Social networking for dealers panel at 2009 Automotive Internet Roundtable
Each fall J.D. Power and Associates hosts an Automotive Internet Roundtable that brings together industry experts and thought leaders to discuss how the Internet can be better leveraged to market and sell more cars.
During the 2007 Roundtable event, lots of folks were asking why aren’t dealers social networking. Two years later, there are now thousands of dealers participating in some type of social network. During this year’s Roundtable, the conversation should focus on whether dealers are using social networks effectively.
The J.D. Power 2009 Automotive Internet Roundtable will take place on Oct. 14-16, 2009 at the Red Rock Resort and Spa in Las Vegas.
I will be moderating such a panel during this year’s Automotive Internet Roundtable in Las Vegas. The topic is “Social Networking: Should it be More About Relationship Building than Selling Cars?” and the premise:
A large number of the car dealers now on Facebook and Twitter use their status updates to list inventory. However, the real value in joining these social networks may be the opportunity to create relationships with both customers and colleagues alike.
This panel will cover:
• OEMs and dealerships who are using social networks effectively
• Opportunities to build relationships with current customers and potential rewards (increased visits for service, referrals, etc.)
• Advantages of connecting with fellow dealers (information sharing/collaboration, etc.)
Joining me on the panel will be a number of thought leaders and practitioners in the digital automotive space. They are:
- Christopher Barger, Director of Social Media, General Motors (@cbarger and @GMblogs)
- Jared Hamilton, CEO and Founder, Drivingsales.com (@drivingsales)
- Tom Chisholm, Midwest Sales Director, Facebook
- Eric Miltsch, IT-Web Director, Auction Direct USA (@AuctionDirect)
- Ralph Paglia, Director of Digital Marketing, ADP Dealers (@ralphpaglia)
- Janet Eden-Harris, VP Marketing, Web Intelligence division of J.D. Power (@JDPowerWebIntel)
Prior to the panel, I will be working with the other panelists and AIR organizers to start some conversation around this topic. Look for additional updates on this topic on Headlightblog.com.
Image credit:
2009 Automotive Internet Roundtable image appears courtesy of J. D. Power and Associates
Related links:
- Why aren’t dealers social networking?, DealerRefresh,12.07.07
- Agenda for 2009 Automotive Internet Roundtable
Posted in Dealers on August 5, 2009
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Tags: jdpa social-networking dealers automotive-internet-roun
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4 Responses to “Social networking for dealers panel at 2009 Automotive Internet Roundtable”
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[…] Roundtable, the conversation should focus on whether dealers are u… Read more at the original page. Share and […]
Mary,
Thank you for the great post explaining the upcoming “Social Networking: Should it be More About Relationship Building than Selling Cars?” panel session at the JDPA AIR conference… I am very excited to be participating and looking forward to a lively discussion where our panel shares insights and lessons learned from the many experiments, pilots and proofs of concept projects that have been done over the past two years. Ford Motor Company asked their Public Relations agency (Ogilvy) to scout out the best examples of dealers utilizing social media in early 2009 and I am proud that several dealers with my implementations were cited as “best practice” examples. Your panel session will be a great venues to comment on some of the strategies and tactics used, as well as the results that we are now seeing, more than a year after putting the systems and processes into place.
Your session title is an important issue, and I am sure that with the panel you have assembled, the discussions will be lively, entertaining and extremely eye-opening!
[…] Social networking for dealers panel at 2009 Automotive Internet Roundtable Headlight: The Digital Automotive Blog - PeopleRank: 1 - August 6, 2009 …09 Update: Christopher Barger, Director of Social Media at General Motors, has been added to the lineup. Each fall J.D. Power and Associates hosts an Automotive Internet Roundtable that brings together industry experts and thought leaders to discuss how… + vote […]
I look forward the 2009 Automotive Internet Roundtable addressing social networking for auto dealers. The number of dealers and industry professionals has grown tremendously. Along with large networks such as Facebook and Twitter, dealer-dedicated social networks such as http://www.auttr.com are growing.