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No, I’m Not Going To Accept Your Invitation. Well, Until You Get It Right

They're there. Every day. New ones. Old ones, Slim ones. Fat ones. Some are red and some are green, many are boring and some obscene. What are they? Well, they're not from Dr. Seuss. Invites, followers, request for follows, join my growing community and more. And most are just plain crap.

As the pandemic of automotive social media, that didn't exist until Q2 or Q3 of last year, bangs on our in boxes and cell phones, it seems that most are happy to take it all in. That is until you actually look at the content, the platforms, the lack of connection and the rampant automation. It's been said before but needs to be said again: There is nothing social about automation, unneeded irrelevant retweets, inventory, prices and more that doesn't promote brand, opportunity, connection, community, events or gosh-I-needed-to-know-that-stuff kind of stuff.

Also, in a world that is supposed to be conscience of terms of use/terms of service, why are dealers still setting up friend pages? Every so-called 'expert' that dealers are listening to must be watching the money and not the process. So here's a free tip: Set up Fan Pages so you don't get the boot when Facebook finally does sweeping audits and you find your page, in technical terms, gone. In simple terms, there are things that you can't get with a facebook friend fage that you get with Fan pages, the correct set up for your business. And once you get to 100 fans, you can change to a vanity URL in Facebook.

If you've set up a Twitter page, please watch your followers. Unless you're intentionally inviting or ignoring the bots out there, you don't want to show the world that you care more about not paying for white teeth, earning $5,000 a week from Google or Stephanie3624236's free naked pictures. Everyone can see your followers and you may be limiting your social media success, at least to a degree, if you don't have a clean welcome mat.

YouTube is a huge opportunity on many levels so why don't you start with the basics? They're out there for free on any blog or support channel around the website. One is to start with is the naming convention of your movies. Another is the tagging. There are more so that you can leverage the network correctly (including embedding your own videos in your own website as well) but the focus here is just get the correct assistance in setting up your social media networks. Attempting to go 'viral' with a car walkaround with 4 visits isn't likely going to happen.

Take the time to set up your presence correctly, get the right advise and simply look around so when you get your answers and they don't make sense, ask more questions.

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

February 23, 2010 by Gary May 0
This Is What Happens When You Do It Right

It's not every day that you come across as example of what you're preaching, especially when it's in the automotive world. To be brutally honest, it almost never happens around social media, blogging, websites and the like. And then, just like in the movies, a kid gives you hope. This is not a typical post at all for us but this much-needed fresh air deserves credit.

A jaunt down dealership social media lane today will reveal about 85% plus of franchises screaming "buy here" and all sorts of offers, incentives, links to inventory and other huge no-no's. Finding stores that are actually talking with the public is so rare you'd think that, even considering the poor reputation car dealerships have, all hope of being real humans was gone.

Enter Scott Mitchell and his online brand: www.IAmAudi.com, or @I_Am_Audi on Twitter. After following his social media moniker for a while, I ventured to his site/blog and was even more impressed. Not being a client (nor his Audi store in Oregon) and never having met, his content comes across purely and without a drop of pretentiousness. This is interesting considering the Audi history, massive brand awareness of late and knowing how aggressive they're being in (old school) offline marketing and (new school) online marketing, Scott's property could have screamed "Audi Is King'.

Rather you get taken along on a ride (drive) through Audi's past, present and future. The articles are engaging and have purpose. With a fair balance of statistics, news, photos and '4 ring' passion, there's not a list of current incentives or begging you to come in to the store.

Have a question about Audi? Find this site or his Twitterperson and you feel like you're going to get an answer without having to sit around a showroom for 20 minutes, let alone have a salesperson hounding you for the 'best deal of the year'.

And outside of the link to and map location of the dealership employing him (kudos to that general manager!) there's not an ad, money generating link or anything else that hints at outside-interest-ladened affect. Folks this might be the wholly grail. Look, listen and learn because there's a new resource around.

Great job Scott, welcome to the 'gets it' club…oh, are you on Facebook?

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

January 5, 2010 by Gary May 0
Lead, Follow…Or Learn How To Lead! (Don’t Get Out Of The Way…)

We were young once and we were fearless! Then we got some schooling and some more, then we got trained, then we were led, then we completely forgot how in the heck to be fearless! Add today's worthless media, sprinkle in some naysayers, a fair dose of skepticism and you've got a full-blown problem.

How to fix it? Leadership, which is defined as the activity of leading; with the leader being "a person who rules or guides or inspires others". Let's throw out the 'rules' definition for our purposes here (there are too many examples of lacking leadership to touch that one).

So, not everyone is going to be or desires to be a leader. That is why 95% of the American public controls 5% of the wealth. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with being a follower. To be an effective leader, however, it takes more effort in a number of areas. First, you have to know where you are going (aka start with the end in mind). Second, you have to completely believe in what you are doing. Third, you must understand the task at hand. Fourth, you must be accomplished enough to know the fundamentals (26 plus times to make something a habit). Also, you can't be swayed by followers…ever!

We use the expressions "industry leader", "thought leader", "technology leader" and others like those too loosely many times. Leaders consistently and methodically do what needs to be done, many times without fanfare or credit. Leaders in the retail space are commonly not the loudest person of the staff (whether automotive, real estate or other markets). And remember: leaders are made, not born!

Today's market conditions and challenges are ripe with opportunity. It takes leaders to push through, know the target, set the course and get the whole team to go with them. Together Everyone Achieves More is not simply a saying. It's a mindset. It's a belief. It's a mantra. It's a reality. If you think for a moment that you can be a leader by yourself, you still have a lot to learn.

Don't worry though, because the true leaders haven't stopped learning as well. You'll see them reading, listening, attending, challenging, paying attention and many more activities around going forward. Will you make mistakes and missteps? Absolutely! If you're afraid of failure, learn to follow. If you're not afraid to fail, learn to lead and it will become natural.

Are you where you want to be right now? today? last week? If not, start leading. The old adage of "lead, follow or get out of the way" has two truths, not three. If you're in business and you get out of the way, you will die. Our 'next' economy has no space for that. Follow if you may, but there's too many risks associated with that.

It is my hope that you will learn to lead, desire to succeed through failure and compel yourself enough to change. Find leaders around you and tag along (if they're truly a leader, they'll absolutely want you around). It will be interesting to see which retailers reach out for help this month instead of following one more day or finding out that waiting is the last nail in their coffin…

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Power Results

May 13, 2009 by Gary May 2