SOCIAL MEDIA DRIVES FORD GROWTH

Ford Thailand has been engaging with customers and people through social media for three years after the setting up of its content factory, said Reha Alev, multimedia and digital communications manager of Ford Thailand.

 

He said social media is being increasingly used by departments such as marketing, customer service, and product development. They are now considering social media as a communication channel between customer and the company.

 

“Our social media strategy is to take a ‘very human approach’. From a communication perspective, we humanise the company by connecting people and our employees with each other and make sure that we add value to that approach. Social media is driven by communication from the ongoing day-to-day operations. It is another communication channel for us, and we don’t regard it as a separate area for which we should have a different strategy. It is embedded in our overall business plan and our overall communication plan. We use it for building brand awareness, creating customer relationship, marketing and so on,” said Alev.

Alev said Ford does not see social media as an advertisement channel, or a channel to sell its product, but to build a relationship over time and create trust. “Engagement with customers is extremely important for Ford. Only engagement with customers can enlighten us on what the customers want,” Alev said.

 

“If we do not do this, we cannot put out a product that the customer values. The main part of social media is listening. To really engage with the customers and make sense to them, we have to listen,” said Alev.

 

“The company helps drive open and authentic conversation by engaging people and connecting with different audiences through the use of our own people. We do this by sharing content and information that has direct relevance to their lives and lifestyles.

 

“We have an internal communication guideline. In the office, we do not force anyone to use social media, but those who would like to engage social media, we have the guidelines for them. These will help them on what they can do and what they should not do. In addition, we have also blogger engagement guidelines,” said Alev.

 

Ford’s social-media strategy is consistent with and supportive of its overall business goals and communications strategy, and is flexible so that it can be easily adapted to suit various audiences, situations and markets, Alev said, adding, “This approach is what defines all of our social-media activities at the company.”

 

The company has created a new position called social media conversation managers. They are the digital storytellers on Ford’s social-media channels. They are clearly identified as Ford personnel and act as part of the community and engage with fans to answer questions, provide exclusive content, as well as maintain and sustain conversation.

 

Social media conversation managers are connected with all appropriate personnel within Ford so that they can effectively tell the Ford story with current and relevant information. They play an integral part as both the ears and voice of Ford in the digital world. 

 

They don’t just act as a Ford storyteller, but more importantly they listen and respond to the community and fans.

 

“Our social-media activity in Thailand started since last year with the launch of Ford Fiesta in Thailand. There were 30,000 engaged fans in the Ford Fiesta Thailand Facebook community and nearly 3,500 pre-bookings for the All-New Fiesta,” said Alev.

 

All these translated into the doubling of sales in September 2010 year on year and the best monthly performance for Ford Thailand since December 2007.

 

It also helped push up sales in December last year by a whopping 162 per cent year on year, to 2,728 units, while full-year sales in 2010 rose 79 per cent over 2009.

 

These activities over the social media in Thailand follow the success campaign called Fiesta Movement in the US in 2009. The campaign generated 4.3 million YouTube views, 500,000-plus Flickr views, 3 million-plus on Twitter, 50,000 interested potential customers of whom 97 per cent don’t own a Ford currently, and 38-per-cent awareness, which is equal to the level of newly introduced vehicles that have been in the market for two years.