Social media has become all the rage in the automotive industry — and every other industry for that matter. It has quickly grown into the dominating “Next Big Thing” of marketing and customer communication. But how do you make it work? How do you even get started? What I wanted to cover here are a couple quick lessons to get you started using a social media tool called Facebook and also give you a free eBook with even more information about getting started with using Facebook for your dealership.

Facebook is an online platform that enables people to connect and share ideas, pictures, videos and links. It was started as a way for college kids to stay in touch. It grew beyond the universities wall into the mainstream, where people and businesses started to leverage the platform as a marketing and communication channel throughout the world.

Lesson One - Start small and set up a personalized page for yourself and a fan page for your dealership. Then, do a little online research using Facebook’s search tool. It will shock you how many people you know who are using Facebook to socially connect with friends and family. Even if you are older and not into technology, Facebook is a fascinating way to reconnect with long lost schoolmates and friends from your past.

Lesson Two - Join the conversation by sharing some pictures, commenting on other people’s links, pictures and videos. Involving yourself in the discussion builds rapport and credibility and establishes you as a trusted resource in the world of Facebook.

Lesson Three - Begin to tie your dealership’s community activities into your Facebook fan page. For example, if you are sponsoring a local sports team have someone go to each game and take some pictures and maybe even shoot some video. This gives you a great amount of content. Then put the pictures, video and the game score, with highlights, on your Facebook fan page each week, making your page the destination for parents that were not able to attend their kid’s game. This is a great way to involve your local community and intertwine your dealership in local area events. Think big: parades, annual events or anything that draws a good crowd.

As you develop more connections online and build a network of contacts on Facebook, you will then have the opportunity to use this new network to communicate important happenings at the dealership. An important note is to not use Facebook just as another advertising outlet. If you do, the community will ostracize you immediately. To be successful with Facebook you need to make an investment of your persona and your time. To learn more about how to leverage Facebook, contact me at the address below to download a free eBook that will give you a host of tips and strategies to ensure your success online.