Auto Dealers Meet Facebook. Facebook Wins.
 

This article is interesting and a little funny. It is amusing to see these
practical no nonsense types trying to grapple with social media. It also
gives you an idea what you might face trying to get dealers to buy your
social media services

The full article is here


http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/10/au...edia.html?_r=0

The Gap Between Auto Dealers and Social Media

Matt Howell, the general manager of a Hyundai dealership in Huntsville, Tex., has been in the auto business for 18 years. In all that time, he said, “I can think of one deal that originated on Facebook.”
In January, marketing managers at Hyundai’s American headquarters in Southern California persuaded Mr. Howell to give social media a more serious try. They asked him to use new software to post videos, photos and text updates suggested by the company on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.
Two months into his social media experiment, the efforts had drawn such little reaction that Mr. Howell, 42, decided to drop out of the program.
Although he plans to keep posting photos of happy buyers on Facebook and encouraging them to write reviews, he does not have much use for the rest of it — especially since Hyundai began charging $275 a month for the service.
To Mr. Howell, selling a car boils down to one basic principle: Treat your customers well, and they will sing your praises to friends and family. “Those personal relationships are more important,” he said
Hyundai of Huntsville’s experience illustrates how far social media still has to go to serve small, locally focused businesses. While large companies have learned how to stand out on social networks and get lots of hand-holding from sites like Facebook and Twitter, most local business owners are left on their own and remain stumped by social marketing.
Nowhere is that gulf more apparent than in the auto industry. Car manufacturers including Hyundai and Ford Motor have embraced social media and spend tens of millions of dollars on sophisticated marketing campaigns. Yet many of their local dealers barely maintain a Facebook page.
Some experts question whether local businesses even need to be active on social media.
“It’s like the old days: You need to be in the Yellow Pages. But is it going to meaningfully drive your business? Probably not,” said Chris Luo, who headed Facebook’s efforts to woo small and medium-size advertisers until 2012 and now works for FiveStars, a start-up that helps small businesses keep up with loyal customers
Still, if a business does plunge into social media, Facebook and outside experts said, the most reliable route to success is to pay to promote posts as ads — something that Hyundai is not yet teaching its dealers.
“If you want predictable results for your business, ads are a cost-effective way to get them,” said Dan Levy, Facebook’s global director of small business.
Hyundai said it knows social media advertising is important, but it noted that dealers need to learn the basics of creating good content first. “If you hit anyone with it all at once, it would be very overwhelming,” said Jon Budd, who oversees new media at Hyundai Motor America.
He said that the three-year program had just begun and that it was too soon to judge the results.
Many local dealers worry that they need to be on Facebook, Twitter and whatever comes next, even as they struggle to understand how the services can help sell captures the predicaent. The survey of more than 10,000 active car buyers found that social media ranked far below dealer websites, web searching and the automotive news media as a source of information for buyers. But most respondents also said they used social media to research cars, planned to post something about their buying experience and expected dealers to have an active social media presence.
“It’s easier to measure return on investment against other media types, like print or TV,” said Nick Gill, the study’s primary author. However, with the average American spending 40 minutes a day on Facebook alone, ignoring social media is also perilous because “it de facto becomes part of the buying decision,” Mr. Gill said.
While other automakers like Lexus are also helping their dealers become more socially savvy, Hyundai is going further than most. Last fall, it brought in Spredfast, an Austin, Tex., maker of social media tools, to devise customized software and a training program to offer its 800 dealers, which are independently owned franchises.
Using the Houston area as a test market, Spredfast and Hyundai began offering dealers a digital dashboard that lets them post and manage content on all of the major social networks.
Six months in, the effort has not exactly transformed the dealers into masters of the medium.
They complain that they have received little guidance on how to use the tools effectively and no training on social advertising. The $275 monthly fee, which Hyundai said was less than what many dealers already spend on social marketing, has put off some. Complicating the rollout, the automaker did not hire anyone to focus on the project until last week.
Brooke Todd, digital marketing manager of Ron Carter Hyundai and its sister Cadillac dealership in Friendswood, just southeast of Houston, is enthusiastic about the potential — if not about the canned copy and bland photos of new models that Hyundai suggested he post.
“The general public feels that by liking the Facebook page of a business, they’re going to be inundated by selling,” Mr. Todd said.
He has gotten far more engagement from original items, like a nine-second iPhone video he shot inviting people to come play the dealership’s Pac-Man arcade games, and links to news articles about the local economy and coming vehicles.
Mr. Todd also tends the dealership’s presence on Google Plus, which he believes helps improve its ranking in Google searches. He does not bother much with Twitter, where his posts elicit no response. (Twitter declined to comment on how auto dealers use its service.)
So far, Mr. Todd has not been able to trace any deals directly to his social efforts, but overall sales are up almost 50 percent over the past year, which he attributed partly to new digital marketing efforts.
Joe Castle, who runs one GMC and two Chevrolet dealerships in the Chicago area and founded a company, SocialDealer, to help other dealers manage their online presence, said that neglecting advertising is a big mistake
“I don’t even bother wasting my people’s time posting all day,” he said. By focusing on ads, including ones that target car buyers when they are near rival dealers, he said, he increased sales and cut marketing expenses per car sold to $90 from $500.
Carolyn Pawelek, the Spredfast vice president overseeing the Hyundai project, said dealers needed to learn how to create engaging posts before wasting money promoting them. “Most dealers in our system are not ready to place ads,” she said.

One of the keys to Facebook marketing success?
 

Hi,

Thanks for posting that!

I ain't no expert in Facebook marketing, but... I've noticed something.

What is it?

The small businesses I've seen that have had the most success with Facebook are those that get people to share stuff related to their Facebook page...

(That makes it different from much "traditional" marketing... and perhaps more like "word of mouth" marketing...)

For example, one restaurant I know - Misty's Diner, an American-style diner in Melbourne, Australia (run by a lady from Arizona who married an Aussie)... does well out of Facebook...

http://www.facebook.com/mistysdineraustralia

They have a ton of photos, and are always adding new ones. Many of the photos are of the customers having a great time...

They also have a "burger challenge" (which is not common in Australia)...

http://www.mistysdiner.com.au/www/burger-challenge.asp

If you manage to eat all the food in the challenge, in the allotted 14 minutes, you get a T-shirt! You also get your photo on the wall, and... of course, your photo will also go on their Facebook page!

Misty once told me (when I was dining there - she's not always there, but she often is) that she loved the TV show "Man vs. Food" - and I think she would get ideas from it!

Anyway... If you can produce stuff that people want to share with their friends, that seems to be one of the "keys" to Facebook success (without spending lots of $)...

At least, that's my observation...

Best wishes,

Dien

Tag People!
 

Great comments Dien.

Many people like to see pictures of themselves so I've found that when I can tag people it helps. It also gets your post into the news feed of the friends of people you tagged.

Here is a personal example, my stepdaughter is competing in the June 2015 Miss SC Teen Pageant. Here is her facebook page for that venture:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Linds...506307?fref=ts

We don't have anything to sell but we are looking for exposure so I consider someone liking the page as a conversion. When we post more than just pics of Lindsey (friends or other contestants) and can tag those people then we are increasing our reach. It really seems to work but of course we are not selling a traditional product.

It is a good learning experience for me.

Rob Yaggie

Re: Auto Dealers Meet Facebook. Facebook Wins.
 

Dien and Rob, I like your ideas, also remember the article
did say that paid ads DID work, but that part is way down
in the article. One dealer was very successful using
facebooks ads I believe he said he cut his social media
marketing costs from $500 a month to $90 a month by
using paid ads.
Think about that from our point of view. Suppose we spent
$90 a month on facebook ads and sold the leads to car
dealers?

Trevor

Paid Facebook ads look promising
 

Yes Trevor I caught that in the article and I intend to give paid facebook ads a whirl so I can learn about them.

I think you have to be careful but they seem to have a great platform that starts with custom audiences (that is what really interests me).

Let me use Dien's example for how I would approach it
1) Have the burger contest... it is your widget to advertise/promote
2) Do everything you can at the time the customer is with you to get them to be your friend on facebook (you need that to tag them).
3) Tag the person in your picture post
4) Here is the magic... since you are friends with them, you can see the facebook user ids of anyone that has liked or commented on things on their page.... gather those ids.
5) Post a facebook ad with a custom audience of the ids you gathered and also add geographical restrictions (you really just want to reach the subset close enough to drive to the restaurant). The ad text would be personal to this audience... "Did Adam Jones have what it takes to conquer <<whatever>> ... Do you? Click like and view the messy pics"
6) I would just leave the initial photo ad up for a limited time but maybe switch to a similar ad later for this custom audience. Then maybe pause for a bit and then maybe turn on a 'throwback style' ad referencing the original person.

This is a very low volume but very targeted systematic approach. Also very cheap. The roadblock (i.e. opportunity) is that in order to make it worth the time you would probably need to automate the gathering of ids and ad creation. That could be done (probably against terms of service but again low volume so I wouldn't worry about that myself). The exposure should be trackable as well.

Just a few ideas bouncing around in my head.

Rob Yaggie

Re: Paid Facebook ads look promising
 

Hey Rob,
looks like you are pretty experienced at this, interesting campaign
ideas you have mapped out. If you try this out, I think you could
make some bucks with it. As Alex Becker points out it is tough
to sell SEO, or websites or facebook pages to businesses, they
don't see the benefits. But businesses DO understand LEADS and
will pay for them.

Re: Auto Dealers Meet Facebook. Facebook Wins.
 

Some yrs ago I made Good Money from Car Dealers providing "Calendar Magnets" to Car Buyers (see Photo below)

I had a person at each Dealership take photos of the New Car Buyers standing next to their purchase and send them to me where I'd create a "Magnetic Photo-Calendar" and deliver to the Dealership....who'd then give them to their New Car Buyers as a "GIFT" from the Dealership.

The Car Buyers would place these mags on their fridges for 2 reasons:

1) a year long Calendar
2) a Photo they could Proudly show to friends & relatives

Car Dealers had 2 reasons to pay me for these

1) every person entering the Car Buyers kitchens would SEE the Dealer's Name
2) when Car Buyers came back to the Dealership to pick up their "Gift" the sales person would ask for Referrals

So.....THIS could STILL be offered to Car Dealers (I was getting $30 per mag. Nowadays (IMO) you could get $50ea x 80 cars sold a month = $4,000 A MONTH from each Dealer.

Plus......you could offer a FaceBook Page or a separate website to place the Photos. I made a 4ft by 6ft wood frame on which I'd place photos and mount the frame on a wall in the lobbies.

Don Alm

Re: Auto Dealers Meet Facebook. Facebook Wins.
 

Cool idea Don, I like the photo!
There are no end to the services you can offer car dealers,
They have a lot of money to spend too.
I remember reading about one guy who approached
a dealer with a pamphlet some kind of legal/accident
booklet that his customers could get if they purchased
a car. The dealer was a nice guy (A car dealer imagine!)
He told him the price was too low and ordered copies for
whole dealership and introduced him to other dealers.
The guy made thousands from a pamplet he made himself.

Trevor

Re: Auto Dealers Meet Facebook. Facebook Wins.
 

Yup......another guy made a booklet for Attorneys (What To Do In Case of an Accident) that they gave to their clients.

Attorneys got the booklet for freebies AND.....the guy sold Ads to local biznesses.

Don Alm

Depends on who you approach, and how....
 

From my experience -- a few years ago -- all the major dealerships, like Ford, Chev, etc. are similar to franchises and the corporate office (10 years ago) looked after all of the Internet marketing including websites. They (the franchises) were all charged outrageous fees for this service, but it was written into their contract, and there wasn't anything they could do about it.

There was money to be made servicing small independent used car dealers, but most of the people who had these type of lots, were people who retired early from their jobs to run their own business, so they were well up there in age, and technically challenged. Even if you setup a Wordpress website for them with a plugin that made it easy to add new cars themselves, the task would be over-whelming to a lot of them.

Still, the fact remains, that more people 50 and under, will do a search online quicker than they would ever drive around town and visit used car lots. So these dealers would be smart to hire someone young who is technically savvy, and most of the people between 15-30 are a lot more web savvy about websites, social media and getting followers that you might think. So the used car lot owner could give a son, daughter, niece, etc. a part-time job to give them a hand with all of this stuff.

It's isn't ALL about advertising. If you're going to use FB and Twitter to promote your business, you need to also think far enough ahead to make it entertaining and engaging. No one is going to like your page or follow you on Twitter if the only posts are all sales related.

For example (this isn't car sales) while my daughter is attending college, besides having a waitress job, she also has another part-time job as a social media manager for a retired cop who is now running a consulting business. She is familiar with Wordpress -- had her own blog since she was 15.

So young people going to college needing flexible work hours and jobs... are really a perfect match for used car dealers. And if you were organizing all of this... one might make a good dollar or two.

Re: Auto Dealers Meet Facebook. Facebook Wins.
 

If you remember Cal Worthington and his dog spot, you know the value of making your advertising interesting. I would imagine a video knock off today would get quite a bit of attention.

If you don't remember Cal, go see Cal, go see Cal. If you google him you'll know what I mean.

Just my 2¢...

How Bout $1,600 A MONTH from Car Dealers!
 

Excuse me for "again" busting in on a thread but.....I Ben Dere.....Done Dat and I'd like to toss in something I've done that might inspire or motivate someone else.

WHAT is "IT"?

Back in da good Old Days.....as a Marketing Sales Guy I'd "hang around" my client Dealerships after selling then a "Photo Magnet Calendar" program or something else (Auto Dealerships were BIG BUX and little ol' ME had an "IN" with them .....and......I'd overhear conversations about OTHER "Marketing Problems".

One conversation that "Hit My HOT Button" was when a GM was talking with the Owner of the Dealership. They were "wondering" what they could do to "Get Some Referrals"......someway for their car buyers to be "Motivated" to REFER OTHERS to THEIR Dealership!

So.....I went back to my "Man-Cave"....cranked up my PC put together a "MAILING PIECE" ...."Follow-Up" program I had done for a different Niche and.....modified it for Auto Dealers and....WHALA!.....came up with something the GM Liked and the Owner BOUGHT! (See Photo Below....Note: you are gettin this FREE! I used to charge a pretty penny to even SEE this Photo)

SO.....after listening to what the 2 Top Dogs were talking about (Understand something here.....the MAIN reason why I've been able to Create & Sell so many different PROFITABLE Programs was because of 2 Reasons;
1) I LIKE people, I'm interested in HELPING people enjoy a better life
2) I love being , ON the "Field-Of-Battle....I LOVE meeting people....."Belly-To-Belly", especially Business Owners (because I started my first biz from scratch with a worried wifee and 2 babies and turned it into a success)

So.....I found out when the Owner of the Dealership was coming in the next day....I asked 3 questions;
1) What Time does he usually come in,
2) Where's he park and
3) What Color is his car

So......it took me 3 Tries to find the Owner's car parked in HIS Space so finally ....there he was.....I quickly parked.....and went in and told his "rejectionist" I'd like 90 seconds of his time to see MY Answer to "Getting More Referrals"!

I "emphasized" the word "Referrals"!

SO......the 'boss" came out of his office and "Spurted Out"; "OK! Whatcha got!"

I was sort of shocked that he didn't even invite me into his office HOWEVER, I understood that he was usually BomBarded with Sales people bidding for his time......so.....I whipped out my Sheet (Photo Below) and proceeded to explain HOW MY....."Follow-Up" program could bring in MORE Referrals and SELL MORE CARS for him!

Holy Camoly! It was like the guy came "UN-Glued" from his previous stance of "I'm King and ya better show ME why I should spend the next few seconds with YOU!"

He...."mellowed out" after he took a look at my "Thingee" and suddenly realized; "Hey! THIS looks GOOD and could possibly help us get More Referrals so....I better invite this guy intto my office!"

Anyways.....I SOLD my "Follow-Up" program to this dealership AND..... because of HIS participation....I was able to Sell Many more Dealerships.

So.....thanks for letting me Post this. Maybe it will benefit someone.

Don Alm

Note: This post WITH Photo.....might appear "mundane" or "Irrelovent" to your making money efforts HOWEVER.....this "little One Page Document".....along with MY Sales Expertise and Program..... was able to get 16.....I repeat SIXTEEN.....prominent Auto Dealers to Pay ME an average of 80 Car Sales a Month x $20 per Car Sale = $1,600 A MONTH from EACH of my 16 DEALERS!!!!!!!! For a "FOLLOW-UP" Program that brought THEM.....MANY Referrals and MORE ...RETURN ON INVESTMENT.....than anything they've ever done!!!

16 Car Dealers Paying ME $1,600 A MONTH.... EACH ..... = 16 x $1,600 = TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS A MONTH!

"IT".....IS OUT THERE! ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS......GO GET IT!

Don Alm......Go-Getter from way back

Re: $25,000 A MONTH from Auto Dealers
 

Excuse me.....my "Reason" for commenting on my previous post is to EMPHASIZE and ........"MAKE YOU VIEWERS REALIZE THAT......YOU CAN CHANGE CHANGE YOUR LIFE....BY SIMPLY ......GETTING AN IDEA......MAKING IT "PRESENTABLE" to Possible Buyers.....then.....Selling IT to them!

Don Alm......who has spent his life.....coming up with ideas and....selling them!

Re: $25,000 A MONTH from Auto Dealers
 

Not bad, not bad at all, A simple, but clever document like that bringing in so many sales. I wonder if the idea still works these days? Or maybe all the auto dealers copied it and are doing it now?

Re: How Bout $1,600 A MONTH from Car Dealers!
 

Hey Don,

Ya post has really piqued my interest because I've been doing something similar in the last couple of weeks, let me back up....

I'm getting a bit fed up with the online marketing stuff for biz owners, for 1 thing its getting to be a crowed market ...HOWEVER

After studying some of my old marketing materials, decided on looking for biz owners with customer data bases, discovered a really good niche in fact this biz owner makes on average $250.00 p/call out the work is completed in a couple of hours!

I've seen 2 owners, had the meeting with the last guy last week, and showed him my sample of the 'reactivation letter' boy was he IMPRESSED, agreed to do a test mailing which he would pay for and give me a % per lead/deal.

ALL i want out of the deal is testimonials so i have the proof this works so i can sell to other biz owners.

Both these owners wanted to do a test IMMEDIATELY ...so WHY haven't they called me?

[I have called them and sent an email]

Its simply this: they CAN do it all themselves so WHY pay me?!

SO when i look at your deal, its only a referral program on a sheet on paper whats stopping them doing it themselves OR I'm i missing something?

P.S...a new Don Alm FAN!:D

BTW, after studying the Gary Halbert tapes over the weekend, I'm thinking about getting into the diet pill or wrinkle cream biz... lol!

Re: Auto Dealers Meet Facebook. Facebook Wins.
 

I'm sorry.....whenever I see a comment like yours that says; "Hey! I presented a GREAT Program to prospects and they have NOT contacted me. Probably because THEY can do this .....themselves!

Au.....Hogwash!

Biz people are TOO BUSY to "do it themselves"!

It is YOU....who have failed to CLOSE the deal! Most "salespeople" do not KNOW.....how to CLOSE! They present their program....then....sit back and WAIT for prospects to call and ask; "Where Do I Send Payment!"

So......if you give me the Names of these prospects who have not responded, I'd betcha....little ol' ME.....could get them to Pay!

However.....I'm not selling anymore!

And....when I was selling.....when one of my potential clients would say, "Hey! I just got this in the mail (or email...or Phone).....their program does THIS a lot better than what you're offering!

My first question is, "Why didn't YOU buy it?

As I've gone thru my Sales Career there's always some kind of "new thingee" that potential buyers have told me about.....in every Niche. When I ask why
they didn't buy.....they'd come up with all kinds of reasons.

However.....us Belly-To-Belly" guys would ALWAYS get the deals.....because WE....knew how to CLOSE!

Now.....fast forward to 2015. I do NOT "WAIT" for my prospects to contact me! They KNOW that....if they don't grab my program NOW.....their competition WILL!

It's all in.....HOW you "Handle" your dealee!

Anyways.....everyday I see new Money-Making stuff and I know that if I wanted to.....I could "Waltz Into" the program and get MY SHARE of the market. Why? Because of the many times I've done it!

I'll never forget when I started selling a promo program in my town of Glenwood Springs, CO. I interviewed and hired a gal.....trained her and she decided to take MY stuff and go to the big city of Grand Junction.

So.....when I found out she had rented an office and "hired" 3 sales guys.... I put together a program for GJ and......proceeded to go down there and Sell the Shi....t out of it and.....every morning as I was heading out to contact prospects I made it a point to pass by her office and see the cars parked... which gave me a BUZZ to Sell The Shi.....t out of my program with the windup being......she gave up after 2 wks because I had already CLOSED.....MOST of her proepects!

Anyways.....because prospects have NOT contacted you does NOT mean they are ....."Doing It Themselves"! YOU have NOT "closed" them!

Don Alm......closer from waay baack

Re: Auto Dealers Meet Facebook. Facebook Wins.
 

I made a thread: http://www.sowpub.com/forum/showthread.php?p=35051

that gives you a way to make money from auto dealerships. They need to reduce their overhead like everyone else. Remember, if they are spending 500 per auto to advertise and you can reduce it to 90 per auto you should have a client.

Don't discount any of the ideas on this thread. Mine is only one idea among many.

Good luck to all the doers.

Tom

Re: Auto Dealers Meet Facebook. Facebook Wins.
 

Hey Don, thanks for your response!

I bet when ya read my post... ya neck wound out right to the computer screen lol...!:D

Anyway its good to read ya post cos it gets ya thinking...

Both these biz guys have their customers names on paper (invoices) NOT on computer, i offered to get the test sample onto a text file, however they both declined, said they'd get it done...

At the end of the day i have to tread carefully, as the campaign is still NOT proven, even though I'm 99% sure it would work, even it they got 1 measly sale out of 100 letters its still PROFITABLE to the biz owner.

Right now I'm compiling a letter (1st class snail mail they get it the next day here) and going to tell them straight YOU got 48 hours to call me OR i got elsewhere, ie: their competition, BUT I'll write in a mellow tone, as I'm a limey and I've found being to hardcore with biz owners here...they are likely to tell you to pis* off!

Must say from what i read you yanks really go for the jugular when it comes to selling!

@sandalwood - Tom, interesting thread on auto dealerships, however I am from the UK, are you sure this couldn't be done over the pond...?

Re: Auto Dealers Meet Facebook. Facebook Wins.
 

I feel certain it can be done across the pond. We simply do not do it, yet. I'd love for it to get to Australia. Always wanted to see what an OZ looks like :D

Tom