Have a cool pic from last night and want to show the world that you’re doing cool stuff on the weekends? Say no more, upload the photo, run it through some filters, hit it with some relevant hashtags and send it. Right around now, you’re probably wondering how on earth any of this is relevant to you selling cars? Glad you asked!
Instagram is currently the fourth most popular social media platform in the world with over 2 billion MAU’s (monthly active users), just behind WhatsApp, YouTube, and Facebook. It’s also the second most downloaded app, just behind TikTok. So we’re starting to see how large the audience is, but let's continue. The largest age group is between the ages of 18-34, (looking at you, Millennials and Gen Z), which makes up roughly 60% of users, and the fastest growing audience, get this, is Gen X males (55-64) at an astonishing ~63% in growth, (dad is really liking those golf pages). So, we’ve established the numbers are HUGE, and with the younger generations finally joining the automotive industry, they’re quickly becoming the largest buyer segment in automotive, so it’s time to get your piece of the pie. Now, the question you’re probably asking is, how does one use Instagram to advertise or leverage for their dealer? Glad you asked…again! (sheesh, on point with these questions!).
The first step is making sure your store’s Instagram account is completely fleshed out. No one likes an incomplete account, just like no one likes an incomplete car (I thought wheels were included…). Make sure you have all relevant information pertaining to your business on there; operating hours, store location/address, website, phone number, and any pertinent information customers should know. Also, make sure to either set up your account as a business account, or switch it to one. A business profile gives you access to a number of features and functionality, such as analytics on your posts and stories, additional calls-to-action and buttons that you can add to your profile. This will allow you the functionality you need to make sure your account is performing well and you can make the most use of it. First step done? Perfect, on to the next!
Lets face it, engaging content isn’t always the easiest thing to make. Sure, cool pictures of cars with some filters can definitely draw some eyes, but getting a sale from it? Doesn’t always happen. Thankfully, there's much more to do to get those precious leads you so crave. Heard of reels, or stories? These are basically archives of cool content that can be stored on your page that people can click and enjoy. By creating content for all the channels on your Instagram page, you extend your reach massively and give the audience more reason to stay on your page. Now the type of content is going to vary based upon what you’re trying to accomplish. Have a sale or event coming up that you want to promote? Hit those channels with specialized content for each one and watch your engagements go up. Also, make sure to post fun content including your staff. People love people, so if you have something funny or entertaining that may not necessarily push your bottom line, remember, the goal is engagement and brand awareness, because that’s what will drive your sales in the long run. Have a better Idea on what to post? Awesome, on to the next step!
While you’ve probably heard and used hashtags on multiple social media platforms, they’re extremely important to Instagram. They allow you to categorize your post into relevant segments, and group them with similar posts on the platform. So when a user goes to search the hashtag, it’ll be grouped with those posts, allowing for more visibility and relevancy to that audience. To give you an example of how that would look;
Instagram offers ad spots under a “sponsored” label that can be targeted to the audience set you want. Have a sale or event you really want to promote, or a special the world needs to see? This is a great way to get in front of the audience. Only catch is that people are likely to scroll right on by if it’s not engaging. You’re already spending money on getting it in front of them, so make sure to make something special and attention grabbing specifically for your Instagram audience. You can also use this to drive traffic to your Instagram page by putting Instagram only specials or coupons and promoting it on other channels you have.
So you've made it this far. You've gotten your profile spiced up and ready to rock, you've come up with an awesome content strategy and have the team apart of it, you've figured out what #hashtags you want to rock, and you've created a killer ad campaign. What else is there to do?! This is were you get to rake in the rewards from the work you've put in and start to gather awesome customer interactions and highlight them to the world! Once you open the flood gates to your audience, you want to make sure to grab positive interactions you have with your audience and amplify them by bringing them across your different channels so everyone can see them. You can do this in house or have a 3rd party help accumulate this for you. Either way you go about it, we think it's a great idea. "Every little brick helps build a house", so make sure to get everyone you can and build the mansion that you deserve!