Your dealership may have a skilled third-party marketer to manage your Social Media sites or someone in house doing it. Ever wonder what may really catch the eye of a potential customer? What if a service technician or sales rep introduces him or herself on the company Facebook page?
As a salesperson, chances are you already have an updated list with contact information of potential leads, but you may be wishing there were a more personable, friendly method to reach your potential buyers. What better way to do this than through social networking sites?
Lets make sure we’re on the same page; I’m suggesting that you as the dealership have your sales reps start asking for engagement on social as well as continue their traditional processes. For now, I would like to focus solely on Facebook.
Here’s a hypothetical situation as the consumer: I want to purchase a new car. I find the right dealership via ZMOT and land on your Facebook page. There is a fair amount of people talking about their positive business experience with you. Then I see that a sales rep posted about a deal and leaves a phone number and e-mail to contact them directly. I realize it’s in my best interest to contact this person and begin building a trusting relationship so that when I’m ready to buy my new car, I already know who to contact.
If you’re beginning to think this may really work well for your dealership, then it’s time to execute a plan to get your employees engaging on the page!
There are two options for your employees: Either through their personal Facebook page or your dealership’s Facebook page:
- Having your sales reps post through their personal Facebook page: With the new timeline layout, all wall posts by others are stored in the right sidebar to make it easy for page visitors to view. If a sales rep introduces themselves, it shows up in the ‘Recent Posts by Others’ section and page visitors can click and expand the post to learn more about the rep.
This works well because now the customer can click through to the employee’s page and reach out to on a more personal level.
- Having your sales rep post through the dealership Facebook page: In order for someone to post on behalf of the business page, they must have admin rights or the login credentials. Granting employees permission to introduce themselves on behalf of the dealership showcases that aspect of shared community that buyers generally look for. In the example below, a sales rep introduces himself through the dealership page and provides a photo and short bio.
This works well because not only does this humanize the dealership, but the rep also provided his contact information for those interested in getting assistance, and the interested buyer can contact him.
More and more businesses are turning to social media as they realize it’s one of the stops during the ZMOT that customers make in the buying process. As dealerships get more involved in social networking, they may find it crucial to get their sales team and other employees involved as well. This should help to showcase the human element of the dealership and in turn, attract more online traffic.
About the Author
PCG Digital Marketing is an award winning digital agency headquartered in Eatontown, NJ. We help our clients get found online through innovative search, social and online advertising campaigns.