Using Facebook for cross-promotion
When you walk into a venue in your local community, say the neighborhood pizza shop, hair salon, bank, or cafe, often times you see a cork board with business cards and fliers on it for other local businesses. In some instances you may even see a little plastic stand with tri-folds or pamphlets, indicating a deeper connection between the two local businesses. This is a common form of cross-promotion that has existed probably for centuries which was recently referenced by Catalyst Marketers in Ryan Taft’s post “Cross-promote by partnering with local businesses.”
From this conventional marketing approach, the impact of such cross-promotion is recognized by the number of times one of your marketing pieces comes into your place of business as a result of being displayed in a nearby venue. If you are smart you marked or tailored each piece to be associated with each different venue so you can know right away from where it came. If you fail to do this then you may know that your cross-promotional efforts are having an effect, but from which sources and to what extent you may not know.
With the advent of Facebook, the idea of cross-promotion can (and in most cases probably should) be carried into this medium, but with added benefits. Considering the more intricate offerings of Internet technology, local businesses can not only expect to benefit from an increase in patrons coming into their place of business, but also from increased website traffic, more Facebook fans, and more email subscribers. Essentially, by using Facebook, you have more conversion goals and capabilities to consider in your cross-promotion efforts than just phone calls and walk-ins.
The one thing that comes to mind for me when helping local businesses to cross-promote with one another using a site like Facebook is “monetization”. Interestingly, this word does not appear in a dictionary, at least not at dictionary.com. It does however appear on wikipedia.com and is defined as, “the process of converting or establishing something into legal tender.” Monetizing is a common word in the blogosphere that typically equates to the practice of using your blog to generate revenue. I tend to use this term more loosely on the basis that there is a monetary value for every activity you perform and that in most cases you want to associate your efforts online to that monetary value.
For instance, a new email subscriber may be worth $25 to you and a new Facebook fan might be worth $1, so if you launch a marketing initiative that results in 25 new email subscribers and 10 new Facebook fans then you know that the monetary value of that initiative is equivalent to $635. If you spent less than that to launch the initiative then you essentially have made (or saved) money.
All this said, when doing cross-promotions, particularly online with a site like Facebook, the possibilities go farther than just leaving comments on the walls of a venue’s Facebook page. There truly is potential to connect with people one-on-one and in groups. Defining and massaging the monetary value of your activities is key to your success. You want to go beyond just publishing information and going through the motions. You want to make real connections and have real conversations. This is easier said than done, but the rewards are there for the taking.
Marketing in tough times
There is an old saying about marketing that goes, “Reducing your marketing to save money is like trying to stop a clock to save time.”
Multiple times this week I have had people tell me they would employ our services if they could “afford it” or “had the time” to invest. Some of my initial responses were:
- What makes you think you can’t afford it?
- When do you expect to have time?
- Time must be created.
Time is real, to you and me. But you must be cautious about confusing it with money or leaning on it like a crutch.
Believe me, I get it. There is not enough time in the day to accomplish everything you need. I experience this most of the time. But then there is the saying to God about granting you the serenity to accept the things you can not change, to change the things you can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Now, it is because you can not escape time you must use it to your advantage. This, I would argue, is where you must learn to create time.
If you have a reason or excuse or a really good justification for not communicating your message then you are attempting to stop the clock and that is not realistic. You must reach your audience. Some suggestions I would throw out there include to…
- Be attentive not to quantify your effectiveness by one measure only.
- Be sure to communicate your message in multiple formats and circumstances.
- Invest time and money, but only when it meets your goals and objectives
- Have goals and objectives
- Define your goals and objectives
Ok enough of the hints. This week I have had people express an interest in spending money to market their cause, and people finding reasons not to. Hm mm, I wonder who you are more likely to encounter???
Baron BMW Blog on iFrames and Facebook
Here is a car dealer blog but it is attached to their website using an iFrame. This presents a few problems, but overall Baron is doing nifty stuff and using Facebook well too so far.
With the iFrame, you diminish your SEO influence. An iFrame is like a box inside a room. It’s its own room, but secluded from everything around it. You can link to the blog’s main page, but from an SEO standpoint you are really linking to a box you can not see inside. A search engine knows it is there, but can not see the contents.
You can link to a page within the blog but then you loose the website shell meant to surround it, so you forgo the visitor experience you initially set out for. Additionally, when you link from the blog, visitors remain in the iFrame unless you insert the parent syntax within the frame tag.
target="_parent"
Another issue is that not all systems and browser support frames. Most today do, with the exception of mobile devices, and most blogs naturally do well on a mobile device. With the iFrame you risk mobile visitors not being able to access your blog at all.
From what I can tell, this blogs looks quite new. It has a few posts and the blogger is clearly sharing himself in addition to the dealership. This is good. Although you must be conscientious of what you publish. The NINJA post pushes the bubble. It will appeal to some, but could throw off others still important to the dealership. There is a threshold for everything, including dealer blogs.
Their facebook group has 53 members, including me. I just became a fan. I look forward to seeing how FB shapes the auto industry. I like what Baron is doing off the bat.
exoticcars blog on myblogsite.com
Came across a car dealer blog today being run on myblogsite.com. There is a big Google AdSense ad smack in front of your face when you visit. Curious if this is placed there by the blog master or by FortuneCity which appears to be running the blog site.
This looks to me like the dealer/blogger discovered the site the other day, set it up, posted a blog and left. For all we know the user never returned.
I see this occasionally. It probably occurs more than we know. When I first started blogging I created multiple new blogs over the course of a few months. It took a while to find which information to publish where. As I did, some of the blogs faded out, but others remained. BlogPro Automotive is really the only one that thrives today from those initial months. It has come a long way for sure. You can visit the original BlogPro site on blogger.
Today I run several sites and am always feeling them out as things progress. It takes time for a blog to evolve. Like raising a child or even growing up yourself. You have to feel it out over time. Conditions and circumstances change and you must re-establish your voice. Listen. Respond. Listen. Respond.
However, consistency proves to pay off over time too. The longer you stick with your niche, however large or small, the more can come out of it. I think that DealerRefresh is a good example of this. Jeff Kershner has been around longer than most, and his tune resounds well with many. When you change your tune, you go sideways (or backwards for some). I know that I have experienced this.
So, where do you take a site like the exoticcars’s blog? I would begin by getting off of that platform. Our WordPress system on BlogPro would suffice. I then would get my logo up there and apply a good-looking theme to the site. There are numerous free themes and themes you can purchase. Themes are like a dress you slip on to your WordPress blog or website. Finally, start posting content on a regular basis. During your first six months to a year you must be posting 2-3 times a week mimally in the dealer world to truly compete.
Managed Web Services for Small Business
When you visit a restaurant, what does the menu represent for you? Does it depict the restaurant’s products? Does it set the tone for what sort of experience you will have? Maybe it influences your likeliness to stay, order, eat, and drink? I guess my real question is, do you consider it marketing material or an essential component to your experience?
At the risk of getting into semantics, I think it is important to distinguish between services, solutions, and products. The term product can be used in two ways – one to define the widgets, or food, that a company sells and one to define outcome or experience a company offers. For companies that sell widgets, both uses of the word product apply. For those that provide services however only the latter applies, thus your product ultimately is the resulting business experience for customers, employees, vendors, etc.
Creating profit selling widgets is relatively black and white. You have fixed costs and pricing that result in a forecast amount of profit based on sales volume. With services however your costs are difficult to fix. They can vary from customer to customer and from situation to situation. As a result, your profit can fluctuate and scalability throws even more curve balls.
Say hello to Managed Web Services. Like widgets, managed services have a fixed sale price that the customer can budget. The primary difference is that the sale is recurring, typically on a monthly basis. This is not uncommon for IT-related purposes such as computer networking, PC and server maintenance, but there is little market awareness for this when it comes to web-related services. However, that doesn’t mean there is little demand for it let alone supply. In fact, lots of business provide some form of managed web service to customers and customers do have a consistent need for web-related services, you just don’t see it referred to as “managed web services”.
In the coming weeks we will strive to build a case for the mindset of managed web services and depict the importance for businesses to embrace the idea of appointing expert professionals to their web presence to evolve the marketing message, business process, and customer experience in a fixed or budgeted fashion that is solution-driven rather than retainer-driven.
Dealership Racketeering, Part III
Read Part I or II
When I engage with dealers about how blogs and social media can effectively cultivate sales opportunities, they like what they hear. They get charged. But often in the midst of battle some dealers seem confused and unsure of their role. They struggle to incorporate these new tools into their existing BDC processes.
This is not the case for all dealerships and in fact some are vigorous in their online networking, but there is a persistent sense for many of “when will it pay off”. But this is dangerous thinking. It’s not a matter of when but rather a matter of how. It pays off when you address the “how?”.
A blog isn’t a showroom like your website. It’s more like a radio station, a television channel, or even a broadcast network. Find a way to harness the power of that with customers and see how sales get.
As a car dealer, you must take that one step and start blogging. I don’t mean to get a blog to look at, but one to play with. Surround yourself with people you trust that have proven methods and innovative ideas. Get your brain wrapped around things that are new (to you) and be creative in finding ways to engage with your audience. Build trust and the car sales will come.
Invent for yourself the possibility of being a truly approachable dealership. Your website can not accomplish this but your blog can. This must start at the heart with you and those working with you at your dealership. Otherwise, your blog will just be a front for typical dealership “racketeering” (that’s a Landmark term in context, not mine).
The Internet Marketing Totem Pole
Watching the Bush administration being phased out has been exhilarating. I imagine there is as much relief for Bush and his family to be leaving office as there is for the people of the United States. I am relieved, but for his sake, not mine.
Time Heals
I expect that time will be good to Bush. There is a great abyss right now between secular progressives and the common folk. Mainstream media gives the far-left more weight today than other ways of thinking, but that will change. The media’s message and influence will be dust in the wind compared to the longevity of Bush’s legacy. Once the echoes are gone, the glory of Bush’s Presidency, beyond his stand against terrorism, will be enshrined.
There was something missing though the other night in President Bush’s final press conference. I am glad he let loose. It was a healthy choice and he was splendid in his Farewell Address. But W did not seem aware of his own Divinity in the press conference. He was irritated and failed to acknowledge the eternity of his situation.
My Nana told me one time that God would not put you in situations you can’t handle. I believe that considering the stack of cards Bush was issued and the extraordinary calamities that occurred on his watch, the Bush administration accomplished a variety of things that could shine decades later. The amount of pressure on Bush’s shoulders is a reflection of his faithful ability to lead us. The state of the Union is not the result of Bush’s quirks, ideology, and poor public speaking skills, but infidels will of course point to that as the problem rather than take accountability for their own dangerous behavior.
2009 – Higher Standards in Business
Fortunately, the world seems to be moving forward again, minus for the “mental recession” that has now progressed to economic doldrums. The holidays are over and a new President is rolling in. Let’s hope that the small business can press forward again. I see this as a cleansing period for our nation where business practices and influence will be more scrutinized and held to a higher standard. Or is that wishful thinking?
Internet Marketing Illiteracy
One thing I definitely want to see is for people to be more computer-Internet savvy. There is too much computer illiteracy out there. I am not referring to under-developed countries but right here in my own backyard with working professionals and business owners. The computer and/or Internet skills I see in people are generally low. It is foreign to too many people and that needs to change. I am no whiz but I certainly seem like it to too many people.
This could be an indicator of the long future of the Internet marketing business. Despite the vast quantity of businesses already helping others utilize the Internet, it seems there are still corners of market share up for grabs. Car dealerships aren’t the only businesses behind the curve with Internet marketing, although they certainly have a hill to climb when it comes to it.
Totem Pole
So with the Bush administration headed back to Texas and our seeming Manchurian Candidate on his way to being a social, economic, and foreign policy savior, what does the landscape for you look like? Where on the Internet Marketing totem pole is your business and what are you doing this year to reach your business goals?
Top Rankings are losing ground
So the SEO game seems to be evolving a bit. Over the past few years, content has been king and linking has been vital for rankings. But the idea of ranking is now shifting and the where, why, and how you rank is changing. Pretty soon, keyword ranking as we know it will be obsolete.
This is not something to be alarmed about. It’s actually a good thing. It gives more dimension and dynamic to searching and softens the elitist effect that websites often establish by out-spendig competitor sites.
For instance, dealers love to show up in the top positions of keyword searches such as brand+state or brand+dealer. But these 2-word phrases lack important information that filters in quality site visitors. Brand+state does not tell a search engine what about the brand you want. Do you want a car, a part, service, financing, a dealer, and where in the state do you want this and why? Sure a dealer has all these things but the 2-word phrase does not distinguish this. A brand+dealer phrase does not pinpoint a geo market, thus the search engine at best would filter your results based on the geo proximity of your ISP.
As a result, showing up in the top ranks of these searches brings more lower quality traffic to your site than something like brand+dealership+city which tells a search engine precisely what about the brand you are seeking and more precisely where. The quantity of searches between the two often confuses people because the brand+state and brand+dealer phrases receive significantly more searches than brand+dealership+city. Thus, if you have the capital you can afford to position your site in these less specific keyword markets.
This is all Search 101 but the reason I bring it up is because soon Google will be filtering results for people based on previous searches and sites being visited, information stored on your computer as cookies. Thus a brand+state search will start showing different results for someone that has been searching for parts related to a brand versus someone searching for financing related to the brand. However, you won’t be able to position your site in targeted markets like you can today because your position will be influenced by user variables you do not control.
What this comes down to is that showing up in the top rankings is losing its significance. You will not be able to position your site in specific keyword markets as effectively because the same keyword phrase will have different meanings for everyone searching based on their recent behavior. Thus, the key to driving quality traffic to your site will be more impacted by how effectively you can appear in un-anticipated keyword markets AND offer a sticky experience to these un-anticipated users.
Lots more to come on this subject.
Facebook Ideas for Car Dealers
With the growing awareness and interest in “Web 2.0″ for car dealers, the pressure is on to conceive truly impacting ways for dealers to sell more cars with today’s web technologies. I for one have no doubt that Web 2.0 is key to the success of car dealers, but I also realize the climb has hardly begun.
It’s important to consider proven marketing practices and techniques when leveraging technology. Often people shift towards tools and technology because they are new and then try to find clever ways to make them viable. Take something like Facebook for instance. It’s free and available to everyone so dealers are signing up for it and then wondering how they can put it to good use.
Facebook is a sophisticated application and there are numerous ways to utilize it for sales and marketing purposes, but its not going to be easy. First you have to develop an audience which takes time, commitment, and creativity. You don’t develop an audience in social networks by advertising and soliciting to people. You develop it by observing your connections, interacting with them, and creating interest in them for you. Not realistic if you have an ulterior motive. But that’s the reality of social media networking.
So what can dealers do with Facebook? Well, I think a good start would be to keep it simple by using the Events functionality. Let’s say you are having a tent sale in a few weeks. First you would create an event on your Facebook to announce the event. Then you would blast an email to your permission-based email audience about the event, maybe using a short video to introduce it and invite people to connect with you on Facebook.
Then, at the event, set up a table with a Facebook banner and some materials to educate people at the event about your efforts on Facebook. Take lots of pictures, some videos, maybe even get some written testimonials. Essentially, document the event with multi-media. Heck you might even consider hiring a professionals to do this like you would for your wedding.
After the event, update your Facebook with all the pictures and videos and such, like a journal entry. Make it look sharp, fun, and appealing. Now shoot out another email to your list thanking them for attending and encouraging those that weren’t there to make a check out the pics and stuff anyway.
Hopefully you get the idea. This is no easy task but you want to start somewhere. To pull this off you need buy-in from staff and possibly professional help from select partners, and of course an audience interested in your efforts. But it’s these sorts of efforts that will allow you to build trust with your audience, evolve your dealership, and selling more cars (and service them too). Do this regularly and you could be on to something.
The withered desperate brand of Jose Canseco
Professional sports is like making and selling cars. There are brands, products, manufacturers, distributors, facilitators, customers, etc. In both sports and autos there is also value in brand equity, thus longevity, icons, and communities.
Brands – Evasive entities.
Brands can be cultivated through time or they can be explosive by way of a stigma. They can die out slowly, be rekindled, or disappear into thin air at the blink of an eye.
The brand of Jose Canseco seems to dangle in time like a squirming bug on fly paper despite desperate attempts to wash out its own legacy with revenge, spite, vindication, and self-justification.
Years after his futile fall from baseball greatness due to addictive steroid use in Major League Baseball, Jose Canseco sought to vindicate himself by exposing others of their shared crime with steroid use. A clear attempt for self-vindication, Congress fell right in to the trap of doing the “just” thing by bringing the accusations to public light, and at the expense of others such as Mark McGwire, Raphael Palmiero, and Sammy Sosa. It’s just devils bickering at devils. Real law would beat Canseco in the knees with a billy club, burn his books, and chase him out of town. But not Congress.
Three years later, Canseco now expresses his regrets for writing the book and exposing his ‘friends’.
In Shakespeare’s writings the protagonist is often a tragic character, which I respect. But Canseco is not tragic, he is pathetic. He cheated, betrayed his friends, and now he professes his regret. It’s pathetic because he can’t undo the damage already instigated and he doesn’t seem to realize it, nor his own habitual pathetic behavior. Or maybe he does, I don’t know.
Despite all this, sports columnists are writing about it and bloggers are blogging about it, thus keeping the Canseco brand alive. I don’t know who follows Canseco but Major League Baseball is not going down because of this. Not even the strike of ‘94 killed baseball.
