In an age of ever increasing noise thanks to all things digital and social media, dealerships – and many industries – are finding it harder and harder to cut through the noise.

And when it comes to so many businesses, while they might understand the idea of engaging content, they often all but rule out public relations.

As a matter of fact, the thought of many business owners of having to deal with the media usually conjures up images of investigations and nosey reporters. 

I get it, I do.  I’ve worked in BOTH the world of automotive AND the world of journalism, where I was a news producer for nearly 10 years.

But public relations can be a massively powerful tool.  ESPECIALLY when you combine it with a strong content marketing strategy.

Take, for example, a piece I wrote a couple of months ago – An Open Letter To College Crybabies from a CEO, picked up and published by New Boston Post.

As a marketer, I preach to my clients constantly about knowing your demographic.  So at first glance, you might read the piece and imagine that I’m targeting college students.  But the truth is just the opposite.  The piece resonated with countless business owners across the country.  AND with the media, because everyone seems to be talking about – and trying to understand – millennials.

Within three days, there were hundreds of thousands of shares and millions of eyeballs on the piece.  Media appearances and radio interviews all across the country.  A live interview on Fox and Friends (and of course countless eyerolls from liberals who hate Fox).  And more than 30,000 emails and messages – the vast majority of which were overwhelmingly supportive.

There are a couple of powerful lessons that came from this, and I hope you’ll take note:

1. Engage with your target demographic.  Know what they’re talking about and understand that social media isn’t about talking TO people – it’s about having conversations WITH them.
2. Don’t fear the media.  Yes, after everyone from Fox & Friends and Steve Crowder to Varney and Company and Barstool Sports started talking about it, I dealt with a lot of idiots anonymously posting crap about myself and the company.  But in the end, it’s all about an economy of scale.  The positive that comes out of controlling a narrative is very, very good.

With that, I’m sure some of you are at least a little interested in the piece that started the firestorm. 

I’d LOVE your thoughts on it in the comments below.  Enjoy!

----

Dear College Students,

I remember the stress of college. The anxiety of papers due. The uncertainty of relationships. The concerns about what I was going to do after graduation.

I get it. It’s tough.

I also remember professors who challenged our perceived notions of “right” and “wrong.” I recall being exposed to movies, books and papers that I massively disagreed with. Looking back, I can visualize the heated debates between people with different perspectives. I can almost hear the yelling, the screaming, the passion and the CHALLENGES.

You’re studying and learning during the Industrial Revolution of our generation. It’s exciting. It’s encouraging. It’s liberating. And yet somehow, it’s also leading to your wussification.

Before you get all offended and run to your “safe place,” understand that I pulled that word right out of one of your trusted resources of knowledge – urbandictionary.com.

Here’s the first hit for the word:

wussification (verb): The act of turning one into a wussy.

The mother has been wussifying her children from young age. 
The wussification of American children is notable.

I’m sorry. I hope you didn’t mistake this letter to be one that would tell you how wonderful you are and that you’re going to make the world a wonderful place. No, my friends, that’s not what this letter is at all. This is an open letter to all those of you who are whining your way through college looking for a safe place and an entitled hall pass.

I come with a very simple message. When you cast off that safety blanket and enter into the real world, this thing called life is going to slap you faster than you can say, “Do you want fries with that?”

I recently saw an article about these so-called “marginalized students” at the University of Arizona issuing 19 pages of demands.

Then, of course, the students at Emory University who needed counseling because they didn’t feel “safe” when they saw writing in chalk that said “Trump 2016.”

To all those of you looking for your “safe place,” I have to wonder: How the hell do you walk out of your dorm (or your parents’ basement) without getting hit by a bus every day?

So on behalf of CEO’s across the country, I’d like to share with you a few lessons that you might want to learn before graduation.

1. The Business World Doesn’t Give A Damn About You

No, really – it’s true. You saw something on the internet that you found offensive? You’ve got the sniffles? Your boyfriend broke up with you? Well, that sucks. Deal with it. I expect you to get your work done on time. Hit traffic that made you late for the fourth time this week? You should have learned after the first time that you needed to leave your house early.

Listen, even the best bosses have their breaking points. Excuses might fly in college, but they’re NOT going to fly when we’re paying you to actually get things done.

2. The Only Safe Place Is Your Home

In the real world – and especially the business world – we’re going to challenge you. We’re going to push you. We’re going to demand that you consider other perspectives. We’re going to rip your ideas to shreds from time to time. And we’re going to insist that you play nicely with others to find ideas that actually work and implement them.

We’re going to get really pissed when you don’t deliver, and we’re going to get even more pissed when you cost us money because you weren’t willing to hustle hard enough to get the job done. And if you slack off enough, there’s no “bell curve” that’s going to save your ass from a big fat pink slip. Lucky for you there are enough people working in the unemployment office who’ve also been wussified by the system to make sure that even though you were fired for not showing up to work, you’ll probably still get to collect unemployment and sit on your ass.

3. There’s No Such Thing As “Free”

I get it. You’ve been told that money grows on trees, that education should be free for all and that everything in life should be handed to you on a silver platter.

But welcome to the big kids’ playground. You want that health insurance? It’s going to cost you. Oh, you don’t want it? That will cost you too. You want an apartment? A house? A car? Believe it or not, you need to actually come up with some money for that! Oh, and you can quit your whining about taxes. Because SOMEONE has to pay for all of that “free” stuff – and now it’s you, sucker.

4. If You Don’t Want To Be A Victim, Then Don’t Be

In college, any time your feelings were hurt, you were a victim. If you were challenged, the challenger was a “bigot” and you were the poor person who had their feelings hurt. Here in the real world, we expect you to be challenged and to understand that humility is just as important as bravado. Selflessness is more important that selfishness. The content of who you are as a person is more important than the color of your skin or your socio-economic background or your sex or your weight or your religious affiliation.

5. Success Is Hard Work

We’re not going to give you five breaks a day. You’re going to have to work nights and weekends from time to time. You want to make “the big bucks”?  Then consider a nine-hour workday to be a part-time job. You’re most likely NOT going to graduate college and find a six-figure job. Hell, you’re going to be lucky if you find ANY job … and you should be grateful when you find it. Grateful … and prepared to work like a maniac to get ahead. Because in the real world, you don’t get a pass just because mommy and daddy are paying your bills.

So, ladies and gentlemen, enjoy the remainder of your time being gentle little snowflakes. Revel in the time you have at the world’s most expensive daycares across the country. Because soon, you’ll be in OUR world. And it’s about to get real.

Sincerely,

Kyle S. Reyes
President/CEO

POSTED BY

Kyle Reyes is President and CEO of The Silent Partner Marketing.  He's also an acclaimed Keynote Speaker on entrepreneurship, leadership, marketing and social media.  You can find him on Facebook, LinkedIn and Snapchat (@dasilentpartner).

We all know that drinking and driving don’t mix.  But drinking and car shopping?  Perhaps that’s a different story.

Check this out.  A new study called “Behind The Bottle: An Exploration of Trends in the Spirits Category” found many millennials buy expensive booze so they can post pictures of themselves drinking “cool” brands on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.  They say it impresses their friends and helps them gain social equity. 

In the same study, 42 percent of adults aged 21-and-up say that digital media helps them “get ideas and recommendations of what spirits to buy”.  Only 24 percent cited traditional media including TV, print and radio to influence their alcohol purchase.  The number one factor?  “Word of mouth” which weighed in a 59 percent.

According to the study, 28 percent of millennials endorsed the statement “I sometimes order a premium brand just to impress my peers,” compared to only 11 percent of Baby Boomers.

Apply the mindset to the automotive world now.  It’s interesting data when it comes to the thought process of many dealerships.  Take, for example, this story that a dealer shared with us last week.

A 28-year-old guy came into the showroom and was looking at vehicles on the floor.  The sales guy assumed, based on his age and appearance, that the buyer would be looking for a lower end vehicle. 

Imagine his surprise when the guy ended up buying a fully loaded Mustang.

The guy’s reasoning?  “I know it’s not very practical in New England, but damn am I going to look cool on Snapchat in this thing.”

In order to understand the buyer, we need to understand their desires.  In the case of this particular buyer, social equity was massively important. 

In fact, he went so far as to tell the dealer he came into the showroom because he had seen some of the dealership videos that friends who purchased from there shared on social media.  The fact that the buyer was Snapchatting and posting on Facebook from the lot should have been a tip off for the sales team.

As the press release pertaining to the booze and millennial study puts it, “knowledge of spirits is becoming social currency among millenials.”

But isn’t knowledge of products as a whole social currency?  God knows it is in the world of automotive.

Remember, the road to the sale for the millennial is often a different road than you’re use to taking.  They don’t just want to be sold – they want to be engaged.  They want to feel good about doing business with you. 

But most importantly?  They want you to provide an experience – from social to the showroom floor – that is convenient for them and fits their expectations.

POSTED BY

Kyle Reyes is President and CEO of The Silent Partner Marketing.  He's also an acclaimed Keynote Speaker on entrepreneurship, leadership, marketing and social media.  You can find him on Facebook  LinkedIn and Snapchat (@dasilentpartner).

I should probably start with a disclaimer.  This article is going to piss off other advertising and marketing agencies.  Especially those that “specialize” in the world of “automotive”.

It’s going to make Dealers angry.  It’s going to frustrate BDC managers.

But perhaps most of all, it’s probably going to have you shaking your head in agreement…because FINALLY someone is talking about that which you’ve suspected.

Your ad agency is taking you, Mr. and Ms. Automotive, for a ride.

I’m talking about display advertising.  You know, all of those banners that you’re spending tens of thousands of dollars a month on.

You’ve long suspected that something wasn’t right.  Not just because of your ridiculously, painfully atrocious CTR that your ad agency insists is well above “industry average”.  But you’ve suspected it because you have fat fingers.  And you’re constantly accidentally clicking on the ads while trying to find the damn (x) button to close the ad so you can just read your article.

You’re not alone.  The entire business model of display advertising will soon be forced to take a knee.

A new report from PageFair and Priori Data shows that nearly 420 million people worldwide, or one in five smartphone users, is now using ad blocking software on their cellphones.  That’s an increase of 90% over last year.

It’s a huge number.  But more important is the fact that it’s indicative of a trend.

Listen, we work in a LOT of different industries…and I can tell you that for as advanced as the world of automotive believes it is, it’s not.  While many industries started shifting away from banner ads more than a year ago…you guys are throwing cash at these companies as if they were a world class stripper in Vegas.  And just like in Vegas, it’s leaving you wondering why you’ve got nothing to show for your money besides frustration and an empty wallet.

So for just a minute, let’s pretend we aren’t selling cars.  Let’s pretend we are just every day people in the market to buy a car….surfing the internet from our smart phones.  Perhaps a change in context will make you just pissed enough that you finally start looking at why you’re throwing away money.

Let’s dive into the secrets behind why so many marketers are still selling you something that stopped working a couple of years ago. 

Be where the eyeballs are. It’s a message that I beat our clients over the head with. It’s why we’re making a massive land grab on Snapchat. It’s why we pushed our clients to be insanely aggressive with Facebook and Instagram Dark Posts. You need to be where the eyeballs are.  A few weeks ago, I appeared on Fox and Friends to discuss millennials – which is an absolutely massive “generation” that dealerships are struggling to figure out how to market to.  These are eyeballs you NEED to get in front of.

But here’s the problem. There are many people who skew the “eyeballs” to make it look like they are actually where they are NOT.

For example, I’ve seen companies make presentations showing the 3.2 million impressions that a banner ad made…but not report on the fact that only 9 people clicked on the ad. So make sure you know where the eyeballs are – but understand how to make sure they look at you.

Viewers are fatigued. It seems like every day, there’s a new study showing that readers on the web glaze over banner ads. As you scroll past them, they’ve become an “impression”. Did you see it? Probably not. Interestingly an “impression” doesn’t actually mean that a person saw it – only that it was sent to your computer. 

The Internet Advertising Bureau defines “impression” as “a measurement of responses from an ad delivery system to an ad request from the user’s browser”.

What does that mean? Well, combined with the fact that viewers suffer from fatigue…and now that we know an “impression” doesn’t necessarily mean someone sees it…we see a recipe for fraud.

How about these two studies? Adobe found that 33% of internet users find display ads to be completely intolerable.

Even worse - BannerSnack reports that: 61% of users say they click ads just because they don’t want to be interrupted while reading content, 57% are afraid of receiving SPAM from advertisers or getting a virus, and 54% of users don’t click banner ads because they don’t trust them.

Another study found that just 2.8% of participants thought ads on a given website were relevant.

That sure doesn’t bode well for the goal of “conversions”.

Fraudulent clicks cost you – big. You can read all over about how companies hire other companies or individuals to “click” ads – something that costs you (or your client) money. 

But have you heard about the “one by one”? Probably not. It’s where advertisers compress ads into one pixel by one pixel squares which are literally impossible to see but can serve up massive impressions. Then malware is used to send people to sites they never planned on visiting.

How about the less illegal and more obnoxious problem here? That’s right – the accidental click.

You’ve all done it when your fat thumb pressed the wrong thing. So you cost the business you ended up on a couple of bucks for accidentally clicking their ad.

But while doing so, you also drove down their Google Quality Score because you spent no time on the website and drove up their bounce rate…which, of course, will result in a higher cost per click for their future ads.

Yes, this is also happening to your business. Be aware.

Be where the eyeballs are.   Understand what the trends are predicting when it comes to consumers.  And start making your ad buying decisions not based on metrics alone, but based on your experiences as a consumer as well.