As the year comes to an end, we’ve witnessed one of the most turbulent economic periods in recent history, and it has crippled the automotive industry. The past year has seen a dearth in new car sales, changing buying preferences, and large automakers fall from grace. All automakers are not only conscious of what they’re spending when it comes to advertising and marketing, but they’re also increasingly conscious of how these channels can influence their brand image and consumer perception.

Top Dealer SEO recently had the pleasure of attending the 2009 LA Auto Show prior to its doors opening to the public. As a result we got to see firsthand the exciting new concepts and new cars of 2010 and 2011. But what was also exciting for us was the chance to see how automakers were marketing these new vehicles in light of recent economic challenges.

The Web seems to be playing an increasingly important role for automakers, despite the diffciulty larger companies have in maneuvering to address the most current tech trends. But preparing for a new car launch, in particular, is moving closer to becoming an online event. From expandable ads on high-traffic websites like Yahoo! and MSN to developing elaborate video webisodes, automakers are looking for innovative ways not just to be optimized for search engines or to have a mere presence online, they’re also looking for branding and increased engagement.

One aspect that was clearly under plenty of consideration by OEMs was social media. Keeping consumers engaged online isn’t easy, especially when the economy is keeping most consumers away from car dealerships. The best example of social media’s use at the LA Auto Show was from Ford as they used it to build anticipation for the launch of the 2011 Ford Fiesta. The success of their social media campaign, called the Fiesta Movement, was evident from the frenzy of excitement from automotive journalists upon the car’s unveiling. The wall of the Ford exhibit even displayed Twitter conversations about the new small car.

While mingling with the public relations and marketing personnel that were dispersed throughout the show, it was evident that not many automakers have come quite as far as Ford in regard to social media marketing. However, that’s not to say that social media was not on the minds of marketing executives.

For instance, companies such as Acura and Hyundai have activity in the social media landscape. But when asked who coordinates such efforts or who oversees social media strategy, the answer was not clear. It seems that such responsibility is often broken up and given to public relations, marketing, and/or outside agencies. Any activity in social media is better than none at all, but clearly it’s unlikely that such an approach would yield a successful grassroots campaign on the scale of the Fiesta Movement.

Some automakers can get away with minimal social media activity and participation. These are companies such as MINI that have passionate consumers building communities, Facebook fan pages, and other properties on their behalf to communicate and socialize with other MINI enthusiasts online. That being said, social media was still on the radar at the corporate level. MINI’s Yvonne Malmgren explained that a coordinated social media strategy was not currently in place at the brand. And while they may not be an active participant in social media, Malmgren did identify one important role that social media is currently playing at MINI – research. Companies large and small don’t need to create expansive friends lists on Facebook or send out a hundred tweets a day like Guy Kawasaki to benefit from social media. One benefit that often gets lost in the hype is that listening is just as important as talking, and gauging the pulse of conversation online is just as valuable as starting conversation.

By comparison to Ford, another one of the lesser active OEMs in social media is Mazda, which is something they certainly intend to change in the near future. David Harris, Group Manager of Digital Marketing at Mazda North America, alluded that Mazda has reached a bit of a turning point when it comes to social media, particularly amid the launch of the sporty 2011 Mazda2 compact.

For starters, Mazda is interested in reaching out to both automotive and non-automotive bloggers to foster different perspectives on Mazda vehicles. Ultimately, social media has the power to reach automotive journalists, car bloggers, enthusiasts, as well as existing Mazda owners, but one of Mazda’s important requirements with any type of marketing is that the Zoom-Zoom attitude and passion for the driving culture is clearly conveyed. “We don’t sell appliances. They sell appliances,” Harris says while pointing in the general direction of the Toyota exhibit, “We sell cars.”

In addition to fostering a driving culture within online communities, Harris points out that, “Social media is about listening and conversations, not shouting and selling.”  Interestingly, during an earlier discussion with Scott Monty of Ford, that same lesson was also highlighted. Unfortunately, this is what many car dealers sometimes fail to realize, but that’s quickly changing.

Amid the poor economy and rampant job losses, Harris also pointed out some of the added benefits to social media for car dealers. By getting dealer employees to participate online, it has the potential to curb turnover, improve moral, and it can boost the productivity of the sales staff during slow periods.

When buying a car, the relationship between the customer and the dealer ultimately revolves around price. But as Harris added, social media gives dealers an opportunity to create a relationship that’s about more than just a dollar amount.

Social media in the automotive industry is truly a natural fit. Evidence of that is the highly successful debut of the 2011 Ford Fiesta. When it comes to promoting new products and driving consumers to trade shows, activity on blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc., is highly cost effective. But as we’ve discussed previously, there really are also endless opportunities. After visiting with automotive executives from the LA Auto Show, one thing is certain – social media activity in the auto industry is soon going to go into high gear.

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Top Dealer SEO will be profiling more automotive advertising initiatives here shortly.

One of the most exciting programs at the LA Auto Show is the Los Angeles Design Challenge. This competition has become an important fixture of the show, and gives Southern California-based design studios a chance to flex their creative muscles.

Audi is one of many entrants in this competition, and they have used social media to give them the slight edge. Rather than simply running with their own creative direction, Audi has turned to Facebook and other outlets to gauge what direction their design should take.

This year’s Los Angeles Design Challenge revolves around communication and technology in the car as the theme is “YouthMobile 2030.” As such, communication tools are the focus of all the competing designs. It’s therefore no surprise that Audi prominently features social media messaging tools and mobile broadband within the car’s design.

The most exciting part of this competition is getting a glimpse into the future of automotive design. It’s doubtful that we’ll be seeing Audi’s eOra and eSpira concepts on the road anytime soon, but in 20 or 30 years it is certainly possible to see elements of these car’s design and technology in showrooms. In the meantime, check out the designs at the upcoming LA Auto Show or see more images below.

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As always read the latest in automotive social media on this blog.

Ford has certainly been a Big Three standout, especially as the only one of the three that has not gone through bankruptcy restructuring. But Ford is also very different in how they approach the Web and online communication. The way in which the company has embraced technology and social media has helped real people share their experiences with Ford products in an all-new way, paving the way for a real emotional connection to the brand.

One method for opening up communication with existing and potential customers is through blogging. Blogs such as The Ford Story have not only been a successful outlet for Ford news and unique stories about the company, but it has also been a forum where consumers can make their ideas and opinions be heard. The site also focuses on important areas that Ford wants to highlight, including the company’s overall plan and progress, quality, green initiatives, safety, and smart technology – all of which is also important to consumers as well.

Another important website for Ford is the Fiesta Movement. To build anticipation for the upcoming 2011 Ford Fiesta, 100 lucky people were selected to drive the cars for six months and share their experience via blogging and social media. Giving consumers the ability to promote what they really think about the car day after day is a bold step for Ford, and it also says plenty about the Fiesta’s quality and Ford’s confidence in the product ahead of its official release. It also doesn’t hurt that Jeremy Clarkson seemed to really enjoy the Fiesta either.

Ford can now be found everywhere online. From YouTube to Facebook to Twitter, Ford is not just present on prominent social media properties, Ford is an active participant. Ultimately, this reflects on their products as they’re giving consumers more opportunities to be heard, and obviously what people are saying isn’t always good and that’s not a bad thing. The company’s social media activity is a good model for other automakers and car dealers as well. Today’s auto market and today’s consumers are very different from just a few years ago, and connecting with consumers socially appears to be an increasingly important step to create trust and sell more cars.

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See the benefits to sound automotive internet marketing here.

The Ford Fiesta will finally be available to U.S. customers next year as part of Ford’s strategy of offering a single global product lineup. Recently redesigned, the latest Fiesta is a compact hatchback that balances efficiency and sportiness and it has already seen tremendous sales success in Europe. Its success has fueled anticipation among American consumers and dealers alike, but to help maintain the anticipation, Ford has created a new campaign to generate interest.

To excite North American consumers about their latest offering, Ford has already shipped 100 Fiestas to the U.S. as part of the automaker’s Fiesta Movement campaign. For the next six months, 100 Americans will drive a Fiesta completely free of charge as they record their experience and impressions of the vehicle online via fiestamovement.com.

The Fiesta Movement campaign is comprised of young and well-connected drivers. The campaign is intended to leverage social media to spur grassroots interest in the Fiesta and generate demand for the car leading up to its release.

This bold campaign is plenty risky for Ford as few companies have had success running similar viral campaigns. However, Ford Tacoma and other observers recognize that Ford has plenty to gain if the campaign proves to be successful. For a limited financial investment, Ford can put the Fiesta in the hands of influencers and in front of its target demographic at a significantly lower cost than a traditional media buy.

Of course not everyone believes that such a campaign will be capable of enticing consumers. First, with a free car, free insurance, and even free parking, how can anyone expect these drivers to give completely unbiased opinions of the vehicle? Despite these perks, Ford’s social media guru Scott Monty has indicated that the Fiesta Movement drivers were instructed to be truthful and honest. To do their part, Ford will not censor or edit the content generated by those participating in the campaign.

Although the campaign is risky, Ford has little to worry about and everything to gain. With brisk sales of the Fiesta in Europe, the Ford Fiesta seems poised to be a success in North America soon enough.

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Get tips and insights into automotive SEO and more right here.

Car dealers and automakers, amid a rapidly changing automotive market, are abandoning traditional media such as television and newspapers, and are flocking towards new media, especially social media, which ultimately allows consumers to have a voice in their messaging.

More consumers are trusting social media as a sort of democratized information channel, as consumers can gain insights, recommendations, and other information, directly from other consumers. From social websites to blogs, brand perceptions are no longer tightly controlled at the source, but are instead exposed and then manipulated by consumers themselves. While this may pose a risk for car dealers and automakers, the real benefit is that their messaging could be spread voluntarily by consumers, furthering the message’s reach.

Trust plays a large role in how social media is shaping the automotive industry. So much trust has been lost via traditional media. However, new media gives a great amount of power to a consumer, which has the effect of building trust and potentially word of mouth.

Online media enables quick information delivery. This is precisely why automakers and car dealers are struggling to maintain steady footing in social media. If they’re unable to maintain the dialogue with consumers, they may be unable to maintain positive momentum in the social media realm.

A vast array of online marketing techniques are increasingly being utilized and relied upon in the automotive space, enabling car dealers and automakers to connect with consumers in a more personal way. These same social environments also enable consumers to connect with other consumers. This exchange can be positive or negative, but many car dealers like Anaheim Toyota are finding that the risk is worth it, as email marketing, online video, blogs, and other social media websites are increasingly being utilized, and delivering ROI.

Social media websites are a meeting place of sorts for consumers. Because much of the content is either created or steered by actual users, the segmentation on many of these website is staggering. From Facebook, to Myspace, to Digg, social media provides something for nearly every consumer’s interests.

Social media provides new opportunities not only because it gives consumers access to great content, but because it also makes friends out of marketers. It’s an interesting concept, but diving into a website such as Twitter, and it becomes easy to see why this method works. Scott Monty directs social media at Ford. In addition to having a great blog covering social media, he’s extremely active on Twitter, with 12,927 users following him (and counting). Unlike an anonymous spammer, Monty utilized the transparency of social media to help change perceptions of the Ford brand. Promoting Ford news via Twitter is one way he accomplished this, but he also spurs dialogue about news surrounding Ford and the auto industry. Whether someone has something good to say or bad to say, he’s able to get a dialogue at the very least.

Simply asking for the opinion of consumers may seem risky, but with social media it can often become a valuable resource for consumer feedback. Take a look at GM’s FastLane Blog. In a recent post coinciding with the launch of the all-new 2010 Buick LaCrosse at the Detroit Auto Show, Buick-Pontiac-GMC VP Susan Docherty expressed her pride in the new LCrosse, highlighting the newly sculpted lines, new technologies, and overall positioning as a world-class luxury sedan. Dorcherty also asked what others felt about Buick’s latest product launch. Responses quickly added up, and while some were less than positive, many provided well-balanced feedback on the new model.

With transparency comes trust, and trust could cause consumers to become advocates of your brand. Many variables are contingent on this taking place, such as offering quality products and superb customer service, but social media is a big part of the equation and it potentially enables consumers to become marketers for your business.

With car dealerships directing more marketing dollars to online media such as Hyundai Chicago dealers, customers and dealers are benefiting in new ways. Conversations about buying a car can now take place without having to step onto a dealer’s lot. Additionally, dealers such as Honda Pittsburgh and Louisville Chevy are both finding they’re able to drive more business to parts, service, and other profit centers beyond the new car sales department. New specials and incentives can also be promoted in new ways, enabling dealers to notify potential customers at an extremely low cost.

With car sales down across the board, one Honda dealer New Jersey stresses that these days it all comes down to spending money in more innovative ways. Because of the low cost of social media activity, and the relative low cost to online media in general compared with traditional media, car dealers especially are moving past the ‘testing the waters’ phase and are embracing more facets of online media.

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Learning how to make the most of car dealer marketing is what we’re all about. Stay tuned.

Twitter is one of the most popular social media websites. For those of you who might still be new to Twitter, we discussed this microblogging platform following our jaunt to SES in San Jose last year. If you’ve been avoiding Twitter  until now, here’s a few reasons why you might want to reconsider.

1. It’s a Brand Builder – Twitter is a unique outlet that enables car dealers to communicate with a vast and diverse audience. Test out and refine your message, and let others know how your dealership is different from the rest.

2. Get Valuable Feedback – It’s not often that a car dealer can test the waters among potential customers when it comes to new advertisements, products, promotions, etc. But with Twitter, feedback is extremely easy. Feedback on what’s happening inside your dealership, and about how you’re doing, is easily within reach – all you have to do is ask for it!

3. Hiring and Networking – More car dealers are finding their way on to Twitter, and as a result there are more opportunities to network with others in the automotive industry, build relationships, and even find new experienced hires.

4. Build Direct Traffic – Part of becoming active on Twitter includes building your network of friends and followers. As you become more involved within your network, more users will see what you have to say, and users might even re-tweet what you’re discussing or asking. As a result, Twitter could become a traffic driver for your website.

5. Connect Your Dealership – A car dealership’s Twitter account could be maintained by only one person, but it could also be maintained by a variety of employees. Getting others involved will help connect your dealership’s personnel and give your dealership a more active and dynamic presence on Twitter.

6. Notify Customers of Events and Specials – Connecting with other Twitter users in your community will enable your dealership to announce special events and incentives for free. For example, if you’re a Toyota dealer and you have a new special on genuine Toyota parts, Twitter may be able to help spread the word. While reaching only those in your community is a challenge, such announcements can often be re-tweeted for added exposure. Twitter search also provides a place where users can search for discussions and information on specific topics, including automotive-related discussions.

7. Keep Current With Industry News – With so many in the automotive industry becoming involved in twitter, from car dealers to auto journalists, to the automakers themselves, Twitter can provide valuable news that will be important to your dealership and to your customers.

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Get more automotive social media marketing news here.

Automotive marketing is becoming more innovative than ever as more marketers within the automotive realm are exploring search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, and social media marketing. But while car dealers are struggling to keep their doors open in the current downturn, the truth is that there are still so many opportunities to adopt aggressive SEO and Social Media Marketing strategies.

Perhaps one of the largest hindrances to the adoption of social media marketing for car dealers and the auto business in general is the lingering misconception that social media is simply for entertainment purposes, or perhaps only caters to a very young demographic. Truth is, social media websites are increasingly dynamic when it comes to how they are used and the users they attract.

Social media is more than that funny YouTube video that got passed around the office via email. More users are using it to shop and to find content on the Web, and in many ways compliments or parallels the way content is found via search engines. Although advanced search algorithms help deliver relevant content to users when they perform a search query, social media websites can serve the same function, but uses content submitted and/or promoted by users rather than relying on algorithms alone. Already we’re seeing a convergence of these two areas as seen by Universal Search and Google’s recent release of SearchWiki.

While that sounds great for those who haven’t really considered social media marketing before, many marketers have dabbled in social media and have failed miserably. And while most social media marketing campaigns fail, there are plenty more that succeed and find more traffic, more leads, and more links coming to their Website.

What makes social media especially exciting when it comes to car dealers and the automotive industry is that the vertical is rich with opportunities. First, potential car buyers these days go online to begin new and used car shopping. Having a site that’s findable via effective SEO and PPC strategies is one important factor to reach out to these consumers. Secondly, shoppers may also be utilizing social media websites to find additional information on a particular car, a brand, or a dealer. The last point I want to make is that the automotive vertical is unique in that it has consumers that are passionate about specific brands and about cars in general, and as such there’s opportunity to use innovative marketing AND impeccable customer service to excite existing and potential customers and drive positive exposure online.

While dealers strive to move forward in a weakened economy, the exploration of social media in your online strategy could yield cost-effective results. Social media is relied upon more and more as a utility to find and compare information. Over time, the relevancy and importance of user-edited content will only become more important, resulting in further convergence between social media and search.

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Find additional info on social media optimization right here.

From social networking sites like Facebook to social messaging utilities such as Twitter, information is now able to flow around the Web at a lighting fast pace, enabling users to exchange information with friends, people they trust, and just about anyone else in the world.

Andy Beal from Marketing Pilgrim, a leading resource for internet marketing news, provided an excellent presentation on Twitter and how to use it effectively for online marketing. His presentation, tilted “Avoid Being a Twit on Twitter,” covered the dos and don’ts when it comes to Twitter.

Twitter is a microblogging utility that allows users to get updates about what you’re doing, or perhaps what’s happening at your company. As Andy explained, the most important thing is to get your name right. Choosing a nickname or alias is not ideal for branding, so think carefully when setting up your profile. With many new Twitter users leaving the default background on their website, get creative and change the look and feel of your page to standout. Once you begin Tweeting, follow those users who are in your industry, employees, and perhaps important customers. The analogy that sums Twitter up is that it’s one big cocktail party: keep your eye on interesting conversations, but don’t expect to always be heard. Many people assume Twitter is used for talking about what mundane activities you’re currently doing, and many users do discuss the mundane, but you certainly don’t have to be one of them! Think outside the box, tweet exciting news, tweet from an event or conferences that you may be attending, and be informal and social most of the time without pushing too hard with your business objectives.

Another application that needless to say continues to generate plenty of buzz is Facebook. ACS’s Neil Patel explained how marketers can utilize the current king of social networking applications. One of the benefits to Facebook is the ease at which marketers can reach out to other marketers. In one of Neil’s examples, it was quick to find a Facebook Group already setup that featured SEO professionals in his local area that he can network with. Likewise, car dealers are able to setup groups or join groups of other dealers in their local area or state to keep current on what’s happening within their industry. In addition, Facebook fosters unique applications that third party developers build for the Facebook community. Some of these applications can be particularly useful for marketers, such as apps that list news or new blog posts right on your Facebook profile, alerting your friends, colleagues, and the community of your activities, much like Twitter.

As the Web gets more and more social, utilities and applications will continue to be strong places for marketers. Universal Search and viral marketing all reinforce the need for markets to add just resources to their marketing tool kits.

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So by now, we can see one of the biggest trends in the world of SEO, and that’s the influence of communities and social media. The potential is obviously there to drive traffic, encourage conversations about your dealership, and increase ROI. But the real question is, how exactly can social media campaigns be analyzed and tracked?

This panel had many things to say not only about the impact that social media can make, but also about how to track the buzz and identify if your business goals are being reached.

Rob Key of Converseon stressed that a process should be used to test the success of a social media campaign. This process should include Listening, Engaging, and Measuring/Optimizing. Also, a marketer needs to know what they want to understand about the conversations that are happening in online communities and they need to know what they want to take away from the data sets, whether this data is in the form of YouTube video views, social bookmarks on Delicious, or how many Diggs your content receives.

While Rob discussed his experience with social media marketing, Todd Parsons of Buzz Logic interestingly brought along one of his clients, Breanna Wigle of Military.com, to discuss a campaign done for one of Military.com’s web properties.

Military.com had placed a significant amount of importance on the blogosphere and social media, and rightfully so. Today, there are as many blogs on the Web as there are websites. This gives advertisers such as Military.com and even car dealers an incredible opportunity to tap into these audiences. Whether you successfully manage to become part of the conversation, or even as an advertiser purchasing ad space on these niche blogs, businesses can capitalize on low-cost, high-value exposure on pertinent blogs.

Edmund Wong of iCrossing reinforced the value of the online community discussion. Citing Wired Magazine’s Clive Thompson, “Google isn’t a search engine, it’s a reputation management system.” Basically, social media conversations and blogs are being found increasingly among website listings in the SERPs, and thus it’s important to ensure positive stories are showing up for brand searches.

This panel chose to highlight social media in a different way than other panels. Rather than discussing how social media can be utilized for a campaign, social media services can also be utilized as a low-cost tracking tool: leveraged to find out just what people are talking about. For car dealers, there are many automotive blogs, forums, and community environments on Web, and plenty of opportunities to discuss your dealership. Many dealers have found success, such as one Minneapolis Toyota dealer, who has been able to generate positive exposure in the Prius Owners Group, a blog and community centered on the popular Toyota Prius. As the article referenced here points out, Burnsville Toyota is selling plenty of Prius hybrids, and the online buzz about the dealer can only be helping these sales achievements.

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Helping propel car dealer SEO and SMM one post at a time.

These days there are more community-focused websites than ever before, with new ones being created every day. But before going headlong into a social media marketing experiment, there are tactics to grasp first to determine just how to approach the multitude of social media services.

The the SES panel on Successful Tactics for Social Media, brought insightful how-tos and tips from the experience of social media marketers. First up in the discussion was Digital Marketing & Convergence Media Consultant Kendall Allen. Her take on social media is that it enables a cross-platform approach to marketing online. No longer are marketers limited to the confines of the SERPs, PPC, or banners – there’s now an opportunity to communicate with current and potential customers much more dynamically within social media.

With this new online marketing outlet, SMM Liana Evans from Key Relevance also understands that there are incredible challenges. The blogosphere and social media now foster communities that truly control brands. If a brand has done something less than popular, bloggers and social media users now can exploit and promote that negative news. But needless to say, if the brand’s actions are positive, that same discussion can also help your brand, boost awareness of your brand, and in the end generate traffic, sales, and even links to your website.

Some marketers will assert that social media’s real benefit is simply inbound links, which is the lifeblood of SEO. However, many marketers diving into social media on a whim will find that it’s much more complicated that it may appear. If you’re after nothing but links, and don’t genuinely contribute to the community and the breadth of users within the community, you will likely be identified as a marketer and will end up doing more harm to your company or brand than good.

If there’s one thing to learn about social media marketing, it’s that social media requires time and effort, not to mention the need for having quality content to promote in the community.

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