When a California dealership started a new social media initiative, it had one primary objective: increase sales. From the beginning of the campaign its social media presence was dismal: it had less than 200 likes on Facebook, it was posting irregularly and there was no engagement on its page.
Eight months later, after working out a social media strategy which included paid Facebook advertising, the dealer had more than 10,000 likes, and site analytics showed a significant increase in engagement. But more important, its goal for new business had been realized: the dealership had sold 10 additional machines. The dealer traced it back to the higher call volumes for the units on sale – both new and used – after he advertised them on Facebook.
“Selling equipment from social media is not just talk,” says John Ryneska, national sales manager, Commercial Web Services. “You can apply it and get tangible results.”
There are three common dealer misconceptions regarding social media, says Ryneska, who with Lindsey Wreggelsworth, also with Commercial Web Services, spoke at an Associated Equipment Dealers educational session during the association’s annual meeting in Chicago:
But, says Ryneska, “Nine out of 10 people in the demographics you want to reach are using Facebook.” Think that you’re exempt because your dealership is a more rural area? Consider the results of a 2016 Pew Research study, which found 81 percent of the people in rural areas are using Facebook to connect to the larger world, equal to the amount using Facebook in more urban areas.
In addition, three out of four buyers rely on social media when it comes to making a purchasing decision, according to Sprout Social, a social media software firm. “Social media is your close sphere of influence,” says Wreggelsworth. “There’s a trust factor at work, and you can generate leads and business from it, if you leverage it properly against a goal.”
