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SOCIAL MEDIA - AN EXECUTIVE BRIEFING
FOR THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
THE IMPACT OF RADICAL GROWTH IN SOCIAL
MEDIA USAGE, COMPLIANCE & PROCEDURE
DECEMBER 2015
CONTENTS
02
Introduction
03
What is driving the growth in social media?
04
The impact of growth
07
Defining the operational challenges
09
Key success factors for enterprise social media delivery
10
The impact of the FCA guidelines
11
A new era in risk management
14
The question of policy
15
The future – social media driving competitive advantage
INTRODUCTION
The UK saw a dramatic rise in the
level of investment made into digital
communication in 2015. In fact, of the
£15.8bn invested into advertising as a
whole, the UK is the first nation to see
digital spend including search, social media
and analytics rise above 50% to £8bn,
exceeding all other types of advertising
combined, including big ticket items such
as TV, Print and Radio.[1]
James Leavesley
Chief Executive Officer, CrowdControlHQ
The UK Automotive industry has the fifth largest
share of advertising spend at 8.4%[2] with eMarketer
reporting that of this spend, 60% is targeted at
direct response versus 40% on more indirect brand
building activity[3]. With social media driving objectives
across both, it is perhaps no surprise that the level of
investment in this area alone rose by 51% in 2015[2].
[1]
The Guardian | UK’s digital advertising spend set to outstrip all other forms | October 2015
IAB UK & PWC | H1 2015 Digital Adspend Results | October 2015
[3]
eMarketer | Social Network Ad Spending to Hit $23.68 Billion Worldwide in 2015 | April 2015
[2]
02
WHAT IS DRIVING THE
GROWTH IN SOCIAL MEDIA?
There are two key influences driving the growth in the use and adoption of social
media across the automotive sector. The first, is the influence of the mobile revolution.
The rise in mobile usage is credited with driving over 80% of the growth in digital
investment, demonstrating just how critical a factor it has been in changing the face of
communication approaches.
The second, is more specific to the automotive
industry and has been the influence of ‘digital natives’
moving into the car buying arena. In 2012, 40% of
purchasers were described as ‘millennials’ aged 18-30,
with 46% stating that they were influenced by what
they saw within digital channels[4].
However, the demise of traditional automotive
purchase approaches is not just confined to the
population of young adults. Research undertaken
by Deloitte concluded that the biggest growth in
the number of active social media accounts owned
between Jan 2014 and March 2015 was in the 35-44
year old age group, owning on average two active
social media accounts per head. So it appears that
whilst the 16-24 year olds were early adopters of
social media, averaging three active accounts per
head, the rest of the age groups are catching up.
The impact of these influences on the automotive
sector have been wide reaching - noticeable most in
the dramatic fall in visits to dealerships from 4 visits
per purchase in the early 1990’s to just 1.2 today.
This is forcing the sector to respond by taking the
competitive battle online to win hearts and minds
long before people reach the showroom.
As a result, social media is being used as a tactical
manoeuvre to build relationships and influence
purchasing decisions. In fact, a recent survey of 329
car purchasers[5] revealed that 76% of prospective
car buyers took at least one digital action in their
purchase journey, whilst only 2% reported being
influenced by the sales representative directly.
trusting of peer recommendations than direct from
the brand or organisations themselves and 71%
are more likely to make a purchase based on social
media referrals.[6] Alongside the significant growth
in the appetite of consumers to share content from
photos to personal data across social media channels,
there has been a stock pile of information, reviews,
ratings and insights, leading to an increase in the
numbers of people turning to the social channels
as a trusted friend.
The mobile society we live in has also increased the
appetite and demand for instant gratification, with
high expectation that the brands and businesses
respond quickly to questions and queries over social
media. This has forced the automotive sector to
step up its game plan, establishing new approaches
to tackle and conquer customer response times.
As a result, customer service delivery across social
media is not only being used to build relationships
pre and post sale but as a means to achieving a clear
competitive advantage.
Finally, the growth of social media usage across the
automotive sector has been fuelled by the recognition
that as a communications approach it delivers a very
high return on investment. With wide recognition that
social media is unlocking a threefold effect - it not
only contributes to brand awareness and perception
but also creates a way of driving customer service
delivery to new heights, not to mention the impact
on marketing promotion efforts. This multifaceted
tool comes at a small price when compared to other
marketing activities.
The reality is that the sales team are losing in the
credibility stakes when pitched up against social
media. 90% of people state that they are more
[4]
PWC | Social Selling: A Digital Blueprint for the Automobile Industry | December 2013
Rocket Fuel via IAB UK | How important is brand to car buyers? | September 2015
[6]
Nielsen | Global Trust in Advertising | September 2015
[5]
03
WHAT IMPACT DOES THE
GROWTH IN SOCIAL MEDIA
HAVE ACROSS AUTOMOTIVE?
The dramatic growth in the mobilisation of social media has occurred over a relatively
small number of years. Whilst some of the popular social media platforms such as
Facebook and LinkedIn have celebrated their 10th birthdays, many forget that the
appetite for sharing and engaging on social only really started to ramp up from
late 2008.
Then in 2011, a landmark change occurred, driven by
the city riots where communities tuned in to the social
media channels for live updates and information,
rather than the traditional TV news channels, who
were lagging behind. The lessons learnt underpinned
the approaches applied to the social media delivery of
London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and then
more recently, the general election, each in their own
unique way, helping to push the boundaries, as well as
highlighting the risks associated with a new era in the
delivery of communication and digital engagement.
and in some cases a little chaotic, with the Marketing
Director and wider management team grappling with
the issues and in many cases learning in situ on the job.
For some, it may have felt more revolution than
evolution, tasked to create a process in haste to
deliver and leverage a strong social media presence,
with many mistakes made along the way. Some of
the specialist consultants within the sector have even
gone as far as declaring the automotive industry a
‘laggard’ in getting to grips with some of the key areas
of social media operational delivery.
With a relatively short period of time to transition,
the impact on the automotive sector has been sudden
04
SO WHAT CHANGES HAVE
BEEN EVIDENT ACROSS THE
AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR?
1. GREATER INVESTMENT:
Social Media Ad Spend[3] rose by 51% in 2015,
fuelled by the recognition that investing in social
media drives results. PWC in their Automotive
Digital Blueprint reported that approximately 15%
of engagements converted into an action (visit to
website, book of test drive etc.) creating considerable
ROI estimated to be around £1.30 per head. However,
many agree that a transaction based approach is
secondary to the contribution that social media
makes to brand value. With 29% of over 55s[7] likely
to stay with an existing car brand, the role of social
media in reinforcing post purchase is coming more to
the forefront of automotive strategy and investment.
As a result, the terminology is evolving. Traditional
ROI models have been replaced with ‘Return on
Interaction’, recognising the considerable contribution
the relationship built on social media delivers across
all elements of the customer purchase journey both
pre and post sale.
2. MANAGEMENT OF THE DIGITAL ECO-SYSTEM:
Today social media is a hybrid of brand management,
customer services and promotion. For years
marketers have focussed on ‘integration’ of marketing
communications, only to discover that this ethos
can fall flat in the new digital landscape, where the
customer is king in controlling their own destiny when
it comes to communications about the brand. As a
result, the penny has dropped that social media can
no longer be delegated to the recent ‘digital native’
graduate team, and that the competitive demands of
the social media landscape instead require a strong
and experienced strategic head, with competitive
management and leadership structure, with support
from HR, IT, Legal and Compliance teams.
3. HIGH PERFORMING COLLABORATIVE STRATEGY:
With competition high for share of voice, the
demand for winning strategic approaches has been
prioritised by many. With effective engagement
underpinned by customer-centric content there has
been a shift towards the delivery of entertainment
and ‘engagement’ factor to drive brand loyalty,
underpinned by collaborative strategic approaches.
This has meant reducing the ‘push’ style promotional
messaging of the past to create a strong brand
relationship with people and partners across social
media channels. This has encouraged the use of some
great innovation in campaigns, combining brand
building and engagement. For example, the campaign
#Hibernot by Jaguar Land Rover is motivating
the British public to enjoy the winter months, as
an antidote to hibernation, bringing an array of
deliverers of outdoor activities together across social
media channels, with long term commitment to build
their campaign and encourage brand advocates to
support and engage.
4. CUSTOMER CONTROL MODELS:
Today, the holy grail of digital strategy is brand
advocacy, with strategies refocusing on how to
nurture, capture and magnify positive ‘customer to
customer’ referral and influence, rather than simply
managing the direct communication between a
business and its customers. Rocket Fuel[8] reported
that of those they surveyed 22% of people were
influenced by price and 15% by previous ownership
of the brand. However, they also discovered that
25% were heavily influenced by friends and family,
demonstrating the value of getting the referral tactics
right! Encouraging and incentivising customers to
share with others, underpins many campaigns but
will unravel quickly if it is not supported by a strong
customer service ethos. This has led to a re-think
around the area of customer service, with call
centres moving towards ‘contact’ centres, managing
and responding to the demand from customers to
communicate via social media channels.
[3]
eMarketer | Social Network Ad Spending to Hit $23.68 Billion Worldwide in 2015 | April 2015
Rocket Fuel | When It Comes to Buying Cars, Loyalty is a Driving force | September 2015
[8]
Rocket Fuel via IAB UK | How important is brand to car buyers? | September 2015
[7]
05
“Because customers are so much more knowledgeable when they
come into the showroom and the number of showroom visitors
has dropped dramatically, we’re reliant on one opportunity to
create a good impression.”
Dave Murfitt
Director Nissan (GB)
5. CONNECTING ONLINE AND OFFLINE:
There is wide scale recognition that to be a success,
there must be greater integration and connectivity
between the online social media environment with
the offline physical environment. This means that
showrooms are being redesigned to accommodate
generation ‘selfie’, with better signage to social
media channels. In May 2015, Nissan announced
that they were introducing a new ‘customer centric’
design to their showrooms showcasing Motorline
Nissan in Maidstone as the footprint for the future.
Utilising LCD halo effects and wall mounted video
screens, coupled with VIP handover bays, the focus
is on creating a memorable experiential impact.
Removing barriers to communication such as desks
and computers, with the sales team utilising iPads
to interact and engage with customers as they move
around the showroom.
6. EVALUATION METRICS:
The industry has got much more savvy about the
issue of analysis and evaluation. There has been a
trend to move beyond the simple metrics of likes and
followers to gain a more detailed understanding and
insight from social media channels. Consultancy firm
PWC compared the number of auto brand mentions
to sales units over a 12 month period to determine
the brands that were ‘lapping the field’ when it came
to social media. They crowned newcomer Tesla and
legacy brand BMW as top of the charts, with BMW
having 12 mentions for every car sold, six times its
highest competitor. The ease of measurement is
making social media easy to digest but feedback
from those on the frontline is that objectives are
still heavily skewed towards promotion rather than
customer service or brand. The latter is destined
to come to the forefront of evaluation approaches
in 2016.
7. REPUTATIONAL RISK:
In the good old days it was said that a dissatisfied
customer would tell 10 people. Today, that could
be 10s of millions. The amplification of social media
means that bad news travels far and wide, fast!
There are many lessons to learn from Friday 18th
September 2015 – the day the Volkswagen scandal hit
the world, sending the brand into disarray. Despite
having some of the loyalist brand followers, the
global social media accounts seemingly abandoned
their fans in their hour of need, operating under an
embargo of silence until an official filmed response
could be crafted. In contrast, the UK team of
Volkswagen have been commended by the marketing
elite for being brave enough to keep the information
flow open to support their customers and unlock
brand advocacy wherever they could. So whilst the
share value has suffered greatly at the hands of the
scandal, efforts within the social media channels
are helping to leverage brand advocates to provide
stealth in the battle to restore calm.
8. GOVERNANCE:
With the introduction of the Financial Conduct
Authority (FCA) guidelines, regulators are looking
closely at the location, security and storage of social
media data. As a result, those managing campaigns
have greater responsibility to not only keep the
brand reputation safe, but maintain the integrity of
those engaging with the accounts across social media
environments. Governance is also being forced on
dealer groups by some manufacturers, following a
spate of instances where inappropriate content was
posted using copyrighted images without consent.
The recent ‘Safe Harbour’ ruling has also left many
red-faced when it comes to the issue of on-shore data
storage with a move towards UK based data security
to remain complaint with EU law.
06
DEFINING THE
OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES
Today, the models of social media delivery vary greatly across sectors and varying
sizes of organisation, but there are common approaches emerging from those tasked
to operate enterprise social media environments. This gives the automotive sector
not only the opportunity to learn from ‘best in class’ within the sector but from other
organisations operating at the same scale or who are targeting similar customer
segments. As a result, there is much innovation and collaboration in the delivery
of social media.
Many operating within the automotive sector are turning to the wider enterprise environment
to pick up ideas and inspiration for future campaigns.
Enterprise social media is defined as...
...how a complex organisation with multiple audiences and
varied objectives efficiently arranges itself to deliver one-to-one,
one-to-many and many-to-many communication across the digital
and social landscape.
The delivery of enterprise social media demands a
much broader multifaceted management approach
in contrast to single account/ single user operations,
requiring input from several departments including:
Customer Service; HR; IT; Legal; Governance and
Compliance alongside the traditional Marketing
Communications team. It is not just internal teams
that have a role to play. With many campaigns
stepping into the territory of collaboration, the
brokering of social media deals around content,
channels and endorsement has become big business,
increasing the time needed to scope and plan a
campaign effectively.
The drive for brand advocacy coupled with the need
to empower and influence ‘customer-to-customer’
engagement is also demanding a new approach
to the development and delivery of social media.
Operationally, the focus is on shaping influencers
and advocates, whilst defending against inaccurate
information and detractors who are sharing their
dissatisfaction with the brand.
With some manufacturer brands having up to 25k
mentions a day, it is increasingly becoming just as
important to listen as it is to talk. Some of the greatest
competitive manoeuvres have come from brands
listening in on daily conversation and acting fast to
seize opportunity. For example, when music producer
@deadmau5 got into a public spat on twitter with
Porsche over the feline decoration of his car, Nissan’s
quick thinking and creative intervention managed
to secure their GTR considerable exposure across
the 2.96 million followers of the controversial star.
By simply offering a picture of their GTR mocked up
in feline graphics as an alternative, this led to a test
drive and public endorsement by the star.
The social environment is also creating data at a scale
never managed before, with valuable insight fuelling
big breakthroughs for the R&D and operations
teams. PWC in their automotive digital blueprint
outline the importance of ‘managing data factories’
with ‘properly architected systems for collection
and evaluation’ linked to a mission control room
to implement insights.
“Vehicle manufacturers have to use the power of data
to get inside customers heads.”
Dieter Becker
Global Head of Automotive KPMG
07
Analysing data from social media platforms is
helping to unlock the most important influences in
car purchase. For example, in a recent survey, 67%
ranked fuel efficiency as one of the most important
factors in decision making[9], leading to prospective
buyers actively seeking verification across social
media environments of the manufacturers published
data on fuel consumption.
Those who are ‘hands on’ in the management of
corporate social media channels are entrusted with
considerable responsibility by the organisations
they represent. They are given the responsibility to
achieve impact in three key areas, requiring them to
have considerable product knowledge to promote
products and services, with a customer service ethos
to listen and keep customers satisfied, underpinned
by consistent delivery of the dealer’s brand values
and within the manufacturer’s guidelines.
THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR
Brand management - Build loyalty towards
the brand
Marketing promotion - Build understanding of
customers & support influencing / sales process
SOCIAL MEDIA OBJECTIVES:
Customer service - Retain customers & drive
R&D activity
Applying this model to the most popular types of delivery requires a more ‘collaborative’ approach moving
forwards, with teams nationally, regionally and locally working together to satisfy the many elements of the
social media terrain. With engagement key, the automotive sector has transitioned from more simplistic models
of ‘push messaging’ from central sources (such as a head office) to a more collaborative model of operational
delivery of top/down, bottom/up and customer led content.
MODEL
BENEFIT
RISK
1) Central dealership
led content creation
Consistent brand
messaging
Lack of local customer centric
content & rapport
2) Dealer specific channels
populated with central content
Consistent brand
messaging
Quantity, tone and timing of
content can be an issue
3) Dealer specific, local content
Engagement can be
relevant, timely &
highly local
Lack of quality content, brand
messaging can be diluted & tone
of voice inconsistent
The close of 2015, and no doubt the start of 2016
will see the development of a more hybrid approach
between models two and three. The use of consistent
topics and central themes, with layers of ‘local social’
to add personality and engagement factor.
RRG Group provides a useful case study for the
sector. They have 24 dealerships, 52 social media
accounts and 8 manufacturers to plan, oversee
[9]
and manage. They have taken the time to understand
the touch points of key customer segments and
spread their content across themed #hashags such
as #TurboTuesday and #ModifiedMonday to make it
more relevant to key audiences. With content being
the holy grail they are striving to use social media to
understand their customers better and find new ways
of supporting them.
Business Reporter | The digital transformation of the automotive industry | August 2015
08
“Digital ecosystem success relies on enterprise-wide
collaboration, ideally a top enterprise social platform.”
PWC
Social Selling: A digital footprint for the automotive industry
KEY SUCCESS FACTORS
IN ENTERPRISE SOCIAL
MEDIA DELIVERY
There is common agreement that successful social media delivery is underpinned
by key success factors. At the heart of the delivery will sit the protection of the
organisation’s brand, alongside the manufacturer brands.
An important consideration will also be the handling of financial promotion. With heavy fines applicable
for those who over step the mark as a result of the Financial Conduct Authority social media guidelines
(published March 2015), the future success operationally will be dependent on finding the right formula
of creative and customer insight, delivered within a controlled environment.
The success of an automotive led social media campaign should always adhere to the following:
1) Define purpose and objectives for the social media
channels, determining the extent to which social
media assets need to be segmented by audience
and location
2) Allocate resources wisely - to all aspects of the
social media mix e.g. brand messaging, customer
service response and customer to customer
advocacy as well as the teams tasked to manage
these areas
3) Invest time to identify and create content that
resonates with your audience to drive engagement
4) Deliver the right insight to the right people at
the right time acknowledging that social media
environments operate 24/7
5) Support with training, development and sharing of
social insights and best practice
6) Create a seamless brand experience across online
and offline environments, encouraging transition
between sales environments with social for
prospects to quickly find peer influencers
7) Identify and manage the risks of social media
using an appropriate management tool to
ensure campaigns are monitored, compliant
with regulators and governance procedures
8) Evaluate the right metrics and use it to innovate
09
“Risk management encompasses all relevant risks, including
legal and reputational risk, as well as regulatory risk.”
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
THE IMPACT OF
THE FCA GUIDELINES
The FCA released their guidelines, following a period of consultation in early 2015.
The release of the guidelines were delayed, highlighting the immense challenge of
translating the demands of compliance in a rapidly evolving social media environment.
The guidelines require that organisations not
only consider the risks of social media but ensure
the provisions within the ‘senior management
arrangements, systems and controls’ are in place to
manage social media ‘in the course of business.’ A key
challenge is in how we define the term ‘in the course
of business’, recognising that many individuals utilise
personal social media channels to mention aspects of
their business day in day out. However, the guidelines
are clear that those who identify themselves with
their business are linking the two by association
meaning that this content also becomes governed
by the guidelines.
The guidelines stipulate that thorough record keeping
is vital for both compliance and brand reputation
management. Companies are reminded that they not
only need to demonstrate compliance, but also that
records are important for protecting the consumer,
when “queries and complaints from customers may
require evidence”. It also outlines that social media
is not considered ‘real time’ in its nature, reaching a
wider audience and as such it is essential that records
are kept of all interactions.
misleading or placing customers or firms at risk.
This means that whilst social media can signpost to
financial promotions, the destination of the ‘click
through’ must contain all the relevant risk warnings
as well as the social media post being stand alone
compliant itself. This has also led to the need for the
‘two sets of eyes’ protocol to ensure that outbound
messages and customer service responses are
compliant and meet the standards laid down by both
the dealer and manufacturers.
Getting into the detail of social media delivery, the
issue of hashtags and retweets has posed some
interesting dilemmas. For example, the guidelines
state that whilst a retweet may not be a direct
message from the organisation itself if it contains
a benefit of a regulated financial product or
service product, that it would be seen as a financial
promotion, despite the business not originating it.
The full impact of the FCA guidelines are yet to be
seen, as organisations begin the task of translating
them into practice, but 2016 will be an interesting
year in gauging how the automotive industry
responds and is judged against them.
The guidelines tighten up the area of financial
promotion, ensuring that it is clear, fair and not
10
A NEW ERA IN RISK
MANAGEMENT
The FCA guidelines, alongside high profile blunders are leading to a new era of
awareness around the successful management of risk. In fact, in January 2015, the
Institute of Risk Management recognised the global risks of social media for the first
time shortlisting CrowdControlHQ – the UK’s leading social media risk management and
compliance platform in the category of Risk Management Solution of the Year.
The Respect Model of social media management
risk identifies the key areas that have been found
to contribute to the risk factors associated with the
delivery of enterprise social media.
The bottom line is that risk management across social
media demands a combination of policy, training
and effective risk management tools to ensure that
a brand is both protected and leveraged across social
media channels.
The adoption of enterprise social media management
tools such as CrowdControlHQ has sought to mitigate
the key risks alongside the need for effective delivery
protocols such as collaboration and evaluation.
The Respect Model of Enterprise Social Media
11
Enterprise social media management platforms support organisations in managing the risks
of social media such as:
PASSWORD SECURITY AND IT GOVERNANCE:
Research has shown that social media access and passwords
are often shared widely amongst internal teams as well as
outside the organisation with support agencies and partners.
Research has even suggested that as many as 1 in 5 of us,
despite the warnings, write passwords down and worse, store
them near (if not stuck to) our computers or desk. The result
has been a number of high profile cases where anonymous
posts, attacking the business or brand could not be traced to
the originator.
The use of enterprise social media
management platforms ensure that an
organisation adheres to strict security
protocols, requiring that each user has their
own login and that passwords are not only
robust but changed on a regular basis.
POLICING POLICIES:
Increasingly, policy is being used to underpin standards (and
training protocols). It not only covers off the standards and
rules for operating the organisation’s owned social media
accounts but also the complex issues around engagement over
personal social media accounts. Historically, there has been an
issue of how to effectively police a policy.
Today, enterprise social media
management platforms provide a way of
automating the policing of key aspects of
the policy, highlighting key training and
development issues as well as helping
employees to share and shape future policy
through ‘wikipedia’ style capture.
LACK OF CUSTOMER LISTENING/RESPONSE:
In 2014, the automotive sector did not feature in the UK’s top
10 for social media aired complaints[10], with mobile operators,
high street retailers, utility and transport taking the brunt of
public attack. However, many believe that the Volkswagen
scandal will see the automotive sector enter the charts when
it comes to brand detractors. The sector must be ready,
willing and able to manage inbound as well as the delivery
of outbound content, especially at peak social times such as
evenings and weekends.
Enterprise social media management
platforms are giving organisations the
freedom to automate the sorting of inbound
content and signpost/email to specific parts
of the business, radically speeding up the
effectiveness and response time.
TROLLS AND BRAND TERRORISTS:
Increasingly protection of the public, who are using a brand’s
social media asset is becoming a necessity. For example, the
more popular a Facebook page, the more likely it is to be
spammed or targeted for abuse. Organisations are expected
to moderate and protect engagement within the social media
environment at all times.
Enterprise social media management
platforms are designed to tackle this,
offering a check point and moderation of
content to protect the dignity of a brand.
THEFT OF COMPANY OWNED ASSETS:
There have been a number of examples of popular Facebook
pages and Twitter profiles being lost or ‘stolen’ when an
employee leaves an organisation. It is essential that the
ownership of company social media assets are clearly defined
and protected.
[10]
Plugging accounts into an enterprise social
media management platform prevents any
employee having the ability to take the
assets with them when they leave, clearly
marking which are company owned versus
personal accounts.
Statista | Services consumers complained about publicly on social media in the United Kingdom (UK) | May 2015
12
SABOTAGE:
The most public (and damaging) example of this was when a
disgruntled employee of HMV took the official brand accounts
hostage, highlighting how vulnerable and trusting companies
were of those tasked to deliver the social mouthpiece of the
organisation. The Marketing Director and senior management
team were left powerless to shut the account down.
A risk based enterprise social media
management platform allows senior
management to act quickly to lock down
channels in crisis, with a master key holder
having total control at all times.
AUDIT TRAILS:
To remain compliant an organisation now needs to provide
audit trails of who posted what and when, recording
the conversation arising with customers. The FCA have
mandated this in the most recent issue of their guidelines
on social media.
This is where enterprise social media
management platforms really come into
their own, being able to not only log who
posted key content but by highlighting those
that consistently fail to meet the brand
guidelines or get declined regularly within
the validation process. They also provide a
critical source of reference during times of
customer complaint.
UK DATA COMPLIANCE:
Whilst many social media platforms are located in Canada or
the US, many governance policies now dictate that social media
management tools need to store social media interaction
in the UK in accordance with UK data compliance. The Safe
Harbour ruling of 2015 is also set to have a major impact on
the security and safety of off-shore data. It is now essential that
all social media management teams have a full understanding
of the location and security of the apps and tools that they use
in delivering their social media. Ignorance is not a defence.
The message is simple – buy British and
ensure that penetration testing standards
meet UK standards.
DEFAMATION AND THE LAW:
In the UK, the Defamation Act 2013 has strengthened the
protection of channels such as Facebook and Twitter, which
will encourage those who have been subject to libel to pursue
those responsible for the defamatory post or repost. The
impact and extent of social media reach and the damage
arising is a considerable risk to organisations. With more CEOs
and senior managers recognising the ‘value add’ of being a
‘specialist’ in social environments this is increasingly becoming
a challenge, particularly when tackling public challenges.
Having accounts plugged into an enterprise
social media management platform, allows
senior figure heads to plan and perfect
their content with the safety net of support
and ‘two set of eyes’ checking before it
goes live.
REPORTING AND EVALUATION:
The speed of change across social media requires very robust
and agile reporting practices to enable businesses to respond
to challenges. During a crisis or an active campaign this could
even demand hourly reporting. Lack of effective reporting and
evaluation practices has been seen as a key risk factor in the
early identification of aspects that could derail the successful
implementation of a campaign. Reporting has been a challenge
across the automotive sector historically. Fuelled by the use of
a number of the early ‘free’ entry level management tools who
charged a premium for reporting and evaluation as an ‘add on’,
resulting in a lack of reporting protocol.
Today, enterprise tools are expected to
deliver reporting as a standard part of their
social media management platform offer.
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THE QUESTION OF POLICY
As a result of the FCA guidelines and increased understanding and profile of the risks,
the issue of internal and external (e.g. partnering) social media policy is now being
prioritised. Whilst the policy sets out the rules when it comes to establishing accounts,
password protocols and brand management issues, it also covers more practical aspects
of working practices and procedures.
However, it appears that some are still reliant on HR
policies or employment contracts to manage issues
of confidentiality and reputation, even though they
were not historically created with social media in
mind. The social media environment continues to
create new scenarios that are testing people at the
forefront of social media delivery. In an environment
where exposure of a direct message could be
seen as a confidentiality breech or a retweet as an
endorsement, the policy needs to be bang up to date
to support those tasked to deliver social media for the
organisation across a number of scenarios.
Today, the key to the success of the internal policy
is having it fully integrating into HR policy so that it
can be checked and challenged, alongside a robust
training programme to enhance understanding and
practical delivery.
Looking externally, more scrutiny needs to be
undertaken of agencies tasked to deliver social media
for automotive clients. Whilst the organisation itself
may have a robust policy, if a third party agency
fails to meet the required standards for security,
compliance and financial promotion then there could
be trouble ahead. Plus it is increasingly becoming
more important to be explicit about the ownership of
social media accounts established in the brands name
by external partners, with robust agreements in place
for what happens in surrendering the accounts at the
end of a contractual agreement.
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“The longer it takes an organisation to own, architect and manage
a social-driven ecosystem, the longer it will take to recover lost ground.
In short, doing nothing really is not an option.”
PWC
THE FUTURE –
WHAT DOES IT HOLD FOR
THE AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR?
Social media is set to secure much greater investment in 2016. This comes on the back of
greater recognition than more traditional forms of advertising - particularly print media,
are not only failing to deliver the level of data capture in comparison to digital channels
but are much weaker when it comes to the strength and speed of relationship build
needed to turn someone into a brand fan. Indeed some, such as Jaguar Land Rover have
already refocussed almost entirely on digital to try to get ahead of the online game.
The use of brand advocates will be at the top of
the priority list as marketing teams grapple with
how to loosen up brand control and empower their
customers to do the talking in a credible and relevant
way. Showrooms will become more experiential, with
emphasis on entertainment, whilst working harder to
operate more seamlessly with the social environment,
offering the ability to share pictures and test drives
on social media channels to grow engagement
and advocacy.
Collecting and responding to information gathered
through social media will not only provide new
innovation but response to customer service
demands will segregate the elite performers from the
rest of the pack when it comes to service impact that
counts in the value stakes. This will mean thinking
differently about social media delivery models and
keeping social media channels open at peak times
such as weekends and bank holidays.
With more purchases made online, the role of social
media will extend across many different selling
environments and streamlining of finance and
insurance industries will be needed to ensure that
customers are not bogged down in red tape at a time
when customer referral and celebration of purchase
is at the forefront of social sharing.
The automotive sector will also create new
approaches in the use of social media around aftercare and servicing, using the rapport building and
sharing potential of social media to grow loyalty.
With greater integration of social media into the
driving environment itself, we look forward to seeing
the innovation in the creation of seamless mobile
social environments.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James Leavesley is CEO of CrowdControlHQ, the UK’s
leading social media risk management and compliance
platform built for enterprise organisations. He gained
his MBA from University College Dublin and has a
degree in Russian from Leeds University. Prior to
co-founding CrowdControlHQ he was responsible
for setting up a new division of BOC gases and led
business development in Russia and Eastern Europe.
ABOUT CROWDCONTROLHQ
CrowdControlHQ is the UK’s leading social media
risk management & compliance platform built
for enterprise, recognised by global research
organisation Forrester as a ‘worldwide contender’ in
2014. The web based software gives organisations
a single dashboard from which an organisation can
manage all accounts, social media account users
and campaigns, helping people to optimise their
social engagement through elite crowd engagement
features, such as listening, geo-targeting, and
customer profile monitoring. CrowdControlHQ also
provides UK based organisations with the most
advanced security and risk management features
available alongside enterprise collaboration tools to
manage the risks of social media and grow impact.
The platform delivers advanced analytics – all
inclusive for one fixed monthly license fee, supported
by a UK based customer support team.
If you have a question or would like to talk to CrowdControlHQ
about your social media challenges please call on 0845 686 5044,
visit www.crowdcontrolhq.com or email [email protected]
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