Ford is experimenting with social media badges, today revealing 44 badges that will “allow fans to identify their interests,” according to Ford’s head of social media, Scott Monty. Known for having a strong social media presence over the past two years, this is Ford’s first time using badges, and it’s a “soft launch for a larger initiative,” as reported by ClickZ. The hope is that the badges will provide data that can be used to deliver data “as specialized and targeted as possible” on the company’s social site.
How do the badges work? Consumers can attach the badges to their Facebook profiles, Google+ pages, Twitter accounts, blogs, and more – and even have the option to make the badge their profile pic or avatar. Examples include “I Drive One,” “Mustang,” “Ford Lifer,” and “Off Road,” just to name a few.
Ford is also attempting to spread its social media expertise throughout the company’s 3,000 dealerships nationwide, says Scott Monty. ClickZ cites the example of a Ford dealership in Ohio, which recently won an Automotive Social Media Award (ASMA) for its Facebook page engagement, offering Facebook-only coupons on oil changes.
For more from Scott Monty about Ford’s use of social media to manage its reputation and save millions of marketing dollars, watch his keynote presentation at TWTRCON SF 10 (produced by The Realtime Report.)
