The following is a guest post with some tips of value to all businesses which might think social media and content marketing are not right for them. If a car shipping firm can do it, so can you! – Willie
It’s not every day that you talk about the impact that social media has had on the auto shipping industry, but it would seem that there is no industry that has escaped the effect that blogging, tweeting and ‘facebooking’ has had.
Car Shipping 101: Using Live Chat and Twitter for Customer Service
On the National Transport website, car shipping customers have the option to chat with a live person via the ‘live chat’ feature. This gives them an opportunity to ask questions about their shipping order and receive fast responses. Another similar and growing media outlet is Twitter. However, as some car shipping companies are just starting to utilize Twitter as a pseudo- customer service agent of sorts, there are plenty of other companies from a wide variety of different industries who have been using Twitter in this way for a while.
Take, for example, the mass media telecommunications company, Time Warner Cable (TWC). Headquartered in Manhattan but with offices all around the United States, most people know Time Warner because of the Internet and Cable services that they receive through them. And with so many customers around the country, there are certainly a fair amount of complaints and issues that roll in each day that flood the customer service department. Frustrated with the automated prompts of using the telephone to call in, a large number of TWC customers turn to Twitter to resolve service issues. There are a number of Twitter handles that customers can use to contact TWC customer service. One example is @TWCableHelp.
The Power of Facebook
There is no doubt that Facebook is a giant when it comes to sharing information. However, when using Facebook as a car shipping company, it can sometimes become a little tricky. Most studies show that people who use Facebook use it to ‘like’ brand pages as well as to catch up with old friends and acquaintances and also to share information such as light-hearted posts or political causes, etc. But how does this translate for companies — especially ones that ship cars?
Studies have revealed that while people on Facebook ‘like’ brand pages, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they want to be solicited to by a brand page. Therefore, the measurable impact of Facebook brand pages can be seen by the type of content that they post. If you post an article about car shipping, chances are that you’ll have a more difficult time getting other people to share it. It can’t just be about car shipping. Instead, if you can find something that loosely pertains to the industry (we’re in the travel and transportation industry), then it makes it more fun and interesting — thus increasing its appeal to the general Facebook user. Take this post that we shared recently on our Facebook page. It’s a simple picture, but it appealed to Facebook users because it was cute and had to do with transportation. Throw in a catchy title to make it a bit more cheeky and fun, and you start to appeal to more people.
The key to Facebook success as a brand page is knowing your audience and how they use specific social media outlets to interact with each other and with businesses.
Car Shipping Blogs
Blogging is a more relaxed spin off from a website. It allows readers to still obtain information but in a more casual setting. Blog posts should be well-written, informative and still retain some semblance of creativity. Keep content fresh and consistent. This is the key to successful blogging as a brand. If readers know when to expect content, you’ll both be better off. What will keep them coming back is well written, thoughtful blog posts. Again, the length and topics of what you discuss on your blog as a brand will depend largely on your audience. For instance, most professional and successful bloggers will tell you that you should really try to keep your blog post short and to the point. Shoot for writing anywhere between 200-400 words per post, throw in an image or two to break up the text and give the posts catchy titles that are also search engine friendly. You have to give the readers a reason to want to read your blog post. Aim to write 2-3 times per week to allow readers to digest the information without overwhelming them with too many posts. If you do plan on posting more frequently, then shorten the posts down.
As one of the leading auto transport companies in the United States, National Transport is constantly changing and evolving, trying out new things and testing out different ways of presenting information and ideas to customers as well as the general public, believing that you don’t get ahead by standing still.
About the Author:
Jenna is a content writer for National Transport, one of the United States’ leading auto transport companies. You can also visit them on Facebook.