All too often we get wrapped up in trying to make a sale or gain a lead that we do not brush ourselves up on what it actually takes to acquire either. Days of adding just a few video shots or photos of a vehicle with pricing and its features are over, customers now find that a cold form of relinquishing their loyalty.

Instead you need to appeal to the softer side of the consumer and evoke a positive emotion that will appeal to the demographic you are targeting by telling a story.

Ford has certainly been a leader in changing the way they choose to communicate with their customers, not only through the proper use of Social Media, but by turning their advertising into stories rather than spewing cars and trucks at their audience.

Doug the puppet who was the spokes puppet for the 2012 Ford Focus, which either had some dealers thinking it, was either ridiculous or genius.

It was genius, and the reason a puppet was added in, is due to the emotional connection people could have with a witty tantalizing puppet that spent many hours in the Ford Focus, therefore making it a prop people could connect to because of Doug.

This turned into Doug having a following on YouTube, a Facebook page just for Doug and a puppet that became an instant viral sensation. Why? Because he was likable and Ford changed the way the Automotive Industry should relate to their potential customers.

Telling a story is the ideal form of captivating an audience, though you need to strategize and prepare long before you ever take the idea to the public. You don’t need professional equipment; you simply need a creative idea that incorporates your vehicle(s) as a part of the story and throw in features of the vehicle naturally as a part of the storyline.

Many Motor companies will add vehicles as props in television shows and movies, and pay a high price to have their vehicle associated. You can do it too, minus the television show, movie and high cost budget, instead make your own.

Whether you choose to take it to YouTube, add it to print or Media Advertising, the old school way is not going to help you gain new customers, instead gain connections by becoming a story teller and evoke emotion when amplifying a specific vehicle which in turn will do so for your Dealership.

Doug the puppet has retired from Ford, yet Ford keeps pushing the innovative button with more videos on YouTube that tell a story when advertising. Here is just one example of bringing the Ford Escape vehicle into the spotlight.

There's something that can be said about transparency. It's hard as an automotive vendor to be completely transparent. I know because for the first few years that I worked in the industry there were many things in the world of SEO and social media marketing in particular that could not be shared with our clients. It wasn't that they were bad or anything, but we had fears that our techniques would be copied by competitors.

I've learned three things in the last couple of years that helped to change my mind:

1. If a competitor really wants to steal something, they will regardless of how much you try to cover it up
2. Just because others know how I create strategies or techniques doesn't mean that competitors will be willing to take it to the right level
3. Dealers deserve to know exactly what is happening in their marketing when it comes to search and social (and just about everything else) regardless of the risks associated with trade secrets being leaked

The transition to complete transparency can be seen on this and other sites as we've embraced education as a driving force in our marketing. The company culture at KPA demands being a true partner with our clients. Partners share their secrets.

This post isn't intended as a plug for us, though. It's a warning about a trend in the industry away from transparency that has me worried. If I'm worried, you should be as well. The reason it worries me is because the tools and players that encompass search and social marketing in the automotive industry - namely Google, Facebook, Bing, Yelp, Twitter, etc - are gaining the ability to see through nearly any attempt to manipulate them. Penguin. Yelp "call outs". Facebook bannings. There was a time when risks were low for those willing to use greyhat techniques.

Those days are behind us.

Ask questions. Lots of them. When you're considering any service whether it's reputation management, search engine optimization, social media marketing, mobile advertising, or anything that uses an outside company's platform to broadcast your message (which accounts for just about everything in digital marketing), be absolutely certain that you are completely aware of their techniques and strategies.

Too many vendors are hiding behind the wall of "proprietary technology and/or techniques" and dealers are being hurt as a result. There is no technique in our industry that is so spectacular that a vendor is unable to divulge it. If it's a secret, it's probably dangerous.

Embrace transparency and make sure your partners do the same. There's too much at stake in this ultra-competitive market to roll the dice on something so hot that it can't be revealed.

I look to my good friend Ralph Paglia as the beacon on this one. He has never developed a strategy that he wouldn't readily share with his competitors over a beer. Why? Because he's always been confident that his strategies and techniques could not be used against him. He knows that if he does what he does, others can follow but never surpass. That's confidence. Don't let your vendors hide behind the curtain of proprietary. The curtain is likely just a smokescreen covering up something you don't want to be involved with at your dealership.

It seems as though YouTube is usually left to the waste side due to Dealers feeling as though it takes too much time or effort in keeping up their channel, or even more so coming up with a subject to talk about without making it sound like an advertisement. Getting inspired to make a video can be as easy as capitalizing on the people and customers that surround you daily, even your inventory can make an appearance, but how?

You need to evoke emotion.

You can make a YouTube video using your smartphone or digital camera; it doesn’t need to be a fancy production, just a clean one. Try to keep it steady or invest in a tri-pod to be your camera person. Have your sales reps be advocates of the dealership by sharing which car they love the most or by sharing their story of how they became a part of the Dealership.

Tap into loyal customers and ask for reviews on their vehicles or to have them share their customer service experience on camera.

Showcase your inventory by telling a story about the car, more like what the car can do FOR you than how much it will cost or quickly going over its specs. Instead, share how to use the Ford Sync or why your form of the mini-van is great for families, walk them through it as a friend, not a salesperson.

In the following video you can learn more on how your Dealership can use YouTube with three easy steps in 3 minutes.

Most dealers know what to do. Get testimonials. Get pictures of happy customers. These can be turned into Facebook gold.

The problem is that the pictures of happy customers are often about as boring as a picture can be. There's a customer standing in front of their new car. Sure, they look happy, but is it going to get anyone's attention? Is it going to get comments from local prospects, even the friends of the person who is in the picture?

Usually, the answer is no. Thankfully, there's an easy fix to this. Make the pictures fun!

Advantage Autoworks does a great job at getting (or making) good pictures of their customers. Here are some examples:

The Connected Customer

Nothing says "I trust them" like interaction between the customer and the salesperson. When it's genuine, it allows your dealership to highlight the personal attention you give your customers. This is a differentiator as most car buyers are not used to working with people they can truly like at the car dealership.

The Style Shot

This is an exciting moment for your customer. Encourage them to express their real feelings, their real style. Automobiles embody moments of pride. Let them show it.

Feature Highlight

If they bought a convertible, this is the right shot to take. If they bought a truck, don't get them standing in front of it. Get them in the truck bed leaning over the cabin. Moonroof? Get them to stick their head out. There's a ton of options to make the photo fun.

Action Pose

This is the hardest one, but can be very fun. In this image, they have a Jeep. Where does a Jeep belong? Yep, climbing rocks. If they bought a sports car, get them to do a quick burnout (with permission from the GM, of course) and snap the photo with smoke coming off the rear tires.

A Different Angle

You won't always be able to get a customer to do much more than pose in front of the car. If that's the case, make in interesting with angles. Shoot from the side. Shoot from the ground. Shoot from up above as with the image above. It's not ideal, but at least it's not a straight-on shot of the customer and their car.

Sometimes, I'm ready to give up on Twitter. It's not that I don't know with an absolute certainty that it can be an extremely effective marketing, branding, and communication tool for car dealers. It's that I can't seem to convince many dealers that it's an extremely effective marketing, branding, and communication tool.

The biggest roadblock is that it's so easy to automate. Between Facebook and blog posts, it's possible to have a robust Twitter presence that's basically "set it and forget it". The problem is that when it's forgotten, it wilts and dies even though content is flowing in through feeds.

Real Twitter users use two things that differentiate themselves from the "bots" on Twitter. They reply to people with @replies which can be easily seen in a 5 second scan of someone's Twitter feed and they use hashtags to either classify their Tweets or insert a bit of personality into them. It is here that you can get the most benefit out of Twitter as a broadcasting tool (though I would argue that it's much better used as a listening tool, but that's an entire other blog post).

Here's a quick video with some basic tips about hashtags, just in case you aren't fully familiar with them.

This is one of those topics in which everyone will have an opinion. Some will agree in part and disagree with other components, but the hope is to stir up some discussion on the topic. We've tested these ideas and continue the constant flow of more testing; social media is always changing.

Before going much further, it's extremely important to understand one aspect of this list that is universal, particularly in the automotive industry. Time is the primary factor. If someone came to me and asked me to devise a comprehensive strategy that a full-time social media marketing employee could implement and manage, it would be different from what I've put below. Blogging, for example, is an afterthought in the list below as it can be extremely time-consuming to do properly, but if there's a full-timer handling social media, blogging would jump from the bottom to the top.

Conversely, those who have no time at all and are squeezing in 5 minutes a day at the most would also need a more streamlined strategy.

These suggestions are for the average dealer who an employee such as the internet manager squeezing in 20 minutes to an hour a day into their social media strategy. Technically, this could fill up more than an hour a day if more attention is paid to vetting content on other pages, sharing, and commenting, but we'll assume those activities, high-value though they are, fall into the category of "if you have time between all of the other things you have to do every day."

Here's the hierarchy as I see it:

1. Facebook

This one is the no-brainer on the list. If you only have time to do one thing in social media, it would be Facebook. They have the traction. They have the attention of your customers. They have the exposure.

You should be posting 1-3 pieces of content at a minimum to your dealership Facebook pages, even on weekends. More is better but don't overdo it. Don't crowd your posts, either. In other words, don't fill the three-a-day requirement by stacking three posts on top of each other. They have to be spread out.

2. Google+

This is probably the most controversial positioning on the hierarchy. There are still plenty of dealership who don't even have a Google+ page. Some think they have a Google+ page because they have a Google Local profile that's tied into Google+, but if you're not posting content socially, you don't really have a valid business page.

Rather than explaining why it's important and so high on the list (that is a complete blog post of its own), let me explain why you should do it even if you're not a believer. It doesn't add much time. If you are posting to Facebook, posting the same exact content to Google+ adds a couple of minutes of work if you're slow.

3. Twitter

For most dealers going into 2013, Twitter seems to be a "check box item". In other words, if they have their Facebook and other social profiles feeding into their Twitter account, then they're Twitter is covered. This isn't exactly true.

Twitter should have the highest frequency of posts. You will want to post things to Twitter much more often than the other networks. Thankfully, you can use the other networks to streamline the tweeting efforts. One thing that very few dealers are doing well is actually engaging with others on Twitter. For the most part, Twitter is a defensive tool. You want your Twitter profile to appear active and engaging to those who visit it from your website. You want people with problems to hit you on Twitter for resolutions. It's the safest network from an exposure perspective to receive complaints, so encouraging interaction by simply engaging with others will make that possible.

4. YouTube

It's not for every dealer. There's no need to have an active YouTube channel just for the sake of having an active YouTube channel. If you aren't making videos, don't force it by simply posting other people's videos. An inactive YouTube account can do more harm than good. Either do it or don't. Nothing in between.

5. Tumblr

This is higher on the list than others for the same reason that Google+ is so high - it's easy. We did a webinar on Tumblr a while back and the reasoning there still applies today. It can help with SEO, reputation management, and exposure and does not require a ton of extra effort to make it effective.

6. Pinterest

Some say that Pinterest is on the decline. They are correct to some measure, but that doesn't make it less valuable (yet). Today, the passions of the users are still strong and having an active Pinterest presence can have an impact. Again, like Google+ and Tumblr, Pinterest is also too easy to skip.

7. ScoopIt

Many people are unfamiliar with Scoop.It now, but they won't be unfamiliar forever. It's the next big thing, similar to Pinterest in some ways but with a more business-oriented demeanor and functionality. Please contact me directly if you have an questions about Scoop.It - early adopters will be thankful that they did it.

8. The Others

Foursquare, LinkedIn, and Instagram can be valuable if they are worked in properly with the dealership's marketing efforts. They are "tweeners" in that they are really better applied by the advanced, time-capable dealership employees who can afford to take a stab at them, but if you're going to keep anything out of your social media strategy for the sake of time, it would be these three.

* * *

Again, there are plenty of perspectives that surround any list like this. I would love to hear your perspective or answer any question you may have about the individual networks or the strategy required to make them work properly for your dealership.

There's something missing on most automotive mobile websites and apps. Everyone has "Get Directions". Most attach to the device mapping app to allow for navigation, though some still rely on sending people directly to Google maps, not navigation. The portion that's missing from many mobile sites and apps is the ability to get directions from device's current location.

This is an absolute must. You should demand it of your provider or move on. Here's why:

There are statistics that show that people who visit mobile version of car dealer websites buy a car within 24 hours. This is due to being in "buying mode" when they visit mobile sites. They may be out and about. They may be on their way to a day of car shopping.

They may be having a bad experience at a competitor's dealership. It's for these people that you want to make directions as easy as possible to get. They are less likely to ask their salesperson, "What's the address here?" Don't make them ask. Give them the option of getting directions to your store regardless of where they are. If they can be found on GPS, they should be able to get to your location.

Make it easy. Use an app or a mobile site that works directly with their GPS. You'll get more leads, visitors, and sales as a result.

As the convergence of search and social continues to become a reality, it's important for dealers to understand that they need content on their websites that can be shared. People will not share inventory on Facebook. They won't tweet specials out to their followers. They won't click the Google +1 buttons on your pages unless you specifically ask them to, and there simply isn't enough people to ask to really have an impact.

For the social signals component of SEO to work properly on a car dealer website, there has to be content that people are willing to share. This is a challenge because it goes against everything we've learned over the years about staying focused and posting only what is relevant to selling more cars, getting more people into the service bay, or increasing parts and accessory sales.

First, let's get an understanding of how social signals work for your websites.

What Are Social Signals?

There are certain tiers of social signals that may or may not affect search rankings. At the top level, we know based upon testing and SEO industry insights that Google+, Facebook, and Twitter all have an influence on Google rankings while Facebook and Twitter have an affect on Bing rankings. Anyone who contests this isn't paying attention to what is happening in the outside SEO world or they don't have a solution to account for it so they're sticking their heads (and the heads of their clients) in the sand in hopes that it will go away.

The next tiers of social signals are debatable and it's best (for now) if dealers only use them if they have the time and manpower to dabble. If you are pressed for time and need to focus on what definitely works, the big three listed above are plenty. If you can mess around with Pinterest, Tumblr, Foursquare, Instagram, or any of the other emerging social sites, go for it. They do not have tested and proven affects on search rankings but many believe they do.

Why Are They Important

Google and Bing are both heading in a relatively new direction with their algorithm. For a couple of years now they have been more focused on the idea that social signals give their insight the human-curated they have always craved, but this year the dabbling into social signals has emerged into something tangible.

For Google in particular, the results have been dramatic. We've been able to move extremely challenging keywords up in the rankings quickly using just social signals and proper internal linking structures. With some attributing up to 1/3rd of the tangible algorithm influencing factors to social signals (with inbound links and onsite content accounting for the other 2/3rds), not having a social signal strategy means you can get, at best, 67% of the optimization potential if you do everything else perfectly.

It happens on two levels: the page and the domain. Each page that gets social signals has an opportunity to rank better, period. That goes without challenge. The second component that some would debate but that testing has proven to be correct is that social signals affect the overall optimization of a domain. In other words, posting great pictures of an individual car and getting a good amount of Google +1s, Facebook likes, and Tweets can help other pages on your website rank better as well.

The Examples

Now that you hopefully understand what social signals are and why they're important, let's take a look at the four things you can post on your website today that can bring additional social signals. First, here's a portion of a webinar we did on the topic. It's not the entire webinar, but it covers the four examples we talk about here:

1. Great Cars

You are a car dealer. You have great cars. Post them on your website! I'm not talking about pictures of your Ford Focus inventory. I'm talking about the cool, sharable cars that you have. Most dealerships have cars whether hot new vehicles or cool trades that grace their lot. If you run out of those, find images. A Chevrolet dealership could find a handful of cool pictures of the 1973 Chevy Camaro, for example.

2. Local Images

Every dealership in America is surrounded by interesting places. If you're close to a major metro, there are probably landmarks or skyline images that people in the area would love to share on their social media. In the example in the video, a Seattle-area dealer had a page dedicated to the Space Needle.

If you're not in a metro area, you likely have wonderful natural settings that can make for a great image page. These images can be loosely relevant to your website because it focuses on the local area that you are targeting, but the most important thing to remember is that these images, once shared on social media, help your website increase its overall social signals for the domain.

3. Local Organizations, Events, and Charities

This is where videos can really make a difference. Your dealership is likely associated with some local events, charities, or other activities that are relevant to the local audience. Getting the locals to share these activities as they're posted on your website is much easier than getting them to share your inventory or specials.

4. Infographics

Social media is a visual realm. With thousands of infographics easily available to post on your website, you have an untapped source of content that people will be willing to share. The key is finding the right ones and writing up some quick but thoughtful text about it.

A Tree Falls in an Empty Forest

It's not enough to post the content. You have to be able to get it shared. For many, you'll have to rely on your employees, friends, and even family to get the signals rolling. The more it's shared, the better. Unfortunately, this is a "fake it until you make it" strategy, but it works.

Over time, you'll be able to either build up your own clout in social media to get it out there or you may want to consider promotional teams to get the word out. Either way, it starts with the content. Once you have the content that is worth sharing, getting it shared is possible. It's not easy, but you've done harder things than getting something popular on social media.

There has been a lot more talk over the last several months about mobile. It has transitioned from a "check box" item where dealers ask their vendors the simple yes or no question, "Do you have mobile sites in your package?" Today, the questions are more along the lines of, "What makes your mobile websites better than my competitors'?"

That, at least, should be the question.

The world is going mobile. There is zero doubt that mobile is growing exponentially and the activities that many people perform on a daily basis are transitioning to mobile. When people watch television, they often have a mobile device at the ready. They talk about their favorite shows while they watch them. They curse at the cornerback who just intercepted their team's pass by posting their anger on Twitter or Facebook. They check out websites of things they see on television.

When your television commercial reaches someone who is in the market today to buy a car, do you think they're getting up and going to the computer? Some do. Some just grab their iPhone and check out your inventory from there. What will they find?

Last month our founder and VP of Internet Marketing Richard Valenta did a webinar called "5 Mobile Must Haves." The fifth component is about decisions rather than actual mobile websites, but here's a quick breakdown of the takeaways from the webinar:

1. Speed is Absolutely the Most Important Thing. Period

Nobody like to wait. Some of us have grown a little more patience in the last couple of years as we know that internet connections are slower through mobile devices, but we still want a site to respond quickly.

Mobile sites MUST load quickly. Inventory must load quickly. The site must flow properly and not skip a beat. This is the number one reason why we're still skeptical about adaptive website design. We know it's the future. It just doesn't work today for dealers on mobile devices because of the speed factor. The technology simply isn't ready for this industry.

Speed can help. Lack of speed can kill.

2. Easy Navigation

This should be a no-brainer. It's intuitively understood that the ability to quickly navigate through a mobile site is important in keeping people on your mobile site. The challenge is that even though everyone seems to know it, so many mobile solutions out there simply don't pay attention to this fact.

Get them from your mobile homepage to wherever they want to go (especially inventory) in a couple of seconds or less.

3. Strong Mobile Inventory

The screen is smaller. It's surprising that many mobile sites have such small images on them. That's just one point.

The bigger point is the idea that no matter where they are on your mobile site, whether on the homepage, the inventory listings page, or the inventory details page, they should be able to click to call. Again, it's a no-brainer, but so few have it.

4. GPS Integration

I'm not going to cover it again, as I wrote an entire article about it here. Bottom line - get GPS integration into your directions. If someone is on your competitor's lot, don't make them ask for the address if they want to come see you. Let them get to you straight from their mobile device wherever they are.

Here's the webinar itself: