Do you need to pay attention to social media marketing if you’re operating a car dealership where most sales take place in person?
With nearly 95 percent of the car sales taking place at the dealership, it seems you wouldn’t need to worry too much about your online presence or social media. The fact is, the sale may happen at your dealer location, but the search for the vehicle begins online. This is where you can capture an audience and gain leads if you understand how to connect with your potential customers.
Various Ways to Connect Via Social Media
Build Trust with Customer Reviews
Every review you receive needs your response and the good ones need to be highlighted for future customers to see. Most of us will look at the ratings for a restaurant, store, or service team before hiring them. This goes into our decisions now and you have to manage the reviews you receive from your customers.
Follow the Data
More than 78 percent of all car buyers consider social media useful in choosing their next car. Most of them will spend time on Facebook Marketplace to find the car they want to drive. This means you need to follow the data and have your dealership present on Facebook with many listings on Facebook Marketplace to ensure your customers can easily find you.
Fast Facts About the Most Popular Social Media Channels
Currently, there are more than 2 billion monthly active users on Facebook with more than half of the U. S. residents using Facebook several times a day. Your car dealership can post a mix of content on Facebook to share and reach your audience. Post videos, add images, offer polls, and get connected with one of the most dynamic social media platforms in the market.
More than 1 billing active monthly users are on Instagram. Because Instagram is owned by Facebook you can run ads that show up on both channels and you can add a ton of visual content to Instagram. The use of the Stories feature for both Facebook and Instagram gives you an added way to connect with your customers and let them know what’s going on at your dealership location.
There are more than 62 million U.S. users on Twitter. This is a fast-paced social site with character limits per post that makes it easy to engage with your audience and show them what you have to offer. You can share videos and grab the attention of your audience with dynamic posts that get things done quickly. Share links to your website to let your Twitter audience take advantage of the specials before anyone else.
What Content Should You Share Through Your Automotive Social Media Marketing?
Videos
Video content is one of the most active and enjoyable online right now. Your social media presence can be improved by adding more videos to show your audience what you have to offer. Engage and capture the attention of those who visit your social media pages with dynamic videos that help to show off your personality and invite them to come in and see what’s going on at your dealership.
Video Ideas:
• A tour of your dealership
• Reading of a customer testimonial
• An interview with an employee
• Sharing a service provided by your dealership
• A test drive of a new vehicle
Links to Relevant Content
Add links to your Facebook and Twitter posts that will bring customers to relevant content that has to do with the content. Whether you’re trying to tell them more about the community, show off a new vehicle, or highlight the importance of regular service, you can share the right links with your audience and give them more information.
Types of Content to Link:
• Updates with links to your latest blog post
• Links to articles from industry publications regarding car care
• Links from news resources regarding relevant recalls
• Links to positive reviews of your dealership on Google My Business or Yelp
• Links to news articles about new vehicles
• Links to local information about the community
Share Images and Improve Your Social Media Marketing
Pictures can tell the story of your dealership and invite your audience to share experiences with you through pictures. The most popular site for pictures will be Instagram, but Twitter and Facebook also allow pictures to be shared.
Types of Images to Share:
• New cars on your lot
• Happy customers with a new set of keys
• Employees –in the showroom and in the repair center
• Safety protocols at your dealership
Have Fun on Social Media
One of the most important aspects of your social media marketing is to have fun with it. Your audience is looking for information and entertainment. Show off your personality and let your team have a great time creating the content that will bring more shoppers to your dealership location.
