Lisa Gilpin from General Motors presents on their social media strategy for reaching new consumers. They treat bloggers like traditional media and include them on trips to help tell GM's story. Their Faces of GM blog shares stories of GM employees, customers, and dealers to humanize the brand. It began in 2009 and has evolved to include more video, syndication to other sites, and optimization for search engines. Their road trip generated over 12 million impressions. They partnered with a nonprofit on some challenges. The blog aims to show different aspects of people beyond their jobs and demonstrate brand loyalty.

1. Lisa Gilpin
General Motors Corporate Social Media
@lisagilpin

7. We treat bloggers just
like any other member
of the media – from
auto shows to special
trips, they help to tell
our story.

8. To reach new
consumers,
we go to
where they
are and use
the tools they
use.

9. -Changes from 2010:
-Fewer posts, emphasis on
quality over quantity for
challenges
-More creative license
-Deeper integration with OnStar
-Ten teams of 4-5 people from
across North America
-Charitable/education element in
the challenges included partnering
with Adopt-A-Classroom
-12 million impressions were
generated during the 4-day
roadtrip to Austin 9

15. Began as a blog in July 2009:
-Short stories told as a way to introduce the people
behind the headlines - our employees, customers and
dealers
-Idea is that “everyone has a story to tell”
-Story may focus on particular skill set or hobby or
talent beyond their job/share a customer’s loyalty
and passion for a brand/ show pride and dedication
of a dealer
-July 2010: changed the “look” of the page, added
enhancements, including consistent video element to
allow viewers to “meet” the “Faces of GM”
-May 2011: put processes in place to ensure
consistency and greater effort behind syndication

16. Live Twitter
feed from
@FacesofGM
Hot links
where
appropriate
Addition of
video to
enhance the
storytelling
“Tweet” and
Facebook
“Share”
button for
easier sharing

20. Mickey Harris: Art Honoring America
Artist Mickey Harris has turned four Camaros into an artistic patriotic
tribute.
Camaro Fan Forums loved this story and posted it on their own channels.
http://www.facesofgm.com/2011/07/05/mickey-harris-art-honoring-
america/
Mickey’s “Faces of GM” post has garnered 9,500 hits since its’ posting in
July and remains our most popular piece overall.
Suzy Cody: Malibu Mom and Derby Girl
2013 Chevy Malibu Aero Engineer Suzy Cody is a mom of two, and
moonlights as “Shovey Camaro”, a roller derby girl.
http://www.facesofgm.com/2011/08/16/suzy-cody-%E2%80%93-malibu-
mom-is-a-derby-girl/
Mom blogs and international auto blogs are some of the social media
channels who have shared this story.

23. The WordPress template has
built-in SEO capability. Each
post utilizes these fields to
optimize the “search
friendliness” of the posts
Extremely important to
include custom keywords
for every post

24. Back to 2x/wk;
process implemented
Committed
to 2x/wk
Video became a
regular feature
Reduced to 1x/wk
due to Japan
quake/tsunami

26. 1. “Market the marketing”
2. Consistency is key
3. It’s all about the story
4. Stories are all around you
5. It doesn’t have to be time- and cost-
prohibitive
6. There’s always opportunity for
improvement

27. THANK YOU!!! @lisagilpin