According to Danny Sanchez, founder of Autoshop Solutions, a Web design and Internet marketing company, it's worth the investment in time to have a strong presence on social media sites. "It's important that shop owners be able to communicate in the places where customers spend a lot of their daily time," Sanchez says.
Facebook, which now generates more clicks per day than Google, is the most effective online social media tool available to businesses, Sanchez says. "Facebook by far is getting the most traction," Sanchez says. "We have clients that report they are getting new customers from their Facebook accounts."
However, those customers come at a high cost in terms of the amount of time the shop owner has to spend on Facebook in order to drum up new business – up to six hours per week just to gain one or two new clients. "That's not a good return on the time invested," Sanchez says.Sanchez's firm provides a centralized service for shops, providing third-party management of professional Facebook pages. Other Web design companies can also provide similar services, taking the load off the shop owner.
While the impact of other online tools like Twitter has still yet to be determined, many of Sanchez's clients do use the site to keep customers informed of what's happening at their shops. Twitter feeds also can be tied into a business's Facebook page.
Some shops also maintain blogs. "Blogs have value regardless of whether people actually read them," Sanchez says. "If they are attached to your Web site properly, they become an excellent tool for search engine optimization content and search rankings."
However, Sanchez cautions that novices should probably not bother with a blog. "We ask shop owners if they already have a blog, or if they've done any writing," Sanchez says. "If they haven't, then we recommend they not do it. It's a huge commitment to keep it up to date."
And then there are consumer review sites like Angie's List and Google, which shops should monitor to see what their customers are saying about them."You have to monitor and respond to those sites," Sanchez says. "Someone should be paying attention to sites like Google Reviews on a monthly basis. And it's not a bad thing if you have some bad reviews. If you have 100 good reviews and no bad ones, customers are going to think that's too good to be true."
Social media sites, like a company's Facebook page, should be a place where shop owners "provide neutral information and just be communicative," Sanchez says. "Don't offer specials or do calls to action there. You need to be part of the conversation, but not dominate it."
"Facebook is not a place to vent if you've had a bad day or a cranky customer," Sanchez adds. "This is a place to listen more than it is to talk, but you have to talk to get the conversation started."
Owners should also take a more professional approach to their personal Facebook pages as well, since they are linked to the business page on the site. "Your personal page has to become professional, too, and you have to be careful about what you post, and what you let your friends post to that site," Sanchez says.
Sanchez says good items to post on a social media page include trivia, tips for car care, or even news items about car repair related topics.
If a customer happens to post a complaint to your site, respond right away. "People will be able to see that you addressed the problem quickly," Sanchez says. "It's really an unbelievable opportunity.
"The reality is, we're still learning how to do this, and so is everybody else," Sanchez continues. "Nobody has the formula yet. But there are things that will work for your shop."
