Like many consumers today, motorcycle riders expect manufacturers, after-market sellers and retailers to be real, personal and authentic. They want you to communicate with them instead of at them. Jack and Jill consumer are just plain tired to the old-style sales pitches pushing widgets and gadgets…it only adds to the noise and clutter already dominating their lives.
Today’s tech-savvy consumer just wants to see, hear and feel a connection to your company, your products and most importantly, your services. They want to be a part of something that matters to them, something that they can relate to, something real…they want an authentic relationship and for the most part, they want to know you and your company before they get to your showroom floor.
Welcome to reality folks…social media is literally transforming how products and services are being marketed in every industry. Why one might ask? Because today’s smart, tech-enabled customer prefers a great experience over anything else and, personal time matters. It matters a lot. So much so that if you’re looking for help launching your own social media marketing campaign, it might be even useful to get in touch with a dedicated digital marketing agency NJ. Companies like the one linked can assist you with producing engaging content and help you to get ahead of the competition.
The Sales Journey: They know you but do you really know them?
Today’s motorcycle riders have more choices than ever. They have already searched you and your employees out on the web, they likely already follow you and your company on their favorite social media platform. As a result, they have high expectations and little time for the tired, “Let me earn your business.”, sales pitches. They want what they want and know they can get it. They key is, will they want it from you and your company?
There are no doubts about it, we all search for products and services online nowadays. Therefore, if you want potential customers to invest in your brand as opposed to your nearest rivals, then you absolutely need to embrace digital marketing strategies that involve optimizing your online content for search engines. There has never been more freedom of choice on the internet, and therefore you need to make sure that your website comes up first when someone in your area searches for topics that are relevant to your business. Above all, harnessing the power of local seo for businesses can totally revolutionize your online presence.
What is Social Media Marketing?
Every marketing guru out there seems to have a formula for social media success. Here’s the simplest way I have found to think about the whole social media marketing thing. Best I can tell, social media marketing is more “social” than it is “media” or even “marketing”. Here’s my 60+20+20 rule for using Social Media.
Social media is 60% social.
Social is just that…you have to be authentically personal and social with your targeted audience. You need to have your brand and everything within your brand family be able to relate, connect and inform your fans, followers and prospects.
Your goal should be to communicate with content that your audience can relate to and that matches up with their dreams of living life on two wheels. Three wheels if you want to build a trike trade. The best social media marketing machines educate, inform and communicate back and forth with their target audience. It’s a true relationship that just happens to be online.
Social media is 20% media.
This is where you select the social media platform that’s best for your audience and your brand. The demographics of who’s on what social network will make a big difference to your marketing ROI so you need to get this right.
For example, women dominate Pinterest according to the Pew Research Center. 42% of online women use the platform compared to only 13% of online men. So, if you want to sell motorcycle clothing accessories to women, you better know how to use the Pinterest pinning boards.
Twitter is somewhat more male dominated. 22% of men online use Twitter compared to only 15% of women. So, if the 25 – 45 year old male is who you’re after, you best get real good at using Twitter.
Facebook is immensely popular among a wide range of age groups and pages can be customized to your brand. It’s a great tool for sharing relevant content, not to mention, thrilling your current audience with photos and stories about motorcycling.
Social media is 20% marketing.
Marketing involves the creation of brand awareness, brand reach, getting traffic through your door and generating ready-to-buy leads.
Traditional marketing is not dead it just isn’t working like it use to. Many motorcycle businesses continue to pay thousands of dollars monthly for full page color spreads in regional motorcycle publications with circulations topping out at 50,000 subscribers. It would be interesting to see the actual ROI on this marketing investment?
While social media marketing done right (engaging and connecting with target consumers) is not necessarily cheaper, it’s measurable in real-time, totally topic/event flexible, and can be scaled up fast by partnering with subject matter social influencers, followers and fans.
Furthermore, influencers seem to be the social media marketing solution that everyone is talking about. Could something like the Sway influencer marketing network be the answer to getting your message across in a dynamic way through unique voices and engaging perspectives? A lot of people seem to think so, and it might even be the case that the world of influencing could have a few surprises to share for your business and brand.
Moreover, it’s also no secret that motorcycles are enjoyed all over the world. For this reason, it makes sense to want to advertise your products and services on a global scale and in various languages. Getting translations for keywords associated with your business and brand can be confusing, so it’s often wise to enlist the help of a professional digital marketing or SEO agency. If you’d like to further your knowledge of using SEO in foreign languages, check out this article: https://small-bizsense.com/what-you-can-learn-from-foreign-seo/
Tips for developing a social media marketing plan.
Do this.
1. Employ social media people who ride and who like to socialize with other motorcycle-loving people.
2. Develop non-pushy/non-sales content that matters to the freedom-loving and adventure-seeking motorcycle rider.
3. Develop a consistent posting schedule.
4. Use a social media management platform to help implement your marketing plan and to determine your ROI. i.e. Hootsuite
Avoid doing this.
1. Constantly pushing and promoting your products and services to your audience.
2. Delegating social media marketing to junior staff or others that know nothing about the motorcycling experience.
3. Posting, “I posted a new photo on Facebook/Instagram/Pinterest.” to your Twitter followers or vice versa! Few people will click a link to see photos on another platform.
4. Relying on feel-good “awareness” and follower “connections” stats. You must accurately measure what you get back from all the time, effort and resources you commit to social marketing dollars.
Social Media Marketing – a real life example.
For a good example of “motorcycle experience marketing”, take a look at how the marketing talent at San Diego Harley-Davidson work their social media marketing machine.
SDHD’S Website Events, Twitter (7,400+ followers), Facebook, (36,000+ likes), Instagram (4,750+ followers), Pinterest (47,319+ followers, 11,054 pins), SDHD Blog.
Bottom Line:
Motorcycling and everything motorcycle-related is about connections to the ride, the adventure, the pride of ownership, the feeling of freedom, the personal control, the sense of belonging to something different and yes, the successful management of road risk as you navigate and explore the highways, byways and trails of this great land. For many motorcycle enthusiasts, owning a motorcycle is not a luxury…it’s a way of life.
The amazingly social nature of social media allows your employees to be champions of your brand and be your best brand advocates. Your customers and other fans can share testimonials, retweets, replies, hashtags and, if you can get the attention of industry influencers, you can give your brand big time credibility.
Bottom line, social media is changing the way people interact with brands. You’ll need to get better and better at marketing the total motorcycle experience using social media…before your competitors do.
Ride Safe Out There.
Motorcycle Marc
Thank you for reading my blog folks. You can follow me on Twitter @motorcyclemarc
Friends, you got to read this book. Click image for info. Great insights by social marketing gurus, Ted Coine and Mark Babbitt
Click brand name links below to see how some of the major motorcycle manufacturers are using Twitter.
Harley-Davidson , Indian Motorcycles , Victory Motorcycles , Yamaha Motors USA , Yamaha Motorcycle Racing Honda Australia , Honda UK , Suzuki Motorcycles , Suzuki Motorcycle Racing
Note: Copyrights and Trademarks are the property of their owners. No infringement ever intended. See footer of this blog/website for more information. ***Social Media Surveys are continuously updated and the industry is evolving fast. Results indicated in this blog post were timely at time of writing but are sure to change over the near term. The PewResearchCenter is one of the best sources for social media user information.
This is a really interesting blog. Impressed with your content.
I love motorcycles too. I’ve shared your web site in my social networks. Loving this day to day ride updating style of writing. Definitely different.—-John I.
Great info in this blog article. Many thanks for providing this social media information. U. Sculling
FYI Blog Fans…for those of you who have been asking…the best way to determine if you are “doing it right”. You’ll need to conduct an official Social Media Audit. Such an audit will review the top 10 key utilization metrics that indicate how well you are using Social Media Marketing tactics, tools and tricks. Tip: #10 is ROI. Are you actually making any money given all the time and effort allocated the Social Media part of your overall marketing strategy. Contact me via the “Contact” nav bar if you want more info on how to conduct such an audit. MJB