Social Media is Driving the Auto Industry – Chevrolet – Part 2

This posting is Part 2 in the series.

To recap the impetus for this series:  In a recent article on Mashable, the following conclusion was drawn from a study of the automobile industry:

The auto industry “… is known for its glitzy TV ads and deep pockets, but social media is a field where money will only drive you so far. The big gains seem to come from out-thinking opponents, not outspending them.”

So, how exactly are the big auto companies out-thinking their competition?  This series of postings will examine their Social Media successes in detail.

CHEVROLET

The numbers speak for themselves.

As of this writing, Chevrolet has:

• 18,707 followers on Twitter
• 386,181 fans on Facebook and
• 5,436 YouTube subscribers with 13,425,401 upload views.

Of course, numbers are just the tip of the iceberg.  Beginning at the South by Southwest Interactive last year, and culminating at this year’s Super Bowl, Chevrolet has been flexing its Social Media muscle, not to mention its horsepower.

Christopher Barger, the Top Gun at GM Social Media, has come out with guns and afterburners blazing.  He is an interesting study in Social Media savvy, strategic thinking, creativity and humility.  With an eye toward multidimensional media and innovation, Barger has done an exceptional job.  Importantly, he is also a careful monitor of his competition, notably Scott Monty at Ford.  Interviewed last year at SXSW, Mr. Barger said: “The reason we’re doing this here is so really smart tech people can make suggestions.  This is a place for us to learn.  How do we apply this to the rest of the marketing we’ll be doing moving forward?”  He further commented, “If really all you’re doing when building a strategy is looking to what others have done, you’re not going to be successful.  You need to draw attention to your own brand and find something unique to you.”

In this brief comment, much can be learned about Barger, and the GM Social Media strategy he is crafting.  It is often said that Social Media strategists are legends in their own minds, tending toward self-congratulatory statements.  But this humble position by Barger, (as is so often true of his contemporary Scott Monty at Ford), illustrates that he is in command of his strategy without losing the humility that is crucial to Social Media growth and success.

Whatever else GM does in the year ahead, who will ever forget the hugely popular Chevy Camaro Super Bowl commercial, (see it here on YouTube).  Social Media is all about engaging  your audience, and how much more engaging could a commercial be?  Flying across the desert like Robbie the Robot in the classic movie  “Forbidden Planet”, dodging hay bales on a city street, outrunning bad guys with motorcycles and a helicopter and leaping off the roof of a building like James Bond … all on your way to your day job as a teacher?   Wow!  It makes me want to run out right now to buy a silver Camaro.

Many years ago, when the World Wide Web was still in its infancy and Social Media was just a glimmer in our mind’s eye, a Cadillac client of Jericho’s asked of his website, “Yeah, but will it sell cars?”  In the able hands of strategists like Christopher Barger, and you can quote me:  “Yes, absolutely, this will sell cars!”

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