1. Social Media
A brief guide to Social Media
January 2014

2. Goal
● Build trust and brand recognition
● Provide great customer service
● Engage customers

3. Why Is Social Media So Important?
● Search Engine will be phasing out backlinks
o Important to “backrub” algorithm (aka Google)
o To be replaced with social signals
● Social media means better organic reach
o Harder to fake, so better quality
o Think Facebook, Google+

4. Get Involved
Each dealership
● Establish your own online presence
Managers
● Choose someone to be a
“social media champion”

5. Get Involved
Each dealership MUST have their own
● Facebook page
o Encourage customers to “check in”
o Post pictures of your customer handovers
o Ultimately: Build trust
● Twitter account
o Have a conversation with you customers
o Offer bespoke deals
o Ultimately: Sales

6. Get Involved
Google Places
Your dealership MUST be listed
Claim and verify, complete the listing
Ultimately: Increase sales
● YouTube
o Engage with customers using video
o Upload videos of cars for prospects
o Ultimately: Increase sales

7. Facebook & Free Wifi
● Free wifi available to all customers
● Encourage customers to use wifi & check-in
to your dealership page
● Engage with them via facebook

8. Tone
● Be authentic and honest
● Be conversational, be yourself but show
respect
● The goal is to build a relationship of trust
● Don’t tell them what they should do
o eg: You’d be better buying from us

9. When To Post
● Try and post at least every 4 days
● Mondays are a good time to post
● After 1pm is the best time to post
● Metrics are constantly evolving.
● Initial guideline only.
● See what works for you!

10. How To Be Engaging
● Photos and videos
o Bright, colourful photos
o Depicting human interaction
● Questions
o Encourages interaction
o Tells people their opinions matter
o Show you are listening
o Respond to their feedback

11. Good Practices
"...remember that the tone is important
...authentic and honest ... conversational. Be
yourself. Show respect... The goal is to
help....don’t swoop in and tell them they’d be
better off buying it from us. If they’re looking for
help, or opinions, they’ll ask..."
o Best Buy (@twelpforce)

12. Bad Example
"Hot off the press!!!! REDUCED by over £1000
now only £3,999. This weeks bargain from..."

13. Good Example
“What amazing images do you hope to capture
this summer?
DSLR cameras offer versatility and advanced
performance for every skill level. Make your
memories share-worthy with the perfect DSLR
camera: http://shout.lt/jPhX”
o https://www.facebook.com/bestbuy

14. Good Example
“The Institute of Advanced Motorists thinks
learner drivers should be allowed on
motorways. What do you think?
http://buzz.mw/b862w_l”
o https://www.facebook.com/ArnoldClarkAutomobiles

15. Complaints: Damage limitation
● Acknowledge immediately
o Respond as soon as possible (minutes)
● Avoid public discussion of complaints
o Direct complainers away from social media
● Flag complaints as inappropriate
o Where possible
● Dilute with new content
o Add a new messages and encourage more
customer feedback

16. Complaints: Make them happy
Be a “Happiness Engineer”
● Treat complaints as opportunities
● Work towards a resolution
● Ensure they are happy with the resolution

17. What’s next?
● Upcoming: Google+
o Social signals will replace link building
o Google’s proprietary social network
o Linked to Google’s search algorithm
● High share potential
o Pinterest, Twitter
o Few ads to compete with
● Addons
o Youtube Instagram, LinkedIn...

18. To do: Check-in now
Get your phone out of your pocket...
1. Go to facebook.com
2. Logon or sign up
3. Check-in at your dealership

19. To do: Tweet
Get your phone out of your pocket...
1. Go to twitter.com
2. Logon or sign up
3. Broadcast a message

20. To do: Local search
1. Search for your dealership on Google Maps
2. Claim (or add) and verify your dealership
3. Update details and complete your listing

21. Any Questions?
Twitter: @jpswade
Facebook: facebook.com/jpswade
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jpswade