Car brands in the social media fast lane
Over 100 premieres are currently awaiting visitors to the Geneva Motor Show. As every year, international car manufacturers are bringing futuristic concept cars and the latest sports models to the city on the Rhône, presenting a total of around 900 car models that can be admired on our roads over the next few months.
The Geneva Motor Show is without doubt the world's most prestigious motor show. But that's not all: in addition to the pimped-up cars, you will of course also find lots of digital gadgets, accessories, attractions and pretty women, which make a tour of the show an experience not only for doting car fans. Geneva is sure to provide beautiful design, elegance and plenty of glamor.
Yes, the car is and remains one of mankind's favorite toys - even in the virtual world, of course. So I think it is justified to ask ourselves how active our car brands actually are online and what influence their social media marketing has on our car purchases. One thing is clear: car brands have also jumped on the social media bandwagon in recent years and now offer original and targeted online marketing, which I have taken a closer look at - in keeping with the context of the Motor Show. So, how do you go about buying a new car? We all know that most people search the World Wide Web beforehand and do a lot of research on the car brand in question. It's no longer necessary to go to a car salesman; in the best case scenario, you can put together your dream car yourself online within three minutes. We have become accustomed to scouring the internet for alternatives relevant to our purchase. Review portals, blogs and, of course, social media such as Twitter and Facebook help us to do this. And according to a study, 91 percent of buyers between the ages of 18 and 34 already use social networks when researching before buying a car. What do we conclude from this?
This is precisely why it is advantageous - I would even say a must - for every car brand today to have professional and original online (and especially social media) marketing. Many international luxury car manufacturers do this too, running campaigns and various competitions. But the market leaders are not automatically leaders in social media. My personal favorite at the moment is the German car brand Opel. Compared to the other manufacturers, Opel publishes significantly less content, but it is particularly popular and frequently shared online by users. For example, the simple picture confession "Yes, I drive an Opel!" generated more than 30,000 likes on Facebook. Especially likeable: Opel CEO Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann himself is actively involved on Twitter and has already answered questions from interested parties and customers - all marked with the hashtag #askKTN. Incidentally, Opel won't do badly at the "real" motor show either: That's where the German car brand will be presenting its latest invention "Opel OnStar", a car with an integrated WLAN hotspot and high-speed cell phone connection.
Manuel P. Nappo, Head of Studies CAS Social Media Management HWZ (Zurich University of Applied Sciences). www.fh-hwz.ch/smm
