Social Media News for the Week of August 24 via @SocialLittleMan

Blab.im Hitting the Social Scene

Still in Beta, Blab.im is a chat app marketers and various other users are keeping their eyes on.  Similar to Periscope, its live streaming functionality allows groups of up to four to video chat simultaneously.  Boasting easy-to-install and easy-to-integrate usability, users will also the Blab emoticons, link accessibility, and variety of color schemes for personalization.  With the popularity of instant-message chat, dealerships will want to keep an eye on this app and consider applying to their daily interactions with savvy online consumers.  Chat away, answer shopper questions, and participate in live sales conversations.

Twitter Ad Network Expands

As it continues to improve and expand its advertising offerings, Twitter recently announced the Twitter Audience Platform, an expanded advertisement platform offering new creative features such as Tweet engagement campaigns that become interstitial and native ads on Twitter, Promoted Video campaigns that are turned into in-app video ads, and app install or re-engagement campaigns that become interstitial or banner ads.  According to Twitter, advertisers will now be able to reach “over 700 million people on and off of Twitter.”  As your dealership continues to focus on your social platforms, increase your reach with Twitter’s newest improvements; get your videos seen more often and drive consumer engagement by reaching out to your target audience.

LinkedIn Lookup Helps

The latest and greatest for LinkedIn is LinkedIn Lookup, a new app that helps users more easily find, learn about, and get in touch with their professional contacts.  According to LinkedIn, most corporate intranet sites do a poor job of providing co-worker information, so they’ve solved that problem by creating Lookup, an effective way for professionals to search for other professionals by name, title, experience, education, and skills.  Now available in the App Store, Lookup is making it easier to create business relationships.  Dealerships looking to connect with industry professionals—either to round out their teams or simply to share expertise—can now look to LinkedIn Lookup to facilitate their searches.

Instagram Makes It Easier to Add Locations

It’s now easier for users to add locations to their Instagram photos.  By removing the “Add to Photomap” button, Instagram changed the way locations will be tagged when posted.  Effectively, all images tagged with a location are now added to user maps, facilitating the location-adding process for users.  For users who want to remove locations from their photos, Instagram provides a process to do so, allowing for privacy via the profile page settings.  For dealerships taking advantage of the Instagram craze, adding your location just got a lot easier—simply post your tagged photos, and Instagram will place your inventory or lot pics on the Photomap for you.

WhatsApp Rolling Out for iOS

Nearly half a year behind the rollout for Android, WhatsApp is rolling out for iOS.  A cross-platform mobile messaging app, allowing users to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS, WhatsApp makes it possible for users to message across iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Phone, and Nokia.  Users are also able to create groups, send images, video messages, and audio media messages.  Although WhatsApp’s legal docs state “your use of the service as permitted is solely for your personal use,” dealerships would be completely above board in sharing blog posts, engaging with customers, and sharing showroom images.

Tip of the Week—The Social Media Time Warp

It’s happened to all of us.  You get on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram—the list goes on.  And suddenly when you look up, half the day is gone.  You’re left wondering if you’ve accomplished anything productive.  Most professionals, especially those in small- to medium-sized businesses recognize the need to establish a presence on social media, but along with that, one of the biggest concerns is the amount of time it takes to build a platform your consumers recognize and return to time and again.

Fear not!  There are ways to create a killer online presence while still reserving enough time in your day to take care of the other tasks that demand your attention.  Look below for some great time-saving tips:

• Start off with a plan.  No great mountain climber ever walked out of his house and conquered Everest on Day 1—so recognize the fact that you need to start slowly.  Choose one or two (maybe three if you’re a time-juggling genius!) to start off, and get really good at interacting on those platforms.  Find out where your potential customers are interacting, and go where they are.  Hint: Facebook and Twitter are probably great places to start.

• Be consistent.  Your goal is to show your online followers you are a presence they can count on, and that means you need to consistently post content.  Make a schedule and stick to it; your fans will be expecting you.  A schedule will keep your followers satisfied, while also keeping you on task and saving time.

• Don’t stress.  This wastes time and makes you sound inauthentic.  Instead of spending time reworking your posts and trying to come up with perfection, relax and use your own voice.  Trust me, you’ll be a natural at it.  It’s just like talking to customers on the showroom floor.  Your comfort will shine through, and people will want to interact with you.

• Schedule posts.  This is a handy little feature for those of us who tend to wander when posting.  Block off a segment of time and plan on scheduling several posts at once.  It’s efficient, and it will save you time in the long run.

• Go notification-free.  Notifications can be distracting and time-consuming, so when you really need to buckle down and focus, take a second to turn off your notifications.  It will save you valuable time and keep you focused on the task at hand.

When it comes down to it, dedicating time to your social media platforms is necessary as today’s marketplace becomes more fast-paced and consumers demand quicker solutions.  It’s worth the effort you put in today to get the results you’ll see from engaged consumers in the future.

Have a social media tip you’re dealership has used successfully?  Tweet it to me @sociallittleman or comment below.  We love hearing from you!  #StrongerTogether