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Automotive Social Media Reputation Management

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Car Dealer Facebook Fans More Valuable Than Internet Leads - Automotive Digital Marketing Professional Community (ADM)


Car Dealer Facebook Fans More Valuable Than Internet Leads

Facebook fans of a brand provide more value as customers
than non-fans,
according to [pdf] a new study from digital
consulting firm
Syncapse Corp.
Average Fan Worth about $137
The average value a Facebook fan provides a brand is $136.38, but it can swing to $270.77 in the best case or go down to $0 in the worst. This value is based on Syncapse analysis of five factors per fan: product spending, brand loyalty, propensity to recommend, brand affinity and earned media value.
On average, a Facebook fan participates with a brand 10 times a year and will make one recommendation. Value can differ significantly by individual brand. For example, in the case of Coca- Cola, the best case for fan value reaches $316.78 but is $137.84 for an average fan.
Toyota saw the largest variability, with dealers reporting gross profit $159.79 more Per Vehicle Retailed (PVR) than non-fans. Buick saw the lowest value with a difference of $28.52. Factors influencing these differences may include both product and demographics.
Ralph Paglia advises that these differences are less an indicator of marketing performance, and more a confirmation that Facebook fans are more valuable customers than those who are not. It is probable that these numbers can be influenced by a number of factors, including sales penetration, brand health, product life cycle, as well as Facebook marketing success. This study did not investigate these mitigating factors as they could vary greatly depending on region, make, and model category.
Jeep had the highest variance of loyalty between fans and non-fans with 42.5% of fans indicating a heightened likelihood of continued product usage. Mitsubishi saw the lowest difference in loyalty, only 15.83% between the two groups.
Fans Continue Use, Make Recommendations at Higher Likelihood
Facebook fans are 28% more likely than non-fans to continue driving a brand, and are also 41% more likely than non-fans to recommend a fanned make and model to their friends. Overall, 68% (on average) of Facebook fans indicated that they are very likely to recommend a car or truck across the 20 top leading brands. This is contrasted by 28% for non-fans.
BMW built MINI led all brands covered in overall likelihood to recommend with 81.4%, followed by Honda with 79.4%. Notably, the lowest likelihood to recommend by fans was still quite favorable at 59.5% for Hyundai.
Facebook Fans Influence Others
Becoming a Facebook fan has a demonstrable impact on others. Thirty-eight percent of respondents reported that they would likely become a fan of a vehicle make or model if they saw a family member or close friend do so. This influence is slightly reduced to 34% if it is a person known through Facebook rather than a family member. Likelihood to test drive a vehicle if somebody else became a fan is 44% if it was a close family member or friend, moderating to 36% for a Facebook friend.
Research indicates that 81% of fans said they feel connection/empathy with the vehicle brand, compared to 39% of non-fans. Another 87% said they felt warmth, gratitude, happy or satisfied, compared to 49% of non-fans. Most brands show a significant gap in results between those who are fans and those who are non-fans. Ralph Paglia advises this provides further evidence of the value of an audience to a car company or dealership and the necessity of factoring in fans as a key aspect of long-term automotive digital marketing value.
Social Engagement Aids Branding
Dealers seeking to increase top-of-mind awareness and vehicle purchase intent should consider engaging consumers via online social networks,
according to a recent study from The Nielsen Company and Facebook.
Consumers who were exposed to a standard homepage ad on Facebook had 10% higher ad recall, 4% higher brand awareness and 2% higher purchase intent than consumers who were not exposed. In addition, consumers exposed to Facebook homepage ads with social context (i.e., the ad includes a list of people on the viewer’s “friend list” who are registered fans of the make or dealer), had 16% higher ad recall and 8% higher awareness and purchase intent than non-exposed consumers.
About the Data: Syncapse partnered with Hotspex Market Research to conduct a 25-minute survey using their online panel. Data was collected from more than 4,000 panelists across North America in June 2010. Findings were then analyzed contrasting fans and non-fans for these top brands: Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Mercedes-Benz, Kia, Hyundai, Acura, Infiniti, Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, MINI, Subaru, Suzuki, and Jaguar.
Car Dealer Facebook Fans More Valuable Than Internet Leads - Automotive Digital Marketing Professional Community (ADM)

1 comment:

  1. Internet has proved to be the media of choice for various marketing. Online Automotive Advertising agencies will determine the winners and losers in a business. This post is very informative.

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