Check out the first installment of our newest video series and learn how you can benefit from consumers using an average of 7 info sources during their car buying process.

Did you enjoy this video? Access our Insights library HERE.

We’ve previously covered best practices for both review and social sites, but what about content best practices? Here are several useful tips for staying ahead of the social curve.

Did you enjoy this video? Access our Insights library HERE.

As a follow up to our previous tips video on review site best practices, here are some additional tips to help keep yourself in the running to be #1 in the 1.2 dealerships shoppers are likely to visit in person.

Did you enjoy this video? Access our Insights library HERE.

As part 1 of our tips video series for social and reputation management, here are 6 tips to help keep yourself in the running to be #1 of the 1.2 dealerships shoppers will visit.

If you’re using social media as a broadcast network and ignoring your online reputation, you’re missing out on a chance to meaningfully connect with your customers and prospects.

Did you enjoy this video? Access our Insights library HERE.

Your business needs to diversify its social media portfolio by developing a content and engagement strategy for a variety of industry avenues. Amanda Meuwissen, Marketing Specialist at Outsell, shares three strategies for effectively diversifying your social presence.

Did you enjoy this video? Access our Insights library HERE.

Corey Christensen, Marketing Analyst at Outsell, shares four examples of how using predictive models can help you better utilize big data and improve your marketing efforts.

Did you enjoy this video? Access our Insights library HERE.

Kyle Larson, Senior Product Marketing Specialist at Outsell, shares 3 quick ways that using a collaborative customer engagement platform leads to a superior customer brand experience.

Did you enjoy this video? Access our Insights library HERE.

Craig Vore, Manager of Creative Strategy at Outsell, shares 3 quick tips to help you evaluate your marketing and customer engagement platform.

Did you enjoy this video? Access our Insights library HERE.

Having a social media program is important for any business—interacting with customers is the cornerstone of making sales, whether in person, or in today’s modern age often through digital channels. Businesses seeking to make a mark on social and engage with customers effectively need to consider the following tips to be successful.

Post consistently
Whether you use a tool to schedule Facebook posts and tweets, or keep an editorial calendar to remind you of what is getting posted on YouTube next week, posting on your channels of choice consistently is what keeps your brand at the front of consumer minds.

Utilize Facebook Advertising
Facebook ads have seen huge success, since you can tailor your ads to specific audiences, choose your budget, and also choose your timeframe. Not yet convinced? Read some of the success stories.

Monitor and Respond to Reviews
Reputation management is huge when the smallest negative comment online can effect whether or not future customers choose your brand. Make sure you’re keeping track of reviews about your business online, and that you respond accordingly.

Learn from Social
Most importantly, engaging with social channels and keeping track of consumer response to your brand teaches you more and more each time about who your customers are and how they think, making it easier to target them in the future and attract them to your brand again and again.

Remember, 25% of all time spent online is on Facebook and other social networks. Make sure you have a social presence and that you’re using the options available to you to make your social program a success.

For more on Outsell Social, see the Outsell Social page, or watch the product video here.

Many people who might otherwise be familiar with YouTube aren’t aware of the changes made recently to how videos go viral. It isn’t only about having an eye-catching thumbnail to rake in views. Hits alone don’t increase visibility anymore.

YouTube has changed how videos gain in popularity by combining hits, how long someone watches the video (so that actually finishing videos matters rather than just clicking a good image and being disappointed in the content), and how often watching a video compels viewers to click on others like it.

Engagement is key, because no matter how many hits you get on a single YouTube video, people need to stay and watch it to get the video promoted and in front of others.

Responding to customers as part of your video campaign is also important. Behind the Scenes with McDonald’s, one of the most successful digital campaigns of 2012, encouraged Canadian customers to ask anything about McDonald’s and their food, and receive a video response. This not only piqued people’s interest but got McDonald’s Canada an average viewing time of 4 minutes on any given video response.

Consumers love to respond and engage with their favorite brands, and they love transparency even more.

The American Express Shop Small campaign was another huge success of 2012. By focusing on how they could help their clients instead of just what they offer, American Express created and spread a concept of helping small businesses prosper. They had thousands of companies involved, received 2.7 million LIKES on Facebook, and even got President Barack Obama in their video to say how amazing the operation is.

What makes any good video content go viral? Engagement—plain and simple.