CINCINNATI -

Can Facebook help boost sales in dealerships?

The jury is still out, but research firm Friedman-Swift Associates revealed research last week that says more than one in four new car buyers visit social networking sites at least weekly.

Jeff Friedman, president and chief executive officer of the Cincinnati-based Friedman-Swift Associates, said, "28 percent of people who purchase new cars visit social networking sites at least once a week.

"By far, the most frequently visited social networking site is Facebook,” he added.

But just because car buyers frequent the social networking site, it does not mean they are shopping around for a new ride while scanning their friends list.

Of new-car buyers who use sites like Facebook weekly or more often, 77 percent say they do not participate in any commercial activity on the site, officials said.

"Social networking is on the rise, but it is not a strong advertising tool for car dealerships at this time," Friedman said. "There are exceptions — dealers who have surpassed these national numbers — but overall, Facebook is not driving traffic to dealerships right now."

In fact, only 14 percent of new car buyers who visit social networking sites like Facebook at least once a week look at advertisements there.  This represents about 4.5 percent of all new car buyers, according to Friedman. 

And the number of new car buyers who connect with auto dealerships on Facebook is even smaller, the company explained, listing the following statistics:

—About 2.2 percent of new-car buyers visit a dealership's Facebook page.
—About 1.9 percent of new-car buyers have looked at car dealership ads on Facebook.
—About 1.9 percent of new-car buyers have either "liked" a dealership or have become its Facebook friend or a fan.

That said, though Facebook may not be the place to push sales, Friedman notes Facebook could be an important component of dealership marketing. 

"Facebook is part of a dealership's public relations and marketing campaign," he said."Customers who become Facebook friends with auto dealerships might have stronger customer loyalty in the long run."

Friedman-Swift's research is based on telephone surveys with 7,111 new-car buyers in 2011 and 2012. 

All survey respondents had recently purchased or leased a new car or truck and were over 18 years of age. 

Car buyers employed in the advertising, market research or auto dealership industries were excluded from the study, officials concluded.