Social-media 'influencers' create product buzz, change policies

Early in the morning of Oct. 22, Kevin Frye was checking his social media feeds when he noticed a YouTube ad posted by Edmunds.com spoofing the practice of auto dealers haggling with customers.

"I caught that Edmunds campaign right as it launched," says Frye, eCommerce director of the Jeff Wyler Automotive Family dealership group in Cincinnati. The ad, titled "Absurdity of Haggling," showed a grocery clerk trying to gouge shoppers on items such as bread and squash.

Frye posted an immediate response on his Facebook page: "Nice Job by Edmunds demonizing dealers in the most recent ad campaign. Now let me ask you this -- WHO initiates haggling during the car buying process, the customer or the dealer?"

What happened next showed how an individual with social-media savvy can launch a discussion online that quickly influences industry actions.

"It started steamrolling within a few hours, and within 24 hours, [Edmunds] had pulled the whole thing," recalls Frye. Edmunds did defend the campaign briefly but in the end apologized for offending dealers.

Influencers such as Frye are a new force in the auto industry, one carmakers, dealers and others are struggling to get their arms around.

Quite often, influencers are not "car people." Nor do they occupy traditional positions of power.

But by knowing their audiences, influencers can quickly gain the same credibility with them as friends or neutral third parties. They can deliver messages more effectively than conventional media: Stoke excitement about a new vehicle, bring fans of a brand or a cause together, make a complaint, dish out praise, dispense shopping advice or draw attention to a safety issue.

Craig Watkins, professor of media studies at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of a new book The Young & the Digital, says the rapid proliferation of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets dramatically increased the reach of influencers.

Influencers can share their opinions -- "any time, anywhere" -- through such devices, Watkins says. And they can broadcast photos and videos as well as words.

"The tools influencers have at their disposal have accelerated their influence," he said. "You've got a global means of network communications. 

"Brands are still figuring this out. There's a lot to learn. The endgame is figuring out how to analyze those social conversations taking place and what it means for your product and your brand and your market position. This is all brand new." 

Auto companies court influencers because they reach audiences carmakers wouldn't otherwise -- consumers who might never watch a car commercial or read a car magazine. Pete Ternes, General Motors spokesman for social media issues, says social media has transformed the way companies launch new vehicles. 

"I feel we were telling the same story to the same people over and over again," Ternes said. "Now we're telling a new story to new people." 

GM invited more than 30 bloggers to the Detroit auto show in January to tell the story of the redesigned second-generation Chevrolet Volt in unconventional ways. 

Sometimes, words are not even necessary. Chevrolet invited three Instagram influencers to Detroit to post Volt-related pictures. 

One Instagram poster, Kevin Lu, has 181,000 followers, who like the striking, artistic photos he takes with his iPhone 6 Plus. He and two other Instagrammer guests of Chevy met the creators of the Volt, toured manufacturing facilities and posted photos that drew more than 1 million viewers. 

These days, brands are constantly on the lookout for new Kevin Lus. 

Alissa Moceri, social media strategist for the Toyota brand, says Toyota stays on alert for new influencers: "We have a command center. I'm always looking for the top influencer of the day. I watch our Twitter channel every day and see who's talking about us." 

Best of all, social media is measurable, and car companies love measuring things. 

For example, Ford used the hashtag #fordespanol to monitor interest among Latinos at the Detroit auto show. 

"Every time we have an event, we tag our events with that," says Alvaro Cabal, Ford multicultural communications manager. "During the auto show, we have a team dedicated to measure the activity as we're doing the introductions. I was getting immediately on my cellphone messages saying we are getting these amount of hits. It generates reach." 

Cabal knows that many social media followers in the Latino world still watch conventional TV, but there's a new generation that's different. 

"Others have cut the cable and only have contact with influencers. They don't turn on the TV or listen to the radio. They spend all their time online. They get their information from voices in the community." 

And, if recent history is any guide, the power of those voices will only grow.