Social Media Policy and Security for Auto Dealers: Protect your employees. Protect your business. Protect Yourself.

You can provide great benefit to your employees by educating them on social media security. Train them on how to keep their identities safe when using social media. There are many considerations and procedures which should be implemented to ensure protection from identity thieves, a few of which I have highlighted below.

Additionally, protect your business. Social media policies are a set of guidelines created by employers to provide employees with the "do’s and don’ts" of social media use related to the workplace.  Be very careful to adhere to the National Labor Relations Board’s recommendations to ensure compliance with labor laws.

Social Media Security Suggestions for employees (and for yourself):

Don’t accept every friend request: Only accept requests from people you know. Do not accept requests from those you don’t know, even if they are friends of your friends.

Don’t share too much information: “If you aren’t comfortable placing the same information on a sign in your front yard, don’t put it online” (OPSEC, slide 6).

Adjust your profile privacy options: Many sites default to less privacy. Choose settings wisely to protect personal information

Choose Different and Complex Passwords

Using the same password for each social media account provides hackers with an increased opportunity for identity theft. Make sure the passwords you choose are complex and not easily identified from  information on your profile (such as a pet’s name) (Social Networking, n.d.).

 (infographic courtesy of bostinno.com, http://bostinno.com/2011/09/26/how-secure-is-your-twitter-password-when-good-twitter-accounts-go-bad-infographic/)

Avoid add ons: They are generally created by third parties,  and therefore you just don’t know who is able to access your account through them (OPSEC, slide 14).

Geotagging: Geotagging allows your location real time to be picked up by anyone who can view your page. Do you really want people to know where you are at all times (Siciliano, n.d., para. 9)?

Social media policy suggestions

Avoid overly broad clauses that restrict employee’s use of poor language: This can be interpreted as restricting rights employees lawfully have to criticize an employer publicly (HHHalpern & Gardner, 2013, para. 6). 

Avoid violating Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act: Remember that employees have a right to “engage in concerted activities for the purpose of mutual aid and protection”( Collins, n.d., para. 3).

Do not attempt to require absolute accuracy in employee’s comments: Employees are entitled to express opinions whether or not they are “factually accurate”(Halpern & Gardner , 2013, para 8).

Do exercise your right to limit the use of social media by employees during work time or on company computers (Halpern & Gardner, 2013, para 10).

In conclusion, advise your employees to treat their social media presence as if an identity theft is watching every move they make. Remind them to post content under the assumption that it will stay on the internet forever. Inform them that even though they may only be placing little bits and pieces of personal information on various sites, a skilled hacker will find ways to piece their profiles together until he/she has a complete picture with way too much information.

Realize that employees have many rights protected by the law. The National Labor Relations Board reminds us that employers must exercise caution when writing social media policies to ensure that they are not prohibiting employee rights. 

References

Collins, J. (n.d.), "NRLB Report: Employers' Social Media Policies Must be Narrow, Must not     Restrict Right to Engage in Protected Activities." Retrieved from  http://www.natlawreview.com/article/nrlb-report-employers-social-media-policies-must-be-narrow-must-not-restrict-right-t

 Halpern, S. J. & Gardner, C.H. (2013). "When is Your Company's Social Media Policy an Unfair Labor Practice? Recent NLRB Decisions Offer Long-Awaited Guidance for Employers." Retrieved from http://www.natlawreview.com/article/when-your-company-s-social-media-policy-unfair-labor-practice-recent-nlrb-decisions-.

Siciliano, R. (n.d.). "15 Social Media Security Tips." Retrieved from http://blogs.mcafee.com/consumer/15-social-media-security-tips.

"Social Networking Security-Information Security Guide." (January 27, 2013). Retrieved from https://wiki.internet2.edu/confluence/display/itsg2/Social+Networking+Security

U.S. Army. (n.d.). "OPSEC and Safe Social Networking." Retrieved from https://ia.signal.army.mil/SocialmediaandOPSECbrief1.pdf .

Social Media Planning for Auto Dealers: Flexibility is Paramount

In his book Digital Leader, Erik Qualman, a leading expert in social media, explains the importance of flexibility in business cycles.  This is important for auto dealers to keep in mind when they create their social media plans.  

Toyota has produced a video which shows how social media guides a potential customer’s decisions and also influences the dealer’s reputation.  Take a look: 

Although proactive planning is important, life changes constantly and dealers must be prepared to respond and adapt in a prompt and effective manner (Qualman, 2012).   Qualman explains, “Companies who are late adopters of digital technologies will fail compared to the ones that have been on the forefront of the digital revolution, evolving” (p. 194). Dealers should consider this carefully, because as noted by Paul Rushing, founder of DealerBytes.com:  “The automobile industry typically runs “behind the times” in its initiatives” (2013, para 1). 

 When dealers map out their digital technology plans, they should ensure that the map they draw allows plenty of flexibility. If the map is inflexible, it won’t allow the business to adapt effectively to the quickly changing digital world.

“Mapping, planning, and having a vision are important, but it’s being flexible when the unexpected occurs that is the key to digital success” (Qualman, p. 194). The best digital planning has business cycles written for 6 months-2 years rather than longer. Given the uncertain nature and quickly changing digital environment, the shorter plan allows dealers to act immediately (Qualman, 2012).

To develop a good digital plan, Qualman suggests four steps (2012):

1. Know your goals-what are you trying to accomplish?

2. Develop your strategy- how will you reach your goals?

3. Choose the right actions-what actions are needed to execute the strategy?

4. Have “rapid contingency” plans in place for when things don’t go as expected

For auto dealers, social media allows for reputation management, provides an outlet for customer feedback, and creates a platform to engage customers.  Customer feedback can create situations that require a quick change of direction and therefore the rapid contingency plans are important because they provide flexibility in the overall social media plan.  

How would you go about formulating a rapid contingency plan?  What are some of the considerations that you would take into account?

References

Qualman, E. (2012). Digital Leader. USA: The McGraw Hill Companies.

Rushing. P. (2013). Automotive Social Networking-Time to Catch Up [blog post]. Retrieved from         http://www.dealerbytes.com/automotive-social-networking/automotive-social-networking-time-to-catch-up/.

Toyota. (2012, December 27). Toyota Social Media Knowledge Center Illustration of a Car Buyer’s Journey [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/ykt1ZBQE0G0

 

A Major Social Media Mistake Auto Dealers Can Make

 (photo courtesy of www.autorevo.com)

Seven Social Media Trends for Auto Dealers by Nancy Liberman discusses the findings of a survey that included more than 600 auto dealers. The survey objective was to identify the auto dealers' priorities with regards to use of social media in their marketing plans. The article begins by discussing the importance of customer loyalty in the automobile business:"Faced with an ever-competitive landscape, dealers strive to cultivate long-term relationships with customers to drive auto sales and increase service and parts revenue. Dealers have relied upon direct mail and email to keep up communications with customers and prospects, but the emergence of social media has added another avenue for dealers to leverage in order to interface with customers" (Liberman, para. 1).

Following this, seven social media trends for the automobile business are identified. For the most part, they are reasonable assumptions and/or priorities for the dealers to make. However, one of them highlights a critical mistake that dealers often make in their approach to social media marketing:

"#3 Reputation management is important—but dealers want to control customer interactions.
Of most concern to the survey respondents was reputation management. However, almost without exception, they were extremely concerned that an automated solution would not allow them to maintain control of their customer and prospect relationships. They expressed interest in gaining a better understanding of what is being said about them online, but wanted ultimate control over the conversations and relationships with both current and potential customers" (para. 6).

 Dealers regard customer loyalty as paramount and they strive to form long-term relationships with customers. But they are, as this survey reveals, not comfortable with the two way communication that social media demands. Dealers need to make themselves transparent. In an online environment, this requires letting go of control over the conversations and relationships with current and potential customers.  As David Meerman Scott says in his book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR, companies must embrace the information circulating the web, rather than hiding from it or hampering it (2011).  

Scott says social networking is like a cocktail party.  "Do you go into a large gathering filled with a few aquaintances and tons of people you do not know and shout, 'BUY MY PRODUCT!'?" (p.39). "Do you go into a cocktail party and ask every single person you meet for a business card before you agree to speak with them?" (p.39).  These are perfect depictions of behaviors that attempt to control relationships, and at a cocktail party they would be out of line. However, businesses frequently behave this way on the internet. It doesn't work and it won't promote customer engagement.   Furthermore, Scott asks us to consider whether or not we listen more than we speak. To be successful with social media, a business needs to listen, and that can't come from controlling a conversation. 

This is a difficult concept for businesses to grasp and many struggle with accepting it. However, going forward into this new age of digital marketing, it is an absolute must. In fact today, reputations of companies that deny customers the opportunity to speak out are severely tarnished.

In Contribution of Public Relations to Organizational Strategy, B. Steyn shares her characterization of communication strategy as part of the strategic fabric of an organization, rather than a means to spread messages about a service, client, or product.  I agree with this.  Social media provides dealers with the opportunity to detect and manage customer expectations and issues early on. This provides a competitive advantage for the dealer. It allows them to communicate in a way that supports their organizational strategy which includes achieving the long term loyalty from customers.  However, maintaining control of the  relationships and conversations online will never allow this advantage to materialize.  Customers today want and expect immediate attention, immediate feedback, and a lot of information at their fingertips. They are in control. Putting the best foot forward, dealers should accept these customer expectations and provide for them. The reward is the long-term loyalty they seek from customers.

Social media is best utilized when it is a two-way communication channel, carefully implemented with tactics that  not only engage customers, but encourage their feedback, participation, and honest conversation. Embracing the two way communication will ensure that the dealers receive the information needed to align with  the expectations of those customers. 

Read Nancy Liberman's full article here

References

Liberman, N. (Oct. 4, 2012). Seven Social Media Trends for Auto Dealers. Retrieved from http://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profiles/blogs/seven-social-media-trends-for-auto-dealers.

Scott, D. M. (2011). The New Rules of Marketing & PR (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Steyn, B. (2007). Contribution of Public Relations to Organizational Strategy Formulation. Retrieved from http://www.prconversations.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/excerpt-excellence-book.pdf. 

Lincoln Motor Company's Recent Social Media Campaign "Steer the Script" Attempts to Capture the Attention of the Buyers it Seeks

After falling off the radar screen of many buyers and lacking a solid position in the market for several years, Lincoln Motor Company has recently repositioned itself with the objective of revitalizing the brand through a creative marketing communications plan . Part of this effort includes a new interactive social media campaign, "Steer the Script"

As noted by Bradford Wernle in a September 2012 Automotive News article, Lincoln is targeting the  “cultural progressive magicians,” and “agile visionaries,” which are 35-50 year olds with an average household income of $150,00 and are “obsessively curious knowledge seekers who have a strong sense of purpose in life and dream of making the world a better place” (para. 17).  

"Steer the script" attempts to engage the audience with an interactive campaign that theoretically should attract Lincoln's target market given the description noted above.  The company is seeking tweets from consumers which tell stories of their most interesting and entertaining road trips which are then crafted into a commercial.  

I like the idea, and I see how the style of this campaign should attract the buyers Lincoln is seeking. It will be interesting to see if this campaign is a success.

References

Wernle, B. (2012, September). A plan to tackle Lincoln’s ’burden’: Brand’s low visibility requires extra effort to attract shoppers. Automotive News, 87(6533). Retrieved from www.automotivenews.com