While most small businesses set up a Facebook Page and immediately begin recruiting their friends as fans, one Minnesota based car dealer has integrated their entire lot inventory directly into their Facebook Page. Using the GOSO platform, BMW of Minnetonka has published their full inventory to their Facebook Page. Will this drive them more fans? Not necessarily but it definitely brings visitors more information about the company. We’ll go over some of the things this car dealer did right and those things they did wrong in this article.
Good Facebook Page Strategies
For a small business, BMW of Minnetoka has a pretty nice Facebook Page. One of the best features of the Page is the image that they used, as it takes up a large amount of the space available to them. Many companies fail to create an effective image for their Facebook Page. While it would be great to see a call to action within their Facebook Page image, it’s not a necessity as they can put a call to action elsewhere on the Facebook Page. The inventory display on this Facebook Page is extremely slick and if I were a car dealer, I’d definitely want to have whatever this company has.
The company also has an “Offers” tab which is a great idea however in this instance it’s not a great use of the tab. The layout is really attractive however the “deals” offered on this tab are the same for every single car: 4.9% APR and a $1,500 holiday finance credit. Is it still the holidays? The Facebook Page does provide the company’s phone number, address, and hours, something that any new visitor who was looking to purchase a car would definitely be interested in.
Update
The Page administrator has clarified that the identical offers was a bug and has since updated the Page. This was a minor issue anyways!
Areas To Improve
No Call To Action
Where’s the call to action on this page? Nowhere on this Facebook Page does it ask new visitors to become fans. While viewing the inventory is a great feature, this company should ask visitors to become a fan in order to view their lot’s inventory. Call to actions are extremely important in converting new visitors into fans. In our original Facebook Pages guide, we highlight the importance of a landing tab. Skip this step when developing your Facebook Page and you will be sacrificing a large number of fans!
Very Few Updates
Right now there are three Page updates, all that were posted in the past few hours. This is most likely because the company just launched this Facebook Page so it’s not a huge issue as long as they continue to post updates regularly. One thing that I’ve consistently told businesses is that they need to invest in content development. While most car dealers are not willing to take the time to blog, doing so would set them apart from the rest. Do you need to blog about your own dealer? Not at all! This car dealer could create a BMW blog to talk about all the features on the new BMWs as well as any other news related to the brand as a whole. That blog could theoretically be hosted on their Facebook Page, although an external website would probably be better for search engine optimization purposes.
Conclusion
BMW of Minnetonka has taken a big step by posting their inventory on Facebook, something that was made easy with the GOSO platform. While there are numerous things this company could do to improve their Facebook Page, I understand how difficult it can be to work with small businesses who have no interest in setting up a web presence, let alone a Facebook Page. Does this mean their customers will give the company a break? I’m not sure as I don’t know how “social media savvy” BMS drivers are! However I personally support those companies that get their social media marketing strategy right, and build out effective Facebook Pages.
What do you think of the BMW of Minnetonka Facebook Page?
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I don't see the benefit of doing this inside FB. Wouldn't it have made more sense to do this with FB Connect? Easier to program, more control over look and feel, faster page load time, and no drawbacks that I can think of.
Comment by Eric Tully — January 7, 2010 @ 6:02 am
I think the page does a nice job without being intrusive or having too many calls to action. I like visiting pages that allow me to explore without begging for another fan. Nice job.
Comment by Lacy Quinlan — January 7, 2010 @ 6:23 am
@Nick – Nice post and while I agree with your points, sometimes it is good to take things in gentle evolutionary stages. We have to remember some of us live this stuff while others feel like it has all dropped from another planet
@Eric – My advice, even though I am a total blog advocate, is to go where your target audience is and then bring them home. So this partly the beginnings of an outpost strategy.
Comment by Chris Garrett — January 7, 2010 @ 6:54 am
@Eric, the more content you can make accessible to fans, the better. People want to consume information wherever they are, rather than being directed to another page. Some people will land on your Facebook Page and not your website.
Comment by Nick ONeill — January 7, 2010 @ 8:42 am
I don’t know, I actually liked that there wasn’t a hard sell. From a potential customer’s perspective, I liked being able to browse inventory without having to become a fan. Also, the cars on the “specials” tab do have different interest rates and finance credits-it’s not all the same thing.
Comment by Ali — January 7, 2010 @ 11:01 am
The page looks very nice, but I got disappointed after the first click. When I clicked on a link to a BMW type on the Our Dealership tab I got the complete collection they have in stock… not just type serie I selected.
Comment by R. Klaase — January 7, 2010 @ 12:24 pm
I definitely like that I am able to see the inventory up front, without having to become a fan. Otherwise, I might be less inclined to look further.
Comment by Emily. B. — January 7, 2010 @ 1:09 pm
Nick, GOSO is a local (DC) company. I might be able to put you in touch with them, if you want more scoop on their platform.
Comment by Facebook User — January 7, 2010 @ 3:00 pm
@R. Klaase This is Adam Boalt (GOSO's Founder), Facebook does not let you pass GET queries to another tab! It's so annoying! If anybody has been able to figure out how to pass a query to another tab, please reply. I agree, it is disappointing, I wanted it to query that model, so easy yet, they don't allow it.
Comment by Adam Boalt — January 7, 2010 @ 3:31 pm
i think it is no drawbacks.
This is partly the beginnings. Cheer.
Comment by Davidtotal — January 7, 2010 @ 4:51 pm
How do they make that tab? is it an app?
Comment by Joe — January 8, 2010 @ 8:14 am
@Joe Yes, it is an app. Each tab is it's own app.
Comment by Adam Boalt — January 8, 2010 @ 2:27 pm
I like the GOSO application, BUT I don't like to have application to much mirror(ing) their Dealer URL and especially the function like real inventory updates. I believe that we as automotive professionals are trying to hard to use the Social Media as the New Shiny Object, which will increase sales and ROI. This is by far not the fact even integrating the dealer operations with Social media tools. As long a dealership has not their processes in place, and does not at least know how to answer a phone call appropiate, follow up on an inbound lead via mail or phone call or still differentiate between "Internet" customers and "Walk-in" customers, my suggestion would be to get the Ground rue right first, and then "jump into the Social arena". Showing inventory feeds or sending "hard sales" message out via Social Media defeats clearly the purpose and has no value in engaging and listening to your Social Fellowship members.
Comment by Volker Jaeckel — January 9, 2010 @ 8:47 pm
The problem is that GOSO hurts social media for dealerships because they repeat ad banners (they call them Facebook “headers”) and inventory and nothing more.
Car buyers research their purchases on any number of sites that are well established, KellyBlueBook.com, for example.
And DealerRater.com already provides a pre-owned inventory application for Facebook that dealerships can use, and it’s great, – for FREE!
Is there any appeal to know whether a Honda dealer has a Civic EX in stock? If they don’t, they can dealer-trade for it in 1/2 hour. And they may be the place that has earned your business because of their customer service; not because they have that model at this moment. This Facebook pitch is a come-on only so dealers will pay for it, it’s not useful for the customer at all.
BMW of Minnetonka, I don’t know how much you pay for this, but I can tell you that if it’s more than, I don’t know, $99 a month, you’re getting ripped off.
Yes, businesses have to modify their FB page – that is essential. But just putting up your corporate banner and “in-stock” inventory without really appealing to social media is just useless. What about what’s not in-stock, will you lose them because it doesn’t show up in your listings?” That’s so 1999, buyers are way beyond that pitch.
When they get into the business of really modifying and differentiating a company’s Facebook page, I’ll be impressed. So far, it’s just a Java Script app that falls well short.
If GOSO responds to this, we’ll see if they address the issues I brought up or just try to change the subject. You decide.
Comment by Sam Tolkens — January 11, 2010 @ 6:17 am
*I can hear GOSO already: “It’s not just a Java Script app!” Ok, Java and LAMP or some code that pulls SQL inquiries – whatever. You’re missing the point.
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I’m not hatin’ on your corporation. But I will speak out when GOSO.com talks about taking brands to the next level and does nothing but post dealership’s in-stock inventory as revealed by their dealership management system like ADP or Reynolds and Reynolds.
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And if this is the case, dealerships have to agree to yet another call to their computer system, and reveal another password to yet another vendor!
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Wildfire.com, Involver.com, DealerTabs.com or TheKBuzz.com do a much better job in the area of getting brands maximized for Facebook, for only about $199 a month or so.
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So go succeed, GOSO, put please don’t build your buzz on the simple idea of putting inventory on Facebook. Provide some real interaction.
Comment by Sam Tolkens — January 11, 2010 @ 6:36 am
My name is Ryan and I’m with the company that created the app. It’s nice to see all of the comments. Looks like a big topic getting a lot of great input.
@Volker, glad you liked the app. A lot of industries were dismissive of the Internet when it came along but now you’d be hard-pressed to find a company that doesn’t have an Internet presence.
The same holds true for social media. Social media isn’t going anywhere and it’s important that dealers start increasing their brand presence through social media channels. And you’re absolutely right; dealerships have to also maintain traditional routes of selling. What we’re offering is another venue for reaching out to the community and is in no way trying to replace tried and true auto dealership customer service/selling methods.
@Sam, thanks for your comments. We welcome good and bad. That’s the beauty of social media, interacting with both fans and critics. I won’t say you’re missing the point but I will say that you are shortchanging our company. Check out our website: GOSO.com. If you’ll notice this app is only a small part of a much larger suite of tools. I want to address a few points:
1.“Not useful for the customer at all.” Our dealers have received inventory requests through these social media venues. So they are finding it useful.
2.“Putting up a banner and inventory without appealing to social media.” Our entire product is built around conversation and communication. Our parent company is very involved is a social media company that has always placed the client’s satisfaction on the same level as the customers. If you’re customer doesn’t benefit then neither do you. We tell all of our dealers to maintain a conversation with their community and not just sell to them.
But in the end it is about selling cars. Customers are aware of that too because they’re there to buy a car. So inventory posting is completely acceptable but in moderation. That’s why inventory is a separate tab. It’s there if fans want to find it. The inventory is NOT the fan page but a part of it.
3.“It’s just a Java Script app.” It’s not important how we created the app, what’s important is what customer’s will get from the app. None of them care how we made it but what it does for them.
4.“…do a better job for $199 a month.” We wish all of our competitors the best of luck but we’re confident in the power of our product to help dealers achieve their goal of connecting with customers.
Thanks to everyone for their comments. Keep them coming and thanks for helping us to understand how to make our product better than it already is.
Comment by Ryan — January 11, 2010 @ 11:22 am