3. INTRODUCTION
Why Social Media?
Role of the Social Media Specialist
SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
Instagram
Google+
SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDELINES
General Guidelines
Goo.gl
CONTENT SCHEDULE
Content Details
Schedule
Social Media Scoring System
Social Media Access Information
02
03
06
07
08
10
11
14
15
18
30
36
37
TABLE OF CONTENTS
4. INTRODUCTION
Why Social Media?
Social media is a digital-based platform that
allows users to interact and socialize with
friends, family, co-workers, other users, and
engage with brands. It provides us with the
opportunity to engage with a large, accessible
database of previous customers and potential
future customers. Most social Media platforms
have advanced marketing tools that allow us to
access a specific audience through paid
promotions.
Customers who do online research during the
shopping process of purchasing a vehicle are very
likely to visit your website, review sites, and social
media pages to learn more about your dealership.
Quality posts and audience engagement on your
social media platforms sends a positive signal to
your potential customer.
Social media possesses a unique set of
characteristics that must be considered when
preparing your message in order to reach
the audience you intend to reach. Every
communication should start with a clearly
defined goal such as driving traffic to your
store or a particular area of your website (e.g.
sale promotions), or enhancing the brand of
your dealership (e.g. “How-to” videos, Feature
Vehicle videos).
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Role of the Social
Media Specialist
The Social Media Specialist is our dedicated in-house social
media champion for the dealership. Your dealership relies on
you to ensure your social media pages are properly maintained
and filled with quality content for your audience.
You are responsible for posting regular content on all social
media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and
YouTube. Much of the content you produce for one of these
platforms can be used across all other platforms.
The most effective approach to this role is to maintain daily
communication with your General Manager to ensure you have
the resources to get your job done. These resources include
time allocated to produce social media content, regular
participation from other staff members, and news on any
upcoming special events or happenings at the dealership.
Proper communication and working with other staff members
with other staff is key to social media success.
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FACEBOOK
Facebook is the most popular and widely used of all social
media platforms, and therefore has the largest database
of potential customers. Facebook allows you to share text,
images, and video content, and has advanced marketing tools
that allow us to share this content with an extended audience
within a targeted geographic area.
Example Post:
Text is straight to the point
and provides enough
enticing information for
the customer to want to
learn more.
Professional and timely
response to a
consumer inquiry.
High quality, relevant image
that showcases the dealership’s
product, and will catch the eye
of the consumer.
Links generated using ‘goo.gl’
that link to relevant pages of the
dealership’s website.
1
4
3
2
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TWITTER
Twitter enables its users to get up-to-date live information from
their favourite celebrities, athletes, and brands. Brands can use
Twitter to share text, picture, and video content, and to engage
in actual conversations with their customer. One unique charac-
teristic of Twitter over other social media platforms is that users
can discover and engage in conversations with other users
without many restrictions; in fact, this is almost expected on
Twitter. Twitter has recently added advanced marketing tools
that allow us to promote our content to an extended audience
with fine-tune targeting capabilities.
Example Post:
Text that entices the user to click a link to the
article on the Car Nation Canada blog.
Link was generated using the ‘goo.gl’ service.
Image that provides further context about what
the user can expect when they click on the link.
This image also supports to the text in enticing
the customer to click the link to our website.
1
2
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YOUTUBE
YouTube is the 4th most visited website in Canada, and is
owned by the company whose website holds the top 2 spots in
this ranking, Google. YouTube provides us the opportunity to
share video content, and to have that video content
discovered by potential consumers. Our dealerships take
two different approaches to creating content on YouTube.
1. OEM New Model Reviews
The strategy behind this approach is to create a
‘brochure-style’ video that is directed at consumers in the
research phase of the car-buying process. You are not
discussing price or anything related to promotions of the
vehicle, you are providing in-depth information about all
features of this vehicle. As a representative of your OEM
dealership, you are a professional on this brand and you are
sharing your expert knowledge with the consumer. By proving
yourself as a knowledgeable professional, your potential
customer sees you and your dealership as the place to
purchase the vehicle they’re interested in because they know
they can trust you and you’ve already passed the ‘first
impression’ stage.
2. Customer Videos
The purpose of these videos are to provide a customer who
has expressed interest in a particular vehicle with a customized
walk-around video of that particular vehicle. A product advisor
will shoot a short 2-3 minute video reviewing the exterior and
interior of the vehicle of interest. The Product Advisor should
provide information about the selling features of the vehicle,
as well as the imperfections of the vehicle so that there are no
surprises when the customer comes to the dealership to see
the vehicle.
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SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDE 2016
Example Post:
Title includes Year, Make, Model and Trim Level
of the vehicle. The title also includes the dearship
name. Each of these terms is separated by the
vertical slash ‘I’ for readability purposes.
Description includes clicable link to dealership
website, a brief description of the video containing
relevant search terms that consumers may use to
find the video.
Links to related video from the Unique Chrysler
channel for consumers who want to learn more
about his model
Purchase info and contact details for Product
Advisor who presents in the video.
Google Maps link to dealership location. Works on
desktop and mobile.
1
2
3
4
5
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INSTAGRAM
Instagram enables its users to share image and video content, and
also provides the user with editing tools to produce aesthetically
pleasing images through the use of ‘filters’. Brands can use
Instagram to engage with their audience by sharing interesting,
brand-relevant content. Successful brands create a content
theme and post consistently.
Example Post:
Quality image of rare vehicle trim levels.
Brife description of the image that provides
context as to what makes this image interesting.
Use of hashtags to provide context to the user,
and enable this content to be discovered by
other users.
1
2
2
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Example Post:
Brief description that entices the reader to want to
read more about a Chrysler product.
Google+ uses the ‘hashtag’ tool, as well as the ‘+’
tool to tag other pages and users.
Goo.gl URL links to the article on the Car Nation
Canada blog.
Quality image that catches the viewer’s attention
and entices them to want to learn more.
1
2
3
GOOGLE+
Social media’s big up-and-comer has really arrived over the
past few years. By combining the best of Facebook and
Twitter into one site – and backing it by the power of the
world’s largest search engine, Google has given users a social
site that has a little something for everyone. You can add new
content, highlight topics with hashtags, and even separate
contacts into circles.
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GENERAL GUIDELINES
Professionalism
As a representative of a Car Nation Canada
dealership, and of a manufacturer brand (e.g.
Ford, Chrysler, Nissan, Kia, etc.) you must
approach all social media communications in
a professional manner. This includes language,
grammar, and tone of voice. If you are uncertain
about how to approach a situation (e.g. an irate
customer), please contact the Marketing Manager
immediately, or consult with your General
Manager to find a solution.
Commitment to Quality
Think of your social media platform as a TV
Network (or channel); are you more likely to grow
and maintain an audience through quality
programming, or through a high-volume of
low-effort programs? Car Nation Canada
dealerships seek to provide our customer with
quality information and content. We stick to
what we know best – cars. We are automotive
professionals and we share our expertise with
our audience so that they are informed, and
they know we are credible experts on everything
related to our industry and our brands (e.g. Ford,
Chrysler, Nissan, Kia, etc.).
Measure Your Efforts
In order to know how our audience is responding
to our content (engagement), we must track and
measure our efforts. Many social media platforms
use ‘likes’, ‘shares’, ‘regrams, ‘retweets’, and
other engagement tools that allow customers to
express how they feel about your content - these
are easy to track. However, measuring how
many people have clicked your links to visit your
website must be done using Google’s ‘goo.gl’
link generating service. All posts must contain a
link to a relevant page on your website, and all
links must be generated using Google’s
‘goo.gl’ service.
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Google provides a free service that can be used to generate
trackable links. Follow these steps to generate a link that you
will use for your social media posts.
1. Sign in to your dealership’s Google account.
2. Type the following into your browser: goo.gl
3. Double-check on the top right side of the page to ensure
you are signed in to the appropriate Google account. If
you are not signed in, you cannot track the number of
clicks on your link.
4. Copy the URL you wish to generate a goo.gl link for
5. Paste the link into the box that says “Paste your long
URL here:”
6. Click “Shorten URL”
7. A shortened URL will appear on the right side of the
page, beside the “Shorten URL” button.
8. Copy this shortened URL link (CTRL+C on your
keyboard, or Right-click > Copy)
9. Paste (CTRL+V, or Right-click > Paste)
To see how many people have clicked on a link, simply sign
into your Google account and visit “goo.gl”. A List of your
generated links will appear in a chronological order, starting
with the most recent link generated.
GOO.GL
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CONTENT DETAILS
Employee of the Month
Each dealership has an Employee of the Month,
as chosen by the General Manager of the
Dealership. Recognize this ‘Employee of the
Month’ by including them in a social media post
that feaures the Employee of the Month. Be sure
to include a quote from the GM as to why the
Employee was chosen as Employee of the Month.
One option is to do an interview with the individual.
Questions to include in the interview may include:
(1) What is your position at the dealership? (2)
How do you deliver a great experience for our
customers? (3) What is your favourite thing about
working at the dealership? For a better interview
experience, come up with your own ideas to
showcase the Employee of the Month.
Relevant links:
Employee profile on DealerRater.ca
See why our customers rate John Smith 4.5/5
stars: http://goo.gl/link
Link to Specials from Employee’s department
See current Service special offers here: http://
goo.gl /link
Media Formats:
Image
Take a photo of the staff member and summarize
the interview in text.
Video
Record a video of the interview. In text, include
a quote from your GM as to why this person was
selected for Employee of the Month.
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VEHICLE HIGHLIGHT /
FEATURE SERIES
This is set up to be a weekly video series that
features a specific vehicle and showcases all the
features of this vehicle. This idea is especially
geared toward our OEM stores (Chrysler, Ford,
Kia, Nissan, etc.) and requires the involvement of
a Product Advisor. Select a newly arrived 2016
vehicle, and do an in-depth review over multiple
video segments on that vehicle. This video series
can have as many segments as you’d like, but
should have at least 3 segments per week.
Here is what your video series
should look like over one week:
1. Select a trim level of a particular 2016 model
2016 Ford Explorer Limited.
2. Select features to highlight (consult with
Product Advisors) and plan what will be
covered in each video segment.
Video 1 – Overview
Focus on new design upgrades – front
grille, sharper lines all over, revised
tail lamps, integrated exhaust outlets,
new rims.
Mention other new updates that will be
covered in upcoming videos segments
including new engines, technology
and media.
Video 2 – Focus on new Engines
Video 3 – Focus on new technology
and media center
3. Combine all videos into one video and post
on YouTube as completed review.
Relevant links to include in the post:
1. Current Manufacturer sales specials
2. Available Inventory (of model from video)
Media Formats:
Image
Ideally this should be a video series, but you can
use images. Create a collage, or use an image
of the specific topic or feature you’d like to
discuss in your post. Keep text brief as multiple
paragraphs may deter people from reading
your post.
Video
please refer to step-by-step instruction above
your post.
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MAINTENANCE MONDAY
“Maintenance Monday” gives you a chance to promote our
Service department and access their knowledge about proper
maintenance of a vehicle. These posts should focus on a
specific part of the vehicle such as tires, brakes, windshields,
or the battery. There are 52 weeks in a year, which means it is
possible that there could be 52 “Maintenance Monday” posts
throughout the year, so be sure not to cover everything in one
video. Refer to the Social Media Schedule below for
“Maintenance Monday” ideas for the winter months.
Relevant links:
1. Current Service Specials
2. Contact us page (to set up Service Appointment)
Media Formats:
Video
A video enables you to provide better detailed and depth of
explanation than an image. Involve your Service Advisor or
Mechanic in these videos and use an ‘interview-style’
approach is necessary.
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“HOW-TO” VIDEO
The “How-to” video is an educational or informational piece
that focuses on a specific feature of a vehicle. You may
explain how to use a specific feature of a vehicle, or how to
identify when a vehicle needs to come in for maintenance.
Consider the following topics for your ‘how-to’ videos, as they
are the most commonly searched ‘how-to’ automotive search
terms on Google:
1. How to connect/sync your phone to Bluetooth
2. How to use voice command controls
3. How to navigate through the media center
4. How to use Safety technology, including Blind Spot
warning, Lane Departure warning, etc.
5. How to tell when you should change your oil
6. How to turn off check engine light
7. How to clean headlights
8. How to adjust headlights
9. How to repair car paint
10. How to fix rust on a car
11. How to stop car rust
12. How to protect car from rust
13. How to remove car scratches
14. How to remove deep scratches from car
15. How to change a flat tire
16. How to check tire pressure
17. How to change a wiper blade
18. How to replace tail light
Relevant links to include in the post:
1. Inventory page of vehicle featured in the video
2. Sales special if model has monthly incentive
3. Service Specials if topic is Service-related
Media Formats:
Video
A video enables you to provide better detailed and depth of
explanation than an image.
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SALES AND SPECIALS
An overabundance of Sales and Specials promotional posts on
our social media platforms will create a poor experience for our
audience, which includes potential future customers and
current customers. However, one post per week that focuses
on current Sales and Specials at the dealership is a healthy
amount and will actually be valuable information to customers
who are interested or are considering purchasing a vehicle.
Provide your audience with a creative approach to these types
of posts and you’ll see a significant increase in engagement
from your potential customers.
Relevant links to include in your post:
1. Current Manufacturer incentives
2. Inventory that relates to the sale
3. Contact Us accompanied by a suggestion that the
customer should set up an appointment with one
of our staff at the dealership
Media Formats:
Picture
Use a delivery picture, or a picture of the employee who is
included in the review
Video
Use the video format to convey enthusiasm and a sense of
urgency for the customer to take advantage of the offer
available during your event.
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SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDE 2016
Sharing recent customer reviews can have a positive impact
on both current customers, as well as future potential
customers. For current customers (people who have
purchased vehicles from us in the past), seeing positive
reviews on our social media platforms reaffirms their decision
in purchasing their vehicle from your dealership, and instills
confidence in them to ‘spread the word’ about your
dealership. For future customers, it provides them with an
unbiased third party opinion about the dealership and these
customer reviews mayeven address any concerns the
customer may have before deciding to purchase a vehicle
from your dealership.
Relevant links to include in the post:
1. Dealership Reviews page on dealership website
2. Specific inventory page related to the vehicle purchased
by the reviewer (e.g. if customer purchased 2015 Nissan
Maxima, link to your current 2015 Nissan Maxima
inventory search results)
Media Formats:
Image
Use a delivery picture, or a picture of the employee who is
included in the review.
REVIEWS
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DELIVERY PICTURE
Take a picture with your happy customer upon delivery of their
vehicle, in front of your dealership. Be sure to obtain permission
from the customer before you take the picture and post on
social media. You may also ask them to look out for the picture
on a specific social media page and suggest they share the
post on their page (share, retweet, regram, etc.).
Relevant links to include in your post:
1. Dealership Reviews page on dealership website
2. Employee (Product Advisor) profile on DealerRater.ca
Available Inventory similar to customer’s vehicle (e.g. if
customer purchased 2015 Nissan Maxima, link to your
current 2015 Nissan Maxima inventory search results)
Media Formats:
Image
Include your customer, their vehicle, and their Product
Advisor. Be sure to block out their license plate number for
privacy purposes.
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SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDE 2016
Come up with a theme or a regular format to showcase the
staff at your dealership so that current and future potential
customers can get familiar with the staff they can expect to
meet in store. Current (past) customers can benefit from this
as people who have purchased a vehicle may be looking to
bring their vehicle in to the Service Department and may not
have met the staff when they purchased their vehicle.
Relevant links to include in the post:
1. Employee profile on DealerRater.ca
Media Formats:
Image
include a relevant image in your post.
Video
if your post needs further explanation, use the video format.
STAFF INTERVIEW
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USED VEHICLE OF THE WEEK
Select a vehicle that is available at a great price, or is unique
and feature this vehicle as the “Pre-owned Vehicle of the
Week”. Be sure to provide potential customers with some of
the more exciting details about the value in order to build value.
Invite the potential customers to book an appointment to view
this vehicle in store.
Relevant links to include in your post:
1. Inventory details page for this particular vehicle
2. Contact Us page from dealership website
Media Formats:
Image
create a collage and/or be sure to provide sufficient information
in the text portion of this post.
Video
be sure to highlight a few select key features of this vehicle.
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SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDE 2016
WHY VISIT YOUR
DEALERSHIP?
This post is targeted to consumers who are doing last minute
research before visiting dealerships on the weekend. Use this
post to highlight a wide variety of the dealership’s “selling
features” to the customer. Simply put, answer the question
“why should a potential customer visit your dealership this
weekend?”. Reasons may include an exclusive weekend-only
sale, newly arrived inventory, giveaway with purchase of
vehicle, time of year (e.g. get your snow tires on/off before the
rush), updates to showroom, etc.
Relevant links to include in your post:
1. Depending on the topic of your post, you may include
a link to your inventory, specials page, staff profile on
DealerRater.ca, etc.
Media Formats:
Image
include a relevant image in your post.
Video
if your post requires further explanition, use the video format.
33. 3130
Employee of the Month
New Years Resolution
Vehicle Highlight 2
Reviews
Staff Interview
Vehicle Highlight 2
Reviews
Staff Interview
Vehicle Highlight 2
Reviews
Staff Interview
Vehicle Highlight 2
Reviews
Staff Interview
Vehicle Highlight 3
Reviews
Why visit your dealership?
Vehicle Highlight 3
Reviews
Why visit your dealership?
Vehicle Highlight 3
Reviews
Why visit your dealership?
Vehicle Highlight 3
Reviews
Why visit your dealership?
Used Vehicle of the Week
How-to Video
Delivery Pic
Used Vehicle of the Week
How-to Video
Delivery Pic
Used Vehicle of the Week
How-to Video
Delivery Pic
Used Vehicle of the Week
How-to Video
Delivery Pic
13
20
27
14
21
28
15
22
29
16
23
30
6 7
1
8
2
9
Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
34. Sales/Special
How-to Video
Delivery Pic
Sales/Special
How-to Video
Delivery Pic
Sales/Special
How-to Video
Delivery Pic
Sales/Special
How-to Video
Delivery Pic
Vehicle Highlight 1
Maintenance Monday –
Alignment
Vehicle Highlight 1
Maintenance Monday –
Undercoating
FEBRUARY2016
9
16
7
14
8
15
Employee of the Month
1 2
Family DayValentine’s Day
Post
Family Day Post
2624
31
25
2321
28
22
29
Vehicle Highlight 1
Maintenance Monday –
Heating System Inspection
Sunday Monday Tuesday
35. Vehicle Highlight 2
Reviews
Staff Interview
Vehicle Highlight 2
Reviews
Staff Interview
Vehicle Highlight 2
Reviews
Staff Interview
Vehicle Highlight 2
Reviews
Staff Interview
Vehicle Highlight 3
Reviews
Valentine’s Day Post
Family Day Post
Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day Post
Family Day Post
Vehicle Highlight 3
Reviews
Why visit your dealership?
Vehicle Highlight 3
Reviews
Why visit your dealership?
Vehicle Highlight 3
Reviews
Why visit your dealership?
Used Vehicle of the Week
How-to Video
Delivery Pic
Used Vehicle of the Week
How-to Video
Delivery Pic
Used Vehicle of the Week
How-to Video
Delivery Pic
Used Vehicle of the Week
How-to Video
Delivery Pic
17 18 19 20
10
3
11
4 5
12
6
13
27 28 29 30
24 25 26 27
Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
37. Vehicle Highlight 2
Reviews
Staff Interview
Vehicle Highlight 2
Reviews
Staff Interview
Vehicle Highlight 2
Reviews
Staff Interview
Vehicle Highlight 2
Reviews
Staff Interview
Vehicle Highlight 2
Reviews
Staff Interview
Vehicle Highlight 3
Reviews
Why visit your dealership?
Vehicle Highlight 3
Reviews
Why visit your dealership?
Vehicle Highlight 3
Reviews
Why visit your dealership?
Good Friday
Vehicle Highlight 3
Reviews
Why visit your dealership?
Used Vehicle of the Week
How-to Video
St. Patrick’s Day Post
Used Vehicle of the Week
How-to Video
Delivery Pic
Used Vehicle of the Week
How-to Video
Delivery Pic
Used Vehicle of the Week
How-to Video
Easter Weekend
Used Vehicle of the Week
How-to Video
Delivery Pic
23
16
30
24
17
31
25
18
26
19
9
2
10
3
11
4
12
5
24 25 26 27
Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
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2016 SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDE
SOCIAL MEDIA SCORING SYSTEM
The Social Media Scoring system attributes points to different elements of social media
activity, and is used to rank our dealerships on a weekly basis.
The scoring system not only tracks the activity, but also the results of that activity. Points are
awarded for content published, as well as the level of engagement from the audience (e.g.
Likes, Shares, etc.) The strategy behind the social media scoring system encourages proper
social media practices and will continue to evolve as social media practice changes.
Notes: Links must be using the Goo.gl format and must link to your dealership website, CarNationCanada.com, or your dealership’s (or staff) DealerRater.ca page.
Note: Engagement posts are only awarded to activity from non-staff, as the goal of social media is to reach our customers and potential future customers.
In addition, staff are expected to engage with their respective dealership’s social media pages on a regular basis.
Post Type Value
Activity: Posts
Facebook Post w /Picture
Facebook Post + Links
Facebook Video
Facebook Video + Links
Instagram
Twitter Post w /Picture
Twitter Post & Link
YouTube New Video
YouTube Customer Video
YouTube Vehicle Highlight Video
Activity: Engagement
Facebook Post “Like”
Facebook Post “Share”
Twitter “Favourite”
Twitter “Retweet”
Instagram “Like”
Positive Comment on Post
YouTube Video “Likes”
5
10
10
15
5
5
10
40
5
20
10
20
5
20
5
10
5
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SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDE 2016
SOCIAL MEDIA
ACCESS INFORMATION
Platform Username Password
YouTube/Google+/Goo.gl
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
