Codeweavers believe that imagination is the key to linking dealer finance and social media, and that dealers need to recognise that social media is not just about providing stock lists on Twitter and Facebook. For us, social media in a motor retail environment refers to any digital media platform that engages consumers and enables them to interact with others. It is about giving potential customers a reason to spend time with the dealership and/or sharing views about the dealership with content that is interesting and/or useful. 

"For dealer finance, we believe this is about leveraging a total digital finance showroom approach and this is exactly what we are delivering,” notes Shaun Harris, Codeweavers’ Sales Director.

• How good are dealers at using social media, and how are the variations influenced by the age of senior executives, turnover/number of retail points, region of the UK and their car franchises?

All too often, dealer social media activity is dominated by stock lists. This invariably misses the ‘engaging content’ core requirement. Age of senior executives is not an issue with social media, nor is geography; it is time, confidence, skills and most pressingly how to get a financial return. The fact is that social media tools can be used to create a relationship, where they offer tools that the consumer wants. 

• Generally, are dealers making the best use of Facebook, Twitter etc: do they organize campaigns regularly and ensure staff respond quickly to customer questions and requests?

‘Likes’ ‘friends’ and ‘followers’ are useful, but they are not profit and this is the dilemma that campaigns on social media commonly provide. The real golden opportunity is to provide the type of engaging content that offers real practical value with the customer on the platform they want.

Millions of customers have conversations every day on social media, this has to represent a car sales/finance opportunity – the dilemma is that to realise the opportunity, dealers have to build valued and trusted friendships over an extended period and in the tactical car retailing environment this is not always a natural approach.

 

TWITTER     

Did you know Twitter users exposed to auto brand Tweets are 74% more likely to visit auto brand websites than the average internet user, according to Compete.

Enhance your Twitter company bio

Does your Twitter company bio grab your customers attention? Your bio needs to to the point and capture your customers attention within seconds.

Tweet lots

Ideally, you should be tweeting at least four times a day, and up to twice per hour. Research by communications group Ragan found people who posted a concentrated number of tweets in a short time span had 50% higher follower growth compared to those who didn’t.

Follow other Twitter users

If you want people to follow you, you’ve got to follow others. Be strategic with who you follow but finding the thought leaders in the industry and connect with them.

You can find relevant people by searching keywords in Twitter’s advanced search tool.

Don’t stuff hashtags

Hashtags are great but hashtag stuffing is not. You only need one or two hashtags per tweet, maximum. Three hashtags or more, and engagement starts to plummet.

Time your Tweets to perfection

The time of day you tweet has a huge impact on how many people will see what you are sharing.

Join a Twitter chat

Twitter chats are like weekly conferences that you can join from your office desk or couch. We would suggest joining #motorhour and #autohour.

Search for your company

Put your company name into Twitter’s search bar. You will discover what people really think of your brand.

 

FACEBOOK 

43% of car buyers said they would use Facebook to search for a local dealership, while 59% would trust a review from a Facebook friend more than reviews found at other sites‘ according to the 2013 Automotive Social Media and Reputation Trend Study.

Embed videos into your Facebook page

Add videos to your Facebook to increase your customers engagement. We suggest you include videos about your company and what you offer. Codeweavers have a suite of motor finance information videos readily available. Alternatively we can create bespoke videos that will suit your Facebook’s look and feel and adapt the messages you want to portray to customers

Great use of Facebook Page Apps 

Interact with your customers by adding apps to your Facebook. Codeweavers have apps readily available for Facebook. Enabling your customers to search your stock by their budget and includes some powerful lead generation tools. Another app to use is the review app.

Don’t use Facebook for the ‘hard sell’

Using advertising slogans, posting repeatedly about a particular product or service, or providing lists of products and prices in isolation from any related conversation – may result in other users unfollowing you.

Post regularly

On average around 50% of all Facebook users check their page at least once a day. Some people suggest for businesses to post everyday, however we suggest that you post when you have interesting content, and to judge yourself how often your audience wants to hear from you.

Use Facebook Insights to learn more about your customers

Facebook Insights can tell you more about the people who choose to like your page. Once you know your Facebook followers characteristics, you can tailor your posts and offers to meet their needs and interests.

Focus on engagement

How can you stimulate users to get involved with your business? Try asking questions and offering polls that invite a response. At the end of a post, remember to invite fans to comment, like or share. When people do respond, keep the conversation going with comments of your own.

 

LINKEDIN 

With around half of new vehicle registrations being company cars and dealers under pressure to grow custom among local businesses, LinkedIn offers a genuine opportunity which can reap extensive rewards, states Philip Calvert, founder of LifeTalk. 

Link to quality content

Company Updates containing links can have up to 45% higher follower engagement than updates without links.

Think about timing

Updates posted in the morning usually earn the highest engagement, with a slight bump occurring again after business hours. Experiment to see what works best for your company.

Use images to capture attention

Images make your LinkedIn company page visually appealing to visitors, so they are more likely to consume and share your content—and direct their connections to your company page.

Engage your audience

Remember that while LinkedIn is a professional space, it’s also a social network. Make an effort to communicate with your followers through updates, responses and other engagement strategies

Ideas of what to post 

Your company material, including blog posts, videos, presentations, etc. This could be anything you have produced internally which will be relevant and interesting to your audience. This also includes updates from your business such as job vacancies or new services.

External articles – posting industry relevant articles which you have your company point of view on, or where you can provide additional insight and value to your followers, will increase the chances of your company been seen as a go-to-source for the latest news in the motor industry.

GOOGLE+ 

Did you know 42% of Google+ users interact with brands' content.

Join communities

Participate in community conversations related to your dealership and industry. Ask questions and get involved with the conversation positively. Try starting your own community so you can guide the conversation wherever you like.

Write helpful articles

If you don’t already have a blog for your car dealership, now is a good time to start one. Each time you post onto the blog, place the link on your Google+ account. Your Google+ followers will receive an email notification and can read the article at their leisure.

Run exclusive promotions

Launch new vehicle stock and updates here first to make your customer feel like the insiders with special discounts and inside scoops.

Don’t spam your circles

Circles are a great way to target your posts to reach your targeted consumers. Don’t overuse or abuse them and send them too many email notifications.

Take advantage of Google+ reviews

With Google+ reviews showing up on search results, potential customers might be influenced to choose your business if they come across positive reviews. Therefore, provide great service and proactively solicit reviews on Google+.

Use Google+ Ripples

Ripples is an insight tool that helps you identify the influencers in your company’s market and what posts intrigue them the most by using easy to follow graphics.

 

YOUTUBE 

Did you know 84% of car buyers plan to watch auto videos the next time they shop for a car, compared to 78% last year.

Volume

The most successful brands have 50 percent more videos per channel compared to the least successful ones.

Range

The best YouTube marketers produce a broader range of video content. Codeweavers have a video production team at hand to create bespoke videos for both dealerships and businesses. If this is of interest email marketing@codeweavers.net

Adding more content is more important than adding more channels

37% of all channels have not been updated with fresh content for over 120 days.

Make a great video title

There are two fundamental reasons for creating a great title. First, a great video title will grab the attention of prospects and viewers. Consumers will access your YouTube marketing videos if they have relevant and attractive titles.

Review a product 

You should also create video demos or product review videos that highlight the major features of a product and how they translate into benefits for consumers.

 

Contact Codeweavers to find out what our video production team can do for you.