Dealers struggle all of the time trying to find value in social media marketing - Facebook in particular, and hesitate when deciding whether Facebook (or social media marketing in general) is worth their time, effort or money.

Perhaps it’s because they don’t see direct results? They may be looking for a straight line between expense and sales. However, for the most part, that metric is difficult to attain without a very knowledgeable person on staff, or an experienced vendor.

So, is social media all about sales?

In selecting the most effective advertising, marketers will study the demographics, viewership or potential reach. It doesn’t matter if it’s print, radio, television, Internet, or any other form of advertising - the more people reached, the more expensive the medium typically is. Want to run your commercial during an episode of “The Walking Dead?” Be prepared to pay a pretty penny. Throw it up at 2am during a re-run of “Friends” and it’ll cost much less.

What does this have to do with social media marketing - Facebook, in particular?

On Wednesday, August 27, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that “On Monday, 1 in 7 people on Earth used Facebook to connect with their family and friends.”  This means that over a BILLION people logged into Facebook on a single day. With a little over 1.5 billion active accounts, on that one day, two-thirds of Facebook users decided Facebook was important enough to check out what was going on in the world. That’s three times the population of the entire United States!

As Facebook continues to absorb more and more new technologies, an increasing number of daily and active users log in. And, while it is well-known that YouTube is the number two search engine in the world, Facebook’s big push for video is a direct threat to that ranking.

Google has just about abandoned its social networking ambitions with Google+, meanwhile Facebook is making itself more useful to users by courting publishers, celebrities, music stars and just about every type of content and service that consumers need or want. This will only increase the usage of each person. It used to be that people logged into Facebook simply to see what their friends were up to. Now they’re doing that and MUCH more, such as searching for news articles, pop culture and other topics of interest.

There’s little doubt that Facebook is becoming more and more attractive for its users in general. This will only translate into more active use. Because of this, it would be wise to consider that there is probably no advertising medium with a greater reach potential at a price point that can compete with Facebook. Over the years, Facebook has tracked usage and collected an incredible about of information about its members. This data enables advertisers to target an audience with pinpoint precision and deliver a message to customers that has more impact. Paid advertising on Facebook is just one way to benefit from this social media platform. Through engagement with customers in an organic and personal way, you can also better showcase your dealership’s unique personality and interact with the people that matter the most – your customers.

If you’ve been struggling to decide whether Facebook is something you want to include in your marketing mix, there are now a billion reasons to reconsider.

An interesting study has been going on for the last 6 month over at Twitter. As it was increasingly seeing users use the platform for brand interactions, the company decided to see just how much of an impact those interactions had. Users were identified that had at some point interacted with a brand’s Twitter account for customer service and 14,000 were surveyed. The results were actually quite amazing.

According to Twitter, when brands interacted with users in a personalized manner, 20 percent of those users were more likely to reach a resolution, while 25 percent were more likely to be satisfied.

And, when customers received friendly customer service interactions with brands, 76 percent of those customers said that they were likely to recommend the brand. Whereas, if the service was unfriendly, 82 percent surveyed stated that they were unlikely to recommend the brand.

That’s huge. And don’t think it doesn’t apply to the automotive industry. In fact, according to the report, 82 percent of the people interacting with a brand in the automotive space felt more positively towards the brand after receiving a customer service response.

There’s no doubt that consumers are increasingly taking to social media channels for customer service issues. It’s much faster to send a tweet out to a company when a problem or issue needs resolving. It’s certainly more pleasant than calling, waiting on hold, being shuffled around to multiple people and then having to explain the issue several times to get resolution. Have you ever had a flight delayed, or some other issue with an airline while at an airport? An airline’s customer service call centers (and even the physical desk) can become inundated and overwhelmed when problems occur. Savvy travelers realize that most of these airlines pay close attention and respond to these issues faster via social media. The reasoning behind a company choosing to remedy customer issues on social media faster than in person, or via other forms of communication is probably very simple: When a customer seeks help or voices a complaint online, the world is watching. Whereas when it’s on the phone or in person, the audience is limited.

If you have an active social media presence and regularly publish content, be aware that consumers take note of that. And, if they interact with you via social media, they expect a response. While Twitter reported that customer service response times by brands was extremely varied -- ranging from 4 seconds to 221 hours, the average response time was 1 hour and 24 minutes. That, however, is 24 minutes longer than consumers expect. Twitter reported that 60 percent of consumers expected brands to respond within an hour.

This report illustrates that, while most companies focus on finding and publishing great content, those that also engage their audience when problems arise reap huge benefits and score big with customers.  Just as online reviews should be closely monitored, and any posting quickly responded to, be aware that other social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have themselves become review sites and customer service centers. Pay attention, be responsive and friendly and personalize those responses. This will lead to more positive brand image and, ultimately, will result in a happier customers more likely to stick around and, more importantly, willing to send their friends your way.

Think about the last time you scrolled through your Facebook newsfeed, Twitter account or Instagram feed. How long did you spend on each post? My guess is probably less than a second. Most people don’t spend a lot of time analyzing and reading every post that infiltrates their newsfeed from their networks. A typical user will scroll through and, when something catches their attention, perhaps an image, a video, a close friend’s status update, or some wildly popular post gathering a bunch of likes and comments… they stop and pay attention. Our lives have become digitally inundated with information.

Earlier this year, Microsoft published a 54-page report that released the results of an extensive research study conducted on 2,000 people, starting in the year 2000. 15 years ago, these participants had an average attention span of twelve seconds. By the end of the study, that span had dropped to eight seconds… just one second below the attention span of a goldfish, according to Microsoft. The researchers went on to state that participants “with more digital lifestyles (those who consume more media, are multi-screeners, social media enthusiasts, or earlier adopters of technology) struggle to focus in environments where prolonged attention is needed.”

Does this mean that as a society, things have become less important? No. What it means is that we have increasingly more noise in our lives coming at us from more venues. It means we are having to make conscious decisions on where to place our attention and on what content.  

As digital marketers fight for consumers’ attention, knowing that they may have just one shot at gaining it, how do they increase the odds in their favor? When people go to a social media platform, they typically do so to see what’s going on in their networks. They interact with the people they feel the most connected to, along with the content that has been shared that interests them. While everyone has different interests - some people like news, some like to talk politics, some want funny cat pictures and yes, some want to play Candy Crush - the one constant among everyone on social media is that they interact with their close friends and family from afar.

So, if we only have a brief moment to capture a customer’s attention, deliver our brand message or establish a recommendation - whether that’s direct (“Hey, these guys are great! They totally rock as a car dealership!”) Or indirect (“Hey check out my new car!”) - The best way to gain that exposure is by branded content. Yes, in a perfect world you’d want to be able to create the content, brand the image then deliver it to the customer for them to share. That will get the best results. But, if you are unable to accomplish that, why not offer to take a picture of the customer in front of their new vehicle where you control the background and imagery  -- such as making sure the dealership’s branded plates are showing. Or the store is in the background. Most customers will let you do this. If you don’t do it, they will take a picture of their new vehicle themselves and share it. But it will probably be in their driveway and may or may not have your branding. By providing them with a good quality picture, the customer is likely to feel less of a need to take their own picture later -- because they’ll already have a picture - and it’s that much more likely to be shared with their network.

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s hard for businesses to cut through the noise. Consumers are bombarded with advertising messages across all mediums from companies that claim they, or their product, is the best. Generally, these messages go in one ear and out the other.

So, how do you get the attention of today’s message-fatigued consumer?
 

It’s a well –known fact that people do business with people and companies they like.  Think of all of the Disney fanatics, Starbucks loyalists and Nordstrom shoppers. They experienced a magic, or some sort of experience, that resonated with them. Who knows exactly how a customer becomes a brand advocate. The point is that they did. Every business wants customers raving about them to their friends, family, associates and others, through social media posts.

True brand advocates are typically those customers that have had great experiences with your dealership.  However, the tricky part is that potential customers don’t know how great you are until they come into your dealership and experience it for themselves. When they do have that great experience, you then get to benefit from great CSI scores, positive online reviews and the power of word-of-mouth.

So, if the key to creating a customer brand advocate is providing an excellent customer experience, how do you convince a POTENTIAL customer that they should do business with you over your competitor?
 

The key to convincing these potential customers that you offer a great car buying experience could actually be right in front of you – your employees.

If you’ve cultivated a great workplace atmosphere for your employees, right there you could have a built-in group of brand advocates. These employees can help you spread the word and show potential customers that your dealership is different, unique and has a great personality.

There are likely several examples that could be used – fun birthday celebrations;  a thank you letter from a customer about an employee who went out of their way to help, that is read aloud at a staff meeting; blood drives; employee barbeques; Christmas parties – you name it.  

Sadly, in most cases, all of those great experiences are invisible to potential customers. The customers don’t see that you have engaged and happy employees. They perhaps just see a gorilla on your roof, balloons on the cars -- maybe even a wavy arm man flapping in front of the driveway.

That doesn’t have to be the case, though.

How about photographing, videoing and then sharing these staff experiences, moments and activities with your audience through social media and other mediums?

This can help your dealership to develop a unique personality that transcends pricing or inventory. Show the world that you know how to have fun, that your customers love you and that there are real people behind your manufacturer branded-sign.

At some point in a car buyer’s journey, they will start making a decision as to who they want to do business with. Would a potential customer rather do business with that brand new pickup that’s $10,000 off MSRP, just like every other competitor?  Or with a dealership that engages them, that lets them virtually peak into the showroom and discover that it is much more than a parking lot filled with cars -- One that is filled with real people who enjoy what they do. Where customers are happy -- and, most importantly, a dealership that is filled with people -- with interests and likes similar to theirs? Wouldn’t you want to go someplace like that? So would your customers.

In this highly regulated industry, there has been some recent debate as to if dealership salespeople should be allowed to establish and control their own personal branding.

In the past, personal branding by salespeople was geographically restricted, simply because the technology didn’t exist to go much further. Salespeople would find strategic places to display their business cards, or they would perhaps create magnets, or other items, which would then be given away to their customers. However, in today’s globally connected world, personal branding efforts can reach far beyond the local community and touch a much larger audience.

There are many examples of salespeople that have increased their visibility, resulting in increased opportunities and higher sales numbers. One could argue for or against these practices. Or perhaps find a middle ground. Differing opinions certainly exist out there. Let’s examine some pros and cons:

In Favor: Salespeople who do engage in personal branding efforts argue that they are spending their own money to generate additional sales. In return, this makes them more money. And, as a side benefit, it also increases sales for the dealership. By default, their own personal branding efforts, using such tools as Facebook, and other social media platforms, generate additional buzz and exposure for the dealership. Through their own personal branding activities, these salespeople are able to connect with customers they may not previously have been able to. If done well, these personalized interactions can help to make customers feel special. They also can serve to develop dealership loyalty along with referrals. In essence, this personalized approach can help to create brand advocates for the dealership itself.

Against: Dealers need to be aware that, while the FTC isn’t quite caught up yet, it will be soon and will be gunning for dealerships. There have been several recent cases in which dealerships have been fined for lack of disclaimers in social media ads and messages. The FTC has made it quite clear that advertising compliance extends to all advertising, including social media content. In addition, ads need to be clearly labeled as such. Personal branding messages by salespeople can, at times, contain messaging that could conflict with those rules. An easy example would be if a salesperson produced and posted a YouTube video about a sale with a blanket statement, “$10,000 off all Chevrolet Silverados.”  The problem is that the FTC will no longer distinguish between a salesperson’s individual activities and the dealership’s. As an employee, these personal branding activities have the potential of placing the dealership at risk for liability through advertising that fails to be in compliance. This liability could result in hefty fines.

On the other side of the coin, with the industry-wide problem of high employee turnover, what happens when that salesperson leaves? There have been some recent examples whereby the salesperson was so effective at personal branding that they become the de facto face of the dealership, simply through the volume of content they generated.

Regardless of which side of the fence you choose, the fact is that more and more salespeople see the value of these activities and are working hard to market themselves first, and the dealership by default. As other salespeople recognize the financial benefits, we may see this activity increase and dealers may be forced to take action.

There are definitely two sides to the coin here – some huge positives, but also some strong cautions as well. What are your thoughts on personal branding by salespeople?