CARY, N.C. -

In an industry that has evolved right along with the Internet and new Web-based marketing opportunities, dealers now have a plethora of options to take into account when deciding how best to reach a potential or current customer.

With tools such as Facebook, mobile apps, QR codes and more, dealers are starting to utilize digital and social marketing in more and more creative ways.

For example, one New York dealership offered its new Facebook friends a chance to win a new car, while officials at AutoTrader.com advise dealers to offer only information that “consumers cannot find on third-party sites or on the dealer’s own website” all on social media sites.

That said, will all these marketing outlets, and more opening up every day, dealers must decide which ones are crucial to their business and which ones will end up wasting more time than gaining new customers for their dealerships.

“Sifting” through the marketing paths and finding those that best suit your business is one of the hardest endeavors for today’s auto remarketers, stressed Jessica Stafford, senior manager of consumer marketing for AutoTrader.com.

Facebook and Twitter: Tools of the Trade

Through the past few years, social media has evolved from a teenager’s tool to connect with friends to a crucial business tool and way to connect millions of people throughout the globe.

For dealers, the question now is how to use it and which social media site or tool to choose.

From foursquare to Facebook, New York dealer Brian Benstock, the minority owner of Paragon Honda and general manager and vice president of Paragon Acura, says the “possibilities are endless.”

His dealerships have used Facebook as a chance to inspire customer loyalty and online leads by giving away a vehicle. By giving anyone who became a Facebook friend of the dealership the chance to win a car, Benstock was able to greatly increase his online consumer circle. Also, anyone who shared the Facebook opportunity with a friend doubled their chances of winning the vehicle.

“If everyone has an average of 130 Facebook friends, every person who joins the dealership’s Facebook network is bringing those other people with them,” Benstock surmised.

“By a very small investment of one vehicle, we have created a huge advertising opportunity,” he added.

He also noted that people who “like Hondas are bound to know people who like Hondas.”

“If you drive a Honda, chances are, all your friends do not drive Bentleys, and those 130 friends you brought with you to our Facebook page might be prospective customers, as well,” he stressed.

Also, social media outlets, such as Facebook, can be used as another way to improve a business’s online reputation.

David Miller, general manager and vice president of John Hine Mazda in San Diego, agreed, saying, “Facebook is a way to connect with consumers and convince them of the quality of your dealership. Why not use it?”

On the other hand, Stafford said that though Facebook can serve dealers well, they have to make sure that they are offering information consumers cannot find on third-party sites or on the dealer’s own website.

“From a consumer’s standpoint, you have to give me something more than the website (on social media). As a dealer, you have to give them value if you are going to communicate in the social segment. You can’t just post anything and everything, this information has to help them during the shopping process,” said Stafford.

Allyson Estes, director of industry relations and dealer learning at AutoTrader.com, also gave her take on the social media outlet, as well, offering yet another approach: “Dealers should look to use Facebook less as a way to generate sales, but as more of an engagement tool, an opportunity to see the transaction through beyond the vehicle purchase.

“When the car goes off the lot, the dealer immediately goes into the mode of trying to retain that customer through service specials or communications that are meaningful to the customer. We really encourage dealers to not think about social media as a way to sell more cars, (but) ask themselves, ‘How do we use this to stay relevant to our customers?’” she continued.

The same concept can also be transferred to another well-known social media channel — Twitter. Though, it would be difficult to conduct a contest or in-depth promotion solely through this outlet, Twitter still serves as a free and effective advertising channel.

Have an upcoming sale? Launching a new incentives package? Advertising a chance to win a car?

Tweets can be a way to get information out to the public even before advertisements in print hit the press or Web-based publications go live.

The Business Side of Social Media

Moving on to more business-focused but less well-known social media outlets, sites such as foursquare can prove to be a very productive way to get a dealership on the map.

The location-based mobile platform makes cities easier to explore, while also providing information regarding most any kind of business one would need.

“Whether you’re a mom-and-pop shop, a national chain or a brand, foursquare can provide you with tools to engage with your customers and fans,” company officials noted.

By checking in to the site via mobile application or SMS, users can share their location, and offer suggestions to other users about venues around town.

Businesses have the chance to create a foursquare platform and even offer specials or discounts to users when they check in to the site near your venue or business.

Chuck Redden, president and chief executive officer of Autotec, parent company of Auction Access, says social media like foursquare taps in to “what matters to people.”

“People always want to know where they can get good service and will be treated fairly, and websites like these advertise who has the ‘best’ of everything,” said Redden.

“These sites are all about what matters to people, and dealers should take advantage of these forms of low to no-cost advertising,” he added.

Expanding Your Online Presence Through Mobile

Another way to stand out from the crowd online is to develop a mobile website, a helpful tool to provide a convenient option for on-the-go customers.

Having a mobile website can enable a dealership to engage customers who might only have a few minutes or seconds to glance at your inventory; they might not take the time to sit down at a computer and look a store up.

In a recent column run by Auto Remarketing, Chad Goodson, process improvement specialist at Carfax, offered his take on the digital marketing tool: “Having a mobile website can significantly increase your ability to engage potential customers and sell cars. However, not having one can seriously limit your ability to compete with tech-savvy dealers.”

Goodson also noted that there is some information a dealer should make sure to spotlight on a mobile website.

“Don’t hide critical information like your phone number or e-mail address in a graphic. Remember, visitors are likely to abandon your mobile site if they can’t easily access information they want,” he continued.

QR Codes: “The Bridge Between the Print and Online World”

Moving on through the complex world of digital and social marketing, QR (or quick-response) codes seem to be the new tool stuck on many businesses’ radar.

These black and white bar codes designed to be scanned by smartphones only take a small amount of effort to create and can be added to print advertisements at no extra cause.

What is the biggest perk? If a dealership or company cannot fit all the necessary or desired information on an advertisement, QR codes can link a customer to most anything — a website, a Facebook page, a video or even an audio recording, to name a few.

John Hine Mazda even uses them on the back of business cards for sales consultants, noted Miller. These codes are either linked to the store’s website or to a “thank you” video to a customer from a sales consultant or manager.

“QR codes are a way to get so much more content out there, past what a normal print advertisement can do,” said Miller.

QR codes can also serve as a bridge from the important print publications in the industry to the online world.

As print advertisements continue to lose viewers to online listings, it becomes more and more important to have bridges from these and other older advertisement avenues to the modern marketing forefront — the Web.

“Without QR codes, you have no bridge from your print ad to the Web; also, no one these days is going to type in some long URL on their smartphone,” said Redden. “You can link to Facebook, Twitter, a website and even a mobile app. I don’t understand why anyone would print something in a publication that didn’t have a QR code in it.

“It doesn’t even cost the advertiser any more money to add the QR code in, and it opens up a world of possibilities,” he added.