Once you have developed your social media goals for 2012, building a social media calendar will help make sure you will stay on track. Like traditional marketing, in social media marketing you have to be organized. If you take the time to plan out what you want to say and when you want to say it, your social media goals will more achievable.
Start by thinking about the important dates coming up at your dealership. Maybe you have an annual sales event or you’re headed to a big RV show. You need to plan out how you will use social media during that time period to alert your customers and drive traffic. Social media is the perfect vehicle for gaining attention leading up to your sales and events.
Beyond sales, RV shows, and local events, be thinking about the seasons when you plan out your social media calendar. In the spring start posting about places to visit and fun things to do while camping. You want to get people excited about the camping season. When winter comes give tips on how to winterize.
On a calendar, mark down all of your dealerships upcoming events. Then, mark down one topic idea for a blog post per week (thinking about events and seasons). If you’re ambitious, go put your topics on specific days and challenge yourself to come up with two per week. Putting ideas on paper and on a timeframe will up your chances of actually writing about key topics at the appropriate times.
If you develop a social media calendar for your dealership, it will help you follow the “Quality Rule” that we continually stress. With your calendar you can avoid the stress of trying to come up with something to say at the last minute.
If you are serious about using social media for your dealership, a calendar is an easy way to stay on track and get organized. Happy planning!
photo by danielmoyle
Filed under: Strategy, blog topics, calendar, Getting started, organization, social media strategy
July 21, 2011 • 12:26 pm 0
Handling Negative Comments – An Overview
Comments tend to be one of the major cornerstones to an RV dealerships social media program. Because social media revolves around engaging and interacting with customers, monitoring and responding to comments needs to be at the top of your list.
Some comments will be positive, some neutral and possibly some negative. No one likes to read something negative about themselves or their dealership but this does not mean you should ignore or delete those customer posts. Your first reaction to a negative comment may be defensive; however, this is an opportunity for you to communicate with the customer and anyone else who will read your online conversation in the future.
When you receive these negative comments, try to view the online feedback as constructive, instead of negative. Next, ask yourself, “Should I respond?” Not all comments warrant a response, but if you feel it will help alleviate confusion or change the conversation from negative to positive, then dive in. After you decide to comment, remember these steps: listen, stay positive, don’t blame and try to provide a solution. It is also key that you make yourself or someone else immediately available to take their call, answer their email or be of any other help that they could need. Most people that leave negative comments just want to be heard and get their gripes off their chest, making sure you are there to respond and help rectify the situation can go a long way in providing them with goodwill about the way you handled their predicament.
There will also be times when responding isn’t enough – in which you will want to remove the comment. This would be the case if someone is using vulgar and inappropriate language or calling out someone from your dealership by name. You, your employees and your dealership don’t have to stand for abuse and these cases tend to be just that.
Remember, a good defense is a great offense. Instead of taking the comment and responding negatively, try to find a solution that will make you and the person behind the icon happy. You can use this as a way to better yourself and your dealership.
*Image Credit: Miss Miah
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Filed under: Strategy, blog comments, comments, customer service, Negative Comments, rv dealership, social media strategy