• July 21, 2011

General Motors' Buick and GMC divisions, which share a channel marketing strategy, have launched a social-media program where visitors to Buick and GMC's consumer sites can build, save and share configured vehicles with Facebook "friends" who can post comments or "like" their customized selections.

 "With an increasing number of new car buyers discovering Buick, we recognize how important it is to offer an online shopping experience that leverages social media," said Tony DiSalle, U.S. VP of Buick Marketing, in a statement. "By offering a connection between Buick.com and Facebook, we're better able to help our customers get the feedback they want and need to make vehicle purchase decisions."

The automaker cites a study by Beresford Research in which half of respondents considered information shared on their social networks when making a purchase decision. That percentage rose to 65% among users 18 to 24.

The brands recently introduced a mobile site that allows consumers to shop, research and locate a dealer from their smartphones. Using the mobile site, shoppers can conduct research, explore photo galleries, get vehicle information and view current offers.

Buick and GMC have also launched sites for Apple iPad users that mirror the shopping tools on buick.com and GMC.com.