The automotive industry has rapidly changed in recent years, with the current sales model shifting from a more traditional model to the newer, European automotive agency model, lending a greater degree of responsibility of the sales and marketing processes to dealerships. Automotive marketing, in general, has completely changed from what it once was.
Understanding the importance of automotive social media marketing is crucial for those dealers seeking to climb the ladder of their respective locality to become the most well-known and respected in the area.
In this day and age, social media marketing is of utmost importance for car dealerships as it enables them to effectively reach new audiences and increase their online presence. A social media strategy is essential for success in the automotive industry as a well-thought-out strategy allows dealers to provide high-quality content to potential customers while also engaging with them directly through social media platforms.
By creating content on social media that addresses current topics, automotive marketers can ensure that the dealership stays relevant, especially since automotive social media marketing is one of the biggest marketing trends for dealers to latch onto.
Moreover, actively engaging consumers through social networks leads to a more loyal customer base who continue buying from the same dealership time after time. It is therefore no surprise that many car dealerships are now investing in social media management tools in order to make sure they stay competitive in this increasingly digital landscape.
Obviously, you can tell from the above that creating some form of content on social media platforms while simultaneously interacting with your audience is crucial to both maintaining a good reputation as a dealer and getting new customers in the door.
Let’s break these ideas down a bit further to understand what your overall mindset should be when prioritizing social media marketing as an automotive dealer.
As an automotive dealer, it is important to stand out from the competition and be a unique brand that a prospective customer will remember. Telling stories through your social media content helps to build a strong customer relationship and gives them an insight into your brand’s values that will leave your brand at the forefront of their mind when they think about a new car purchase.
Not only can dealerships create marketing posts that reflect their core message, but they should also share stories about customers and staff members to give a more personal touch to their posts. This sets you apart from your competitors who appear as robotic salespeople solely seeking to gain a profit – sharing interesting, unique content gives life to your brand.
Phrased differently, these stories will make your dealership stand apart from all of the others in your area and will keep your customers coming back because they appreciate the message you project. Content that centers around storytelling creates an emotional connection between customer and dealer that can result in life-long relationships, which is in your best interest since retaining customers is much simpler than getting new ones.
This is a core objective of any brand in any industry, and it ties back to our above point about setting your dealership apart from others with storytelling.
Naturally, developing relationships with potential customers should be a top priority for dealerships when it comes to social media marketing. If consumers don’t feel like they have a personal connection to the dealership, then it is unlikely that they will commit to purchasing from them. Therefore, engaging in conversations and replying quickly to messages from prospective and current customers creates an authentic relationship between dealer and customer.
Being active and engaging on social media platforms will also help to build trust with potential customers and increase the overall visibility of the dealership in search engine rankings since, by default, you have a more active presence on the web.
For any auto dealer that wants to grow their customer base and maximize profits, understanding their target audience is key. By leveraging their audience’s interests, dealers can pinpoint the types of content their audience engages with most, which can then be used as a guide for creating promotional content that is interacted with followers at the highest rates possible.
This not only allows them to develop a unique brand presence tailored to the desires and needs of their customers, but maximizes the effectiveness of each social media post which is increasingly important in the digital era. Keeping iterative processes in mind when creating content is important so that it remains fresh and does not become stale – after all, providing customers with what they want is always the end game here.
When it comes to automotive social media marketing, there are quite a few social channels that can be used by someone who is part of the auto industry.
Source: Tesla
Out of all of the social media channels that exist, Facebook is likely the most important one when it comes to having an optimized social strategy. A well-designed Facebook page that frequently interacts with car buyers, posts consistent updates on new inventory, and creates interesting and relevant content will thrive for one main reason: Facebook is the most popular social media platform for people in the car-buying demographic.
95% of vehicle buyers use the web as a source of information during the car buying process, and in 2021, according to a survey by Statista, roughly 70% of car buyers were part of either the Baby Boomer or Gen X generations. So, people who were between about 35 and 75 years old made up the vast majority of people who wanted to purchase a car, and this age group makes up the majority of Facebook users by far.
All of this is to say – Facebook has a massive amount of people that use it, and considering the largest demographic of car shoppers dominates the space, using it to target consumers is an optimal marketing strategy to reach the most people while also putting less marketing dollars into overall efforts.
Source: Toyota
Twitter might not be the first social media channel that comes to mind when you think of automotive marketing, but it can still be a great platform for dealerships to reach potential customers. Twitter is a great way for dealers to engage in conversations with customers, share helpful tips and advice about cars, as well as showcase their dealership.
It’s important to understand the types of content that works best on Twitter when it comes to automotive marketing. People on Twitter are more likely to engage with content that is humorous, entertaining, or informative. That doesn’t mean solely make your content comedy – mix in short Tweets about deals that your dealership has, links to articles that are relevant to you or the automotive industry itself, and just interact with customers in general.
But above all, keep the focus on answering questions and providing a great customer experience, and you’ll draw in a lot of potential customers.
Source: An Ohio automotive dealer’s post for a Ford Mustang GT
Using Pinterest is a great way for automotive dealers to extend their reach to potential customers. They can share helpful visuals, such as car models and features, that capture users’ attention. Additionally, they can use the platform to feature stories about customer experiences or showcase current offers or promotions. Automotive dealers can also create informative infographics or step-by-step instructions on how to use certain products related to their vehicles; this information could be invaluable to those looking for assistance with setup, operation, and more.
Utilizing videos is also a great way for automotive dealers to add visual insight into how people use their cars and what purchasing a vehicle from them looks like. The combination of these useful visuals makes Pinterest an ideal tool for automotive dealers who want to communicate better with current and prospective customers.
Source: Murdock Hyundai of Lindon
YouTube is an amazing platform for automotive dealers to take advantage of in order to reach a larger audience. It allows them to produce content that will attract more potential customers and increase their sales. For example, they can post videos taking viewers on tours of the dealer, highlighting cars they’re currently selling, or offering helpful information on how to maintain and upgrade cars. Automotive dealers can also show short clips of features and benefits of the car models they offer; this will help them stand out from competitors who just list specs and descriptions on their websites. With YouTube, dealerships can easily expand their current customer base thanks to its massive reach worldwide. The primary thing to note here is that YouTube’s platform is very convenient for car buyers to use; in order to learn more about a car and how it drives, they can simply search for that car being test driven and watch a video about it. If you create this sort of content proactively, you can get people to notice your dealership much more easily.
