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Automotive Social Media Management

by
Alex Suprun
December 5, 2022

Modern buyers are turning to social media to research the cars they want. While many dealerships have reached new heights with proper automotive social media management, many still need to reap this benefit. If you are among the latter, here are a few ways to manage your social media more effectively.

What Social Media Platforms Should You Use

Social media has moved past posting something a few times a week on all platforms to get results. It now involves using the proper channels to reach your car target audience.

We recommend using the following platforms for a car dealer marketing strategy -

  • Facebook has around 2 billion active users, with more than half of the USA's population frequenting it several times a day. A mixed bag of content, including polls, images, and car videos can be shared on the platform. That advantage paired with its targeting features on Facebook ads, makes it the perfect choice for your automotive social media management strategy.
  • Instagram is an extension of Facebook which allows users to run ads on both platforms simultaneously. Since Instagram is all about the visual appeal, you can post a lot of videos and images of your cars and services which will attract your potential customers.
  • Twitter is another social media platform that can be used for your automotive dealership business. It is an ideal place to share links to your website and other short forms of car content which will keep your audience hooked!

Creating Links of Social Media Content

Facebook and Twitter are good link sharing platforms that can help you build traffic to your website. Here are a few ideas you can use to create links on your platform -

  • Link your new blog posts
  • Add reviews of your business on Yelp or Google
  • Link renowned automotive third-party websites to facilitate direct traction to your platform.
  • Post new vehicle launches on automotive social media.

Creating Custom Ads on Social Media Strategy

Since we have spoken about the best platforms that auto dealerships can use, let's also take a look at the ad types that this car business niche can use.

An online survey has stated that consumers prefer personalized advertising relevant to their interests. In other words, generic ads that serve a broad audience will not help you.

To beat the local competition in the social media marketing area, you must create car advertisements that are tailored to suit your automotive social media audience specifically.

The best way to make such car ads is by creating marketing video advertisements that can be a/b tested to see which one can work better.

Connect With Car Influencers

Influencers are an integral part of a car  social media strategy. They can route their following on social media to your businesses. For instance, influencers can create promotional campaigns on their platforms to encourage the audience to visit your auto dealership. These campaigns can also help propagate your brand awareness and image. Influencer marketing also allows you to connect with your target audience by making your strategy fun and humorous.

Since you might need help with establishing credibility on marketing social media if you are a new or relatively new dealership, influencers can come to your rescue as people following them, listen to them and trust them with the brands they promote.

Reputation Management Through Social Media Channels

As a consumer, it is undoubtedly hard to trust a business at first. This may be the main reason why too many people might not trust your dealership at first. This is where social media reputation management comes in.Testimonials make customers trust you when they read good reviews. Your credibility increases and your potential buyer feels that if others have had a good experience with you, they should at least try contacting you! This basically means, the more positive number of reviews your auto dealership will have, the better it will be for your business. This will also increase knowledge and value about your dealership.

Post Consistently

If your automotive social media marketing strategy is top notch but you do not post consistently, you'll never reach where you want to. That's why it's important to establish a balance between providing quality content that is engaging rather than frequent interactions that are of no use to the customer. Keeping all this in mind, it becomes extremely important for you to follow a proper marketing schedule for advertising and selling your cars.

Interact With Your Digital Followers

Engaging with your car customers should not end at just sharing posts and good video content.

It is also important that you find time and answer all queries and comments made by your audience. If you keep these minute details in mind, you can develop brand loyalty among your car customers which eventually end up as leads in your showroom.

Here are a few tips you can use to engage your customers -  

  • Answer positive testimonials and comments first - No, we are not asking you to ignore the negative ones but engaging with the positives first can give you the zeal to handle the negative ones. Keep your replies with something as simple as "Thank you!', or “We are happy to hear your experience with us was good”, etc.
  • Respond to negative reviews and comments carefully - This form of feedback should be given much thought as it can make or break your reputation.
  • Monitor your pages frequently - Consumers expect quick replies from car dealers on social media sites. Ensure that you quickly respond to your social media pages at least once a day to ensure you take care of queries,complaints, and feedback instantly.

Leverage Video Marketing for Vehicles

Video content plays an important role to keep users hooked and to attract them to your platform. It also helps increase engagement across all social media platforms. It was seen that marketing videos on social media generated 12 times more shares than other forms of social media content.

Here are a few topics you can use to create video content across social media channels -

  • Tour of dealer premise
  • Customer review
  • Test drive of a new launch
  • An interview with an employee
  • A video stating all the services provided by your dealership like your auto service center, accessories etc.

Communicate a Sense of Giving Back to The Society

Another stellar dealer social media strategy is that you can incorporate a message towards charity by running campaigns. The holiday spirit and cheer can make for a good social awareness campaign that will make your brand grow and will attract more users who might want to donate or be a part of your cause.

Run Unique Car Offers On Social Media

Another recommended social media strategy for you is to run offers and contests on special occasions. This helps make existing relationships better and also forms potential connections with existing customers. Let your audience know that they can get competitive pricing at your dealership. If you do not offer the best prices, you can come up with offers that your potential customers can get attracted to. For instance, a 5% discount or a free multipoint inspection will help attract them.

Time sensitive deals can also create a sense of urgency in people, thus provoking them to buy before they lose out on it. This is why you should always be aware of what's happening in your industry. By knowing what your competitors are doing on their digital platforms, you can create offers and campaigns that may attract your customers right into your showrooms from your social media pages.

Key Takeaway

While social media marketing brings sure-shot results, you might be able to successfully create digital engagement with these marketing strategies. However, there is a chance you need help to implement these strategies yourself. In that case, you can work with an experienced digital solutions provider. Contact us today for a FREE, no-obligation call so that we can craft a tailored social media plan that will help promote your dealership and reach the right group of buyers.

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