Sixth Annual Automotive Social Media Trends Study by Digital Air Strike - 2017

Results highlighted at National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) convention January 27-29, New Orleans

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – (January 24, 2017) Digital Air Strike, the leading social media, and digital engagement company, released the findings of its sixth annual Automotive Social Media Trends Study. Closely followed by social networks, automotive dealerships and manufacturers, the Study highlights consumer behaviors on social networks, review sites, and mobile devices related to the car shopping, buying, and service experience.

Produced by Digital Air Strike, the Study includes findings from 2,000 car buyers and 2,000 service customers who either purchased or serviced a vehicle within the previous six months. With data collected in the past 60 days, the Study covers all major U.S. geographic regions and represents domestic and foreign automotive brands, with even distribution across age and gender groups.

“We work hard to stay ahead of the curve for our clients,” said Alexi Venneri, co-founder and CEO of Digital Air Strike. “The annual Trends Study gives us very useful insights that help us build the industry’s most ROI-driven social media and digital engagement solutions. It also helps us evaluate which social media networks, including review sites, will continue to play an increasingly large role in the vehicle sales and service process.”

Other interesting trends revealed by the Study:

• Star ratings matter. 68 percent of sales customers and 64 percent of service customers are looking at review site star ratings in search results even if they don’t click through to read reviews.
• Cars.com and Kelly Blue Book were ranked by car buyers as the top/most helpful review sites, followed by Edmunds, Autotrader, Google+, Yelp, Facebook and CarGurus.
• Consumer interest in offers and discounts on social media networks has grown. 44 percent of sales customers and 47 percent of service customers (up from 40 percent the prior year) who use Twitter, follow a dealership for access to offers and discounts.
• Consumers are spending more time on YouTube. 27 percent of sales customers and 23 percent of service customers watch two videos on YouTube per week. YouTube continues to be among the top sites for car buyers and service customers, ahead of LinkedIn, Google + and Instagram.
• Increased use of mobile apps to leverage ride-share services. Rideshare services are a social network in action. 32 percent of sales customers and 30 percent of service customers age 18-54 have used Uber, Lyft and other ride-sharing services. This can influence their vehicle selection if they liked or disliked the vehicle they rode in.

About Digital Air Strike

Digital Air Strike is the leading social media and digital engagement company that helps clients solve the problem of consumer engagement in digital and social environments while generating measurable ROI. A pioneer in digital response, social marketing and online reputation management, Digital Air Strike has deployed industry-specific mobile apps, software and managed service platforms to monitor, improve and manage consumer engagement for six of the largest automotive manufacturers, dozens of the top dealer groups, and thousands of retail dealerships across the United States and Canada. More information is available at www.digitalairstrike.com and www.facebook.com/digitalairstrike.

Media Contact:
Christina Wofford
(480) 421-5901 – direct
(602) 363-0134 – cell
cwofford@digitalairstrike.com