Blog 5: What Drives You? Integrating Social Media into the Car Business.

Reading about the Mini Cooper’s successful social media campaign in Li and Bernoff (2008) and the Ford Motor Company’s social media engagement strategy in Communication World (Jan/Feb 2010) instilled in me a drive - a drive to follow in the tracks of these marketing geniuses who have mastered the art of social media! Time to step on the pedal! Alright, enough of this car analogy…onto more serious business.

We’ve all read about the Mini Cooper case study; let’s bring you up to speed with the Ford case study. Ford realized it needed to change how it talked to its customers. In July 2009, Ford invited 60 prominent women bloggers from the BlogHer network to be a part of the Ford experience in Chicago. These women created an instant buzz by posting their test drive experience on their blogs. Check out some of these blogs at TheFordStory.com

In another initiative, after identifying key online influencers in the North American market, Ford created programs to engage its publics through Facebook, Twitter and corporate blogs. For instance, Ford invited 40 bloggers to swap their cars for a Ford Flex, Ford Fusion or Lincoln MKS to drive on their spring vacations. Ford hoped these drivers would post their stories and share their honest opinions about the cars on their blogs. Throughout this program, Ford ensured transparency to enable readers to decide for themselves the credibility of the blogs. Some of these blogs can be found at TheFordStory.com

Ford also published its "Rules for Social Media Engagement"at TheFordStory.com These are specific guidelines on how Ford would practice ethical and effective online engagement. These rules echo Li and Bernoff's (2008) advice to "listen to" and "talk with" the groundswell. Simply put, listening carefully to what customers are saying online about your brand can generate valuable insights to enhance product quality and publicity efforts. Talking (not shouting) with customers and engaging them in conversation builds trust, credibility and an effective relationship between an organization and its stakeholders.

Ford’s social media engagement strategy was a great success, bringing much publicity for the company. With technology rapidly changing the motoring experience, it makes me wonder what automakers have in mind for the future. What might customer engagement be like in the future? What’s next? Automobiles that are fitted with Facebook, Twitter and Blog technologies? Certainly adds a new dimension to how social media is being integrated into the car business. Thoughts anyone? I'm listening. Let's talk!