YES - it absolutely can and does work....however there are some caveats. You must engage, you must keep updating it, you need to make it progressive. A mini website if you will.

I'm currently the admin on 2 dealer sites - still working on landing page, but note how inventory is loaded on to the page as are other tabs that mirror the website. One of which is a 'what folks are saying' tab. This is to help curb the bad reviews that are out there (and plague most dealerships). Customer don't realize that a mad customer will post a review sooner than a happy one. And, they don't really perceive the number of bad reviews a dealer has in relation to how many vehicles they sell.

Dealers and reputation sites are another big topic I would love to hear peoples perspective on! I manage this as well and it is very time consuming. Working on helping dealer put more systems in place to minimize their bad reviews, to respond, and to increase good ones.

Here are the two I'm managing (would love for you all to 'like' the page - hope that is okay to ask here -if not let me know for future). Next step is increasing fan amount!

http://facebook.com/collegeparkhonda
http://facebook.com/collegeparkhyundai

Cheers & Always Be Engaging!

Heather

You should not have to battle for this piece of the pie... Social Networking sites for the most part are 100% free and they are exactly what they describe to be Social Networking not social selling, DO NOT TRY TO SELL!!!. To get your point across to your dealer principle (because he is the only one you should be directing this to) all you have to ask is "How many customers have we sold to off of our billboards and newspaper ads?".. If he can answer that, well then I would stay put and listen to what he says... I am however sure that he cannot. I look at these sites as a way to captivate a crowd of people that if done properly you will begin to build brand (Dealer) awareness ( in the sense of,"wow abc motors really posts some good content therefore I will not hide them from my news feed.".. A small logo on all print & media ads will gain you very little "friends" however it will help modernize your dealership in the puclics eye (i cant believe that little Subaru dealer is on FB)..To do it successfully, all parties have to play along starting with the owner and finishing in recon...Remember that organically grown is always healthier and better for you.. Do not spam all ur customers to ad your page... Well my lunch is here and I could keep going... Good luck dude. Andy

Real World Thought pretty simple - how could it not - you are simply MAKING FRIENDS and keeping friends informed. Isn't that rule #1 of selling? Don't think it produces alot of "NOW" sales, unless they have tens of thousands of friends, they need to move to traditional Direct Mail, email or other traditional advertising to produce those results. Friends buy from Friends