ROCHESTER, Mich. -

Customers who are excited about their new vehicles often take to the Internet to share, building word-of-mouth recommendations. Yet social media has a long way to go toward finding its maximum effectiveness on auto purchase, according to a new report.

Foresight Research’s 2012 Social Media Auto Marketing Report, released on Tuesday, reveals that while social media users generate 40 percent more word- of-mouth recommendations each year than the average new-car buyer, only 5 percent of buyers overall were “highly influenced” by social media sites and discussions.

The report also found that 16 percent of all recent vehicle buyers discussed vehicles on social media during the 12 months before they made their purchase, and that social media influence occurs most in the early and middle stages of the purchase process.

Who’s most likely to post comments about their new vehicles? Buyers of the Mitsubishi, Audi, BMW, Infiniti and Volkswagen brands, the report said.

Overall, it seems that social media within the auto industry works best at delivering emotional commentary and reviews, Foresight Research said, while practical words on features and technical information are left to other media sources.

“Social media is about fostering engagement, with customers being participants rather than just advertising viewers,” said Steve Bruyn, chief executive officer of Foresight Research. “While automotive marketers quickly embraced social media marketing, early efforts fell flat as they did not embrace the medium’s unique requirements.

“Successful use of social media relies on building word of mouth from trusted sources rather than messages known to be packaged or provided by the marketer, he said. “As a result, despite access by virtually anyone with an Internet connection, consumer use of social media during the automotive buying process is still relatively low, and has so far had limited influence on automotive purchase decisions.”

The data does, however, suggest increasing potential for social media in automotive marketing in coming years, the firm said, through expanded use of the medium by buyers and through better social-media-specific strategies by auto marketers.

The Foresight Research data is based on surveys among 7,851 new-vehicle buyers in the U.S.

For more news on the use of social media in auto industry marketing, see the Sept. 1–14 print issue of Auto Remarketing.