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Think Big With Your Small Automotive Business
March 2nd, 2011
Ways to promote through internet message forums.
By Dana Schaeffer, Chop-Shop Customs
Want people to be knocking down your door? Want a 6 month waiting list for your work? Want to be nationally recognized for the products you produced? Of course you do!
Have a small or non-existent budget to make it happen. Of course – you have a small automotive business.
Here are some ideas to get your business noticed for free or low cost advertising.
We know that social media is now the norm, but did you know there are places besides Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and MySpace to get your business noticed?
Internet message forums are the way to go for little or no cost to your business, where you can pass along a bit of knowledge, spotlight your products and gain a following.
First find a forum that suits your needs. There are so many automotive forums out on the Internet now-from traditional sites to race car and product sites, that you probably find at least a dozen that can fulfill your needs. Building a presence takes nothing but time.
Create a profile making sure your user name reflects your company name (ex: chopshopcustoms) along with your real name. The site will probably ask for general user info- phone number, email etc , so make sure that the email you provide is one that is monitored by a live person (don’t use info@yourcompany.com as it can be mistaken as spam on some ISPs).
Complete your profile- a nice picture (of yourself or the front of the business etc- some forums don’t allow company logos so check first) is a plus and always have a signature with your name, city, state and phone number (some forums don’t allow business name in your signature or a website link) so people can contact you.
Set your profile to provide instant emails when someone responds to your postings so you can be notified of any ‘threads’ once you create a post.
Your first post should be in the welcome section of the forum. Tell a little about yourself, the company you work for (or own) and what you would like to help with while on the site (‘Hi everyone. My name is Lenny and I own Chop-Shop Customs, a fabrication shop in Massachusetts. I’m looking to help others with their general questions, meet new people and have a great time chatting about custom cars’’) Maybe attach a picture of your latest project or product as well and talk about it a bit (some forums will allow you to upload, some will require the image is already on the internet and use the URL).
Then go into the forum itself and read some of the entries. Did you find something you can provide insight for? Respond to the thread. Each time you do that, you are providing some great feedback as well as getting your business name out there, your contact info and name (through your signature).
Be sure you have the knowledge to back up your post. Don’t try to chat about alternators if your company makes widgets unless you have personal knowledge to help you. Be very careful on providing technical knowledge when representing your company- it could be a problem down the road- so keep any responses general but helpful (‘I know others have been confused about measuring for our ABC widget too, sometimes its best to call our tech line for one on one assistance but general 2.5 inches will be acceptable’).
By signing up for a few forums , you can also see what’s being talked about by hobbyists and industry professionals ‘ off the record’ and see what some of the trends and ideas are.
Internet message forums can also get quite heated, so don’t involve yourself in anything controversial while posting on behalf of your business. Keep the personal comments on your personal posts.
In general Internet message forums can be fun and enlightening for those of us stuck behind a desk for our automotive companies all day long. Try one out, you will enjoy it!
Some forums to check out:
Author Bio:
Dana Schaeffer is Director of Business Development for Chop-Shop Customs in Woburn MA, a classic car restoration facility. She is also an avid member of SEMA and the SEMA Businesswomen’s Network as well as an automotive expert for AskPatty.com. Dana can be reached at chopshopcustoms@comcast.net.
Published in Expert Interviews, Feature
