Social networks are no longer just for children or the youngest.
Businesses are effectively reaching their target markets and generating sales with social media. Current popular sites for reaching out to car buyers are Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo Answers, and forums dedicated to particular brands or makes/models, such as Ford Mustang enthusiasts.
To capture your share of this online market, you must have an active dealership presence at every online property. For Facebook, create a fan page for your dealership and then use your profile to invite people to become a fan of your page. Find people who live in your city or nearby cities. Thank them for being a fan on your wall and post a link to your dealer’s website. Post current sales, upcoming sales, or the latest cars in inventory on your Page at least once a week. You can also upload photos and videos to your fan page.
Twitter is growing in popularity and is a great way to immediately communicate with buyers. It is also an excellent tool for reputation management. Create a twitter profile for your dealership and follow people who have twitter in and around your city. Tweet special offers just to your Twitter friends, like oil changes at a special price that ends at 6:00 pm that day. You can also find people mentioning the brands you own, waiting for service at dealerships near your location, and tweeting. People can update their Twitter feed from a computer or their mobile phone, so this is an immediate method of communication.
Yahoo Answers is one of my favorite places to drive traffic and build a following. I search for open-ended questions in the automotive category and answer them while using a link to the dealer’s website as my online source. This way, you get a high-quality backlink, drive traffic to your website, and connect with people in your area while helping them with a solution to their problem. There is no way to go wrong with this! There are many service questions related to specific makes and models, so promoting your service department while helping them will go a long way. There are also questions about which car should I buy, which car out of several that I like should I buy and there are also questions about where to buy or sell a car locally. Perfect opportunities to promote your dealership, link the cars they are interested in and invite them to your location.
Online forums are for enthusiasts of a certain make or make/model. This is another place to look for people with questions and answer them with a link to your dealer. Also, when you get cars that have enthusiast forums, make a post with a photo of the car for sale and a link to your sales page.
As you can see, online sites are full of opportunities to generate leads and drive traffic to your site. Don’t waste any more time and take advantage of it now.