Recently, I’ve noticed that auto dealerships are either confident that Twitter is essential to their interactive marketing initiatives, or that they disregard it all together as a valuable marketing medium. Having managed and ghost-tweeted for several automotive dealerships across the East Coast, I have seen first-hand that dealerships can definitely benefit from a presence on Twitter and other social networking sites. For those non-believers, I’d like to share some ways that Twitter has worked for the dealerships I’ve worked with.

Like many things, you get what you put into Twitter. Lazy dealerships that simply post their inventory and incentives on their Twitter feed will not see a benefit. They expect that selling a car online is as easy as posting their models and prices, and this is not true. Twitter can only benefit your dealership if you take the time to produce meaningful content, build relevant contacts, and participate in your community of followers’ content as well.

If you want Twitter to work for your dealership, you need to try to create a conversation and share information relevant to your product. Be a source of information that is not only relevant to the vehicles you sell, but to the community as a whole. It is important to share the exciting things that are going on in the industry to spark interest. For example, the new My Ford Sync system is an exciting topic for Ford Dealerships to discuss. By following the Twitter feeds from your Manufacturer, you will also be able to keep up with your brand and get ideas of things to discuss. Ask questions and people will share their thoughts and opinions. In return, you should comment on others’ Tweets to show your interest and build a relationship. Once you have their trust and attention, that is when you can slip in a promotion for your dealership, but in a non-salesy approach.

The search tool and trends are also a great resource. Use the search tool to find people who are Tweeting about your product and interact with them to gain more contacts. You can even search for local followers that may mention their car broke down. This would be a great way for Service employees to communicate with potential customers.

Also, participate in popular Twitter feeds in your community such as the County Chamber, the news station, the local animal shelter, and so on. This way, most of the people you are talking to are local, and you are essentially branding yourself as a business that cares about the community.

Follow anyone that you would want to follow you. They are notified via email when you choose to follow them and therefore, they are more likely to choose to follow you back. Make sure you customize your Twitter page with pictures of employees and information that you want to share. That way, whenever you follow someone, they will most likely click on your page to see who you are and this customized page will hopefully encourage them to follow you.

By building followers and local contacts on Twitter, you are building the awareness for your dealership. If you put the time into building relationships with these contacts, you can essentially brand your business online. Even if you didn’t insert any promotional tips into your Twitter Feed, at least the contacts you build will remember your name when they need to buy a new car. However, once you build their trust and spark interest in your followers, they will read about the cars you have on special and the great pre owned model you have right now. Therefore, Twitter really is a valuable resource for automotive interactive marketing. Dealerships who choose to put the time and effort in will definitely experience the benefits.

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