Turning to social media to combat recent negative publicity, Toyota is encouraging owners of its cars to share personal stories about their vehicles on Facebook in what it has dubbed each person’s “Auto-Biography.”
Launched July 2, the promotion has attracted more than 5400 posts to Toyota’s Facebook fan page. Toyota owners enter information about the model, year, and number of miles on their car, as well as an anecdote, like memories of a first vehicle or the bittersweet moment when a car with hundreds of thousands of miles was sold or given away.
Toyota hopes to show that it has many loyal owners, especially of the troubled Camry and Corolla models, despite the massive recent recalls due to sticking accelerator pedals. Bob Zeinstra, national manager of advertising and strategic planning for Toyota Motor Sales in the U.S., told ClickZ that the number of Auto-Biography stories contributed thus far has met the company’s expectations.
Besides the outpouring of stories, Toyota’s Facebook fan page has grown considerably and now has nearly 150,000 fans. In addition to the Facebook stories, the Auto-Biography campaign also includes eight videos on Facebook and YouTube that feature different models, their owners, and more unique stories.
