Adding Social Media To Your RV Advertising?… Do It Right Or Don’t Do It At All.

August 30th, 2010 -

 

If your looking to add social media to your RV Advertising be sure you’re ready to do it right.  You won’t find out your doing it wrong for several months.   Avoid the frustration!

Share
Leave a comment   Planning, Social

The New Marketing Triangle For Your RV Advertising

July 16th, 2010 -

 

The Master Merchandising Triangle has been the corner stone of  retail advertising programs for the past 30 years.  Inventory, Sales Staff and Advertising were the three legs to the Master Merchandising Triangle.  Each need to be in place for an effective marketing plan.

The concept is this:

Inventory:  Desirable inventory at the right price point is in place and ready to be promoted.

Sales Staff: A well trained and informed staff is ready to sell the promotional vehicles.

Advertising:  An attention getting  message and a good buy with lots of frequency is in place.

When all of these were aligned you could count on a successful promotion. Today; however, the advertising leg of this triangle has changed drastically. When Lee Galles created PRA (Planned Result Advertising) the only marketing channels available were broadcast television, radio, newspaper and direct mail. 

As a result I would like to share with you the new RV Marketing Triangle.

The three legs of great automotive marketing are now:

   Traditional Media “TV, Radio, Direct Mail, Newspaper”

   Digital  ”Websites, Text, Email, Banner Ads”

   Social Media   “Blog, Facebook, Twitter”

   You can’t ignore  these three critical marketing channels.

 One doesn’t replace the other, they only enhance each other. When all three areas are
working effectively the integration is magical.  They grow in strength with
each other and are enhanced far beyond their singular strength.

Today, many dealers are questioning traditional media.  If you want to make
your traditional media stronger, add digital and social to your marketing
plan.  If you want to make your digital marketing more effective, get
involved in social.

One reason dealers are hesitant to execute under this New Marketing Triangle is budgeting.  

Budgets are tight and dealers are just not sure how to integrate the three.  Here’s some simple but effective advise.

  • 70/25/5 Budget Plan

        70% of  your budget should be in traditional media.

         20% percent in digital.

         5% percent in social media.

Reality is this:  Social Media doesn’t cost a lot of money just a lot of
time.  You only need to budget $2,500 to have the most powerful plan in your
market.  It’s really a no brainer.

Your RV Advertising needs to focus on the New Marketing
Triangle.  Three good legs are a lot better than two.

How are you doing on your new triangle?

Share
One comment   General, Planning, Social   , , ,  

Social Media Will Big A Part Of Your RV Advertising Future.. If You Want To Survive!

June 28th, 2010 -

 

What does survival cost?  That’s what we are really talking about.    

Social Media is being looked at by many dealers as an expense they  can’t afford.   If you’re questioning your investment into social media you and your RV advertising agency need to address two questions.

1) Do you want to be competitive in 3-5 years. In just a few years several of your competitors will own the social media market.  You won’t be able to compete  for this space.  That’s right , you’ll be out of the game and there’ll be very little you can do about it.

So look in the mirror and ask yourself can I really afford not to be engaged in a serious social media plan?

2) Are you really in social media or are you just pretending to be a player. It’s easy to spot the pretenders. You just can’t hide. You’re either in or your out. You’re either doing it right or your doing it some other way.

Don’t be fooled by pretenders. CAUTION!  They’re everywhere!  They’re knocking at your door.  Many live right inside  your store.  Pretenders will fool you into believing you’re on the right path.

IF YOUR SOICAL MEDIA PERSON HAS ANY OTHER  JOB IN THE STORE, STOP!

This person can’t keep up. Trust me. If your store has passion and purpose this individual will not have enough time to keep you on point. This requires a full time effort.  

  • After all we’re talking about survival!

I encourage you to review your social media implementation strategy.  Time is critical.  Do it right.

No imitations and no half baked efforts.

  • The cost of a great program really is not very much.

Ask yourself right now do you have the
time, resources, and expertise to run a social media program everyday?

  •  The clock is ticking. 

STOP asking yourself how can I afford social media and start asking how can I NOT afford social media.

Share
Leave a comment   Planning, Social   , , ,  

Territorial Disputes Are The Number One Killer Of Social Media Programs!

June 25th, 2010 -

Why do so many social media plans never really get of the ground?  I’ll let you in on a little secret.

Do you think I’m right or wrong?  I’m excited to hear about your experiences.

Share
2 comments   Internet, Planning, Social   , , ,  

RV Advertising: 10 Things You Should Do In Social Media

May 14th, 2010 -

Feel free to walk down this path.

 If you’re looking at social media you need to know when and where you should walk.  And yes you should walk before you run.   I’ve  attached a great list  of DO’s when joining the conversation.

This were provided by  Dave Nelson a social associate of mine.  He gave me his permission to share them with you. Take a look let me know what you think.  

DO:

Do the up-front planning as you would for any important new business or RV Advertising initiative.   Define your target audience, detail how you intend to create value for them, and map out how you expect them to create value for you. Document your approach and objectives per medium (blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc.).

Do read and listen first. In the beginning, listen and learn for a few weeks before responding. In general, spend twice as much time listening as responding.

Do display your Personality, and keep the content Interesting and Entertaining (the old radio adage “PIE”). Remember that people buy from people; show your professional self.

Do be authentic. Never before has a medium and its participants been more skilled at smelling a rat and turning against the perpetrator.

Do remember that social media is about two-way conversation. Conversation builds trust; trust leads to sales.

Do favor timeless content over the time-sensitive (note: this varies based on the medium and there are exceptions). We live in a time-shifted “Tivo” world and there’s wonderful leverage in creating a blog post (for example) that will have value to new readers weeks, months, or even years from now.

Do remember that “push” is out; “pull” is in. In today’s information-rich world, people want to opt-in, choosing where they spend time. Give them a reason to choose your content.

Do keep your eyes open. Use Google Alerts, search.twitter.com, Linkedin Groups, Ning networks, and more to listen to the conversation about your company, your competitors, and the best practices in your industry.

Do exhibit the patience of Job. As the party with more power (a business relative to a customer/prospect), attacking or being critical will frequently backfire and word will propagate quickly.

Do learn from your audience (as they will learn from you) and rapidly evolve your products and services to meet their needs. They’ll suggest valuable ideas you’d never think of.

This is a terrific list.  The last point reminds of a quote.

“Survival of the fittest.”  Not really true!  It just means you’ll last longer than others but in the end you’ll fade away as well.

You really need to think like this quote!

“The one’s that have the ability to change and adapt are the ones that survive!”

Let me know your thoughts.  Let me know which points you like the best!

 

Share
Leave a comment   Blog, General, Planning, Social   , , ,  

How Much Are facebook Fans Worth To Your RV Advertising Budget?

April 19th, 2010 -

Let’s do the math!

 According to a recent study by Virtue your facebook fans is worth $3.6 to you in advertising value.  This is a general number and in a niche market like RVing the number is higher.

 A general wall post to a fan ratio has been determined to be equal to a 1: (.96 ratio).  The actual range is .44 to 3.6 depending on the niche market.  We’ll use a 3:1 ratio since RVing is the ultimate niche market.

 This means one fan is equal to three impression with each wall post.

If you have a two wall post strategy you would double the impressions.  So what is a fan worth to an RV dealer?

 Here’s an example:

 2000 fans = 6000 impressions

6000 impressions x 2 posts per day x 30 days = 360,000 impressions

360,000 impressions / 1000 x $5 CPM =  $1,800 worth of monthly value  or

$21,600 annually.

 With good content you can hope to even double this number.

 This means you could actually be getting close to $43,000 worth of on line value.

 This means each fan in a well executed social program could be worth 2000 / $43,000=  $25.50

 Bottom Line: More Fans More Value. 

  So the more fans you add the more you increase your marketing value.

 Your out of pocket cost stays about the same.

 Remember, this is just one value point of a strategic social media program.  Who ever is doing your RV advertising  should be aware this additional value:

  •  Twitter Impressions
  • SEO Rankings
  • Pubic Relations
  • Word of Mouth
  • Media Connections
  • Re Posts
  • Re Tweets

 What is the overall value of a strong social program? 

Let me know what you think and I’ll tell you what I think.

 But lets just say the advertising value of social media should be very easy to justify!

 This is one opportunity you just shouldn’t miss!

Share
2 comments   Media Buying, Planning, Research, Social   , , ,  

If Your Social Media Vision Is Blurred Watch This!

April 6th, 2010 -

If you have good vision when it comes to RV Advertising but your a little blurry when it comes to social media watch this video.  If  your looking for a plan or what a social media program should do for you this is a must watch.

Is your vision a little clearer?

 If your headed down a dead end stop!  

The view only gets worse.

Share
2 comments   Planning, Social   , , ,  

Why Frequency Is The Key To RV Advertising

March 22nd, 2010 -

The question has always been which comes first the chicken or the egg?

  

In advertising the question has always been…..

Which comes first the message or the media plan?


It’s very close call!   But it really doesn’t matter how good your message is if the media plan is poor.

Imagine being all dressed up but never leaving your house.  No one ever sees you.

For the last 20 years I have been teaching and preaching Frequency as the key to RV Advertising.  

  • Frequency is the number of times a given individual sees your ad.  
  • Frequency is what drives home your offer to the consumer. 
  • Most research agrees that an active prospect needs to see your ad 3 to 4 times for it to connect.  

Don’t fall into the reach trap.  Reaching a big audience is ideal but don’t sacrifice frequency.

 Your job as an advertising manager for your dealership should be to get the most reach with the proper amount of frequency.  But the one un-negotiable is frequency.  

  • Choose to talk to 10 people 10 times rather than 100 people once.  
  • Try this the next time you’re at a party if you don’t believe me.  Meet 10 new people and spend a lot of time with them and when the party is over those 10 people will know your name.  

If you spend your time going around and introducing yourself to every one at the party, you’ll find very few people remember your name at the end of the night.

It is all about finding the right mix of cost and frequency.

This is exactly why I am such a big believer in Lifestyle Media Buying.  It allows you to target the right audience with more spots and for less money. 

Here are some thoughts to take with you.

  • A cheap spot that doesn’t connect  with your prospect is actually very expensive.
  • Because you and your spouse watch a given show doesn’t mean it’s the right show.  
  • Don’t let the DEAL DRUG lead you to a bad media plan.
  • Frequency is king targeted at the right audience!

So look for the unique opportunities that can offer you controlled frequency and reach. 

Share
Leave a comment   lifestyle marketing, Media Buying, Planning   , ,  

Remember This About RV Advertising and Social Media

March 17th, 2010 -

  Social Media reminds dealerships to do the things they should have been doing all along with their advertising.

The Same Basic Principles Guide Both!


As you put  social media in as a central component for your dealership’s networking, customer retention and conquest marketing efforts be sure you follow the points below.   I think you’ll see these basic principles should be used in your retail advertising effort as well. 

  • Identify your niche and your best target audience.
  • Listen. Better understand your prospective customers and what they are wanting from you.
  • Be transparent. Put your customer first.   The success of your audience must be more important than your own.  But it goes without saying if you can help your audience with their needs you will be successful.
  • Think about relationship selling.   People always want to work with people that they know, like and trust.  Social media provides these opportunities.  It is “networking on steroids.”
  • Always lead with benefits rather than your dealerships needs.  It’s all about your audience.  What’s in it for them.  The moment you try to “sell” your dealership and products, is the moment you lose your audience.
  • Communicate and articulate who you are.  Dealerships are often poor communicators.  Don’t believe me?  Ask yourself, what do you do?  Most can’t succinctly define what they do apart from a prolonged discussion.
  • Digital Beat has 5 points you might want to review as well.  

The similarities of RV Advertising and Social Media are remarkable.

Social media puts these points into practice.  Evaluate your social media effort and see if your following the basics to success.  I’d also take a look at your retail advertising and do a self evaluation.

Get this right ( Social Media) and you’ll have a significant advantage over your competition.  Don’t  let any bad advertising habits developed over the last several years keep you on the wrong path.  It’s time to step up and embrace the opportunities in front of you. 

Share
Leave a comment   Planning, Social   , ,  

Why Cable TV Hasn’t Worked Well For RV Advertising

March 2nd, 2010 -

Cable Television has been a mystery to RV Advertising agencies and dealers since its inception.

It’s my guess many TV have been crushed in frustration!

   Rarely have dealers seen positive results and have conclude that the audience dynamics of cable  are not conducive to a short-term retail strategies.

The Fact is perception and reality don’t match up.

It’s not that the cable audience is elusive, it’s that most dealer’s cable buys are 75% off target.  How can this be?  It’s simple, the networks being chosen and bought for the wrong reasons.  So the perception is cable doesn’t work.  

But, the reality is the tool is being used improperly.

75% Off Target

The spreadsheet above shows a typical buy based on traditional influences and one based entirely on lifestyle media.  You can quickly see that Advantage Media (lifestyle buying) is the way to go when wanting to drive traffic to your dealership

Your customers have a unique lifestyle pattern.  Demographics simply don’t allow you to target your customers and people who look like them.  Lifestyle buying is based on the simple truth that birds of a feather flock together.  Talk to your birds with frequency and the hunt will be much more rewarding.

The fact is that most dealerships are influenced by the media rep or their own perception of stations.  It’s this subject approach that leads to wasted ad dollars.  The lifestyle of your customers will drive their viewing habits.

Why leave this up to guessing when you can do a simple lifestyle study that begins with your customer base.

The above example is unfortunately all too common.  With over 30 such studies behind me the results speak for themselves. 

For more on lifestyle marketing go to:  Lifestyle Marketing Should Be At The Heart of RV Advertising

Let me know what you think.  Do you agree?

Share
One comment   lifestyle marketing, Media Buying, Planning, Targeted Marketing   , ,  
 
  Older Entries »