The Dealer Impact Blog

Barry Diller: “We Spend Every Nickel We Can On Facebook” [Video]

If you need to know how Facebook is performing among large brands, look no further than some of the leading brand marketers who are singing praise about Facebook’s ad platform. In an interview with CNN Money, Barry Diller couldn’t speak highly enough about Facebook’s advertising offering. Diller stated, “Facebook’s great advertising. My company, which spends a huge amount on advertising, we spend every nickel we can on Facebook. They’re effective. The targeting of the audience is precise enough.”

While Diller doesn’t believe that Facebook will be able to replace traditional advertising, he also didn’t believe that Twitter would be able to attract brand advertisers, so it just goes to show that Diller doesn’t know everything. You can view the full interview posted below.

Via: AllFacebook

Advertisers to Spend $1.7 Billion on Social Networks in 2010

The latest numbers from eMarketer project that advertisers will spend nearly $1.7 billion in the U.S. on social networking sites in 2010. Worldwide, spending will hit $3.3 billion according to the report.

The numbers represent a significant bump up from estimates published by the research firm at the end of last year, when it projected $1.3 billion would be spent on the space in the U.S.

Not surprisingly, eMarketer sees about half of that money (in the U.S.) going to Facebook, with MySpace continuing to see a smaller share of the pie. Separately, the firm estimated that Facebook’s 2010 revenue would hit $1.2 billion in a report published last week.

Earlier this month, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said that some of the social network’s biggest advertisers had boosted ad spending by 10x this year; a trend that’s apparent in the eMarketer report.

Via: Mashable

How Social Media Drives New Business: Six Case Studies

Businesses both big and small are flocking to social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Foursquare. The fact is that a presence on these platforms not only allows companies to engage in conversations with consumers, but also serves as an outlet to drive sales through deals and coupons.

And while major brands like Starbucks, Virgin, and Levi’s have been participating in the social web for some time now, the rate of adoption among small businesses is increasing too. According to a recent University of Maryland study, social media adoption by small businesses has doubled from 12% to 24% in the last year. But as these businesses look to Facebook and Twitter to connect with customers, many are finding that some strategies work and some do not produce results. We’ll be exploring these questions at a panel on Social Media and Businesses at our Social Currency CrunchUp on July 30. We’ve found some local and national businesses using social media effectively, ranging from Levi’s to a creme brulee cart, whose case studies are below.  Some of these businesses will be sharing their experiences at the CrunchUp (You can buy tickets to the CrunchUp here).

Via: Techcrunch

Check out these great case studies they are quite interesting.

Dominos UK Social Media Initiatives Help Increase Profits by 29%

According to Domino’s UK financial earnings report, the company has increased its pre-tax profit by nearly 29%, which equates to roughly $26 million. The UK pizza retailer attributes social media initiatives and its Foursquare promotion for the gains.

In the earnings statement, CEO Chris Moore points to the rise in online orders — which now account for 32.7% of all orders — as proof that their web and social media efforts are paying off.

Moore reports that when it comes to the web, “Our main Facebook site now has in excess of 36,000 fans In addition, we have led the way with social media initiatives such as affiliate marketing, our superfans programme and the development of a link up with Foursquare.”

Via: Mashable

5 Tips for Managing Your Companys Brand on the Web

Brand management in the current era means not just keeping an ever-present eye on the social web, but also engaging in meaningful ways with brand advocates and detractors. Professionals in the field have come to accept social media as crucial to their jobs, but most know that managing a company’s brand on the web is so much more than setting up shop on social sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Here we’ll give you an inside look at the strategies of avant garde industry leaders who’ve spent years figuring out how to move beyond social media hype and implement practical management practices into their daily work routines.

Brad Nelson, Jeremy Thum, Joel Price, Joel Frey and Bowen Payson are all marketers behind big brand names. They’ve done the dirty work. Their lessons and words of wisdom range from finding ways to unify digital assets to knowing your niche, and each tip should be heeded by those looking to follow in their footsteps.

1. Let Someone Else Say It
2. Unify Digital Properties
3. Leave Your Ego Behind
4. Know Your Niche
5. Don’t Wallow or Gloat

Via: Mashable

Just setting up a Twitter and Facebook accounts isn’t enough on today’s social internet honest customer engagement is key to any company’s brand.

Facebook says ad spending is rocketing

The very same advertisers who were once skeptical that buying up inventory on social networks could possibly do any good are now, apparently, going completely nuts about ads on Facebook.

Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, the company’s most prominent liaison to Madison Avenue, said in an interview with BusinessWeek published Wednesday that the company’s biggest advertisers have boosted their spending on Facebook by tenfold, or even 20-fold, in the past year.

“Two years ago the big brands were experimenting with us,” Sandberg told BusinessWeek. “They started buying with us a year ago. Now, they’re going big.”

Via: CNET

CardStar connects loyalty cards to Foursquare check-ins

The check-in game as popularized by location-based services Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt and others, desperately needs something more tangible than just the mere exclamation of a user’s location. One way to bring more value – and thus more interest – to the check-in is tying it to a real-world deal, like getting a cheaper beverage at a coffee shop in return for frequent check-ins. Now, a company specializing in digitizing the loyalty cards people carry in their wallets, CardStar, is integrating its service with Foursquare check-ins in an effort to make checking in more relevant.

Via: VentureBeat

Location based services are something every dealership should be exploring.

Product Announcement: Facebook Video App

Add Inventory Videos to Facebook Fan Pages

Putting your inventory in front of 500 million prospects is a no-brainer. With Dealer Impact’s integrated inventory video tool, you can turn a Facebook fan page into a second website for your dealership.

Make a basic fan page more comprehensive by adding inventory videos using Dealer Impact’s easy-to-use plug-in tool. Available as part of our Facebook Inventory App or as a standalone product, the video tool is specifically designed to work with Facebook’s interface.

The tool automatically integrates videos under a separate tab on your fan page. Users can quickly browse your inventory and click on specific vehicles to watch video. Each video page includes vehicle information, contact details for your dealership, and a request-information form to help you capture qualified leads.

Dealerships also have access to viewer statistics, showing which videos were watched and when.

Now is the time to use the largest social network in the world to generate leads. Learn more about our Facebook Inventory App and video feature by calling us at 877-334-9638. For an example of our Facebook Video App feature please visit:

http://www.facebook.com/karlchevrolet

5 Social Media Trends to Watch Right Now

“With social media itself an exponentially growing trend that’s here to stay, many companies both small and large are keeping tabs on new social technologies as they emerge. With new sites, services, apps and practices that help businesses connect more directly with customers coming online at a rapid pace, it’s often helpful to zoom out a bit and keep an eye on upcoming trends on the cusp or just over the horizon.

Whether or not particular individual services succeed, the following trends are likely to stick around in the near-term future. Some may not be immediately relevant to your company or industry, but being aware of oncoming movements in the social media landscape can help keep you and your business out ahead of the curve when a new trend holds promise for your organization’s growth.”

1. Location, Location, Location
2. Group Buying
3. Mobile Ads
4. Mobile Payments
5. Having a Social Media Policy

Source: Mashable

Let us breakthrough the social media barriers at your dealership give us a call at 877.334.9638 or email us at sales@dealerimpact.com.

Don’t forget to follow us on:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dealerimpact

Twitter: @dealerimpact

Why Corporate Social Media Fails

“Here’s are five key reasons why social media failure is far more prevalent than anyone wants to admit to talk about.

1. The lack of a strategic plan. Far too many companies run before they walk. As a result, they jump into social media without a well-articulated idea of why they want to do social media, what they want to get out of it, what success looks like, and what rivals are doing.

According to a recent study by Digital Brand Expression, 78% of respondents said they were doing social media but only 41% of companies said they had a strategic plan.

2. The lack of a tactical plan. This is more than just knowing how to use Twitter, Facebook or a blog because they’re not that difficult to learn. Tactics has more to do about best practices, knowing when and how to engage with other people on social media, and using the best and most effective tools to be as productive and efficient as possible.

3. The lack of resources, or hiring people who lack the right skills or experience to get the job done. Too many companies get excited about a social media program but don’t or won’t allocate enough people to actually make it happen. Another mistake is they hire people who are too inexperienced but hope that their enthusiasm about social media will compensate for it.

4. The lack of content that is compelling, engaging, interesting or valuable. At the end of the day, great content and stories make social media be successful. Truth be told, social media services are simply tools to distribute content. In other words, content and stories and the ammunition that makes the weapons (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) effective.

5. The failure to build relationships. Social media is not a one-way street or a one-way conversation. For social media to work, you need to build relationships with people, have conversations, engage and connect. It’s work requires time and effort.”

Via: Sysomos

Dealer Impact can help your dealership take your social media strategy to the next level. For more information check out our Factor of 10 program. You can reach us at 877.334.9638 or email us at sales@dealerimpact.com. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @dealerimpact.