4. Halftime Pep Talk
5Yard Penalty
Personal Fouls
Under Review
Social Media Best Practice
Guidelines
Final Score & Game Recap
Quote of the Game
17
18
19–20
21
22–23
24–25
26
27
In This Issue
Personal Goals
Words of Wisdom
The Game Plan
Is Social Media for You?
Professional & Personal
Boundaries
4 Foul-Proof Ways to
Dominate the Field
2
3
5
6
7
8–9
10–16
5.
6. The Digital Marketing Department wants
to recruit you to join our social media
efforts.We want to help you sell more
cars, make more money and have a solid
and successful online presence on
Facebook, Google+, Twitter and YouTube.
7. Do I like my job?
“No, hitting the snooze button
is the best part of my day.”
If you don’t enjoy what you
do, who you work with or the
company you work for, then
implementing social media
into your professional life is
not for you.
No
Yes
“Heck yes—my job rocks!”
If you enjoy coming to work every
day, congratulations! Social media
is for you! When you enjoy what
you do, you’re more inclined to
share your professional goals and
achievements with your “friends”
via social media—and in return,
they are more likely to support you,
what you do and engage in the
content you share.
Am I willing to share
my personal life with
my customers?
“Um...No. Work and play
need to stay separated.”
If social media is an outlet for
you to express your wild side
and could potentially offend
others, it is best that you keep
your professional life separate
from your personal life online.
In other words—this guide
is probably not for you.
No
Yes
“Why not? I don’t have
anything to hide.”
If you prefer to portray yourself
in a positive light at all times
including on the world wide web,
congratulations—Social media
is for you! People feed off of your
positive vibes, motivating posts
and support your professional
endeavors.
8. Is my social presence
appropriate for work?
There’s a line between
professional and personal
content on the web.When
you choose to use social
media as a professional
tool, keep in mind you’re
not only representing
the company, but you’re
branding yourself. Keep
it classy and hide those
skeletons you may
be harboring.
No Yes
“Let’s just say I wouldn’t want
my mom or grandma to see
my newsfeed.”
When blending the
boundaries of your personal
and professional lives, it is
important to keep your
social content PG rated.You
don’t want to offend any of
your past or potential
customers. If you’re not
willing to do this, you may
want to sit on the sideline.
“Absolutely! That’s my reputation.
Why would I post anything
incriminating or offensive for
the world to see?”
If you have answered “Yes”
to all 3 questions,
congrats—you’re exactly the
recruit we’ve been looking
for! Since you already have
the basics down, are you
ready to sell more cars and
make more money? Let’s get
this game started!
9. Not ThisShare This
A professional post of a happy
customer is acceptable and
encouraged!
This can be easily
misinterpreted and considered
offensive content to some.
This is family friendly and shows
a little about you and your
personal life in a positive light.
Rule of thumb: ALWAYS avoid
sharing political content.
People welcome positive content
and enjoy reading articles on
how to improve their lives.
Refrain from posting any
content containing profanity,
and/or offensive comments.
Share This
Share This
Not This
Not This
10. Spark Interest
Your job is to sell cars. The more cars
you sell, the more money you make.
Using your social networks to share
posts of new cars, happy customers and
your co-workers can help you increase
your sales and referrals.
Did you just trade for a
fully-loaded 4x4 truck?
Grab your smart phone,
take a few pictures and
share it on your social
network.Word of mouth
travels fast—a friend of a
friend might be looking
for just that vehicle.
11. GAME WINNERS
Is the all–new, redesigned ________
about to arrive? Be the first to get a
photo of it driving off the delivery
truck. Ask yourself if it is timely,
unique, interesting, an awesome deal,
or if it is highly sought after. If people
want it, and you have it, they will call.
Focus on: sales, arrival of new/unique
models and walk–around videos.
Include elements such as: MPG,
engine and transmission types, and
any safety and technology features.
Either you take a photo of a happy
customer, a customer tags you/the
dealership in the photo they post,
or they share their positive
experience working with you.
Sharing you and your co-workers
achivements, quirks, etc.
12. Check your dealership’s Social Page
share related event posts or posts on
new model releases.
Share a link to a vehicle that you
want to sell.
Take your own photos/video from your
smart phone and share it via
Facebook/YouTube.
YouTube videos from the OEM and
credible automotive sites like:
Promote cars by sharing features unique to
that vehicle, available aftermarket packages,
limited-time discounts/offers, as well as positive
vehicle reviews and videos from reputable
companies including:
Motor Trend
https://www.youtube.com/user/MotorTrend
Carscoop
https://www.youtube.com/user/Carscoop/videos
The Automobile Magazine
https://www.youtube.com/user/automobile
Car and Driver Magazine
https://www.youtube.com/user/CARandDRIVER
KBB
Auto Blog
Left Lane
Motor Trend
CarScoop, etc.
13. Your customers visit the dealership for
service more frequently than they do to
buy a new car. If you want a customer to
be loyal, it is important to take the time
to help answer their questions, and
guide them to the right departments.
When a customer reaches out
to you and has a questions about
service, do not reply with any
variation of “That’s a question for a
service advisor.” If you’re unsure at
the very least, tell them you will
find out and get back to them.
And then get back to them.
Oil change offers & discounts
Tire services & repairs
Extra services provided by
the service department
How & where to schedule a
service appointment online
When routine maintenance
should be done
Service hours
14. Expand your network by reaching out
and adding old friends and co-workers.
The larger audience/network you have,
the more potential customers you have.
Not at all! If they enjoyed
working with you, and
everything went smoothly,
don’t be afraid to look
them up on Facebook,
Google+ or Twitter to
“friend” them.
When you’re ready to turn the keys
over to the customer, ask if they
want a picture with their new car,
look them up on Facebook, add
them and tag them in the picture.
or
If you can’t find them on social
media, when you follow-up with
them about their purchase, ask then.
“I occasionally share oil
change discounts, service
tips and new inventory on
Facebook when we have
great deals going on. How
would I find you to share
these savings and
information with you?”
Customers consider you to be their
automotive representative. They
want to put their trust in you,
believe your suggestions and
believe that you’re doing
everything you can to help them, so
be sure you run that extra mile and
give 110% to create genuine
relationships with your customers.
15. You get out what you put in to your social
media account. Just like any sport, the key
is practice and consistency. So post
regularly, but don’t oversell on your
personal account.We recommend sharing
1–2 times a day via Facebook/Google+,
but be sure to balance your professional
posts with a few personal posts.
“Can I just post pictures
and include my contact
information?”
Yes and No. Your job is to
sell cars, but keep in
mind you’re also
providing a service to
your customers. Making
yourself available on
social media allows you to
answer customers’
questions regarding all
aspects of the automotive
industry—that includes
service and parts.
Stay connected to your
friends and let them know
you are available to help
them with any of their
automotive needs.
16. GAME WINNERS
How to react to dirty play.
“What if someone I know posts a
negative comment or status about their
experience at one of our dealerships?”
Take the offense.
Whether it is sales, service or parts
related, reply with the following:
“<Name>,I apologize about your
recent experience.I have passed your
comments along to our management
team so we can address your concerns.
Would you prefer they contact you by
phone or email?”
Communicate with your team.
Include a screenshot and link of any
negative comments, posts or reviews
to: Sarah Dring at:
sdring@performanceauto.com
including any contact information the
customer is comfortable providing.
Sarah will handle all responses and
coordinate with management to
resolve any issues or concerns.
Be conversational.
If it’s an interested customer or an
auto enthusiast, people will naturally
ask for details such as: “How many
miles?”,“Do you have one in white?”,
“How much horsepower does it have?”
Always be on your toes.
Be ready to actively respond to these
types of questions. Communication is
a two-way street and is a crucial
element to any relationship,
including the one you share with
your customers.
Yes! Thank them for feedback,
comments, and/or business. It should
sound genuine and sincere.You can
even reply and ask if they would be
willing to refer their friends/family.
So, you get a compliment: “Do I
respond to a customer’s positive
comment on social media?”
Tag them in the response. It expands
the reach of your response to others
within their network.
19. Avoid illegal actions or use of methods
beyond what is necessary to tackle a
customer response or comment. Be
professional, calm and collected. Don’t let a
little smack–talk get under your skin.
See “Others Talk Smack on pg.x” for an
approved response and steps on how to
handle negative comments by a customer.
*
You’ll delay the game if you avoid answering
a customer’s question/comment. If the
customer asks if a vehicle is available or
how much service costs, provide an
accurate and straight-forward response.
It’s considered a foul when a player
(You) posts or shares anything
containing profanity or vulgar,
offensive language. Keep it clean
and professional.
Don’t make posts complaining about your job,
your co-workers or negative and offensive
material. All employees represent Performance
Auto Group, including you.
No one likes a ball hog.We have all those
friends who only post sales/specials and offers,
and it’s super annoying. Limit your sales posts
to 1 or 2 per week. Feel free to share current
events at the dealership, employee focused
posts, or customer revies/sales.
See page x for examples.
You might think typing in ALL CAPS creates
urgency, but it can perceived as yelling.
“DRIVE HOME A NEW 2015 RAM 1500 XLT TODAY
FOR $249/MO. THIS WEEKEND ONLY!!!!!!! CALL ME
AT 888-888-8888 BEFORE YOU MISS OUT!!!!!!!!
Not cool. This doesn’t show urgency and comes
across as pushy. *STOP YELLING AT YOUR
POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS!
21. instant
replay
Today, 90 percent of consumers’ buying decisions
are influenced by online reviews. Customers want to
trust the company, and their sales person, especially
when they are preparing to spend a lot of money on
a new or used car. Positive reviews and ratings that
mention their sales person help establish trust.
Ask. Make a status update or post to a
recent customer’s Facebook page after
friending them and ask about their
experience.
Example:“I make sure my customers get
what they want and have a great time
shopping. How was your experience?”
Share positive reviews on your Facebook
with your friends/fans. Copy the URL to the
positive review and share it. This links back
to the review and provides credibility, while
also making it easy for others to share their
experience as well.
What you share, and who you share it with should
change based on the content and pairing it with the
appropriate audience. There are certain things you
share with your friends, that you wouldn’t want your
mother or professional acquaintances to see. By
changing the privacy settings to certain posts can
allow you to manage the audience who see your
personal posts that might not be appropriate in a
professional sense. This allows you to keep your
voice with your close friends, and establish trust
with potential clients. And, it can be done in a few
easy clicks:
Choose your audience at the bottom right of
the status text box (next to the post button).
To exclude certain people, customize your post
by selecting “More Options,” and
select “Custom”.
You can then select specific people or groups
to share this content with, or selectively
choose who you don’t want to see it.
22. uNDEr RevIEW
Requesting and collecting positive reviews can be
as simple as clicking a “send” button. Custom email
templates under the name “Customer Review
Request” have been created in VinConnect that link
your customer to your dealership’s major review
sites and make it quick and easy to leave a review.
Here’s how:
Find the customer you want to leave a
review by searching VinConnect,
Select “Email” and choose the
“Customer Review Request” Template
Click send.
If there’s something you would like to add to the
message, you have the capability of personalizing
the email by editing or adding comments that
would pertain to that specific customer. With these
3 easy steps, you will be on your way to improving
your reputation and credibility as a salesperson.
23. RevIEWs
Sending the right people to the right
platform/review site is just as important as the
review content. Google requires and favors reviews
from people who leave it from a Gmail/Google+
email account. If the review author creates a new
profile, Google may recognize the content as SPAM
and eventually remove or block the review.
Taking the extra couple of minutes to be aware of
your customers’ email domains (what comes after
the “@” symbol in the email address) and
manipulating the email template to include a
customized, personal message ultimately creates a
better user experience, and improves the likeliness
that they will leave a review.
“What review sites should I
send my customers to?”Gmail Accounts Other Email Accounts
Secondary Option
24. What you get out of social media
is determined by what you put
into it. Follow manufacturer
brands, model clubs, industry
related accounts, and follow back
those who follow you. Respond to
industry related questions your
friends ask or share.
Are you using a corporate or more casual
voice? Find out who your audience is and
cater to what they tend to engage most
with, and be sure that it professionally
represents the dealership and brand/s.
Social outlets like Facebook and
Google+ are tools that are used to
interact with our customers, fans and
employees. It should not be used as a
blog. Create some mystery, and let your
fans’ statistics show that tweets under
100 characters obtain more fan
engagement than longer tweets.
25. There are a lot of trending videos,
articles and photos that surface daily;
however, it is important to stick to
content that professionally represents
the manufacturer and dealership.
This helps establish a consistent voice
and message to our customers and
ultimately creates trust.
There is enough spam and
advertised posts and tweets on
the web. Limit posts to an average
of 1–2 per day.
Whether you’re sharing a video on the
best off-road vehicle or how to properly
change a tire, allow your followers and
fans to create their own opinions on the
topic. It helps build trust and credibility
with your followers by not pressuring or
being too aggressive. In turn, prospects
will be more likely to engage with your
dealership. Avoid controversial topics as
this can offend potential prospects and
loyal customers.
If you see someone within your social
circle that is in the market for a new car,
looking for a place to service their
vehicle, or has general questions about
parts or maintenace, be proactive and
reach out to them before they inquire.
Provide them with the helpful resources
and link them to your dealership’s
inventory, service or parts page. The
same goes for a complaint. Address
their coment and offer to speak in
person/over the phone to find a
resolution. This can ultimately help
avoid a potential crisis.
Our customers use their social media
accounts to post about their lives,
including their experiences at local
businesses, both good and bad.While it
may be tempting to delete or hide
negative feedback, don’t. Instead,
respond to their negative comments,
address their concerns, and reach out to
them as an attempt to resolve their
complaint/s. No company is perfect, but
it is how we respond to our customer’s
complaints that makes us stand out.
26. Final Score
Performance
Auto Group
Competition
Selling more cars each month can be as easy as promoting vehicles
to your social network and engaging with your audience.
The best tactics and plays for a successful social media performance
are simple to follow and execute as long as you are consistent with
the content you share and the frequency of your posts.
It’s important to defend your reputation, respond quickly to comments.
Word-of-mouth can travel fast and it can either help or hurt your
professional career.
Mind the do’s and don’ts of using social media as a professional tool
and you’ll
