media).

On Instagram, she had friends at her junior high with tens of thousands of followers. Everything they posted would get hundreds of likes. On Facebook, it was much of the same. The funny part was that they weren’t just posting updates about Lady Gaga or nail polish. I saw posts about Chick-fil-A,  the Nissan Leaf (one of my daughter’s friend’s dream car), Qantas Airlines (they’re already picking airlines?), and even a nice debate about which tablets are best to take on vacation when stuck with the parents for the summer trip.

Today’s youths, tomorrow’s buyers, are turning to social media to learn more about brands than any other medium. They aren’t researching cars on Edmunds or KBB. They’re checking them out on YouTube, tracking them on Facebook, and following them on Twitter. They’re savvy enough to find what others are saying about them.

This is all fine and dandy for the future, but what about today? Then, my daughter pointed something out. Many major decisions are made by the family rather than just the parents. It’s more common today than ever before. Teen children are often major influencers when it comes to buying decisions.

Does this mean that businesses should turn their social media attention to be more like Justin Bieber or The Hunger Games? Of course not. Still, it’s important to know that it’s not just the direct buyers that are watching businesses on social media. It’s also important to note that tomorrow’s buyers are more connected through social media than today. This means that every day, as kids enter the buying market, more consumers are influenced by social media. It’s an important part of marketing today. It’s growing to become even more important over time. In the future, one might make the connection that social media could be the most influential component of a buying decision. That may be hard to imagine today, but the trends are clear.

* * *

“Tomorrow’s Buyers” image courtesy of Shutterstock. Article courtesy of Techi.

File this under "quick tips". I wrote a blog post about it and asked for feedback on the strategy. My editor said, "It's too long for the topic. You could sum it up in 2 paragraphs."

When you promote other businesses with your social media profile, you have the opportunity to touch them and their audience. On Facebook in particular, tagging other businesses and organizations is an easy way to do this.

Say something great about them. Talk about the restaurant that supplied you lasagna for the team on Saturday. Highlight an even from a local charity like the example above. There are tons of ways to make it happen.

Use ads. Just promoting your own stuff is fine, but you can as much if not more benefit by helping others every now and then as well. Here's an excerpt from the article:

At first glance, the image above would appear to belong to a horticulture page or perhaps an arboretum. It’s a bonsai plant, something that you don’t see every day on Facebook but interesting enough nonetheless. When people see it in their news feed, there’s a good chance they’ll look at the description to see what the post is all about. That’s when it hits them. This is a post by a car dealer. They are supporting an event in the local community by posting it on their Facebook page. They even sponsored the post.

File this under "quick tips". I wrote a blog post about it and asked for feedback on the strategy. My editor said, "It's too long for the topic. You could sum it up in 2 paragraphs."

When you promote other businesses with your social media profile, you have the opportunity to touch them and their audience. On Facebook in particular, tagging other businesses and organizations is an easy way to do this.

Say something great about them. Talk about the restaurant that supplied you lasagna for the team on Saturday. Highlight an even from a local charity like the example above. There are tons of ways to make it happen.

Use ads. Just promoting your own stuff is fine, but you can as much if not more benefit by helping others every now and then as well. Here's an excerpt from the article:

At first glance, the image above would appear to belong to a horticulture page or perhaps an arboretum. It’s a bonsai plant, something that you don’t see every day on Facebook but interesting enough nonetheless. When people see it in their news feed, there’s a good chance they’ll look at the description to see what the post is all about. That’s when it hits them. This is a post by a car dealer. They are supporting an event in the local community by posting it on their Facebook page. They even sponsored the post.

We are close to having enough questions in to do a two-part "Ask Me Anything" now. Keep the questions coming!

Surely there's something that you've always wanted to know about automotive internet marketing. There are plenty of experts out there - I'm nobody special. I will do two things:

1. Give an honest, unbiased answer that has nothing to do with my company. I represent KPA professionally, but for this AMA I'll be answering the questions from the perspective of representing Driving Sales and the automotive industry in general.
2. Apply knowledge accumulated from nearly two decades in the automotive industry - 11 years at dealerships and 6 years on the vendor side. When I was 19, I was selling ads for a newspaper. I was in school and about to be a dad. One of my clients was a car dealership who told me about the real money I could make if I went to work for them. The rest is history.

It doesn't matter what you want to ask. Send your questions to eric@drivingsales.com and I'll answer some of the questions this week and the rest of them next week. If enough come in, we'll even do a trilogy.