UpShift Digital Articles
Social Networking Gets More and More Powerful
Why is there such a huge disconnect between the power of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, and the dealer base perception of that power? Even product resellers get into the game, saying they or their dealers just don't believe that the social networking sites have any value. I think the true answer to that question is straight up fear. Car dealers are no longer the early adopters when it comes to new technology. They no longer jump onto things because they have tried, unsuccessfully many many different tools, and due to the lack of customer support for…
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Hi, I am a Dealer, and I am scared of the Internet
What is your first sign of a dealer in trouble, a dealer that just doesn't get it, and a dealer that can only sell successfully for a limited period of time, because they are selling in SPITE of themselves. Yes, folks, the car market is back and dealers are once again selling cars in spite of themselves. And that has brought back the old fears and yes, let's call the baby ugly, the old stupidities that we had all hoped went away in 2008. Dealers are still just flat out scared of the Internet, so much so that the…
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Most Common Reasons a Dealer's Social Networking Fails
A great blog from DrivingSales.com shows the two main reasons that a dealer's social networking strategy fails:
1) Dealer's not leveraging their social assets properly
2) Looking for ROI in all the wrong places.
Personally, I think it goes even farther than that. I don't think the typical dealer creates any type of Social Networking strategy before they get into the process. Ask your self as a dealer - who is my audience? If the answer is "everyone that may buy a Ford" then you are NOT on the right track. Do…
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Bing is bringing Foursquare to the Search Engines
Still fighting to have a social network strategy within your dealership? Sounds like Bing may be forcing your dealership to come up with one. While roaming across the country meeting with dealer after dealer, it is still rare to find a dealership who has not only embraced Facebook but Twitter as well. Finding a dealership that has even heard of Foursquare is almost non-existent. According to DrivingSales.com, having a Foursquare strategy may be forced by Bing, as they begin to provide real-time Foursquare Tips on their search engine.
So what exactly is Foursquare and how does…
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Say Goodbye to 2009 - The Year of the Fine Whine
Let’s face it folks, we’re leaving a rough year for many in media companies and the automotive industry alike. 2009 saw many dealerships go out of business, auto companies downsize, and media companies lay off the wrong people. Therefore all that sadness and economic strife caused a lot of people to develop a fine whine. “Whoa is me” was the line of the year, I can’t sell any cars, my email leads are no good, what’s this social media stuff or how can I sell more with newspaper ads like it is 1984. If that was you, or everyone around…
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UpShift Digital Launches New Site
UpShift Digital, the cutting edge interactive automotive consultancy based in Dallas, TX, has launched their new website on June 28, 2009. The new site is Technorati friendly (md2rvy875a) and can be accessed from a number of social networking sites. Be sure to check back often for updates.
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What is Spam and what is Feedback?
Helping dealers move into the world of social media will in most cases be a long and hard road. One area where we can begin is to help them understand what is spam and what is truly an opportunity to recognize feedback. Step number 1 to helping our dealers is to stop hiding from or deleting neutral or negative information, but learn from it and market better tomorrow than they did yesterday.
A true challenge we run into as media companies is having the sales team that is educated enough, or passionate enough to truly become a marketing partner to…
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Are Car Dealers Ready for Social Media?
Is the automotive industry really ready for social media? I would argue in many cases the automotive dealer base still has some growth to do on the website marketing side of the business, and even more so in the Search Engine Optimization side. When I talk to a dealer about how they staff around updating and maintaining their virtual dealership, most respond with very concerning information. For the dealer that hires multiple people to drive cars around their physical lot, keep the inventory clean and even know to park the CUV by the west showroom door because they ran some…
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Welcome to the UpShift Digital Articles.
The UpShift Digital Articles space is primarily dedicated to interactive marketing within the automotive industry. The purpose of our blogs are to monitor the key happenings, reveals and updates within the automotive sector, such as new models, new information regarding everything from hybrids to the latest exotic vehicle on the market.
We will also spend a good portion of the space discussing interactive marketing, from both a media perspective and from that of an auto dealership. Best dealership practices, from merchandising techniques, photos suites and pricing models, to how to properly recognize and manage online shoppers when they begin to…
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