Think social media can’t make a difference to a small business? Consider Max Motors, a new and used car dealership in Butler, MO. With their recent Guns & Gas promotion, this small dealership is now claiming:

“We’re fast becoming the Premier Used Car Dealer on the Internet. All of this from a small town south of Kansas City. We’re also a new car dealer that is changing the way people shop for cars online. Wether you’re looking for a new car or a used car, you’ve found the right Car Dealer. We make it easy to get a car loan, find the right car and get you on the road quickly and easily… It doesn’t matter if you’re in Kansas or Missouri, Butler or Warrensburg, you can be in Alaska and still buy from Max Motors and find out how we’ve put this sleepy little town on the map. We carry new Ford, Chevrolet, Buick, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Buick, and Cadillacs plus a wide range of used and pre-owned automobiles. Max Motors, more than just a new car dealership.”

Instead of going down *just* the traditional route of local newspaper and oversized signage, they added a blog, tagged posts on automotive forums and a few other social media tools and were soon covered by the local tv station, NBC and the world (courtesy of the BBC).

Even though their web site would make Jakob Nielsen (and most art directors) scream with horror, at the end of the day Max Motors and every other small business in America are in business in order to make money, not win awards or ‘enhance the user experience’.

A car dealer need interested consumers in market for a new car. And Max Motors has stumbled upon what motivates their core audience: Gas and guns.

Lucky hicks or marketing geniuses?