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TuneyFish · Jun 12, 2012

Here's what happens when you try to get your sales staff into the content business.....
Login to view embedded media View: http://youtu.be/GLJhKPrPFcM
[*warning* language in video may be offensive to some viewers, think he drops an F bomb or two]

Jun 12, 2012

Microsoft has been giving their boots-on-the-ground employees blogs for more than 10 years and they've pumped out millions of pages of additional useful content while also answering questions and comments posed by the public. There are no additional compensation incentives, this is all done because they're passionate about their work. (blogs.msdn.com)

While the culture among vehicle salespeople and dealerships may not allow for this, I just wanted to take a moment to point out that other businesses in other industries have had employees blogging to great effect. In 5 or 10 years, I wouldn't put it out of the question that a lot experiments with HR and includes written communication as a hiring requirement in an effort to change the culture gradually to where this sort of thing is common.

Tom Kelly · Jun 12, 2012

Jeff, Good post...Stealing time from day jobs without compensation does not work with social...dealership employees will only do well what they are paid to do. Finding an employee who is able to walk the line, keep good content flowing and interacting with the public without stepping into a pile would be rare in my opinion...I agree totally with you, it is a hired position.

@Dealerrefresh · Jun 11, 2012

@Dealerrefresh oh yes, I know all too well. Service doesn't have time, sales people, LOL! Better off having 1 person do it= better control!

Jun 11, 2012

@EleyDuke thanks Eley. Unless you've "been there and done that" it's hard to understand. You know what I'm talking about.

Jun 11, 2012

And thanks for finally getting the unicorn with the rainbow. That is a worthy image.

Jun 11, 2012

If you're a writer, you'll write a lot. You'll take the time to improve and adapt to new methods (SEO writing for example). If you're not a writer you're not going to pick up a pen nor peck on a keyboard.

The vast majority of dealership employees are not writers. I have found that most are scared to communicate with another human being in any other way than in person. Pasch mentioned dealers struggling with updating specials pages, about us page, etc... I'd just be happy if we could get them to send a meaningful email or pick up the damn phone!

Jeff - great article. You're spot on with the idea of hiring an outside agency. It is a great way to get over the blogging hump and then transition into using something in-house. hmmmm......I think a know a blogging dealership who did that

TuneyFish · Jun 11, 2012

Jeff,

I just noticed the title tag for this post is "4 Ways Your Staff Can Contribute To Your Dealerships Blog"

Was that the original post, and then frustration took over thinking they'll never follow the advice?

@VelocitySales makes a great point, that although it will take some editing, the information, content, raw data, etc, from within the dealer can be very valuable in terms of content.

Jun 11, 2012

The bottom line is dealers don't have the time to do all the work, It's not in their job discription or payplan. One person in the dealership cant handle all the blogging for all depts and the salepeople.

@automotiveseo · Jun 11, 2012

Allow me to play Devil's Advocate here for a moment, Jeff it sounds like you want to set up yet another silo within the dealership. You and I both know a number of dealerships that silo'd the "Internet" 10 to 15 years ago, and struggle to this day.

By placing all things digital in a silo - out of sight and out of mind - this allows the 'Floor' to go on pretending the Internet doesn't exist. As @automotiveseo mentions, many dealers still struggle with providing the basic content to merchandize their website. These tend to be the same dealers that ghettoized the Internet a decade ago.

I'm not saying your Service Manager or your Used Car Manager might not need some editing and some prodding, BUT I am saying it's better to get them involved today than to let them pretend the internet doesn't exist for another decade.

Jun 11, 2012

Jeff,

Great post and spot on. Writing for seo, social content or marketing is not any easy task and takes time to master. As Brian pointed out, many dealership sites lack specials and even worse are the emails that come out of their CRMs. Focus on what you do best and you will be successful.

TuneyFish · Jun 10, 2012

Hi Jeff,

I agree that most dealers aren't equipped to see a blog through to it's fullest potential. However, if they are active in their community, doing positive things and helping others, that's a good way to get the ball rolling with a blog.

daybreak · Jun 9, 2012

Anyone can write a blog. But can you write a blog that people will actually read? That's the real question here.

Jun 9, 2012

Jeff, The dealers that have a good process in getting all this content will see their online traffic grow so much from this. I would like to add Number 5.

5. Community , Dealers that post Videos, Photos, and blogging in and around their Communty hit out the park! This is the Golden Egg!

Jun 9, 2012

Jeff, The dealers that have a good process in getting all this content will see their online traffic grow so much from this.
I would like to add Number 5.
5. Community , Dealers that post Videos, Photos, and blogging in and around their Communty hit out the park! This is the Golden Egg!

1.Photos of happy customers beside their new car.
2.Positive reviews from sales and service customers.
3.Video testimonials from service and service customers – even this can be a stretch.
4.Feature / benefit walk around video (wrap this into an employee contest).

Jun 9, 2012

Jeff
Dealers have consistent difficultly updating their special pages, service coupon pages, and even completing their staff page which are often blank. If dealers struggle with providing the basic content to merchandize their website, I would have to agree with you that internal resources are not prioritized or capable in our current model to write content.

Jun 7, 2012

Hi aAaron, Thanks for your comment. Would you elaborate?

Jun 7, 2012

There is no social sales funnel, at least not for car dealerships.

Jun 6, 2012

Great, to the point example. Just shared it with my network.

Another really simple approach is to mine Twitter for people who are in the market for and discussing cars each day, and reach out to them. Our recently-released tool, NeedTagger, makes this easy to do. We are currently detecting thousands of automotive prospects per day. We use natural language filters, which is much better than keyword / hashtag search for this sort of thing.

Here is a list of the what we detect right now: http://www.needtagger.com/needs-we-detect-by-industry/

autosocial · Jun 1, 2012

Tired of watching your boss’s eyes glaze over every time you mention a “20% increase in likes?”

Depressed from hearing your colleagues report on revenue growth while you report on retweets?

Sick of people asking you what it’s like having “the fun job?”

This article is for you.

The truth is; most social media programs today are still lacking a true sales strategy at the core. We do have a social media strategy, you may say. On Mondays, we post a funny tweet, on Tuesday we post a car picture, and on Wednesday, we post statistics.

To this, I say, an editorial calendar is not a strategy. It’s a schedule. To take your social media to the next level, you need to start correlating it to true sales metrics. The good news? You totally can.

Here’s how to do it:

Example of a Social Lead Funnel

Step 1: Create a spring campaign for a free car wash for new Twitter followers (use a service like TwitHawk to geo-target.)

Step 2: When your followers come in for their free car wash, make sure they feel welcome. Have your staff go through shaking hands, handing out lemonade and cookies, and bringing around an iPad asking people if they’d like to sign up for your social channels for more great offers and information.

Step 3: From there, nurture them with content marketing that balances car shopping best practices (How To Speed Through the Car-Buying Process) with marketing about your dealership (Why Lola’s Car Dealership is the Best).

Step 4: Once you’ve nurtured the relationship with about 3-5 pieces of strong content, it’s time to reel them in with some urgency. Send them a deal they can’t refuse: either a service coupon that’s only good for the next three days, or an LTO hefty discount on a car that only lasts for the next two hours. Take a cue from Groupon; the shorter the window, the more people are inclined to act, so don’t be afraid to add an element of adventure and excitement with a super-tight time frame.

This is just one example of a content marketing funnel, and there are many variations you could try.

My overall point is that it’s now fully possible to tie social media to the ROI metrics your Dealer Principal or COE actually cares about: leads and sales. You now have the means to up your game from marginalized maven to basking in the glow of revenue generation with all your digital marketing colleagues. Won’t that feel great?

What have you done at your dealership to help create a Social Funnel? Sound off in the comments!

Jun 1, 2012

Thanks for all your support Jeff, Kevin & Jerry.

I agree with Jeff that most dealer websites are very restricted so in the meantime ensure your mobile website is well branded and have your department numbers prominent because consumers are looking for instant gratification - Like Kevin said “simplified content”

Mobile usage is yet another evolution change and as advertisers we must open all channels of communication and make it convenient for consumers to conduct business.

Jun 1, 2012

Great first post Shawn!

May 31, 2012

This is a tremendously important area that dealers need to take seriously. Just take a look at your web analytics and see how (and when) your mobile traffic is growing. Mobile traffic is different than your traditional website traffic and your mobile site needs to accomodate what they are looking for - phone numbers, directions and hours, and simplified content that downloads quickly. Kudos to Shawn Petley!

May 30, 2012

This is a guest post by Shawn Petley (eCommerce Director). Shawn and I were discussing mobile strategies in relation to some of stats coming out of the Google Mobile Playbook. Before we ended the call, I asked Shawn if he would like to write an article around our discussion highlighting some of the data from the Playbook...
- Jeff Kershner

Smartphones are embedded into daily life. Understanding the impact of smartphones on consumer behavior is key to reaching today’s on-the-go user and we all need help figuring out what to do in mobile and tablets, Google wants to help us in the form of a “playbook” for the industry.

The Mobile Playbook, offers tips on how we/dealers can better take advantage of mobile. The Playbook starts by asking five “crucial mobile questions” everyone should be asking today:

How does mobile change our value proposition?
How does mobile impact our digital destinations?
How is our organization adapting to mobile?
How should our marketing adapt to mobile?
How can we connect with our tablet audience?

Consumers are using smartphones and tablets to find the answers to questions and it’s our goal to answer those questions.

Mobile has a direct correlation with winning ZMOT because:

81% of smartphone users access the internet on mobile devices
77% use a search engine
48% watch videos
95% of smartphone users search for local information
61% called a business after searching
59% visited in person after search

At Google, they believe that our success in mobile will determine the future of our business.

Mobile search queries have grown 5x more in the past year. Mobile is incremental and needs its own budget to maximize exposure. Within the mobile budget you can allocate across mobile search, mobile display, experimental programs, extensions of other channels (email, social, coupons, etc.)

It’s important to note that these searches are incremental to your desktop search traffic, and these different searches create new opportunities. Meaning we need to embrace and leverage mobile ads because 74% mobile internet users are using search engines.

How many of you are using mobile ads?

Mobile ads can help you achieve your goals by connecting you with customers while they're on the go. Mobile ads can help you get new users, more leads and more conversions. Keep in mind that you will see higher phone conversions then eleads. When creating mobile ads add the following call-to-actions.

Increase your sales and leads with Click-to-call, a clickable phone number right in your mobile ad which makes it as easy as possible for customers to connect directly to your dealer.
Add ratings and online reviews
Add location-based ads that target customers who are looking for local dealers and show them relevant info like your dealer phone number and address.
Add sitelinks to help people get straight to a specific page on your mobile site.
Add location extensions which display directions to help customers find your dealer. So, if consumers are close enough to your business, a distance marker will show up in the ad indicating how close your dealer is to consumer.

How many of you have a mobile app for your dealership?

Google says “Having an app is not the same as having a mobile strategy. An app is essentially a bookmark for users who want to engage with you, but the majority of your traffic is likely coming from the web, not from brand-loyal power users who’ve downloaded your app.”

Keep in mind, your mobile website is also accessible by users across all devices, while apps must be designed for specific platforms.

But if you have an app you can increase downloads of your apps with click-to-download mobile ad formats. Also check out Google AdMob because you can connect with other apps to increase downloads and get noticed.

Here are some more takeaways from The Mobile PlayBook: The Busy Executive’s Guide to Winning with Mobile:

Check you mobile website for ease of use and ensure it’s dynamic with your phone number prominent.
Separate mobile-specific search campaigns from desktop search campaigns so your ads are more relevant.
Define your value proposition by determining what your consumer wants to do with your dealership in mobile.
Increase conversions with click-to-call phone number on mobile ads.
Maximize Email marketing for mobile users. Up to 30% of email opens come from mobile.
Incorporate location based products and services and make it easy for mobile customers to reach you because local information seeking is common among smartphone users and they are most ready to act on the information they find.
Develop a comprehensive cross-channel strategy as mobile shoppers use their phones in-store, online and via mobile website and apps to research and make purchase decisions.
Test, measure and develop messaging specific for mobile

Take 5 minutes today and search for your dealer on a smartphone and tablet as a consumer would. Are you happy with what you see?

What features are you looking to add to you dealers mobile website or mobile app in 2012?

Jun 13, 2012

The "old-school" dealerships are alive and well, and it's a shame. Sometimes, the dealership is actually forward thinking and putting the customer first, but there is a bad seed on the team not representing well when approaching the customer. It starts with the hiring phase, making sure you are adding the team member who is on board with your corporate personality. Sometimes, there are still the ones you miss, or a great employee becomes burnt out. Managers have to stay on top of the interactions and make sure that the sales team is representing the dealership as it should. A simple way to do that is to talk to the customer instead of hiding behind the desk as a manager. When the manager interacts with the customer and explains to them what is going on behind the curtains, they begin to feel more involved in the process, and part of the team. I know that when I am the customer, I want to be educated through every step in the process.

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