Social Media Marketing

With the arrival of Google’s new social network, Google Plus, many of my auto repair shop website design customers are wondering if they should be jumping on-board Google's latest social media technology. For the vast majority I will say not yet. There are two reasons for me not recommending Google+ at this time.

Doug Fentiman, owner of Robert Maxim Website Solutions, was interviewed by Tire Business magazine for the May 10, 2011 issue of their Service Zone eNewsLetter. The article, Experts: Make Facebook work for your service business, is about using social media to promote auto repair and service businesses.

Auto Repair Marketing brings prospective customers to your business. But it is your reputation that converts them into paying customers. Your reputation provides the trust factor required in moving people from prospect to customer. Shoppers use the Internet to investigate your reputation and decide if they want to do business with you. Social Media is quickly becoming the key component of your online identity and the reputation people create for you.

The terms advertising and marketing are often mistakenly interchanged but they have quite different meanings. Understanding their proper definitions can help you define and implement a marketing plan for your auto repair business.

If you think you can ignore social media and ratings and review sites, think again. Check out this short, thought provoking video on the impact of social media on EVERYONE. It asks (and answers) the simple question: Is social media a fad?

Here are some though provoking quotes from the video:

Someone recently asked me to do some auto repair website SEO. I declined. It wasn't that I didn't want to help, but more that no amount of SEO could make their website perform. What was needed was a total rebuild of the website.

Do you dare get your business into the social media arena? Are you afraid you will only expose yourself to complainers? You will be happy to know that by far the greater number of Yelp.com users who post reviews give businesses a thumbs up. While there are no guarantees of five star reviews, the feedback will allow you to improve your service quality. And besides, people are going to talk about you regardless so you might as well participate in the party. Social media may be the best free automobile service marketing idea available.

If you have been wondering if social media could help your auto repair shop marketing check out Yamato Auto Repair's Yelp profile. If you have any doubts that social networking and customer driven advertising can attract new auto repair customers just check out the 49+ glowing, thumbs up reviews these guys have. Why wouldn't anyone want to do business with them. One of the strongest examples of referral marketing I've seen. And best of all, it's free!

A fabulous example of free automotive service advertising from social media. Any automotive repair shop looking for a great example of free auto repair marketing needs to check out this local community forum posting that just keeps on attracting new customers.

When dealing with service failures (screw-ups) and angry customers you really need to think about the long term consequences of how you respond. Social Networking is all about getting people to talk about you. The powerful aspect of this is that what is said lives on the Internet virtually forever. Positive chatter is like a credibility savings account that goes on paying dividends. Negative rants are sticky, reoccurring public relation nightmares that will never go away.