Automotive social media report card: Facebook

As it does with most trends in marketing, the automotive industry has gone from way behind just a year and a half ago to shaping the venues and carving the path today. There have been some missteps to say the least, many in the business from car dealers to manufacturers are fully embracing social media as a venue to get their brand and message out to the masses.

Earlier this year we wrote about how the industry is embracing new media. Now, we’ve compiled a breakdown of the major manufacturers and how their current social media presence ranks in this competitive world.

By the numbers

There’s an old saying: “If you torture the numbers long enough, you can make them say anything.”

Anyone who truly understands social media knows that bulk of fans, followers, and subscribers has very little to do with success. Sure, you need to have a good amount, but true social media is as much about what others are saying as what companies themselves are saying. Engagement trumps numbers every time.

With that said, numbers help. Here’s a breakdown of where the various manufacturers stand currently on Facebook. We will explore Twitter and YouTube this week. Google+ is not ready for business prime time, but it should be noted that several manufacturers jumped in as early adopters and joined the Google+ business test. It should also be noted that many manufacturers have multiple accounts focusing on individual components of their business. As we expand on the study, we will take those other accounts into consideration but for here, we’re looking at the primary profiles.

We’ve grouped the brands by type – luxury vehicles will naturally have more Facebook Likes despite having fewer vehicles on the road simply because many people like pages based upon their preferences rather than actual ownership.

Again, numbers aren’t everything. We will be exploring the engagement and features on every brand’s Facebook pages in our next installment as well as taking Twitter and YouTube into consideration. This study, being published while in progress, can be used not only the automotive industry but every major vertical to shed light on the future of social media for business. Stay tuned.