Social media sites bring dealers, customers closer

Ron Loveys

TADA PRESIDENT

Three or four years ago, many new-car dealerships would have dismissed the idea of using social media to promote their businesses.

Not anymore. Today, more and more dealerships are embracing social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to promote their stores and to share information with customers.

Facebook is one of the platforms changing how dealerships interact with customers. It allows dealerships to form online communities, where they can post information about vehicles for sale, special events, community involvement, employee recognition, etc.

The point of having a Facebook page is to be visible, relevant and transparent. Hundreds of people may visit a Facebook fan page each month, offering a great opportunity for dealers to maintain customer loyalty and to reinforce their brand.

Twitter is another social media tool that has gained popularity among dealers and dealership staff. This microblogging service allows users to send and receive text messages in 140 characters or less on their computers or mobile devices.

When I first heard about Twitter, I didn't think of it as a business tool, but I've since revised my opinion. Today, it's used by high-ranking CEOs, business executives, marketing firms and professionals to promote products and services and to stay in touch with followers.

YouTube has also had an impact on the retail auto industry. It's an effective way for dealers to promote their facilities, services and vehicles, and they can link those videos to their websites. According to a 2007 Google survey, 23 per cent of online car shoppers viewed a vehicle video/commercial online.

Ford has its own YouTube channel, where viewers can watch videos about Ford vehicles and Ford people.

Last year, the company provided 100 people in their 20s with the 2010 Ford Fiesta to drive for six months and asked these drivers to share their experiences online using Facebook, Twitter, personal blogs and other social networking sites.

Our dealership has explored social media even further, by partnering with a company called ScreenScape. ScreenScape allows us to showcase our products and services on display screens throughout the dealership. Content for the screens – video, audio and text – can be easily uploaded and altered at any time.

The beauty of the ScreenScape technology is that information on the screens can be shared with screens at other retail businesses, recreation centres, hospitals and other high-traffic areas within the community. This allows us to provide timely and relevant content for our customers, which builds stronger brand loyalty.

With social media, companies aren't so much sending messages to their customers as they are engaging them in conversation. In other words, in our interactive world of instant messaging, customers now control the brand and what is said about it, whether it be good, bad or indifferent.

In his best-selling book, What Would Google Do?, author and blogger Jeff Jarvis says that in today's era of marketing and advertising companies need to focus on speaking "with" as opposed to "at" their customers. "It's about relationships, not messages," he writes.

For new-car dealers who haven't explored the world of social media yet, I would recommend that they start looking into it soon. Most likely, your competitors are already testing the waters, and sooner or later you will need to develop a strategy that utilizes these new platforms.

For consumers, find out if your local auto dealer has a Facebook fan site, a Twitter account or a presence on YouTube. You'd be surprised at how many dealers are using some (or all) of these platforms successfully.

This column represents the views of

TADA. email: president@tada.ca or

visit www.tada.ca.

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