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Are Auto Suppliers Focusing Too Much on Twitter?

Twitter is a popular social media platform for the top North American OEM automotive suppliers. In fact, 80 percent of them use it and further, 48 percent of all social media updates posted by auto suppliers over a six-month span were posted on Twitter, as opposed to LinkedIn, Facebook or YouTube.

That seems logical, as it’s a quick and easy process to post a 140-character Tweet.

But the question is: Is that where your precious social media time is best spent? Or, more specifically, is your time there being spent in the right way?

Our Social Media and Automotive Supplier Habits™ (SMaASH™) study of the top 25 North American automotive OEM suppliers showed that the typical supplier posts on Twitter almost five times as often as it posts on LinkedIn … despite the fact that it has 10 times more followers on LinkedIn and 1-1/2 times more followers on Facebook than it does on Twitter!

Besides the smaller audience of Twitter, the sheer volume of the 500 million Tweets posted per day may reduce the odds of a supplier’s post breaking through the clutter.

Of course ever situation is different … and for some, Twitter may be the perfect primary social media platform. For others, it may be just one of several important channels. There are no one-size-fits all answers. The key is to review your specific situation and look at the data, rather than hunches, as well as your audience and goals to help guide your social media decisions.

Here are some things to consider when posting on Twitter to help ensure the time being spent there is being used most effectively:

• Follow Back – Our study shows that while auto suppliers have an average of 3,200 followers on Twitter, they only follow about 300 accounts in return. It doesn’t make sense to follow everyone back … but it’s worth the time to make sure you’re following key reporters, analysts, industry experts, etc.

• Retweet, Retweet – Our findings indicate that less than 20 percent of auto supplier Twitter posts are Retweets. Try to increase that number by finding helpful and interesting industry-related articles or links to repost. Not only will this show you have your finger on the pulse but automotive journalists and thought leaders will appreciate you linking to their work.

• Say Cheese – Currently, only 14.5 percent of Tweets by suppliers feature visual content. As we all know, visuals boost engagement. A lot. Just like you would on Facebook or when issuing a press announcement, make sure to include a photo, graph or video with your Twitter posts whenever possible.

• Post Your Press – Out of all the Tweets made by auto suppliers, only 10 percent included media coverage they had received as a company. A tweet is quick way to share coverage that you’ve earned, so be sure to link to articles that feature you. Not only does this highlight credible commentary on your company but again shows reporters that you appreciate their work.

To gain more insight, visit our recent blog post – The Top 5 Auto Supplier Social Media Mistakes www.bianchipr.com/top-5-auto-supplier-social-media-mistakes.

For more information on our SMaASH study findings, email us at bianchipr@bianchipr.com or call us at 248-269-1122.