The 2016 conference season is upon us. Conferences are an excellent place for vendors to gain exposure and connect with dealers in a concentrated area over several days. They are also a definite (and not inexpensive) investment. So, it makes sense to do all that you can to optimize your ROI.

Dealers can get overwhelmed by all of the booths. And, unless…

So, you’ve recognized the value that social media and content marketing present for your business. You faithfully promote your Facebook page to your audience through your marketing efforts, e-mail signatures and website. You’ve enlisted employees or executives in your organization to start creating unique content for your blog or website and are seeking out content daily to…

News for the Week of 12.9

Facebook Messenger Arrives at a Website Near You 

Facebook recently introduced new Page plugins for Messages and Events, allowing users to message your business easily and check out what’s going on with your Events directly from your…

News for the Week of November 2 

Google Play Music Introduces Podcasts

Google recently introduced a podcast portal which allows podcasters to upload their shows to Google Play Music. According to Google, contextual recommendations will be…

Common advice in the automotive industry: "There are very strict rules that dealers should follow when posting to social media, especially as it pertains to timing."

Pop quiz: Who says things like this?

• Companies who post on schedules
• Gurus who want to demonstrate the need for their expertise
• Anyone who wants to automate their…

There is a purge coming from Facebook and it affects all business pages. Various social media outlets have carried out their own version of “swift justice”. Twitter and Instagram recently purged a lot of fake fans and it seems Facebook is joining in too. So what’s going on exactly? Starting March 12, Facebook will begin to purge likes on business pages that are from…

It seems as if every big event nowadays is live tweeted by brands seeking to gain free marketing on the back of these popular events. This last Super Bowl saw brands literally setting up war rooms filled with social media professionals, graphic designers and even lawyers, simply to post content in reaction to real-time events. For most events targeted by brands in this…

Social media kicked off the New Year with some interesting updates geared toward increasing content exposure and diversifying communications tools. While some automotive professionals have expressed thatsocial isn’t selling cars, these updates may yet give us hope!

So far, here are 2015’s five social media updates your dealership…

When considering the successful use of social media by a business, the first thing that pops into many people’s minds is quantity. Not necessarily quantity of posts, but how big their audience is. Many judge social media success by the number of fans they have on Facebook, or followers on Twitter. If that number is large and/or growing, they feel as if their efforts are a…

Just like in the blockbuster series “The Lord of the Rings”, the Eye of Mordor is always open. Until now, its focus has been on larger battles and more interesting things. Then a Hobbit found a golden ring and slipped it on his finger. And the Eye started paying attention to this little being that had avoided the Eye’s gaze… until now.



The intersection of…

Let me start off by stressing the word social, these are going to be topics, events and days of interest that you can use to be conversation pieces with people in your online communities. None will be car specific but instead topics that might stimulate two-way conversations and recognition. People are pretty smart, they know ABC Toyota sells Toyota’s, you don’t have to tell them every day.

These topics will fall into the fun section of my 4-3-2-1 Rule of Facebook Posting. Each month,…

It’s no secret that the FTC has been monitoring brand usage of social media. The hammer finally fell when the FTC ruled last week that companies and agencies utilizing social media must include disclaimers. This is regardless of the social media platform and whether or not the account is a brand account, an agency account, or company employee’s personal account – and yes,…

The most amazing part about the internet and social media is that it has opened up communication between people and businesses that was never possible before. We now have the ability to talk to our customers and for them to talk to us in an interactive fashion, allowing for clear lines of engagement that can be both public and private.

For car dealers, this…

In February 2010, I wrote a blog titled “Pizza Wars: Why Auto Dealers Need to be Involved in Social Media.” I was reminded of this the other day when I saw that Domino’s Pizza earnings had surpassed Wall Street’s expectations.…

 Hope you enjoy! Please feel free to email me any questions at RobH@NextGenDealer.com

Let me start off by stressing the word social, these are going to be topics, events and days of interest that you can use to be conversation pieces with people in your online communities. None will be car specific but instead topics that might stimulate two-way conversations and recognition. People are pretty smart, they know ABC Toyota sells Toyota’s, you don’t have to tell them every day.

These topics will fall into the fun section of my 4-3-2-1 Rule of Facebook Posting. Each month,…

Losing a friend stinks; losing a client costs you money; people unliking your Facebook page is both! Historically, people have had a somewhat negative opinion of car dealers in general, and not many of them want to be friends with a dealer on Facebook. However, when you get the chance to build that relationship, that relationship that may one day lead to a sale, so don’t…

“To err is human; to forgive, divine” – Alexander Pope

Mistakes happen, people realize this. Nobody expects a business to be perfect, as everyone has bad days. However, how you handle these mistakes is the secret to formulating long-term opinions of your…