Sunnyvale, CA (PRWEB) November 02, 2012
Digital Air Strike, the nations leading full-service automotive social media, online reputation, and lead-generation management company, today announced the results of its Fall 2012 Automotive Social Media and Reputation Trend Study. The study found that car buyers are increasingly using social media in the vehicle purchasing process. Furthermore, they are relying on review sites to determine which dealer to visit when shopping for a vehicle. Car buyers are willing to drive longer distances to get to dealers with positive online reviews. Review sites, dealership websites, and Facebook were named as the top three most influential digital mediums used to help buyers make their dealership selection.
“The study found evidence that car dealers actively engaging in social media and reputation management have the potential to increase both their market share and their market reach,” said Alexi Venneri, co-founder, CMO and COO-Social Media of Digital Air Strike.
The bi-annual study included an in-depth analysis of how 600 U.S. dealers use social media, and an online survey of 1,600 consumers who bought a car in the last 6 months. Results showed that 67% of consumers had used a review site when selecting a dealer. Of that group, 70% said that if dealers had equal star ratings, they would be more likely to buy from the dealership with the most recent reviews. The majority of car buyers (71%) used Google search to locate a dealer and 49% of that group said they clicked on a review site found in the search results.
Additional key findings include: