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“Social media is now shaping customer expectations in any and every way,” says Chance Parker, Vice President of Web intelligence division at J.D. Power & Associates.

Social Media Marketing (SMM) is the new way to market your product or service. It is happening with thousands of companies big and small around the world. It is quick, inexpensive and it reaches a new audience traditional advertising can’t. So why isn’t it happening with car dealerships?

45% of the Inc. 500 fastest growing businesses, 41% of the higher education sector and 57% of the nation’s top 200 charities already use social media marketing. More importantly, 93% of Americans believe a business should have a presence in social media, 85% believe a business should not only be present but also interact with its consumers via social media, and 56% of Americans feel both a stronger connection with and better served by businesses when they can interact with them in a social media environment. These figures come from a recent Cone Business School study.

Yet according to estimates less than 20% of all car dealerships actively use social media in their marketing efforts. Less than 20%! And there are fewer than 100 dealerships who have interactive blogs. Why aren’t more car dealerships taking advantage of this?

There are many reasons. Some dealerships shy away from it because they are worried about the negative image they have or the one it could create. If your car dealership has a negative image – participating in social media sites will have a positive effect and can change a bad image into a good one quickly. Other dealerships say they do not have the time or the personnel to manage it. Others don’t even have an email strategy much less a social media marketing plan.

There are exceptions. Here are a few car dealerships who have embraced social media marketing and are already seeing positive results:

• Bay Ridge Toyota, Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Longo Toyota, El Monte, Ca
• Maxton Motors, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio
• Reedman Toll Automotive Group, Langhorne, Pennsylvania
• Reineke Family of Dealerships, Ohio
• Serra Honda Birmingham, Alabama
• Vinart Dealerships, Emmaus, PA

You can’t afford to wait. The cost alone is worth it and the benefits far outweigh the time you spend managing it. Save money. Sell more vehicles. If you are a car dealership in today’s brutally competitive market, you need to get in the social media marketing fast lane today!

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Source by Sofia Sapojnikova