Ford Turning Heads for Use of Social Media in Launch of New Explorer

One of the nation’s oldest corporations is proving you’re never too old to embrace new technologies and practices.  In fact, Ford is being hailed this week for its effective use of social media in announcing the launch of its all new 2011 Explorer model. 

In an online “reveal” streamed on Facebook to Ford’s more than 48,000 fans, Ford CEO Alan Mulally drove the new model up a simulated mountain created on a Manhattan street near Herald Square.  The Explorer fan page is just one of several Facebook pages Ford maintains to engage consumers with the brand.  The page features behind-the scenes videos, photos, information, even live chats with company engineers.  

There are many reasons that Ford and other corporations are investing heavily in online marketing. It allows them to target a specific group already interested in their product (as opposed to television advertising, which has a wide reach, but which marketers cannot tailor as easily), and it’s relatively cheap.

“Social media may be evolving into a hybrid between research and customer management relationship allowing marketers to both talk and listen to their audience,” says Gene Kincaid, professor of advertising and public relations at the University of Texas at Austin.

That audience, incidentally, is no longer just young people. Baby boomers, and even older consumers, are turning to social media in growing numbers.

For more information, see the story in the Christian Science Monitor Or visit the Ford Explorer Facebook fan page.