Post on 03-Apr-2018
THE
PARKING
SPOT
FOR
SOCIAL
MEDIA
ByTedJanusz
hen most people
think
of
parking,"
says
Dennis
Safford,
director of
marketing
for
Propark
Americ4
"they think
of something
rigid, like
the
asphalt
or the
curbs.
Being
engaged in
social media
allows
us to
show that
there
are real
people
behind
our operations-people
much
like
them."
Safford has
been
with Propark
America
for ll
years
and actively
engaged in
social media for
the last five.
The
company
owns, leases,
or manages
more
than
500
parking
facilities
across the
country,
and its Expresso
Airport
Parking Facebook page
has nearly
Z,OOO likes.
He recently
told
me about his
marketing
efforts.
TED
JANUSZ:
What
ere
some of th* benefits
ef
having
a soeiaI
media
pnesen*e?
DENNIS
SAFFORD:
Unlike
other forms
of
marketing,
social media
isn't
as
formal.
It
allows
you
to loosen
your
tie bit
and have
some fun.
Social media allows
you
to
use humor,
which
people
appreciate.
But the
most
important
benefit
of social media
that
other
forms
of
traditional
marketing
do not
offer is that it
allows
you
to
engage
your
customers.
TJ:
fiow
have
you
been
abie
to
do
that?
DS:
By way
of example,
one
of our favorite
promotions
on our Facebook page
is called
"Where
in the Bay
Area
is
Scott Trout?"
We
dress
up our
general
manager,
Scott
Trout,
to look
like
Wald
o
from
Where's
WaldoP Scott is
then
photographed
in front
of
places
like
O.co Colise-
um, home
of the Oakiand
Raiders,
the USS Hornet,
and
Oakland
International
Airport.
We
post
the
photos
on
to
engage our
guests
in a
guessinggame,
which
we make
aimost
comically
easy. This is
because we
want
our
guests
to
get
as much
engagement
with us as
possible.
Those fans
who
guess
correctly
can
win
prizes,
such
as
Raiders
tickets,
gift
cards,
or free
parking.
TJ:
Sut
are
therq
costs in not
grarticipating
in
soeial
media?
DS:
Without
a doubt,
there is
opportunity
cost
to not
participating
in social
media.
If
you
are not
actively
en-
gaged,
you
are actually puttingyourselfat
a
competitive
TJ:
Have
there been
ather benefit*?
DS:
Absolutely.
Social
media
marketing
allows us to
make
human
connections.
People
will
TED
JANUSZ
is a
professional
speaker
on
the
topic
of
"Social
Media
for
Baby Boomers,"
author;
and
marketing
consultant.
He
is the
author
of the
Socral
Media
Marketing
Guide
for Parking
Professionals,
which
is
a free
publication
for
lPl members
and
can
be
downloaded
lrom
parking.org/
socialm
ediag uide.
He
can
be
reached
atted@
januspresentations.eom
or
614.440.7487.
12
often
come
into
the facility
and
recognize
our management
team from
the Facebook page.
Our
guests
now
feel as
if we are more
approachable.
In
the
past,
in
those rare
instances
ofguest
dissatisfaction,
there may
have
been
times where
we didn't
hear about
a customer's
complaint.
This
gives
them someone
with
they
can address
issues
directly,
which
allows
us the opportunity
to make
things right.
When
people
have
a
problem
and abusiness
corrects
that shoficoming
those
customers
often
become
more loyaI
than they
previously
were.
TJ:
Some readers
say
they don't have
time for
*ocial med[a.
What would
ysu
te[i them?
DS: I
can
personally
identifi.
with that
stance,
because
an effective
social media
campaign is
time-consuming.
Before you
embark
on one,
you
need
to make
sure that
you
are
all-in and
that everyone
on
yollr
team
is willingto
commit to it for
the long haul.
It can be a huge
detriment
to
your
organization
when
people
on
come
across
your
page
only to find
that
you
haven't
updated
it in
several months.
They may
think, 'Tf
they
carr't even
take care
oftheir
page,
how
can I expect
them
to take
care ofmy
car?"
There
are ways
to
get
around
this. You
can
get
a
professionaily-managed
social media
campaign,
or
find
a
social media-savr,T, person
on
your
staff who
may be
lookingto
contribute
more
and
grow
within
the
company,
and have
them help
manage
your
social media presence.
disadvantage.
If
you
aren't
engaging
your
customers
via social
media,
chances
are
your
competitor
is. O
L-."-