With so many car brands vying for people’s hard earned money, how does a car maker separate themselves from this saturated market? Well for one they can produce a great product. That isn’t anything groundbreaking, though based on what I’ve seen on the road– few and far between. However, what I find interesting is the subtle marketing messages that top car companies do. You may or may not realize, but subconsciously you equate a car company with an adjective. Honda equals affordable. Volvo equals safe. Kia equals trash (just kidding!). These messages have been drilled into us from the moment we are cognizant of our surroundings. In the past it was billboards and commercials. Today, companies have to proactively engage on social media. People expect/want instant information and communication. That is why social media is such an effective marketing tool for companies, including car brands. Here are two car brands that are using social media.
Mercedes Benz:
By the numbers (4/14/2013)
Facebook: 10,030,988 likes
Instagram: 169,000 followers
Twitter (USA): 108,000
Pinterest: 2,456 followers
Youtube: 19 million views
Mercedes Benz has long tradition of being a revered car maker. In the high price range, luxury is their brand image. Well-known as one of the more famous car brands, Mercedes has leveraged its popularity on social media. They have an impressive following on multiple sites as can be seen by the numbers above. In a recent study conducted by Unmetric, Mercedes ranked second out of all major car brands in Facebook engagement score. They post two times a day on average, with a high quality photo. What are really impressive are their 12 custom Iframe tabs that bring users to all their different social media accounts as well as community tabs. One in particular that stands out on their USA Facebook page is their “Owner Stories” where they allow customers to write and comment about their experiences of owning the car. For most, owning a Mercedes is a status symbol. That’s why creating these communities helps keep brand loyalty and customers engaged. Both their Instagram and Pinterest have high follower counts and Mercedes makes it a habit to post regularly. Their Pinterest has a staggering 47 boards with 10-30 pins on average and the boards differ for each car model. However, they could do a better job of posting things besides just their cars, the way that Volvo does. Their Twitter has a respectable follower count and Mercedes does a good job of tweeting actively. They don’t just tweet about the brand, but also about the events they are sponsoring like fashion week or the golf Masters Tournament, which all keep in line with their upscale image. They could do a better job of retweeting users, as they do not get much engagement on Twitter.
Volvo:
By the numbers (4/14/2013)
Facebook: 587,000 likes
Twitter: 87,000 followers
Pinterest: 1600 followers
Instagram: 10,000 followers
Youtube: 1,400,000 views
Volvo has been synonymous with safety for years. Though not a sexy appeal, Volvo has been able to market to the consumer who cares more about the safety of their automobile than how it looks. Its Facebook page, though a high like account, can be a lot better. They post about 1-2 times a day with 1 post being the average. There are some days in which they don’t post and unlike Mercedes who always post high quality pictures, Volvo sometimes doesn’t include a photo in their post. Their Iframe tabs are irrelevant and only 7 out of the 12 even have an image. They are more prolific on Twitter with tweets a day ranging from 2-10, but again it looks like there is no order in their posting strategy. Like Mercedes, on Instagram they post high quality pictures of their car, but their postings are sporadic.
This does not mean that Volvo is not doing a good job with social media. In fact, in the same Unmetric study, Volvo was ranked second only to Mercedes in Facebook fan growth out of all the major car brands. Also, where they really excel is on Pinterest. Volvo implemented a successful Pinterest contest called “Volvo Joy Ride” They wanted fans to pin images of their ultimate road trip. Three lucky winners would get those trips funded by Volvo. Not only did it get fans engaged, but they were also able to get feedback about the designs of the car. Volvo’s Social media manager, Joe Barbagallo, stated that the “customer feedback provided in this campaign helps shape the design of future Volvo’s” (Dupre, 2012)..
So we can see that in both cases, though each market image is different, they both leveraged social media to engage their community base. These are lessons that any company would be prudent to follow.
Have any thoughts? Please feel free to comment below!
References:
1) Dupre, E. (2012, September 13). Volvo test drives pinterest . Retrieved from http://www.dmnews.com/volvo-test-drives-pinterest/article/258732/