Automated content marketing for social media is helping FordDirect engage Millennials in the market for new cars.
On average, customers spend seven hours doing research before buying a car, noted Ali Fawaz, director of social media, FordDirect, which provides digital marketing and advertising solutions to Ford and Lincoln dealerships.
Seventy-seven percent of new car buyers and 67% of used car buyers go online to do that investigation before buying, only heading into a dealership when they are ready for a test drive. Prospective buyers visit an average of 25 sites in their discovery process, with over half of new car buyers saying the Internet led them to a particular dealership.
Social media is the way to capture Millennials, said Fawaz, speaking at the recent Adobe Summit in Salt Lake City, UT. Of course, he said, you don’t just have to convince this age group to buy your brand’s car—you have to sell them on the need to buy ANY car. Sixty-two percent of 18-29 year olds have a preference for public transport, and when they do need a car, many can just borrow one from their parents.
FordDirect knew it needed to provide content for fans and followers on Facebook and other social platforms to help dealerships connect with prospective buyers, said Derek Jones, social account manager, Adobe. “As you grow and expand your social structure, you need a scalable program.”
Retailers often wear many hats, and the problem is often finding the resources to create and distribute content.
“If you don’t have a dedicated resource managing the process, social will be the first thing that falls of the table,” said Fawaz. “They need rich content that provides real value to their customers—it isn’t really so much about ROI as it is about COI. What’s the ‘Cost of Ignoring It?’ Just posting to Facebook isn’t enough, but it’s easy for dealers to get overwhelmed by social. Many just don’t know where to start.”
FordDirect created an extensive franchise content syndication program to work with dealerships, said Jones. About 1,800 dealerships—with over 2,600 social properties between them—have enrolled. The program has a tiered approach, with basic content levels and higher premium levels offering services like online reputation management and social monitoring.
For many dealers, posting regularly to build up a momentum and a following was a huge hurdle. Through the program, they can publish via an app two to three times a week, and take advantage of an integrated lead processing system. The program also provides them with creative for their websites and their Facebook pages.
In the early stages of the program, FordDirect did hit a few snags as it realized the system it was working on couldn’t support publishing to over 500 Facebook dealer pages at once. It began working with Adobe Social to get the scale it needed to operate effectively. The system also allows FordDirect to collect metrics to show to new dealerships that haven’t signed up yet, and automate the onboarding process for new dealerships in the program.
Dealerships are encouraged to engage with customers as much as they can via social, and promote what is unique about their franchise, such as extended hours, seasonal promotions and whether they area Ford-only dealer. “Make sure you are not missing out on any opportunity to engage at any level,” said Jones.
“At the end of the day, we don’t want to take the dealership’s Facebook page out of their control,” added Fawaz. “We just want to make sure there is content there to generate a conversation.”
More From the Adobe Summit:
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New Content Delivery Structure Improves IHG Customer Experiences
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