Car dealers need to be more engaging in their social media
Whilst many dealers and manufacturers are using Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites, they are failing to maximise these communication channels to build trust, loyalty and a long term relationship, according to Motoring.co.uk.
Chris Green, Sales Director of Motoring.co.uk comments: “The problem is that as long as there is a Facebook page with lots of likes and a Twitter feed, most dealers and manufacturers are happy. However, making social work to your advantage will be difficult if you bang out dross on an automatic Twitter feed, or send repetitive information that is not engaging, as consumers will simply switch off.
“So the big question to ask of your social media strategy and the content you deliver is ‘will it engage,build trust and create loyalty, and more importantly a long term relationship’, If not, ’what can I do about it’?
“Dealers have been capturing customer’s personal information for years, but have never stored it digitally. If they had, they could have created a digital local community where they could reward their consumers with rich automotive content - no different to a large publisher. Dealers have the cars, content and offers to produce their own news and information. They can also include events such as Motor Shows and car launches etc which can provide entertaining and sticky content. Dealers should be building a local community – it’s never too late to start.
“In contrast, manufacturers should be building a national community and engaging in a much more rewarding way with customers and prospects. For example on Twitter feeds, manufacturers could post ‘Just off to the global launch of our mouth-watering latest concept car’ or even promoting a simple hatchback launch but then the information stops but the teasing information should carry on to keep followers guessing and engaged. Imagine a live Q&A during the launch ? that would be incredibly engaging, and posting links so consumers could download brochure and test drive requests would be very powerful stuff.
“Building an automotive community is something that dealers and manufacturers should be looking at if they want to deepen their engagement with customers and prospects, and boost aftersales and customer loyalty. Over the last three years, we have built a community of over one 1 million third party opted-in motorists who own cars up to 10 years old.
“We have a weekly theme of rich rewarding automotive content for our users and they know exactly what they are getting from us, which is not always offers, as they can bore consumers. For example, topical news content supporting the hard hit motorist, which encourages them to comment, share and engage with us; games, competitions and quizzes which reward the consumer and are fun and entertaining; and specific timed and relevant retail and service offers.
“We are able to do this because we know how old their vehicle is; we know if they are thinking of changing it and to what and when; and we know when their servicing and MoT is due. Consumers give us this highly valuable information because we reward them with rich engaging content and they trust us.”
Motoring.co.uk’s Twitter account @motoringcouk and Facebook users (en-gb.facebook.com/motoringcouk) and followers have doubled in the last three months, taking the total figure to around 10,000 loyal and engaged people. The firm’s 1.3 million community of motorists is growing at a rate of around 50,000 per month and by the end of 2013, it is on target to have around 2 million consumers engaging, sharing, commenting and more importantly transacting with manufacturer and dealer partners.
Motoring.co.uk has a total active community of over 1.3 million registered users, growing at a rate of over 50,000 fresh motorists every month. Over 6 million unique users visit the Motoring.co.uk website annually, and with a focus on new and nearly new cars, it has established itself as the premier choice for OEM and franchised dealer in-market activity, servicing fourteen of the top twenty UK car brands.