The secret to using Facebook to successfully promote your business is simple. Get your fans involved! One easy way to engage your followers is to run a contest. Experts agree contests are one of the best ways to increase fan engagement. The logic behind it is simple; people love free stuff.
There are many types of contests you can run on your Facebook page. One successful type of engagement practice is weekly trivia. Pose a question to your followers. It doesn’t even have to be car related. It’s actually important to occasionally provide content that doesn’t focus on cars so that your followers see you as more than just a dealership. Variety provides personality. The person with the correct answer to your questions receives a prize. As a dealership you can offer various types of redeemable gifts to potential winners, ranging from service offers to brand related merchandise. The benefit of weekly trivia is that your page becomes exposed to more people than just those who currently like your page. Friends of fans are able to see when one of your fans posts on your trivia question. This is true for most posts on your page. With trivia, however, the likelihood of receiving a response is greater.
Another way to increase engagement on your page is by running a promotion or sweepstakes. It is recommended that you provide a larger prize to fans in these promotions because it requires more for them to participate.
There are two different ways you can create a promotion:
- The person entering does simply fills out a short information form to enter and has a chance to win.
- The person entering has to provide some form of additional information in order to enter. There are many different avenues you can take for these promotions. Examples include caption this photo, the photo with the most amount of likes win, and more. Before launching the competition, you’ll need to decide which promotion you’ll run, and then develop a strategy as to how it will work. Next, create a Facebook app for your promotion and launch!
The benefit with the promotion is that not only can it help increase engagement on your page; it can also increase your likes (depending if you set the application up right or not). In a correctly designed app, a person must “Like” your page to be eligible to win.
Facebook engagement is important because social media is important. It’s a huge part of an individual’s life and it is a main avenue to reach potential customers. Additionally, people who win something from a dealership are much more likely to visit them the next time they need their vehicle serviced or are in the market for a new one. Not sure how to increase your Facebook engagement? Contact us now because, we CAN help!
By: Yasmine Syed
If you’re not yet familiar with the twitter hashtag #takemymoneyhbo, you ought to be. This hashtag has been utilized by a conglomerate of individuals who petitioned HBO to allow them to subscribe to HBO Go without having to subscribe to a cable TV provider. HBO Go is an app that allows you to stream the HBO programming of your choice to any digital device via the Internet or through a cell phone signal. The app is available for free to HBO subscribers. Adding HBO to your cable package usually costs $10-$15 a month. If HBO Go was available for this same monthly price, it would be a bargain compared to the roughly $100/month that most people pay for cable service.
This petition points to a possible transition of TV to an a la carte service rather than bundled together in expensive packages. After all, does anyone really watch all 300+ channels that come with premium cable packages? We may see a TV platform similar to iTunes in the future, where consumers can purchase individual songs rather than entire albums. It’s also likely that TV will follow in the footsteps of music providers like Pandora and Spotify, which will change how advertising will be disseminated. Audiences may be much more targeted and the potential for wasteful ad spending will be diminished. That being true, the explosion of digitally consumed media is making it possible for marketers to produce original programming and distribute it without the active support of a traditional media channels i.e. broadcast TV channels.
Branded content is gaining in popularity and consumers aren’t hostile to it, so long as it’s good. Brands like Nike, Virgin and American Express have all successfully built a following of their brand-led YouTube channels. One example of brand-created content was Pepsi’s live-streamed concert starring Nicki Minaj, which was available for viewing via twitter.com/pepsi and pepsi.com. Had Pepsi gone the traditional sponsorship route, it would have cost them several millions in ad spending. By producing, creating and digitally disseminating the content, they undoubtedly saved in overhead costs and penetrated their target market more effectively. This is all good news for advertisers.
Over the course of the next five years, the cost of advertising will be reduced as more specific modes for targeting emerge. The challenge is staying ahead of the digital wave, which is something we do best at Potratz.
By: Yasmine Syed
If you’re not yet familiar with the twitter hashtag #takemymoneyhbo, you ought to be. This hashtag has been utilized by a conglomerate of individuals who petitioned HBO to allow them to subscribe to HBO Go without having to subscribe to a cable TV provider. HBO Go is an app that allows you to stream the HBO programming of your choice to any digital device via the Internet or through a cell phone signal. The app is available for free to HBO subscribers. Adding HBO to your cable package usually costs $10-$15 a month. If HBO Go was available for this same monthly price, it would be a bargain compared to the roughly $100/month that most people pay for cable service.
This petition points to a possible transition of TV to an a la carte service rather than bundled together in expensive packages. After all, does anyone really watch all 300+ channels that come with premium cable packages? We may see a TV platform similar to iTunes in the future, where consumers can purchase individual songs rather than entire albums. It’s also likely that TV will follow in the footsteps of music providers like Pandora and Spotify, which will change how advertising will be disseminated. Audiences may be much more targeted and the potential for wasteful ad spending will be diminished. That being true, the explosion of digitally consumed media is making it possible for marketers to produce original programming and distribute it without the active support of a traditional media channels i.e. broadcast TV channels.
Branded content is gaining in popularity and consumers aren’t hostile to it, so long as it’s good. Brands like Nike, Virgin and American Express have all successfully built a following of their brand-led YouTube channels. One example of brand-created content was Pepsi’s live-streamed concert starring Nicki Minaj, which was available for viewing via twitter.com/pepsi and pepsi.com. Had Pepsi gone the traditional sponsorship route, it would have cost them several millions in ad spending. By producing, creating and digitally disseminating the content, they undoubtedly saved in overhead costs and penetrated their target market more effectively. This is all good news for advertisers.
Over the course of the next five years, the cost of advertising will be reduced as more specific modes for targeting emerge. The challenge is staying ahead of the digital wave, which is something we do best at Potratz.
By: Kimberly Roselle
I don’t usually think of myself as a trendsetter, but a recent survey has convinced me otherwise. Recent numbers show that I am part of a growing number of people that no longer subscribe to traditional cable or satellite television. Almost two years ago, I cancelled my cable package and bought a digital TV antenna. Now, instead of having hundreds of stations to choose from, I have the four major networks, PBS, and a few local station. I have never seen Mad Man. Now, according to this survey, I am known as a cord-cutter.
According to an April 2012 report by The Convergence Consulting Group, 2.65 million people left behind their cable subscriptions in favor of alternative methods between the years of 2008 and 2011. This number continues to steadily grow. A Nielsen report shows that 4.5 percent of television-owning homes choose to stream entertainment via Netflix, Hulu, or some other internet service rather than through cable. This is in addition to people who view television entirely through the Internet and don’t own televisions. That same report noted a 22.8 percent increase in cord-cutters over the past year.
As the number of cord-cutters rise and alternative means of television viewing become more popular, the question arises – is your business reaching this growing number of consumers? Digital advertising is more than just Google AdWords. As an advertiser, it is important to know and understand where your audience is interacting with your message. Then, you must make sure you deliver that message consistently and meaningfully to that audience.
Are your commercials on YouTube? Are your commercials being shown when people stream a TV show over a local network’s website? If all of this research seems overwhelming, look to your advertising agency to help guide you in the right direction as these trends change and grow.
By: Kimberly Roselle
I don’t usually think of myself as a trendsetter, but a recent survey has convinced me otherwise. Recent numbers show that I am part of a growing number of people that no longer subscribe to traditional cable or satellite television. Almost two years ago, I cancelled my cable package and bought a digital TV antenna. Now, instead of having hundreds of stations to choose from, I have the four major networks, PBS, and a few local station. I have never seen Mad Man. Now, according to this survey, I am known as a cord-cutter.
According to an April 2012 report by The Convergence Consulting Group, 2.65 million people left behind their cable subscriptions in favor of alternative methods between the years of 2008 and 2011. This number continues to steadily grow. A Nielsen report shows that 4.5 percent of television-owning homes choose to stream entertainment via Netflix, Hulu, or some other internet service rather than through cable. This is in addition to people who view television entirely through the Internet and don’t own televisions. That same report noted a 22.8 percent increase in cord-cutters over the past year.
As the number of cord-cutters rise and alternative means of television viewing become more popular, the question arises – is your business reaching this growing number of consumers? Digital advertising is more than just Google AdWords. As an advertiser, it is important to know and understand where your audience is interacting with your message. Then, you must make sure you deliver that message consistently and meaningfully to that audience.
Are your commercials on YouTube? Are your commercials being shown when people stream a TV show over a local network’s website? If all of this research seems overwhelming, look to your advertising agency to help guide you in the right direction as these trends change and grow.
Pinterest has recently captured the attention of the masses, and the social media site is definitely gaining traction; it is now the seventh most popular social network, and keeps growing daily, so it’s vital to think about all that it has to offer in the means of social media. It’s important to consider the marketing potential Pinterest has. A popular image you post (which will link back to your business’s website) could theoretically get repinned on hundreds, or even thousands, of different users’ boards!
Using Pinterest For Your Business?
- Make sure your business makes sense with what Pinterest offers. You might be surprised at how many businesses can benefit from Pinterest.
- Use other social networks like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to direct more users to your Pinterest boards.
- Make sure you use Pinterest to feature all the different things your business can offer users.
- Follow popular names to build more awareness around your company.
- Spend a consistent amount of time on Pinterest so that stronger connections can be built.
- Keep your board clean, don’t pin too many different things onto it. Each board should have a clear theme.
- Users like to see boards that relay a lot of concise information, so promote your product as well as others.
What Not To Do On Pinterest?
- Don’t spam your product out.
- There is such a thing as too much promotion for your product. Keep it regular, but not constant.
- Don’t pin too much onto one board, make separate boards so you can keep them clean and easy to look at.
- Keep in mind Pinterest is all about images, so steer away from pinning too much text.
- Be consistent with the network.
The goal of Pinterest is to focus on consumer goods and products, which makes it an opportune social network for marketers to gain more clients and more attention, so don’t miss out! Not sure how to get started? Contact us now!
Pinterest has recently captured the attention of the masses, and the social media site is definitely gaining traction; it is now the seventh most popular social network, and keeps growing daily, so it’s vital to think about all that it has to offer in the means of social media. It’s important to consider the marketing potential Pinterest has. A popular image you post (which will link back to your business’s website) could theoretically get repinned on hundreds, or even thousands, of different users’ boards!
Using Pinterest For Your Business?
- Make sure your business makes sense with what Pinterest offers. You might be surprised at how many businesses can benefit from Pinterest.
- Use other social networks like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to direct more users to your Pinterest boards.
- Make sure you use Pinterest to feature all the different things your business can offer users.
- Follow popular names to build more awareness around your company.
- Spend a consistent amount of time on Pinterest so that stronger connections can be built.
- Keep your board clean, don’t pin too many different things onto it. Each board should have a clear theme.
- Users like to see boards that relay a lot of concise information, so promote your product as well as others.
What Not To Do On Pinterest?
- Don’t spam your product out.
- There is such a thing as too much promotion for your product. Keep it regular, but not constant.
- Don’t pin too much onto one board, make separate boards so you can keep them clean and easy to look at.
- Keep in mind Pinterest is all about images, so steer away from pinning too much text.
- Be consistent with the network.
The goal of Pinterest is to focus on consumer goods and products, which makes it an opportune social network for marketers to gain more clients and more attention, so don’t miss out! Not sure how to get started? Contact us now!
By: Jenn Mayer
I have to admit I am late to the foursquare game. Although the app was first launched in 2009, I have only recently joined. After moving away from my hometown earlier this year, I was forced to learn the ins and outs of a new state, new city, and a new neighborhood. foursquare became my ultimate tool for discovery.
foursquare (that’s right, it is not capitalized) is a free app that allows you to share with your friends where you are, tips about your favorite places, and helps you discover new places in your area. foursquare gives you personalized recommendations and deals based on where you, your friends, and people with your same taste have been. The app has also recently undergone a makeover, giving it a simpler look and making it more user-friendly.
foursquare allowed me to discover coffee shops, restaurants, nail salons, and more. If it was lunchtime and I was hungry, I would simply type in “lunch”, and foursquare would search the tips and check-ins that had been logged around my current location to suggest places I should try for lunch. This is different, and possibly more effective then using Google, because foursquare was able to more accurately search around where I was, and also took into account how popular the places around me were. Now, I am addicted to checking into my location on foursquare. Not only do I get points, badges and mayorships that encourage me to keep using the app, my past check-ins help to shape my recommendations.
So, how can your dealership use foursquare to enhance business and marketing? First, you must encourage people to check-in when they visit your dealership. One way to do that is to offer a deal. Many businesses offer discounts to patrons who check in at their location. You could offer a free oil change, or even a discount for someone who checks in and signs a purchase agreement on a new vehicle that same day. People will be encouraged to check in and thus make your dealership a more popular place in the area.
You can also encourage employees and customers to leave a tip, or some advice, about your dealership. For example, you can post any specials you have going on, whether you offer free refreshments in your waiting area, or even the best sales people to work with. When people search for your dealership using the app, they’ll see the great things about shopping there and will be more likely to stop in.
As with all advertising and social media campaigns, foursquare must be interacted with regularly. If no one has checked in recently, or if the last tip is from six months ago, the value is lost. Encourage your employees and customers to download and use foursquare and watch its positive effect on business! Take it from me; I’m the mayor of Potratz on foursquare!
By: Yasmine Syed
Information and communication technology users are as diverse as the range of technology available today. The Pew Research Center’s “Internet & American Life Project” divides technology users into two core groups: “Motivated by Mobility” and “Stationary Media Majority”.
The “Motivated by Mobility” group comprises 39% of the adult population. Their frequency of online use is growing as their reliance on mobile devices continues to increase. This group is made up of individuals who hold positive and improving attitudes towards mobile access and how it facilitates their availability to others. The “Stationary Media Majority” group is comprised of the remaining 61% of the adult population. These individuals are not enamored by the “always-connected” lifestyle. They are characterized by low-level usage of mobile apps and experience difficulty acclimating to new gadgetry.
Hallmarks of the “Motivated by Mobility” group are varied and are broken down into five sub-categories including: Digital Collaborators (8%), Ambivalent Networkers (7%), Media Movers (7%), Roving Nodes (9%) and Mobile Newbies (8%). Digital Collaborators are mostly male, in their late-thirties, affluent and educated. They enthusiastically use their tech assets to share and connect with others. Ambivalent Networkers are primarily male, in their late twenties, and are ethnically diverse. They use their tech assets to text, participate in social networking and for entertainment. At the same time, they fear that their devices may become increasingly intrusive and feel that it is necessary to take periodic breaks from online use and digital consumption.
Media Movers are mostly male, in their mid-thirties, have children and are middle class. Their online and media habits are varied and they share digital content (i.e. photos). Roving Nodes are the female counterpart to Digital Collaborators; they are mostly women, in their late-thirties, affluent and educated. They use their mobile devices to manage their social and work lives, they use a wide-range of mobile apps, send email, send texts, and use their mobile devices to enhance personal productivity. Mobile Newbies are mainly women in their late forties and early fifties who have lower education and income levels than Roving Nodes. They don’t have very many tech assets and cite that their most used asset is their mobile phone because it helps makes them more available.
The “Stationary Media Majority” group can also be broken down into five sub-categories including: Desktop Veterans (13%), Drifting Surfers (14%), Information Encumbered (10%), The Tech Indifferent (10%) and Off the Network (14%). Desktop Veterans are mainly men, in their mid-forties, affluent and educated. Because this groups skews older, they are content to use their desktop computers and high-speed wired connection to explore the web, connect with friends and family via social media, while allowing their mobile phones to take a backseat. Drifting Surfers are primarily women, in their early-forties, middle class and have average education levels. They have desktop computers and mobile phones but are infrequent online users. They use technology as a basic information-gathering tool and could forgo using the Internet entirely if given the option.
Information Encumbered individuals are two-thirds male, in their early fifties, have an average education and are middle-lower income level. Most individuals in this group feel that they experience information overload on a daily basis and although, they have cell phones, feel that technology is becoming increasingly intrusive. They are largely indifferent to technology and could easily dispense with it altogether. Off the Network individuals are, largely, low-income senior women and are predominately African American. Members of this group have neither cells phones, nor computers or internet access.
The project findings imply that many Americans are deepening their relationship with and dependence on digital resources and tech assets, while others stay stagnant in their consumption of digital resources and tech assets. Both of these groups will undoubtedly ask themselves and others, ‘How did I ever live without a cell phone?” A small percentage of Americans are content to keep technology on the periphery of their lives. They stand in stark contrast to the ever-increasing “Motivated by Mobility” group, whose demand for more and more online content is palpable.
What does this mean for your dealership? In terms of marketing, it means that it’s still important to maintain traditional avenues of publicity, such as radio and television commercials and newspaper ads. These are necessary to reach the portion of Americans who shun technology or still use traditional media to gather information. However, the growing number of people who seek information digitally means that a failure to provide online content is more costly than in the past. Soon, a lack of digital presence could spell disaster for your dealership.
By: Felicia Mahabeer
Social media opportunities are everywhere these days, and they continue to soar in popularity. One social media trend that can benefit your dealership is location-based applications.
For anyone not familiar, location–based applications allow users to find and “check-in” at various spots and share that information with those in their network. For example, you could check in at a restaurant on Facebook. The people in your Facebook network could then see that you are there and “like” or “comment” on your activity. You could also include what you’re doing as part of your “check-in” (Dinner with family, for example) or post your opinion of the restaurant, i.e, “Appetizers were great”. In the case of your dealership, a user could check in when they are there shopping for a new vehicle, getting service, or ordering parts. Everyone in their network will see your dealership, and your customer could express how great their experience was for their entire network to see. When it comes to sharing your location information, there are many platforms equipped with built-in location features such as Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare.
Make sure your dealership is a part of the action by making it possible for customers to check in on their mobile devices from your location. For Facebook, that simply means claiming your Place page and others that users may have created.
You will also want to optimize your website to be easily explored on a mobile device, since that’s the tool visitors will be using for location-based social media interaction. The ease of navigating your mobile website can help to enhance the experience and boost participation rates. Another way to increase your interaction is to remind visitors to your dealership that they can check-in using strategically placed signs in and around your dealership. Create special offers to encourage your visitors to check-in at your dealership. For example, you can offer 10% off a service or a free car wash to anyone that checks in at your location. Special offers don’t necessarily have to be costly to work in your favor. It could be as minimal as offering a free key chain, baseball cap, or even a jelly doughnut. Research shows that the feeling of getting special treatment is more valuable to a customer than the actual worth of the freebie or experience. However, you can go with a bigger and more creative offer when trying to promote other areas such as your Service, Parts, and Collision departments or a big sales event.
The overall goal is to bring attention to your dealership. This can consist of feedback or comments about your business on your page, or extending your reach and brand awareness using your customers. To do this, you simply need to give your customers the tools they need to make their friends, family and other connections aware of your dealership. This allows you reach an “untapped” market of potential customers for virtually no cost by transferring a significant portion of your marketing burden directly to your customers. Is your dealership using location- based social media? If not call us here at Potratz, we can get you started in the right direction.
