Social Media — It’s Hot but Confusing. Where Should You Spend Your Time?

Posted by Shawn Friesen on Mar 30, 2012

It’s just beginning to flex its muscles, but social media is quickly replacing traditional media as the heavy-lifter in RV dealer marketing programs. For business owners, the question is not whether to jump in the ring but which social media marketing platform to bet on.

Here’s a rundown on popular social media that offer RV dealers the best return on investment:

1. Google+ has yet to catch fire with consumers, but its ability to sharply boost organic search results cannot be ignored. When the Wall Street Journal blew off Google+, noting that the average consumer spends only 3 minutes on the site each month compared to 6 to 7 hours on Facebook, the reporter missed the key point which is that Google, the most popular search engine on the web, includes Google+ in reported search results. At this point, consumer connection is less important than the power of Google+ to move your RV dealership up in Google’s search rankings. RV dealers should create a Google+ profile and start building communities now while the competition is low and the impact on organic search results is highest. Creating both business and personal profiles is recommended to overcome some connection issues with business profiles; a problem that is sure to be solved as use of Google+ expands.
2. Twitter may be considered a social media lightweight, but its lead conversion statistics are solid and growing stronger. Immediacy gives Twitter a powerful edge over other social media in creating and maintaining customer loyalty, earning Twitter accolades as a customer service and marketing tool. Soon-to-be-launched sponsored tweets are expected to offer new advertising opportunities.
3. LinkedIn is “it” site for business-to-business sales; but if business-to-consumer sales are your bread and butter, you should be on Facebook where consumers spend 6 to 7 hours a month. However, Facebook business pages are in a state of flux, scheduled to move to the more visual Timeline format at the end of March. The switch is expected to impact pay-per-click advertising and posting strategies.