Your Guide to Automotive Industry Digital Marketing

‘In The Pits’ interviews Dan Kahn of Kahn Media, Inc.

Find out the key to building an online presence from Dan Kahn, president of Kahn Media.

Kahn Media specializes in a blend of public relations, social media and marketing for automotive industry companies.  Get expert tips on Facebook marketing and more in this interview.

Read AfterMarketer Club’s exclusive interview below.

AfterMarketer Club (AMC): For a company that has no online presence, where should they start?

Dan Kahn: First and foremost, start with a website. Years ago building a website was a costly, scary prospect … but it doesn’t have to be anymore.

If you need a site for branding, product information and company background, the easiest and simplest way to go is to build a site based on a WordPress Content Management System (CMS). WordPress is a design program originally created as a simple, easy way to start a blog. However, it is so popular, there are literally thousands of design templates available for just a few dollars that you can download, plug in your favorite colors, photos, logos and copy and you have a site. The best part is, the back-end (where copy and page changes are made) is extremely easy to use. If you can use Word, you can use WordPress. It also has fantastic Search Engine Optimization, so google will pick it up within a few days of going live.

If your company site needs an online store, that’s a more complicated and time-consuming process, but there are still programs similar to WordPress designed for online shopping, including Magento. Either way, unless you’re a diehard DIYer, it’s best to find a well-reviewed web designer or online marketing house and have them build the site with or for you. Skip custom HTML jobs, as you’ll be married to the designer forever. Have them work with your template of choice and then anyone can modify it in the future.

Once your site is built, then it’s time to start promoting it. This can be done by creating a Facebook fan page for your company (different than a profile page, which is limited to 5,000 friends and won’t let others manage the page). You can also spend time in forums specific to your brand, talking about what you do and how you help customers, and photo sharing sites like Flickr are great for sharing photos of products and customer vehicles. On Facebook, have your company website URL and links to other social channels, which you can also promote with posts on your wall. Your signature line in all the forums should have links to the website, facebook page, flickr page and more. Flickr image captions should have product names and links to the website. All this cross-linking will improve SEO dramatically and gives consumers more ways to find out, and they’re all basically free other than your time involved to manage them.

AMC: What one piece of advice do you think applies to all companies today?

Kahn: Be open, honest and transparent. What some companies in our industry are still struggling to understand is that the internet has democratized the media. Everything is accessible by everyone all the time. We can no longer depend on a few key influencers to control the message. So – if you make a great part that works well and is a tremendous value, people will talk about it and sales will rise. If you make a poorly designed part, people will talk about it and it will affect sales, and there’s not much you can do to stop it. So … when designing a new product, make it as good as you possibly can. If there is a problem and people start talking about it, take ownership of it and promise to correct it. Nobody is perfect, and your company will benefit in the long-term from trying to make things right. Open, honest and transparent – it’s the only way to survive in a new media world.

AMC: What is one thing you wish more companies were doing today?

Kahn: Well, every company has a different business model and a different culture. One thing I wish more companies did do was make a commitment to consistent communication strategies. They jump on Facebook, try it a few weeks or months, than abandon it. They sign up for a forum, and then never post anything. Send a few press releases or go to the SEMA Show and unveil a new product, then never mention it again. You don’t have to be present in every channel all the time, just choose a few outlets you’re comfortable with and stick with it. Build relationships.

We liken social media to a party – big or small, you need to talk to other guests, make sure they’re happy and comfortable, and keep the conversation going. If you do, the party will grow and they’ll tell their friends. If you leave the party after the appetizers, nobody will remember you were ever there, but they may remember your competitor that stayed for cake.

AMC: Where do you usually start when assessing your clients?

Kahn: I always start with three questions.

1) Who is your customer? – You’d be surprised how many marketers, in-house and at agencies, skip this step. Are you trying to sell direct to consumer, through multi-step distribution, or to the retail chain stores? This makes a huge different in how we market a client – some need help creating push to the stores, some need help creating pull-through with consumers, some need branding and/or product awareness, and most need all of the above. But first I need to understand how my client’s business works.

2) How does your product work? – We’re a company of gearheads. Everyone on my staff is an enthusiast. Why? Because in order to talk to the media, promote a product, and talk directly to the consumer about products with authority we have to know how they work, understand what makes them special, and drink the proverbial koolaid. We must be fans before we can promote them.

3) How do you communicate to the consumer and industry? This one is critical to how we build a plan. Some clients are already very strong in certain channels, ie: magazines, online, B2B, etc. We analyze where they spend their time, energy and money, what the effectiveness is, and then bolster the weak points. Some need help only with social media marketing, some need help with PR, others need content marketing with videos and more. We assess what they need and move forward to fill in the gaps.

AMC: What one out-of-production car do you wish was still available?

Kahn: Cool question. I own my favorite car of all time, the 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 – and the current 2011 Boss 302 is pretty darn cool, so in a way it’s still in production. I’d love to see them bring back an iteration of the Porsche 550 Spyder. I think that’s one of the cleanest, purist and prettiest vehicles ever designed, and a modern version without all the clutter new cars have tacked on would be very cool.

In The Pits is a regular blog series from AfterMarketer Club that features exclusive interviews with automotive and aftermarket industry thought leaders.

AfterMarketer Club is a full-service Internet marketing agency that helps automotive dealers and aftermarket companies rev up online sales. Contact us today for help with your company’s marketing efforts.

Thank you to Dan Kahn for taking the time to share his expertise with us!