Jay Leno's Garage

I have previously mentioned Jay Leno before in my post about popular automotive YouTube channels. Jay Leno is a very well-known individual in the automotive industry. He gained his popularity from hosting NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and has since then acquired a great deal of attention from his extremely large and diverse collection of automobiles. He owns about 130 cars and 90 motorcycles give or take, and he houses his vehicles in a 101,000 square foot garage.

 There is an account on Twitter named @LenosGarage that he uses to communicate with fans and keep them updated on current car news. Various sources of social media are shared on his Twitter page. Jay Leno posts video clips and previews on YouTube that he shares on Twitter that advertise his show as well as upcoming episodes. He also makes many vines and shares them on Twitter. Video is a very popular way to communicate with consumers so Leno is using YouTube and Vine to gain followers and increase fan interaction and attentiveness. Leno retweets other well-known automotive accounts such as Car & Driver and he posts about recent restoration projects and current automotive news.

Jay Leno’s Garage is a fun Twitter account that gives fans a variety of information to look at. Many people express interest in Jay Leno’s cars and this account is a neat way for people to learn more and stay as up-to-date as possible with his fantastic collection.

Cars of Instagram

Why is Instagram so popular? With the ever-increasing presence of social media there is content out there that will appeal to just about every interest and hobby. Instagram happens to be moving in the right direction because we are very visual people and it provides a setting where people can share both photos and videos that appeal to specific demographics’ interests.  Instagram has become a way for individuals to express their artistic side with the world and relate to people through common interests.

There are various automotive Instagram accounts that attract a great deal of attention from social media users.

The last account pictured above is unique in the way it goes about posting photos. @amazingcars247 is not taking the pictures they post, instead the followers are. By using a specific hashtag users can “submit” photos to be considered for posting. This is a great way to keep followers engaged and active because they want to try and get their work noticed. A user’s attempt in getting his or her photo posted on the @amazingars247 page is a way for that user to be noticed by a bigger following… 2.8 million followers to be exact. This specific page has done a great job at keeping user interaction high because the benefit is mutually beneficial for both parties.

Instagram’s places emphasis is on quality not quantity in order to catch attention from users and drive engagement. These automotive accounts are all competing for attention and popularity so they focus on trying to have the best content out of all of their competitors. The images are so visually appealing to users because each account is maximizing their efforts to produce astounding photos of eccentric vehicles. Instagram provides a platform where users can have a pleasurable and unique experience with fewer limitations compared to other social networking mediums. They can connect with specific accounts to enhance their curiosity, knowledge, and interests about the automotive world and the artistic assets that are an influential aspect of the industry. 

Not All Was Lost On Saturday

Last week I talked about my favorite series of car racing, the Tudor United Sportscar Championship. This past weekend happened to be the final race of the season and while most people were focused completely on the UGA vs. Alabama game, I was splitting my time evenly between the race and the football game. 

While I was walking around the track Saturday morning, I couldn’t help but observe all of the different ways social media was being used to connect with fans. When I first arrived at the track, the announcer was talking about the International Motorsports Association (IMSA) application that users can download to get live streaming, live scoring, driver and team information, and much more. He was announcing that if you show him the downloaded IMSA app you could get a free hat. I thought this was a great way to encourage fans to get more involved in the race.

It is always interesting to get on Twitter during the race. There are live tweets from IMSA Racing, the Tudor United Sportscar Championship, Road Atlanta, and individual race teams. This is extremely helpful when something like a wreck happens because Twitter is constantly being updated so you can figure out what’s going on quickly.  

Social media is a great way for individual race teams to interact with their fans. Many fans attend these races with a favorite team they are rooting for. Social media allows them to be constantly updated on their specific team by allowing them to see updated posts about placement, good or bad news related to the team, occasional pictures and videos, and anything else the team feels like sharing with fans. When fans feel like they are connected with the race teams, it encourages them to have loyalty to the sport, which in this case is the brand. Social media plays a huge role in the automotive racing industry and fans would not be as involved or engaged in the sport if it weren’t for applications and platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.

Although the weather was terrible and the football game was a huge disappointment, Saturday was an eventful day to say the least.