These days, virtually every business has a presence on social media. Your dealership is no doubt among them. But simply having a social media presence isn’t enough. You’ve got to use that social media presence strategically in order for it to yield a return on investment. The question is how.
The Get My Auto team has put together a quick checklist—10 things every used car dealership should do to ensure a robust social media presence.
10 Steps to Improve Your Social Media Presence
- Set the right goals. You can’t assess your social media’s effectiveness if you don’t know what you’re trying to achieve. Use the SMART approach—meaning goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-sensitive.
- Know your audience. This is where buyer personas come in handy. Always know who you’re talking to, and where you’ll find them (e.g., which social networks—for most dealerships, this means Facebook and Instagram).
- Be human and relatable. Social media works best when you cultivate a strong, human connection. Don’t be afraid to use humor or to post candid, behind-the-scenes photos of your team—all of which can be humanizing.
- Take questions. Don’t forget the social in social media. Monitor your accounts and interact with your followers, especially the ones who have questions or inquiries. Remember that this is a good opportunity to show some real customer service.
- Be regular with your postings. Consistency is one of the keys to a successful social media strategy. Creating an editorial calendar can help you stick to schedule and not miss any posting days.
- Automate, but don’t automate everything. Automating some of your social media posts can make life a lot easier for your dealership’s marketing team—but remember: You can’t automate everything. Remember what we said about being human, and about the importance of showing real customer service to your social media followers.
- Educate and inform. People don’t like signing into social media just to see ads and promotions. You can definitely plug your dealership, but remember that your job is to educate and inform your followers, first and foremost.
- Optimize your social media accounts. Facebook bios, Twitter by-lines—each social network allows you to fill in some “about me” info. Use this space to include some target keywords and to emphasize the things that make your dealership unique.
- Include plenty of visual content. Videos, infographics, and images tend to get the best results—so go visual whenever you can!
- Don’t lean on organic alone. Organic reach is important for any social media campaign—but it’s ultimately not enough. Make sure you pair it with some paid ads, especially within Facebook.
As you can see, developing a robust social media presence is anything but easy. That’s why more and more used car dealerships are trusting their social efforts to the pros. We’d love to talk with you more about our services. Contact Get My Auto and let’s talk!