Social Media for Dealers

A resource from HuebnerPetersen's Dealer Marketing Services

Lame social media excuses (that don’t stand up).

“Social Media doesn’t have a place in the RV industry.”

Yes, it does.  The RV buying demographic is the fastest growing demographic in social media.  The demographic with the most activity on social media sites is the 35-44 age range, followed by the 45-54 age range (see more here).

“We’re not into technology at our dealership, we’re old-fashioned.”

People said the same thing about telephones, fax machines, computers, and email.  Your customers will expect technology and it’s not going to go away.  You can’t bury your head in the sand and be successful.

“It’s just a fad.  There’s nothing serious here.”

Wrong again.  Social media usage is growing steadily (and rapidly).  It’s not just going to die.  Many businesses are offering powerful tools and easy access to their customers and building social media expectations.  Today’s consumer looks to connect to the brands and businesses with whom they buy from.  The world is not going to revert back to “push” advertising (shouting messages at consumers).

“I don’t know how.”

Learn.  There are millions of resources to help you figure out social media (this fabulous website being one of them!).  Here is a list of the best social media how-to books.  AND, if there is absolutely no way you can figure it out, empower someone else to take the lead at your dealership.

Filed under: Statistics, The Basics, Why social media?, , , , , , , ,

Social media is spreading, fast.

I stumbled upon this quick list of stats today at Jeff Bullas’s blog.  It’s a quick and dirty rundown on exactly how fast social media is spreading:

  • Facebook is traveling at over 400 million users with over 100 million added in 9 months
  • MySpace has over 57 million unique members in the US alone
  • Twitter is growing at over 1000% in the last 12 months with a similar growth in the previous year
  • Twitter has over 75 million users making over 50 million tweets a day
  • Linkedin is now at over 60 million users
  • YouTube is now serving over 32.4 billion videos a month to Gen Y and any other generation that loves a good video in the USA alone
  • The number of blogs is estimated at over 200 million

Social media is where customers are sharing their opinions, researching purchases, telling stories, connecting with local businesses, and sharing their experiences.  Social media is mainstream (read: your RV customers use social media), and it’s only going to keep spreading!

Filed under: Statistics, , , , ,

Quick facts on social media usage.

This social media is for kids?  Think again. Check out this graphic from Pingdom:

Social Media Demographics

The demographic with the most activity on social media sites is the 35-44 age range, followed by the 45-54 age range.  The RV buying demographic is leading social media activity.

Think social media is a waste of your time?  Think again. Check out this graphic from The Proactive Report:

Social media fans likely to become customers

Social media connects with users.  Social media creates familiarity, top-of-mind awareness, opens communication, and builds loyalty.

Filed under: Statistics, , , , , , ,

2009 Social Media Statistics

Graph Image

Key social media stats form Nielsen’s 2010 Media Fact Sheet:

  • 56% of active Internet users visit Facebook.
  • Twitter’s growth in 2009 was over 500%.
  • The #3 website viewed by the 65+ age demographic?  Facebook.
  • In 2009, the increase in “time spend on social networking sites” was 277%.

Social Media is continually growing…it’s time to develop a strategy and get going!  At the very least, it’s time to start listening.

Download the complete Nielsen 2010 Media Industry Fact Sheet here (via Brian Solis).  Bar graph image via kevinzhengli.

Filed under: Statistics, , , , , , , ,

Our recent tweets:

Brought to you by:

This information is brought to you by HuebnerPetersen's Dealer Marketing Services and Front Lines Marketing Programs. Please visit http://HuebnerPetersen.com for further information.

Click to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Never miss another social media tip for your dealership!

Join 25 other followers

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 25 other followers