Call me crazy, but I’ve worked in Marketing for 12 years and in Business for even longer and I’ve never heard any of my clients say, “No thanks, I have more than enough customers. I’m not really interested in getting the word out, possibly breaking into new markets or strengthening my brand’s position.” So imagine my surprise when I came across an article in the RV Daily Report telling dealers not to pursue Social Media.
Being the experienced professional I am, I could easily take what the author was saying at face value. I understood the bigger concern for this Website Coordinator was that she was under the impression that Social Media directs potential customers away from your website. In actuality, nothing could be further from the truth. One simple line of HTML code can keep that from happening.
Social Media is a sophisticated hybrid of Relationship Selling and Guerrilla Marketing designed to drive people to your website who may not have found you otherwise. It represents the best of both worlds. In other words, Social Media brings you new customers!
Guerrilla Marketing
- Low cost, unconventional promotions
- Rely on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget
Relationship Selling
- Long term value of customer relationships
- Extends communication beyond intrusive advertising and sales promotional messages
An well-integrated Social Media strategy will keep customers and prospects engaged with your brand for longer. In an independent 2010 survey, the Social Media Examiner asked marketers how social media has affected their businesses and the results were mapped into the graphic below:
Now, I could infographic you to death, our I can give you cold, hard facts from other RV and auto dealerships just like yours:
On average, our RV and Automotive clients receive well over 250,000 impressions a month (even with as little as 150 Facebook fans – because, let’s face it. Social Media is more than just Facebook.). Throw in a contest and that amount can double or even triple! Throw in a text ad and those impressions can almost top 2 MILLION.
When was the last time your website got 2 million pageviews in a year? Unfortunately, simply having a website doesn’t keep your dealership competitive. You must implement an Integrated Marketing strategy to continue that pace. If and when it did reach 2 million pageviews, wouldn’t you need help to handle the influx of customer questions, demonstrations, etc.?
Think of how much 2 million impressions would cost in any other medium? Or here’s another scenario, what would happen if you contacted your local TV station and told them you’d like to triple the impressions you receive for the same media dollars? Smart companies know that Social Media is now what websites were 10 years ago. And just as your business would not be able to thrive in 2011 without a website, it will have a hard time staying competitive into the next decade without Social Media Marketing.
So the next time you hear or see someone join the ranks of companies who think Social Media is “just a fad”, remind them they’re really saying, “No thanks, I have more than enough customers.”
