Tech Tips

Don’t Let Social Take A Byte Out Of Your Profits
By Raynard Fenster

Today we have Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter making a buzz in the industry. The big question for most dealers isn’t whether to invest in social media, but how.

There are six basic choices on how to go about undertaking your social media initiative - go with an advertising agency, a SEO/Social Media wholesaler, a boutique automotive social media company, an automotive consultant, website provider, or to simply do it yourself. One additional choice is to do nothing at all, but after a quick review you will find this is not in your best interest. So, let’s briefly examine each of these social media operators and the benefits they can offer your organization.

• Your advertising agency is already doing your offline media (and possibly your online as well), but do they have the resources and knowledge to keep up with the fast-paced changes? If you decide to have your agency do your social media, make sure you outline your objectives and what metrics are going to be used to determine success. These should be separate from other advertising and marketing efforts.
• A SEO/Social Media wholesaler operates similar to your advertising agency and may deal with more than the automotive vertical market. These firms usually employ many individuals to build, post, and monitor your social media. Learn as much about how they operate (manual or automated posts) as well as what reporting platforms they provide before committing to a long term contract. Request the ratio of account managers to dealerships, remembering that a lower ratio should mean a quicker and more personalized support system.
• Boutique automotive social media firms specialize on researching and building a loyal fan base, as well as posting. They usually provide an excellent service but the price tag for their full service may seem high. Most of these firms employ the latest digital tools and trained staff to keep up with the moving technology/applications.

• Consultants in the automotive field are usually extremely busy working on developing a process that works for your dealership and most have had little if any hands-on experience with automotive social media. However, that is not to say that you won’t find a few that understand the power of social media. Get examples of their work and how they measure success. Don’t get caught up in “return on influence” branding because every dollar spent on social media can show a return on investment.
• Website providers are running all over themselves to develop integrated platforms that will allow you to manage your social media, add content for variable and fixed ops, build search engine optimization, add specials for new, used, service and parts, etc. The only problem is the potential lack of resources needed to keep up and build your “fans” into customers.
• The do-it-yourself option can also be utilized, but remember that doing it effectively will require a great deal of time. Some free software is available but may seem overwhelming because of the sheer number of platforms needed to be successful.

Whichever route you take to manage your social media, please be mindful that to get a true return on your investment will require money, time or both. The positive affect of your dealership’s diligent involvement will not only provide you with a continued flow of new prospects, but also an excellent opportunity for exceptional reputation management.

Raynard Fenster is the president of RayFenster.com LLC. He can be contacted at (301) 805-4829 or via email at rayfenster@rayfenster.com. His website is www.rayfenster.com and his blog can be found at http://blog.rayfenster.com.

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