On the latest edition of Straight to the Point, host Frank J. Lopes is joined by Bob Lanham, Head of Automotive Retail for Facebook. Lopes and Lanham have a conversation about the importance of social media marketing. Lanham oversees the automotive retail sector of Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Lopes gets straight to the point by asking Lanham if social media has value in today’s car dealership operations. Lanham responds with an emphatic yes. 231 million adults are on Facebook every month and 178 million are logging in every day.
Lopes then introduces three concepts that he has used in sales training for years. Salespeople have to help consumers realize they exist, remember what they do, and refer them to others. Lanham says the social media platform allows dealers to do all three with great effectiveness.
There are many car dealers that don’t want to use their personal accounts to create more business. Many believe that building a personal brand under their name will diminish opportunities because their friends and family don’t want to see a sales pitch. Lanham says that he understands the thought process from both perspectives. However, sales is a personal experience.
Customers want to feel comfortable when making large purchases such as buying a car. Customers want to buy from people they relate to the most. Lanham warns to keep politics and controversial topics out of their social media pitches, but customers sometimes enjoy a look behind the scenes into the personal lives of the people they do business with.
Many dealers overthink where to spend money when it comes to Facebook advertising. Lanham says it doesn’t have to be a complicated process.
“We’re a media platform as it relates to businesses and what they buy from us,” says Lanham. “Social is simply our functionality.”
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