Your Customers are now 'hanging out' online on social media and social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter - they now search for information and engage with people and businesses online, not so much through traditional means.

• 24 of the top 25 Newspapers are in record decline
• 78% of business owners no longer buy a newspaper, they find what they want to know online.
• The average consumer is exposed to 3000 marketing messages through traditional media advertising every day - its very hard to get there attention.
• The biggest growth area on Facebook is over 35yr olds

Your customers are now 'hanging out' online and as a motor dealer you need to follow them and engage with them where they are now most receptive to you doing so. Social Media allows a 'drip feed' of marketing messages that land directly in front of your target market everytim

e, no waste, hence the return on marketing investment is much better than traditional media that can only aim in the general direction of your target market.

Our Social Media Marketing packages start with set-up and management of Facebook and Twitter and can also include a YouTube Channel for your dealership (people search for information on vehicles via YouTube as its now the worlds second largest search engine.

As part of our Social Media Marketing Package for Motor Dealers MessageMakers will professionally set-up a Facebook page and Twitter profile for your dealership.

We will add a minimum of 500 new 'fans' to your Facebook page monthly - all invited based on your 'target profile' customer, these can then be marketed to with daily 'posts' onto the page that are also 'posted' directly onto the homepage of each 'fan', ie, posts should be a mixture of PR, News, and direct promotion of new vehicles for sale, etc.

Have a look at some of our 'work'....

www.holidaysfirstonfacebook.com

www.facebook.com/sheffieldfc

www.facebook.com/expressbricks

www.facebook.com/debenhams

www.facebook.com/wigandpensheffield

Remember that each and every 'post' lands directly in front of your target market. We cannot force people to join your Facebook page, we can only invite them to - we will continually invite your 'target profile' customers until we have exceeded 500 new 'fans' each month. Over a six month period that will be a minimum of 3000 'fans' who all want to receive marketing messages from you - thats a very powerful and valuable target customer database for you to market to continually.

As part of this package we will also set you up and manage aTwitter profile for your dealership. Once again, we will find and engage with actual real people that fit your 'target profile' customer, and market to them continually - information, new cars for sale, etc. Example Profiles.....

www.twitter.com/holidaysfirst

www.twitter.com/sheffieldfc

www.twitter.com/chatsworth_

www.twitter.com/marksandspencer

Cost for Facebook and Twitter

is £285+vat per month.

based on a six month contract.

Upgrade to a YouTube Channel - £ask

Compare that to magazine advertising which can range in cost from £200-£2000 and is only a one-off advert that only generally targets your target market. The MessageMakers Social Media Package for Motor Dealers will provide you with a growing monthly target database as well as consistent monthly marketing, precisely atrgeted, and successful - marketing that actually gets you enquiries, generating sales.

For further information please contact MessageMakers on either08000 83 82 82 or email john@messagemakers.co.uk

4 Reasons Why a Car Dealership Needs Social Media Marketing....

There are many reasons why automobile dealers should be using socialmedia marketing. It is quick, precise, inexpensive – and it is booming. We have taken all the most important reasons and narrowed it down to four.

Money...

A car dealership today spends about $550 per one car using traditional advertising. With the economy still struggling, it is imperative to spend your advertising dollars in a more cost–effective way. The cost of social media networking and marketing is fraction of what the traditional advertisers like TV, radio and print demand – and it reaches a new market that the traditional media just can’t deliver for you today.

New Selling Opportunities...

It is important that your dealership gets its name and message out on the social network sites – the sooner the better. Sites like Facebook and Twitter have fan pages that can generate leads, leak sales and deliver your message to a huge new untapped market. You have the opportunity to increase your sales by five to ten percent almost instantly.

Over 30 percent of new cars will be purchased through car dealerships' internetdepartments, and that number is expected to continue to grow as consumers become more savvy about the convenience and savings available. according to Edmunds.com. There are many ways to use social networks like YouTube and Facebook to drive traffic to your dealer website. Entertaining commercials, banner ads, loss leaders and distressed merchandise are a few examples. The prospective social networking customer is much more inclined to visit your website than to make a phone call or visit.

Interaction with the Public...

The reason why they are called “social” networks is because people socialize and interact with each other on them. It is the new word-of-mouth advertising. According to Jeff Kershner of dealerfresh.com, a negative image is one of the biggest fears that keeps dealers from embracing social media. Get over it! You can change the image of your car dealership by joining a social networking site – almost immediately.

Save money. Sell more vehicles. Get with the social networking media trend today!

7 Tips to Utilizing Social Media for Car Dealers

This may be from the US but the principals and advise are universal....

by TOP DEALER SEO on JANUARY 22, 2009

Social media has dominated the online marketing landscape recently, and many car dealers are finally taking the hint. Social media opens new opportunities for online communication, search engine optimization, linking building, and more. As a result of social media’s influence on online marketing, and its ability to grow one’s business, it’s becoming a crucial component to nearly every website’s strategy.

Create a pro-social media presence inside your dealership – This isn’t so much a tip, as it is simply a starting point. This is often one of the most difficult tasks due to the lack of understanding about social media and its benefits. To get others on board with having a social media presence, you may consider highlighting the potential SEO benefits of an active social media presence. Links are one of the most important parts to rankings, and social media can help attract additional inbound links to your website, thereby potentially improving SEO.

Go where your competition is – One way to get others at your dealership on board is to simply point out your competitors on social media websites. Customers are becoming increasingly web-savvy, and are looking for car buying information in more places, including social media websites. As such, more dealers are ready to provide that information and so should you.

Your customers are using it – Even the most non-tech savvy car buyers are becoming increasingly comfortable with web research when it comes to buying a new or used car. In general, these users are also becoming more social online, via websites such as Twitter or Facebook. If your customers are using it, why sit idly by without giving it a try?

In addition to customers, don’t forget about your vendors – Vendors, partners, and others that you do business with are becoming involved in social media as well. Having multiple channels in place to communicate with them can be extremely helpful in building relationships, just as you would hope to do with your customers.

Social media and its tie to the SERPs – As already mentioned, social media can have an impact on SEO. Social interactions online can easily lead to more links for your websites. This process can then yield greater visibility in Google and other search engines where other potential customers may be looking for your dealership.

Consider its low cost – With the economy putting ample pressure on car dealerships across the country, many forms of marketing are becoming more costly. As dealers tighten their belts, even pay-per-click advertising has become unfeasible for some dealers. Social media is free, and requires only a time commitment and the ability to show off your unique voice. While there is no cost, the potential is huge.

Your website is like a billboard – Some websites are better than others, but regardless, communication is often one way, similar to a billboard. For this reason, social media could be the one tool at your disposal to facilitate online communication away of your website. It will also enable you to broaden your reach beyond that of a single billboard.

Dave Ingold September 5, 2009 at 8:56 pm

Social Networking works for me. I am the internet manager for Park Automall which is located in the Tampa Bay Florida area. Since March, 20% of our sales are from Facebook and Twitter. Here is my Twitter:http://twitter.com/NuCarAlternativ
Note the automation I have. I have the same for Facebook (inventory updates automatically).
Plus…I got some great publicity from Bay News 9 last week:http://www.lakeland-printing.com/blog/twitter-facebook-car-dealer-tampa.html