facebook is over 6 years old now, but it has only found the mainstream-online-car-industry in the last year or so. In a very short time, in our industry, it has worn out its welcome. Nobody is selling cars off of it and maintaining a facebook page is a waste of time. I just don’t understand why any dealership would want to be on it?

Could it be the wealth of consumers who participate on facebook every day? Could it be the potential to have your message branded to an extra 200 people per each fan your dealership has? Might it be a communication tool with a better chance of having something read than an email (who doesn’t read their direct facebook messages)?

Dealers advertising on facebook could soon track an ROI (or lack of).

With a new conversion tracking tool, facebook hopes to help marketers (and even us dealers) track clicks through to conversion. The conversion tracking tool is already being tested by several select Facebook advertisers. A launch date has yet to be determined, but they are projecting sometime towards the end of March.

The reports will provide dealers advertising on facebook a list of tracked conversions, impressions and the clicks led to each.

Conversion tracking aims to complement Facebook Connect, a tool that allows advertisers to target fans of brands, as well as friends of the connected fans. The Facebook Connect tool reports back on everything from demographics to interests listed in Facebook profiles. Ads connecting to Facebook Connect tie in social context, such as the person’s name…continue to mediapost article.

As social media  continues to grow and more and more dealer “get it”, it’s only natural that most owners/principles/GMs will want to see some type of ROI for the effort.

Question: Should you measure your social media efforts on the same level as your other online marketing channels such as paid search, SEO, display advertising etc. ?

You can see Brian Boland’s (fb manager of solutions) full presentation here:

This post originally appeared on J.D. Power Automotive Online Review and has been re-posted here on DealerRefresh with permission. Posted by Amit Aggarwal.

Why would someone follow your dealer on Twitter?

Last year, I asked “Why would I follow a dealer on Twitter?” My premise was that people will follow someone on Twitter if they can get something out of it. Too often, dealers were just pushing specials and not giving people a reason to follow them. As a counter example, Courtesy Hyundai of Georgia (@HyundaiAtlanta) regularly tweets car care tips, a topic that has the potential to draw followers who will then also receive other information about the dealer and may choose to participate in conversations.

Seven months later, Courtesy Hyundai continues to mix tweets regarding car care, Hyundai vehicles, industry data, and dealer information and now reaches 2,364 followers. The tone is conversational and there’s clearly a person behind the account as evidenced by the tweet frequency – nearly all tweets come during work hours.

A big thing that is going to rule the future of online solicitations is OPT-IN.  Have you read anything about it yet?  If you haven’t, let’s start with a guy named Seth Godin:

Every year, tens of thousands of people die because organ donor status in the US is opt in. If you want to be an organ donor when you’re dead, you need to go through steps now to opt in. The default is “no.”

…401 (k) plans tend to be opt in. If you do nothing, you get nothing.

Talking to the police after getting arrested is strictly opt out. Nothing to sign, you just talk.

Cheese on your pasta used to be opt out, but now it appears to be becoming opt in.

….So, I’d make organ donation opt out, public religious observance opt in, newsletters opt in and smart financial choices opt out. Anything that tricks a consumer into paying for something ought to be double opt in. And without a doubt, email (and commercial transactions of all kinds) are opt in. Smart for both sides.

What is opt-in email marketing?

Why aren’t dealers social networking?

That’s the title of an article I wrote back in Dec of 2007. I can’t believe  I had almost forgot that I written it? It wasn’t until I was digging through my analytics and took notice to a top referring site pointing to the article.

The title of the article was a little deceiving. I didn’t even write about why dealers are NOT in social media …

“There are many reasons why dealers are not social networking and I’m not totally convinced that all dealers need or should be social networking. But rather than writing why dealers shouldn’t be social networking let’s look at a few of the advantages why maybe they should be.”

Instead, I wrote about 5 advantages to dealers for leveraging social media. Interesting enough, these same 5 advantages still hold true today are have become the backbone of many articles about the dealer industry and social media found on some of the “other” social sites in our industry.

“Social Media Marketing”, “Social Networking” catchy buzzwords used to push new platforms and for dated industry “experts” to claim a new found mastery.

Opinions on proper use of popular platforms vary immensely.

• From one tweet a week to many per day.
• Website providers putting Digg and Delicious buttons on Inventory?
• Ning sites for car dealers?

The real question is what are you using different social media platforms for and what are the methods you are using to promote awareness?

Guest Posting by Ryan Gerardi

For the past 3 years, the auto industry, specifically the dealer community, has inched its way into blogging and social media. It is actually safe to talk about these things whereas fewer than 2 years ago I purposely avoided using such terms in my conversations with dealers and auto insiders because they were still a bit taboo. Now with the unveiling of such companies and services like DealerFeeder, I think we can say that the past is officially behind us.

Of course this day would come, it was only a matter of time. With the efforts of people like Jeff Kershner of DealerRefresh and Ralph Paglia of Automotive Digital Marketing, dealers and auto insiders are becoming increasingly more emerged in the idea and practice of blogging and social media. But what are these things really?

Let’s be clear about something. Setting up a Twitter account or a Facebook account takes 2 minutes, literally. Setting up a blog takes 5 and it is free. If you are paying someone to do this for you without a master plan and direct correlation to your marketing strategy then you are wasting everyone’s time and money. The set up of these things is the least of your concerns. Utilizing them and incorporating them effectively into your sales process is the real challenge.

Visiting Dealer.com HQ is one of my favorite business trips to make.  No, they don’t throw a bunch of “good times” and “perks” out there while you’re visiting (even though they aren’t too far away from some Canadian craziness).  What they have is an amazing atmosphere and energy that is unsurpassed in any other workplace I’ve ever seen heard of.

You’ll find DDC HQ in the heart of Burlington, Vermont.  This town can be considered quaint to people from the city, but once you get to know it, you’ll find a technologically savvy industry mixed with the fun of college life.  Burlington is a young professional’s haven.  And the scenery isn’t terrible!

Don’t wear a tie, don’t wear slacks, don’t even dress business casual – you’ll feel very out of place.  The dress code matches the one your local gym probably sets and that could be due to the fact that they not only have a gym in the office, but a basketball court, ping pong table, tennis court, and locker room right in the office.

Guest Posting by Audrey Knoth

Should we revisit the Dealership Handbook?

It’s time to turn the auto dealer employee handbook into a marketing tool – one of the most effective that dealerships could have.

How could a weighty tome on such subjects as paid-time-off and the dress code heat up sales?  By adding a section on how the dealership would like to work with each new employee to incorporate dealer information into his or her MySpace or Facebook page.

Of course, this idea is fighting uphill against prevailing auto dealer attitudes about Web 2.0. Most dealers don’t understand the value of embracing Web 2.0 as part of their companies’ web presences and they’re downright scared when it comes to their employees’ personal profiles on social media sites. It’s that nagging fear that an employee may be chronicling his after-work bar crawl on the same page where he’s posted his dealership logo.

And in a land that treasures the First Amendment, management is uncertain about what’s appropriate to say to employees regarding their social media presences.

As a result of all this, dealers say nothing. In the process, they’re missing an important business opportunity.

Recently, a colleague and I scoured the social media for these allegedly hair-raising personal employee sites. We found that these personal social media profiles tend to be tame – surprisingly so, given the anxiety management has felt about them.

On the majority of the sites, employees identify themselves as working for car dealers, but they don’t name the dealerships. I believe that many auto dealer staff are unsure whether their companies allow them to mention their name on their personal profiles and whether it’s permissible to use the dealership logo, and so they’re erring on the side of caution.

What these personal pages actually represent is unplowed and fertile territory for dealerships to build business and it starts with the dealership employee handbook.

Why the handbook? Because that’s where all employees gain the same base of knowledge of company practices. By including the dealership’s policies and philosophies on Web 2.0 in the handbook, the company ensures that each staff member thoroughly understands its view of and approach to social media.

In the handbook, the dealer should explain that if employees would like to talk about their positions at the dealership on their personal social media profiles, the company is happy to support their doing so. By “support”, I mean the dealership would continually produce and provide to employees content to post. This content would go way beyond logos:  a stream of video, photos, short news on product, and more should be provided to employees on a regular basis so they can constantly be freshening their sites.

And the company can assist with the dialogue, too. For example, if an employee is unsure of how to respond to a posted comment that relates to the dealership, management can help him or her develop a response.

We all know that the first place that inexperienced new dealership employees are supposed to look for business (besides waiting for the public to amble onto the lot) is among their friends and family. Employees with active social media profiles by definition have a great amount of contact with a network of people, and this kind of dynamic content will say more than a phone call or business card ever could.

Additionally, when dealerships recruit experienced auto salespeople who have loyal customers, they often run ads showcasing these new hires. The purpose, of course, is to make sure that those customers bring their business to the salespeople’s new place of employment. Working with employees on relationship-building and promotion through social media is in many ways an extension of what has long been common practice.

Of course, traditional advertising is a totally controlled environment. Social media is not and the lack of control is what scares dealers. But the upside of this venture far outweighs the possible downside, because each employee who is active in social media is a potential public advocate for the dealership – a visible and connected advocate. Using this approach, the dealership can build an army of advocates, with new business resulting, in very short order.

About the Author: Audrey Knoth is the Executive Vice President
for Goldman & Associates Public Relations

ATLANTA (January 5, 2009) – Cox Auto Trader, parent company to AutoTrader.com and Cox AutoTrader/AutoMart, is making strategic changes to its business in an effort to better address the needs of both consumers and commercial advertising customers through its online automotive advertising business led by AutoTrader.com.

Cox AutoTrader/AutoMart, the print-based subsidiary of Cox Auto Trader, will cease publishing AutoMart and AutoExtra magazines. AutoTrader and Truck Trader magazines will continue to be printed. These magazines will continue to be distributed as before, along with other Trader titles owned by Dominion Enterprises.

The AutoTrader.com organization, based in Atlanta, will assume responsibility for AutoMart.com, AutoExtra.com and AutoTraderLatino.com (formerly known as AutoMercado.com). AutoTrader Classics and AutoTrader Latino magazines will continue as part of the AutoTrader.com suite of products and services.

“Consolidating the majority of our resources into a single AutoTrader.com organization will facilitate long-term growth and also help us maintain a singular focus on serving our consumers and advertisers,” said Sandy Schwartz, president of Cox Auto Trader.

As part of the consolidation process, some Cox AutoTrader/AutoMart employees will be reassigned as AutoTrader.com employees. Some positions in the Cox

AutoTrader/AutoMart organization will be eliminated. Impacted employees who are eligible will be offered generous severance packages. The print distribution system for the Trader family of paid magazine titles will not be affected.

The ongoing shift in emphasis to an online automotive advertising business strategy is in response to the decline in demand for print-based automotive advertising products. As more automobile dealers and private sellers shift their advertising from print to the Web to take advantage of the efficiency and reach that online platforms offer, Cox Auto Trader is adjusting its business strategy accordingly.

“We are ready for these strategic moves and look forward to supporting the needs of all of our consumers and advertisers,” said Chip Perry, president and CEO of AutoTrader.com.

AutoTrader.com is the industry leader for classified automotive advertising in the United States. Expanding its offerings allows AutoTrader.com to provide product and service combinations that no competitor can match, which solidifies its position as the most effective and efficient way to buy, sell or research a vehicle.

About Cox Auto Trader
Cox Auto Trader is one of the world’s leading providers of online and print automotive consumer information. Operating business units include AutoTrader.com and Cox

AutoTrader/AutoMart. AutoTrader.com is the Internet’s leading auto classifieds marketplace and consumer information web site with more than 3 million vehicle listings

and over 13 million qualified buyers each month. Cox AutoTrader/AutoMart consists of AutoTrader Publishing, a leading producer of classified automotive advertising publications with nearly 350 automobile and light truck titles and a total circulation of 3.5 million per week; and AutoMart, the leading provider of print and online classified automotive advertising for dealer customers with more than a million used car Internet listings from dealers combined with print publications in 75 separate markets. Cox Auto Trader is a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises, Inc.

About AutoTrader.com
AutoTrader.com, created in 1997 and headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., is the Internet’s leading auto classifieds marketplace and consumer information website. AutoTrader.com aggregates in a single location more than 3.5 million new, used and certified pre-owned vehicle listings from 40,000 dealers and 250,000 private owners and the site attracts more than 14 million unique monthly visitors. Through innovative merchandising functionality such as multiple photos, videos, detailed descriptions and comprehensive research and compare tools, AutoTrader.com unites new and used car buyers and sellers online, improving the way people research, locate and advertise vehicles. AutoTrader.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. The venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is also an investor. For more information, please visit www.autotrader.com.