7 minute read
Log on and promote
How to use social media as a voice for your dealership
By Justin Whaley solely on Facebook. Tis is a huge benefactor that allows tire retailers to come alive online not only through what they publish
Social media has become a powerful promotional tool. to their profles, but also to share what others are saying about Information about your business can be shared with their experiences and join in the community conversation. thousands, even millions of potential customers almost “Before, we knew it was a good thing to gain a lot of quality instantaneously thanks to the popularity of mobile phones, fans,” Taylor says. “With Graph Search, the more fans you tablets and laptops. have, the more opportunities you’ll have for word-of-mouth.”
Having an active business presence on social media sites Tat is true of commercial tire dealers and retreaders as well. such as YouTube, Twiter and Facebook is something that may In analyzing “Modern Tire Dealer’s Top 100 Retreaders in the become a necessity for commercial dealers — if it hasn’t already. U.S.” report, the top fve retreaders and eight out of the top 10
Promotional tweets, advertisements on YouTube and, for are spreading the word about their commercial businesses via the commercial dealers who also ofer retail services, scrolling YouTube, and their retail businesses through Facebook and advertisements for local stores on Facebook are part of a new Twiter. Take McCarthy Tire Service Co., for example. Ranked age of reaching and developing a customer base. No. 6 on MTD’s Top 25 U.S. commercial tire dealers list and
According to a report this year by Business Insider, 93% of No. 8 on MTD’s Top 100 Retreaders list, the Wilkes-Barre, marketing strategists throughout various industries use social Pa.-based dealership has 29 commercial outlets, 13 combination media to spread the word about their business practices. Tey are commercial/retail outlets and seven retread shops. It has a strong well aware that scrolling social media presence through news feeds and for its retail business, checking status updates have become second“Social media is great but also features its commercial services nature to the younger generation and the for consumer research, where warranted. tech-savvy. Web boost: 4
Media Bistro says both for consumer and guidelines close to 83% of con“Dealers need to sumers across industries use their social media commercial tire dealers.” be following strains of information: what’s encounters to decide John Taylor, president, JTMarcom happening in their whether or not to visit communities with a store when they need their customers, with products or services. their competitors,” Taylor says. “You can create that strain in
“Most of the remarks we were geting at tire conferences Twiter to follow keywords. Local tire dealers need to be seeing were that social media is not a fad — it’s here to stay,” says who says, ‘I just got a fat; I need some tires!’” John Taylor, president of the tire marketing agency JTMarcom. In addition to keeping up with local and community con“Social media gives businesses a way to communicate and engage versations, Taylor suggests retailers increase their application customers directly. It’s got direct value for small businesses.” and monitoring of Facebook advertising — who clicks on
On a local level, tools such as Facebook, Twiter and Google sidebar advertisements, where they fnd the ads and when Plus help level the playing feld for smaller stores against their the most high-trafc times occur. Hone in on your audience bigger, more corporate competitors, says Taylor. “Tey are local and do Facebook ads to them. businesses and they’re involved in their local communities. It At a cost of between $10 and $40 per day, Taylor recommends helps them build not only their brands, but also awareness of retailers pay atention to who’s viewing the advertisements and their businesses. It’s tremendous for customer service. It’s great whether those advertisements are making a bigger-picture for consumer research, both for consumer and commercial diference in sales and promoting the company’s name. Taylor tire dealers. It gives you that opportunity to engage with your says this can even be done for a few days to a few weeks as customers and potential customers.” a test trial.
Te Facebook tool Graph Search allows Facebook users to Although starting an online persona might not be the search for stores and companies and see what their friends — same experience for everybody, these four guidelines point and their friends’ friends — know about specifc stores. Tink out main concepts to consider when giving your business a of Graph Search as a Google search but specifc to content that’s boost on the Web.
1. Deciding on your social media. Although most social media sites are laden with teens and Millennials (members of the Millennial Generation, or Generation Y) who share news and communicate about the latest trends, the fastest-growing demographic within Facebook and Twiter users span ages 55 to 70 and ages 45 to 54, respectively. Given the older age statistics of these social networks, social media moderators for retailers and retreaders can strategize how to communicate efectively to those age groups.
When developing a social media strategy and deciding which mediums are most benefcial to your company, “Te dealer needs to think about his demographic, his core audiences,” Taylor says. “Are they a lot of suburban moms? Do they make up a large amount of their audience? If so, they may want to look at Pinterest. If their audience is a lot of gearheads and of-road enthusiasts, I think Twiter and Instagram would be benefcial. Really think about who your core audiences are and go from there.” 2. Finding a focus. Decide what you want the bulk of your content to be. Once you have a content outline or a defning idea of how you want to come across online, follow that plan.
Take Best-One Tire & Service, based in South Bend, Ind., for example. Also a Top 10-ranked retreader and strong retailer, Best-One focuses on the retail deals on Facebook: oil change discounts, service specials, even the Best-One credit card that allows customers to charge now and pay in increments. Te chain runs numerous videos on YouTube, including “Best One Tires & Service installing new drive tires.”
In addition to its non-traditional approach on Facebook, Purcell Tire posted videos on YouTube explaining commercial vehicle servicing and auto repairs.
3. Defning your personality. Tis might take time to develop, but think about the personality of your store/plant and how to relay that into an online persona people will understand. Purcell Tire & Rubber Co., the eighth largest commercial dealership in the U.S., takes a non-traditional approach: It doesn’t share basic company information with its 9,000-plus followers on Facebook. Te bulk of Purcell’s Facebook content is news about bizarre concept vehicles, photos of elegant classics and occasional open-ended questions for people to answer.
Purcell’s approach might seem odd to some, but all of the content is related to the auto industry in some form. Entertainment value keeps people coming back, and fun-yet-informative posts is one method of doing just that. 4. Staying Current. Once you’ve set up your company’s social media page or account, upkeep is essential. Whether you’re doing two posts a day or two posts a week depends on what kind of content you’re sharing (news vs. photos, etc.). Regardless, an online presence in the form of new material is paramount to your success.
Posting regularly and scheduling specifc posts for specifc days will give your online followers expectations, and will keep them coming back for more. If customers praise you, thank them. If they rant about a bad experience, fnd out as quickly as possible how to alleviate the problem. Users who see an outdated profle might be of-put and might choose a diferent provider for the tires or parts they need.
It’s important for the moderator to be logged in and check the profles multiple times per day to catch customer comments and news as it happens. And he or she should always have the last word in a series of comments, even if it’s a simple, “Tanks again.”
Social media has been a work in progress for 10 years. “Now that tire dealers realize how important (social media) is, a lot of them have risen to the occasion,” Taylor says. “Tey’re struggling, but they’re heading in the right direction. Tey’re smart people. Tey’re smart businesspeople. Tey’ll fgure it out, and they’ll continue to fgure it out. We’re all fguring it out.” ■
Justin Whaley is a social media professional based in St. Louis. As a feelance writer, his other works have appeared in GQ, Nylon Guys and city magazines throughout Missouri.
