Here at Single Throw, we’ve long been advocates of the use of social media as a marketing tool for businesses of all sizes.  Lately, we’ve seen a great rise in popularity of these tools among car companies.  Check out the article we found below, evidencing Hyundai’s use of social media.

“Hyundai has been getting a lot of attention these days as a company that cares about its customers, and part of this success can be credited to social media marketing. By integrating a customer relationship management (CRM) strategy with social media along with their traditional marketing, Hyundai has branded itself as an altruistic company that really does care about its’ customers. In fact – Hyundai has jumped ahead of every other car manufacturer in the critical customer satisfaction index (CSI) category. Here are a few examples how Hyundai is applying their social media marketing strategy in key parts of their business and how it is paying off.

Hyundai’s Assurance Program began in early 2009 when the economy was at its worst and unemployment was rising rapidly. The Hyundai Assurance Program promised that if you got laid off from your job, you could return your car and not even have to worry about honoring the rest of the note payable. The promotion was innovative but coming from a major car corporation was it believable? The attention the campaign received from the press and from many blogs and websites was skeptical. Hyundai began promoting the idea on Facebook and Twitter. They asked everyone to buzz and tweet about it and people responded with enthusiasm. The idea of social networking for business exposure is not new, but the strategy was extraordinary because it laid the groundwork for the campaign and gave it credibility. It was a brilliant way to market a promotion that really did work. Sharing this information on Facebook and Twitter turned out to be a big plus for the car company’s marketing campaign. Hyundai sales are up 6.2 percent through November 2009. This marks the eleventh consecutive month of year-over-year gains in retail market share by Hyundai. The Hyundai Assurance Program is without doubt one of the reasons their sales have increased this year while other car manufacturers have floundered.

Zafar Brooks, Director of Government Relations and Diversity Outreach at Hyundai, has a refreshing perspective on the value of social media when combined with corporate outreach programs. The Hyundai “Hope on Wheels” program fights pediatric cancer by funding cancer research programs across the country. Brooks understands the importance of authenticity and relevance in social media outreach, particularly on behalf of corporate charitable programs. He said: “Consumers are more sophisticated now — corporate social responsibility programs are no longer something that is ‘nice’ to do, but it’s expected of the company,” noted Brooks. “Simultaneously, consumers will smell-out what is not authentic — Hope on Wheels isn’t advertised, but is part of the news we share with our brand loyalists,” he said. “It is a part of our story because it is a part of who we are and what we are about. Social media should be authentic and organic.” Mr. Brooks added, “Brand leaders must align themselves with a cause that is consistent with corporate values so they can illustrate their relevancy. Leadership has to establish the priorities around which we stand and make it part of our messaging point.” Brooks concluded: “All social media should link together with a common objective to develop a program based on who we want to talk to about what we want to accomplish. Social media outreach must be part of a cohesive approach. Consumers will smell-out what is not authentic!”

Hyundai Aftermarket recently announced the launch of a new social media campaign. The goal was to give Hyundai owners a new way of finding content on the Internet about modifying their vehicles. The interactive social media campaign involves additional features being built into the Hyundai forum that owners can use effectively to get the word out about what they are doing to make their cars stand out from the rest. Twitter accounts and Facebook “Fan Pages” have been built so that owners can follow live updated news feeds about Hyundai Aftermarket as well. “Finding important and relevant information is not easy when you are unfamiliar with how to perform certain modifications,” said a Hyundai spokesperson. “Having a forum and website where answers to important questions are laid out for you, would help with modifying your Hyundai to its highest potential.” While the site has been branded as the “web’s most premier Hyundai forum” and currently is the oldest Hyundai forum on the internet, it has been designed for both the amateur and professional car enthusiast in mind. The site is built on the principle of being very easy going and helpful to anyone who may or may not know a lot about Hyundai’s. Users register for free and can partake in discussions about Hyundai Accents, Tiburons, Elantra’s, Sonata’s, Santa Fe’s and the all new Hyundai Genesis. In addition to providing great technical content, hyundaiaftermarket provides great off topic discussions ranging in everything from technology to music & movies to even food and health/nutrition.

Article Source

In wake of the recent disaster in Haiti, it’s become evident what a powerful resource social media sites can be in rallying the humanitarian spirit inherent in us all.  Organizations like The American Red Cross and Partner In Health have raised money through the efforts of Facebook Causes.  Similarly, Oxfam America’s Facebook Fan Page has already raised over $33,000.  Fugees singer Wyclef Jean, who is originally from Haiti, utilized his Twitter account to raise relief efforts for his country.  He also created a multi-faceted online effort with his website, Yele Haiti.

There’s no doubt how amazing it has been to see how humanitarian spirit has become infectious through the use of a plethora of social networking sites. Still, as Ben Parr wrote on CNN’s Tech blog today, social media is undoubtedly a resourceful tool, but it is the efforts of the people, themselves, that truly make a difference in situations like these.

What kind of relief efforts have you seen on social media sites?
[Sources: PC Mag]

“Knowledge is power” is an adage that has been instilled in us since birth. But, is there such a thing as too much knowledge?  Back when times were simpler, televisions only had thirteen channels, local calls required a mere seven digits and only mind-readers were privy to the innermost thoughts of others.  You could never have access to too much knowledge. In the age of tweets, knowledge is an abundant commodity.  Free-flowing tweets on Twitter, blog posts, podcasts, social bookmarking and Facebook updates have led to a deluge of useful and useless knowledge merged together into an enormous ever-evolving amorphous lump of information. Read more >>

Just yesterday I wrote a post about Skittles attempt at using social media layered under their minimal site navigation ala Modernista. Interesting thing happens when you click the link for Modernista’s site: it retains our site in the background. Go ahead…try it.

Is it because we are opening in a new window? Who knows. Design flaw? You decide. If it was my site or that of my clients’, I wouldn’t be happy.

Last week we explored how search trends recorded by Google may be a good predictor of our next US President. And Google’s trends were correct: Barack Obama was the winner.

Taken from the “I saw it on the news at 5:00 this morning over coffee” category, Google’s user’s search habits are being used as a predictor of flu outbreaks. Google touts the following on their Outbreak page…

We’ve found that certain search terms are good indicators of flu activity. Google Flu Trends uses aggregated Google search data to estimate flu activity in your state up to two weeks faster than traditional systems.

People are increasingly jumping on the web with symptoms before contacting their doctor. So what’s up with this aching, runny nose, stuffy head feeling I have coming on? Let’s check Google and see…to the tune of 75% of Internet users polled between October and December of 2007 according to the Pew Internet Project.

With trends, it’s all about timing. A rise in search terms indicates an increased interest. A fall would indicate decreasing interest. There wouldn’t be mass numbers of people searching for flu-related terms in the middle of summer, for instance, as that’s not a typical time for the flu. Watching trends on a regular basis will help you to see where the rises are and prepare accordingly.

Trends are a huge factor in seasonal topics. If your business is trend-oriented, you should keep an eye on what Google’s data shows.

Paging Doctor Google…it hurts when I do this…