Are you one of the few that blasts Social Media as a form of marketing? Maybe you just don’t believe that it works. Maybe you think it’s a huge waste of time. Well the good news is that you’re not alone. The bad news is that the numbers of non-believers are rapidly dwindling.

Let’s say that you’re on the fence about whether there’s actual ROI (return on investment) behind managing a social media page. I’m speaking on either budget or time as your ROI measurement. You may be asking yourself “Is this worth it?” Everybody seems to be doing it but does it mean you have to? I can assure you that a social media strategy not only works but it’s actually good for your dealership.

When it comes to running a dealership, there is basically one goal: to sell units. Of course, advertising and marketing are a huge part of achieving your goal. Most dealerships are used to the 3 conventional methods of advertising:

• Print
• Radio
• Television

To expand your reach and to hit your target market like never before, you MUST consider social media. If you’re thinking spending money on Facebook is a waste, you’re mistaken. The one thing to embrace about digital marketing is that it can fit ANY budget. It’s not a gamble and you’ll definitely get your money’s worth. Here’s an example of the potential and power of social media.

We work with a client in Long Beach, CA, and one of the social media posts we created (on May 31) went VIRAL. It’s not typical for a post to achieve viral status on the internet but the numbers that followed cannot be ignored. Another atypical detail is that this post included video (which will always bring up engagement). There was a fixed budget applied to that post (this is a daily practice) and it just took off. As of this writing, the post has reached 135,168 people. It was shared 1,206 times, gained 538 likes and received 117 comments. The video was viewed 41,079 times while the amount of total likes, comments and shares are well over 7,000. Organic reach was 130,625 and paid reach was ONLY 4,543! The good thing is that very little money was spent for these results. The amazing thing is that this was posted weeks ago and the numbers are still climbing daily.

Every dealer would be delighted to get similar results on their social media pages, especially Facebook. If you think that spending money on social is a gamble, that’s a legit opinion. 5 years ago, that statement would be accurate...today, this is a gamble that is surely paying off in huge dividends. Ignoring how essential social media is for a dealership is a bad idea. Are you willing to risk alienating an audience of potential leads and future customers?

I've been pretty torn over the last few months. On one hand, I'm so pleased to see that dealers (and even some vendors) are really starting to embrace building content pages on their website. On the other hand, I'm concerned that many companies are starting to promote building these pages as their complete SEO strategy. What's worse is that many dealers are starting to believe them.

We came across this recently when a dealer wanted to find out whether our SEO services were having a positive effect on their traffic, leads, and sales, or if it was another company that was working on things simultaneously. The other company builds pages. That's it. They don't support these pages with other signals and they don't build the pages with increased sales in mind.

2012 was the last time I made the recommendation to dealers to build content on their website or two hire us to do it for them. All I asked for was two pages per month. It was a reasonable request in my humble opinion - not too much work and yet a nice minimum to have some effect. I don't recall posting about it since then because dealers and vendors in general didn't seem anxious to heed the advice. Today, that seems to be changing. More dealers and vendors are doing it, so it's finally time to make the next batch of recommendations.

This time, there are two important takeaways. First, If you build it, you must support it. For very easy keywords, building a page and letting it sit can be enough to rank. For any keyword that can actually drive traffic, you must support it with off-the-page signals such as inbound links and social shares.

Second, if you build it, there must be a valid reason. Back in 2007, I learned that just because you can send people to your website through a blog post doesn't mean that you're achieving your SEO goals. At the end, it's not about traffic. It's about bringing in the right traffic and taking them to the right pages. SEO should help to sell more cars, not just drive more traffic to pages that have no chance of converting.

If you or a vendor build pages regularly on your website, you're already doing better than most dealers. However, doing better is not necessarily doing everything that can be done. Since more dealers and vendors are building content, it's so important to utilize the other factors within the Google algorithm to pull ahead of the pack.

In the coming weeks, we will be unveiling Octane, our strategy and service that enhances your website and digital presence in a way that generates traffic, leads, and sales. In the meantime, check out a description of Full Spectrum SEO, one of the major components of our Octane strategy.

I've been pretty torn over the last few months. On one hand, I'm so pleased to see that dealers (and even some vendors) are really starting to embrace building content pages on their website. On the other hand, I'm concerned that many companies are starting to promote building these pages as their complete SEO strategy. What's worse is that many dealers are starting to believe them.

We came across this recently when a dealer wanted to find out whether our SEO services were having a positive effect on their traffic, leads, and sales, or if it was another company that was working on things simultaneously. The other company builds pages. That's it. They don't support these pages with other signals and they don't build the pages with increased sales in mind.

2012 was the last time I made the recommendation to dealers to build content on their website or two hire us to do it for them. All I asked for was two pages per month. It was a reasonable request in my humble opinion - not too much work and yet a nice minimum to have some effect. I don't recall posting about it since then because dealers and vendors in general didn't seem anxious to heed the advice. Today, that seems to be changing. More dealers and vendors are doing it, so it's finally time to make the next batch of recommendations.

This time, there are two important takeaways. First, If you build it, you must support it. For very easy keywords, building a page and letting it sit can be enough to rank. For any keyword that can actually drive traffic, you must support it with off-the-page signals such as inbound links and social shares.

Second, if you build it, there must be a valid reason. Back in 2007, I learned that just because you can send people to your website through a blog post doesn't mean that you're achieving your SEO goals. At the end, it's not about traffic. It's about bringing in the right traffic and taking them to the right pages. SEO should help to sell more cars, not just drive more traffic to pages that have no chance of converting.

If you or a vendor build pages regularly on your website, you're already doing better than most dealers. However, doing better is not necessarily doing everything that can be done. Since more dealers and vendors are building content, it's so important to utilize the other factors within the Google algorithm to pull ahead of the pack.

In the coming weeks, we will be unveiling Octane, our strategy and service that enhances your website and digital presence in a way that generates traffic, leads, and sales. In the meantime, check out a description of Full Spectrum SEO, one of the major components of our Octane strategy.

Salespeople in automotive learn very quickly that standing on the point during drive time is the easiest way to grab an up.  You have first shot at the fresh meat as they roll onto the lot.  If they’re shopping, you’re eager to assist, right?  I vividly remember my first dealership having actual marks on the pavement, like some kind of treasure map, with x’s and o’s indicating the points which MUST be manned during peak traffic times.  There was one out front in the median between the entry and exit lanes, another at the end of the sidewalk in front of the new Chevy’s, and two more placed in the middle of the inventory lines.  Each day at t 11:45 AM sharp the loud speaker crackled to life and an authoritative voice boomed, “Gentlemen, It’s DRIVE TIME!” 

Drive times lasted from 11:45 AM to 1:00 PM, and resumed from 4:45 PM to 7:30 PM.  Every sales agent who was not actively engaged with a customer, in person, in the dealership scurried to the points and remained there until they grabbed a fresh up, or died trying.  If you were caught off-point, without a customer, during drive time, you were written up.  It was that serious.  Water breaks (for the weak) when the temperature hit 90 degrees, and bathroom breaks for “emergencies only” were our only solace from the lot.

These tactics were a bit intense, but they worked.  Too well, in fact, since each up generated a feeding frenzy I liken to throwing chum into a pool of sharks.  There were all out brawls, races to customer’s windows, and Spy vs. Spy-style subterfuge employed by the hungry, hot, tired sales people who often didn’t care if the up was good or bad, just so long as we could go INSIDE!   The idea was that every person who drove onto our lot was greeted promptly and if they were shopping, we were selling.  Nothing wrong with that.  The problem is that some sales people, managers, and dealers still believe the points are on the lot. 

This may come as a surprise to many of you, but the fresh meat is no longer outside your showroom windows, driving up uninformed with an open mind and time to spare.  The family trips to car dealerships to “look around” are long gone.  Even the much-loathed retort of “We’re just looking” has been silenced forevermore.  Today if you stand around on a pavement point greeting cars during drive time you’ll be nothing more than a concierge directing the APPOINTMENT of your colleague to her desk (or snaking them, which, if you still do this, a pox upon your house!)

The points have moved.  There are several locations to post up, and none of them are on the sidewalk.  First, you need to be present in search results pages on Google, Yahoo, and Bing, on page one, at the top and/or right hand column, in the sponsored results. Some people click the first result they see.  Be that.   But that’s not nearly enough.  More savvy shoppers look past the paid ads, to the organic listings, these are also your points.  You need to back up your paid ad with organic listings because the combination instills confidence in the shopper that you are, in fact, an authority on the matter.  Imagine all 10 organic listing on page one are your points, you should be stationed at as many of them as possible during drive time. 

Guess when drive time is?  It’s now.  Someone in your market is shopping for your product at this very moment, online.  I don’t care if you’re reading this at 11:45 AM, or 4:00 AM.  It’s drive time right now.  Standard websites might get you placement on one of the available points.  That means 9 points are unmanned.  Unacceptable.  There are no water breaks, or bathroom breaks from these points.  You know where else they’re “just looking”?  Facebook.  Be there. 

Facebook is equivalent to the point in the median between the entry and exit lanes of your brick and mortar dealership.  There are people coming and going all day long, maybe they are there for service and parts (a.k.a. cat videos and stalking their ex-boyfriend), but why not take a swing at them?   You got in front of every live body that crossed your point and made sure if they were shopping you were selling, right?  Do the same thing on Facebook.  There are countless ways now to decipher who is in the market for a new vehicle online, and to offer up assistance, before they ask, where they spend time.  Do that. 

There are more points, your website for example. Are you manning that post 24/7?  Is there a phone number with a live receptionist on the other end?  Is there managed chat, so they can reach out with any questions, 24/7?  Twitter, Pinterest, other social networks could be considered points, albeit the points in the back lot where the noobs get sent.  Don’t waste an awful lot of time on it, but have a presence, and pay attention to all your points, all the time.

The most important points are easy to man with a solid combination of content marketing and effective social media management and marketing.  You must CONSTANTLY generate quality content on, and off, your dealership’s website.  This is not a “set it and forget it” effort.  Quality content consists of unique text, images, video, and content-appropriate links.  Don’t copy and paste, and don’t half-ass your content.  Take the time to make it reader-friendly.  Don’t stop at your own site, that’s only one-third of the battle.  You need quality content off-site as well, and you must get on Facebook.  Posts to your front-facing page are a great start, advertising is a nice second step, next target your audience and deliver compelling in-feed marketing messages.  Get on the point. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, IT’S DRIVE TIME!!

Salespeople in automotive learn very quickly that standing on the point during drive time is the easiest way to grab an up.  You have first shot at the fresh meat as they roll onto the lot.  If they’re shopping, you’re eager to assist, right?  I vividly remember my first dealership having actual marks on the pavement, like some kind of treasure map, with x’s and o’s indicating the points which MUST be manned during peak traffic times.  There was one out front in the median between the entry and exit lanes, another at the end of the sidewalk in front of the new Chevy’s, and two more placed in the middle of the inventory lines.  Each day at t 11:45 AM sharp the loud speaker crackled to life and an authoritative voice boomed, “Gentlemen, It’s DRIVE TIME!” 

Drive times lasted from 11:45 AM to 1:00 PM, and resumed from 4:45 PM to 7:30 PM.  Every sales agent who was not actively engaged with a customer, in person, in the dealership scurried to the points and remained there until they grabbed a fresh up, or died trying.  If you were caught off-point, without a customer, during drive time, you were written up.  It was that serious.  Water breaks (for the weak) when the temperature hit 90 degrees, and bathroom breaks for “emergencies only” were our only solace from the lot.

These tactics were a bit intense, but they worked.  Too well, in fact, since each up generated a feeding frenzy I liken to throwing chum into a pool of sharks.  There were all out brawls, races to customer’s windows, and Spy vs. Spy-style subterfuge employed by the hungry, hot, tired sales people who often didn’t care if the up was good or bad, just so long as we could go INSIDE!   The idea was that every person who drove onto our lot was greeted promptly and if they were shopping, we were selling.  Nothing wrong with that.  The problem is that some sales people, managers, and dealers still believe the points are on the lot. 

This may come as a surprise to many of you, but the fresh meat is no longer outside your showroom windows, driving up uninformed with an open mind and time to spare.  The family trips to car dealerships to “look around” are long gone.  Even the much-loathed retort of “We’re just looking” has been silenced forevermore.  Today if you stand around on a pavement point greeting cars during drive time you’ll be nothing more than a concierge directing the APPOINTMENT of your colleague to her desk (or snaking them, which, if you still do this, a pox upon your house!)

The points have moved.  There are several locations to post up, and none of them are on the sidewalk.  First, you need to be present in search results pages on Google, Yahoo, and Bing, on page one, at the top and/or right hand column, in the sponsored results. Some people click the first result they see.  Be that.   But that’s not nearly enough.  More savvy shoppers look past the paid ads, to the organic listings, these are also your points.  You need to back up your paid ad with organic listings because the combination instills confidence in the shopper that you are, in fact, an authority on the matter.  Imagine all 10 organic listing on page one are your points, you should be stationed at as many of them as possible during drive time. 

Guess when drive time is?  It’s now.  Someone in your market is shopping for your product at this very moment, online.  I don’t care if you’re reading this at 11:45 AM, or 4:00 AM.  It’s drive time right now.  Standard websites might get you placement on one of the available points.  That means 9 points are unmanned.  Unacceptable.  There are no water breaks, or bathroom breaks from these points.  You know where else they’re “just looking”?  Facebook.  Be there. 

Facebook is equivalent to the point in the median between the entry and exit lanes of your brick and mortar dealership.  There are people coming and going all day long, maybe they are there for service and parts (a.k.a. cat videos and stalking their ex-boyfriend), but why not take a swing at them?   You got in front of every live body that crossed your point and made sure if they were shopping you were selling, right?  Do the same thing on Facebook.  There are countless ways now to decipher who is in the market for a new vehicle online, and to offer up assistance, before they ask, where they spend time.  Do that. 

There are more points, your website for example. Are you manning that post 24/7?  Is there a phone number with a live receptionist on the other end?  Is there managed chat, so they can reach out with any questions, 24/7?  Twitter, Pinterest, other social networks could be considered points, albeit the points in the back lot where the noobs get sent.  Don’t waste an awful lot of time on it, but have a presence, and pay attention to all your points, all the time.

The most important points are easy to man with a solid combination of content marketing and effective social media management and marketing.  You must CONSTANTLY generate quality content on, and off, your dealership’s website.  This is not a “set it and forget it” effort.  Quality content consists of unique text, images, video, and content-appropriate links.  Don’t copy and paste, and don’t half-ass your content.  Take the time to make it reader-friendly.  Don’t stop at your own site, that’s only one-third of the battle.  You need quality content off-site as well, and you must get on Facebook.  Posts to your front-facing page are a great start, advertising is a nice second step, next target your audience and deliver compelling in-feed marketing messages.  Get on the point. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, IT’S DRIVE TIME!!

When “normal” people think about car dealers their initial assumption is typically that we are a bunch of swindlers out to take them for all they are worth.  This is a fair assumption based on history, and unfortunately based on a very small portion of modern dealers.  In general, however, this misperception of the crooked car dealer couldn’t be further from the truth.  Most successful automotive sales people, dealer principles, OEMs and dealer partner companies are the most philanthropic souls I’ve had the pleasure to know.  Why the disconnect between reality vs. perception?  No one is talking about the good we are doing… not even us.

Every car dealer I know gives back in one way or another.  Some donate money. Others give away cars. Some organize volunteer opportunities for employees, host community appreciation events, or offer special discounts for service members, teachers, firefighters, etc.  The list of ways car dealerships support our communities is endless.  Why aren’t we broadcasting this good news?  Don’t we know Car Guys need the good press to help clear all our names?  Ironically, the reason is most likely just as honorable as the act of giving - we don’t want to toot our own horn.  Most dealers who give do so with no intention of reaping benefit.  They give for the sake of giving, helping, and growing communities, individuals, and making the world a better place.  It is never (or rarely) a marketing ploy, so the thought of “bragging” about it never crosses our minds.   

It’s understandable, even noble, to seek no fame or fortune in return for philanthropic efforts.  It is possible that some may misinterpret any mention of your good deeds as an arrogant act.  You can’t please all the people all the time, but you must get the word out.  There is a right way and a wrong way to mention your philanthropic affiliations in marketing, on your website, and on your social networking sites.  Let’s start with the wrong way.

Simply broadcasting the information is not enough:  “John Doe Dealership Donated $5,000 to the Boys and Girls Club.”  This opens you up to a lot of questions. Great!  Why?  What are they doing with that money?  Why the Boys and Girls Club and not one of the 150,000 other available non-profits?  Why didn’t John Doe Dealership donate that money to the Girl Scouts, United Way, or the Wounded Warrior Project?   Etc…

Instead, tell a story.  Explain your dealership’s philosophy of giving back.  Invite the viewer into your decision-making process regarding where you chose to contribute.  Offer individual testimonials from people directly impacted by your charity of choice.  Put a name, face, and story with the headline.  Give the reader an opportunity to learn more by including a call-to-action, and information on how they can join with you for greater impact.  Offer a place for them to suggest future efforts for your dealership’s consideration.  Instead of using language like “donated to” or “volunteered at”, use language which conveys a team effort, like “partnered with”, or “joined forces with.”  It softens the delivery and imparts a feeling of on-going support. 

It is vitally important to avoid any attempt to capitalize directly on your contribution.  Campaigns offering to donate $25 for every test drive, or $5 for every new Facebook like, while well-meaning, can come across as phony, pushy, and sales-y, leaving clients to question why you don’t just donate the money if you have it to give.  Contrarily, I believe an offer to donate a portion of proceeds is a safe idea.  It comes across less as an attempt to drum up business, and more as an attempt to include the shopper in the effort. 

A more impactful technique is to partner with one specific organization and become synonymous with their brand.  Offer ongoing support, group events, and sponsorships, be inextricably linked to a cause worth championing and never waver in your support.  Cause marketing works best by word-of-mouth, which takes time.  That said, you don’t have to sit back and wait. There is nothing wrong with using your visibility, and ad dollars, to help raise awareness and additional funds for your chosen partner. 

An excellent example of Cause Marketing done right comes from outside the automotive industry, from a chainsaw manufacturer, STIHL.  If you’re unfamiliar, they make the best selling chainsaw in the country, yet refuse to sell it in big box stores like Lowes and Home Depot, reserving their product, and support for mom and pop hardware shops.  STIHL launched IndedpendentWeStand.org, an independent website, as a hub, and easy search engine for independently owned businesses.  STIHL’s campaign to promote and educate consumers about small-business patronage has been wildly successful.  Their business, in turn, has flourished. 

From this we learn that Cause Marketing is not taboo, it is normal.  When a shopper visits your website, showroom, or Facebook page, they want to see what you’re doing that is making the world a better place.  They’re not going to ask you, and they are not going to look very hard, so don’t hide it on your “About Us” page, or bury it in the blog.  Feature it, highlight it, and invite them to join the crusade.  Don’t shy away from Cause Marketing, just be tactful.

When “normal” people think about car dealers their initial assumption is typically that we are a bunch of swindlers out to take them for all they are worth.  This is a fair assumption based on history, and unfortunately based on a very small portion of modern dealers.  In general, however, this misperception of the crooked car dealer couldn’t be further from the truth.  Most successful automotive sales people, dealer principles, OEMs and dealer partner companies are the most philanthropic souls I’ve had the pleasure to know.  Why the disconnect between reality vs. perception?  No one is talking about the good we are doing… not even us.

Every car dealer I know gives back in one way or another.  Some donate money. Others give away cars. Some organize volunteer opportunities for employees, host community appreciation events, or offer special discounts for service members, teachers, firefighters, etc.  The list of ways car dealerships support our communities is endless.  Why aren’t we broadcasting this good news?  Don’t we know Car Guys need the good press to help clear all our names?  Ironically, the reason is most likely just as honorable as the act of giving - we don’t want to toot our own horn.  Most dealers who give do so with no intention of reaping benefit.  They give for the sake of giving, helping, and growing communities, individuals, and making the world a better place.  It is never (or rarely) a marketing ploy, so the thought of “bragging” about it never crosses our minds.   

It’s understandable, even noble, to seek no fame or fortune in return for philanthropic efforts.  It is possible that some may misinterpret any mention of your good deeds as an arrogant act.  You can’t please all the people all the time, but you must get the word out.  There is a right way and a wrong way to mention your philanthropic affiliations in marketing, on your website, and on your social networking sites.  Let’s start with the wrong way.

Simply broadcasting the information is not enough:  “John Doe Dealership Donated $5,000 to the Boys and Girls Club.”  This opens you up to a lot of questions. Great!  Why?  What are they doing with that money?  Why the Boys and Girls Club and not one of the 150,000 other available non-profits?  Why didn’t John Doe Dealership donate that money to the Girl Scouts, United Way, or the Wounded Warrior Project?   Etc…

Instead, tell a story.  Explain your dealership’s philosophy of giving back.  Invite the viewer into your decision-making process regarding where you chose to contribute.  Offer individual testimonials from people directly impacted by your charity of choice.  Put a name, face, and story with the headline.  Give the reader an opportunity to learn more by including a call-to-action, and information on how they can join with you for greater impact.  Offer a place for them to suggest future efforts for your dealership’s consideration.  Instead of using language like “donated to” or “volunteered at”, use language which conveys a team effort, like “partnered with”, or “joined forces with.”  It softens the delivery and imparts a feeling of on-going support. 

It is vitally important to avoid any attempt to capitalize directly on your contribution.  Campaigns offering to donate $25 for every test drive, or $5 for every new Facebook like, while well-meaning, can come across as phony, pushy, and sales-y, leaving clients to question why you don’t just donate the money if you have it to give.  Contrarily, I believe an offer to donate a portion of proceeds is a safe idea.  It comes across less as an attempt to drum up business, and more as an attempt to include the shopper in the effort. 

A more impactful technique is to partner with one specific organization and become synonymous with their brand.  Offer ongoing support, group events, and sponsorships, be inextricably linked to a cause worth championing and never waver in your support.  Cause marketing works best by word-of-mouth, which takes time.  That said, you don’t have to sit back and wait. There is nothing wrong with using your visibility, and ad dollars, to help raise awareness and additional funds for your chosen partner. 

An excellent example of Cause Marketing done right comes from outside the automotive industry, from a chainsaw manufacturer, STIHL.  If you’re unfamiliar, they make the best selling chainsaw in the country, yet refuse to sell it in big box stores like Lowes and Home Depot, reserving their product, and support for mom and pop hardware shops.  STIHL launched IndedpendentWeStand.org, an independent website, as a hub, and easy search engine for independently owned businesses.  STIHL’s campaign to promote and educate consumers about small-business patronage has been wildly successful.  Their business, in turn, has flourished. 

From this we learn that Cause Marketing is not taboo, it is normal.  When a shopper visits your website, showroom, or Facebook page, they want to see what you’re doing that is making the world a better place.  They’re not going to ask you, and they are not going to look very hard, so don’t hide it on your “About Us” page, or bury it in the blog.  Feature it, highlight it, and invite them to join the crusade.  Don’t shy away from Cause Marketing, just be tactful.

When we first built our company in 2013, we had a big fear. It was a sense of urgency that drove us to make aggressive moves, hire talented people when we didn't have the revenue to support them, and drink lots of coffee to stay ahead of the competition. The fear came from the certainty that automotive social media vendors would catch wind about the true power of social media to drive local car buyers to the dealers' websites and produce an extremely high return on investment.

Fast forward to the middle of 2015 and as we approach our two-year anniversary, we're happy to say that there are only a handful (two that we know of for certain) who have adopted a proper combination of public posts and dark posts through targeted advertising that accomplishes the goal of selling more cars. The rest are still stuck in the same old social media strategies that have produced very little for the last five years.

When I say that we're happy about it, that's the business owner in me. The "car guy" portion is disgusted. How in the world can companies continue to peddle worthless social media products to car dealers? Social media has the data. Through sites like Facebook, dealers can target hand-raisers with relevant messages that bring them to the most important pages on a dealer's website: inventory, specials, and landing pages.

Why are we still seeing generic brand posts? Why are dealers being asked to pay thousands of dollars per month on PPC advertising when they can use social media dark posts to send great traffic at a fraction of the cost? Why aren't more vendors hopping on the bandwagon that's been going for nearly three years now?

It took a conversation with a friend who works at an OEM-level vendor to find the answer. "We know it works, but it's not scalable."

Oooooh. I get it now. It's not ignorance about the fact that these strategies work that keeps vendors from utilizing them. It's a focus on the financial component, the profit margin, that makes it less appealing to the vendor even though it's more effective for the dealers.

In a way, it's my fault. I haven't posted enough about it over the last two years in fear that we'll let the cat out of the bag. In a way, it's the dealers' fault. If you're here reading this, chances are you do not fall into that category since you're clearly researching the subject, but the majority of dealers are keeping these social media vendors going by buying mediocre products. They don't have a need to roll up their sleeves and work on the unscalable ROI-based aspect of social media marketing because they're doing just fine selling the stuff that doesn't work.

I should be rejoicing. I should be counting my blessings and acknowledging that this is what has allowed us to grow our company so well over the last year and a half. I'm not. I'm annoyed. The car business deserves better than what these vendors are pushing. I've been a vendor for nearly a decade but in the battle for where my heart is, I'm still a car guy. That's why this makes me so frustrated.

When we first built our company in 2013, we had a big fear. It was a sense of urgency that drove us to make aggressive moves, hire talented people when we didn't have the revenue to support them, and drink lots of coffee to stay ahead of the competition. The fear came from the certainty that automotive social media vendors would catch wind about the true power of social media to drive local car buyers to the dealers' websites and produce an extremely high return on investment.

Fast forward to the middle of 2015 and as we approach our two-year anniversary, we're happy to say that there are only a handful (two that we know of for certain) who have adopted a proper combination of public posts and dark posts through targeted advertising that accomplishes the goal of selling more cars. The rest are still stuck in the same old social media strategies that have produced very little for the last five years.

When I say that we're happy about it, that's the business owner in me. The "car guy" portion is disgusted. How in the world can companies continue to peddle worthless social media products to car dealers? Social media has the data. Through sites like Facebook, dealers can target hand-raisers with relevant messages that bring them to the most important pages on a dealer's website: inventory, specials, and landing pages.

Why are we still seeing generic brand posts? Why are dealers being asked to pay thousands of dollars per month on PPC advertising when they can use social media dark posts to send great traffic at a fraction of the cost? Why aren't more vendors hopping on the bandwagon that's been going for nearly three years now?

It took a conversation with a friend who works at an OEM-level vendor to find the answer. "We know it works, but it's not scalable."

Oooooh. I get it now. It's not ignorance about the fact that these strategies work that keeps vendors from utilizing them. It's a focus on the financial component, the profit margin, that makes it less appealing to the vendor even though it's more effective for the dealers.

In a way, it's my fault. I haven't posted enough about it over the last two years in fear that we'll let the cat out of the bag. In a way, it's the dealers' fault. If you're here reading this, chances are you do not fall into that category since you're clearly researching the subject, but the majority of dealers are keeping these social media vendors going by buying mediocre products. They don't have a need to roll up their sleeves and work on the unscalable ROI-based aspect of social media marketing because they're doing just fine selling the stuff that doesn't work.

I should be rejoicing. I should be counting my blessings and acknowledging that this is what has allowed us to grow our company so well over the last year and a half. I'm not. I'm annoyed. The car business deserves better than what these vendors are pushing. I've been a vendor for nearly a decade but in the battle for where my heart is, I'm still a car guy. That's why this makes me so frustrated.

Pulse rates are different depending on what artery you check and what method you use. Checking someone's carotid artery by hand can yield a slightly different result than taking it with a machine through the brachial artery. The same thing happens in the car business, which is why I like to talk to different people from different parts of the industry.

Today, a good friend gave me a pulse check on his dealers' opinions about SEO. The feeling he was getting is that all SEO products are the same in our industry. This took me by surprise because I see SEO from the exact opposite perspective; the differences between what one company considers SEO and what another company considers SEO is like comparing apples and orangutans. Some have bite. Others bite.

The reality from a completely biased source, me, can tell you with certainty that once you peel back the top layer, the differences are very clear. If there are multiple layers to peel back, the fruit is no good. Why? Because SEO isn't hard to understand. It's not complicated. It's not even that difficult to do. However, doing it right is time consuming. This is why so many companies opt for a magic trick version of SEO rather than actually rolling up the sleeves and getting to work.

The magic trick approach means that they like to use misdirection (and even redirection) to point to this factor and that action that they're doing in order to achieve a result that may or may not be clear. They produce reports that have lots of numbers and well-organized color charts. The have an SEO guru/expert/wizard who sounds like a literal snake oil salesman from an old Clint Eastwood movie.

The real approach builds content on and off site, takes advantage of the power of social media, and makes certain that the boring technical aspects like citations and Schema.org (though small those components may be) are in order. The reports are clear - substantial organic traffic increases with acceptable time on site and pages viewed as well as ranking tracking for important keywords.

The real approach also focuses on one thing: increasing business. No level of reporting and no acts of wizardry will accomplish this. If you're not selling more cars and getting more service business, your SEO isn't working.

Using cliches and analogies is the only way I can keep from getting upset by the state of the search engine optimization world for car dealers. You deserve better.