8 Quick Tips for Social Media Strategies for Dealerships!

According to the findings of the most current survey on social media trends conducted by Digital Air Strike, prospective vehicle buyers considered social networks as more significant than a dealer's website when making decisions about which dealership to visit for the third year in a row. The study, which was based on research findings from 2,000 car buyers and 2,000 service customers, discovered the following: 75% of car buyers and 68% of service customers say that researching on the internet, including social media and review sites, was the most helpful medium when selecting a car dealership.
The poll results showed that 83 percent of service clients felt that internet review sites were a significant help when it came to selecting a dealership.

66% of automobile purchasers or owners who have seen an ad on Facebook indicate that they have clicked on it, which is a significant increase from the 33% who said the same thing in 2014. Consumers who are interested in buying a vehicle or getting their vehicle serviced are conducting the majority of their research online. Fifty percent of recent car buyers and sixty-nine percent of customers who get their vehicle serviced say they only visited one dealership before buying or getting their vehicle serviced. The findings were similar to the 2014 report on the use of social media in the automotive industry that was conducted by the CMO Council. 23%, or one out of every four people who buy cars, utilize social media to talk about or express an experience related to a recent purchase. When it comes time to buy a new vehicle, shoppers say they will turn to social media 38 percent of the time. Facebook is utilized as a resource for the purchase of a vehicle by 24 percent of all car buyers, who also make up 84 percent of all automotive shoppers.

When it comes to looking for a new car, social networking websites are undeniably a significant factor in the decision-making process of potential buyers. At this time, the vast majority of marketers are aware that social networking sites ought to be incorporated into a marketing strategy in some fashion. For some businesses, this may mean nothing more than creating a Facebook page and occasionally updating it with new information or images, while other companies use a social marketing strategy that is completely integrated in order to create leads and communicate with their customers. The car industry, on the other hand, needs to completely engage in social selling in order to keep up with the growing number of customers who are turning to social media. The following is a list of ten social media strategies that car dealerships can implement:

Target Customers on Facebook with Your Ads

It is imperative that you do this, particularly considering that 84% of your customers use Facebook. Post advertisements with the goal of reaching those who have indicated they are interested in purchasing a vehicle. You have the ability to restrict these picks to geographical regions close to your dealership, as well as by the type of vehicle, gender, consumer interests, and more. The return on investment is more than satisfactory. According to research conducted by Unified, auto advertising have click-through rates that are twice as high as those of the typical Facebook ad.
Increase your revenue by Using Twitter.

According to research conducted by Marketshare in 2013, Twitter was responsible for driving 716 million dollars in automobile sales. Twitter's standing as a favorite platform among people who buy cars has not changed. Canvs conducted research and concluded that more than 327,000 tweets relating to automobiles are sent out each day, with 75 percent of the tweets being directly tied to buying or selling automobiles. Consumers who have shown that they are interested in making a purchase can be offered direct messaging and advertising through the use of keyword targeting, which allows for the picking up of these signals.

Utilize Instagram as a platform for marketing to millennials.

According to the findings of a poll conducted by Facebook, millennials are abandoning the platform in favor of Instagram as their primary social media platform. Taking, sharing, and publishing photos and videos is at the core of Instagram's functionality, which is mostly accessible via mobile devices. Instagram is a wonderful tool that enables you to artistically communicate the story of your brand. Share images with your audience that enable them to picture themselves in the scene, such as a picture of one of your vehicles at the beach, tailgating at a sporting event, camping, near a lake, or any other creative way you can think of to demonstrate the kind of lifestyle that your vehicle embodies.

YouTube as a Platform for Video Marketing

According to research conducted by Force Marketing, 84 percent of people who are in the market for a car intend to view an automotive movie the next time they go car shopping. Consumers in the automobile industry are looking for content that can assist them in making decisions regarding model comparisons, safety features, linked devices, walkarounds, and other topics. Videos should be embedded within your website; but, for greater organic visibility, they should be placed on a channel such as YouTube.

Include Pinterest in your social media marketing strategy.

The majority of marketers consider Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to be channels for social marketing. Other common examples include LinkedIn and Pinterest. Pinterest is well-known for its significant female user base, which includes users looking for recipes, beauty advice, and home decoration ideas. Pinterest, on the other hand, is beneficial to the car sector in a number of different ways. First, considering that the majority of its viewers are female, what other strategy could possibly be more effective for luring in female consumers? Sharing landing pages, photographs of your inventory, or blog pieces that you've written on Pinterest is a terrific way to build your profile on search engines like Google. This results in the creation of social signals, which in turn will attract more traffic to your website.

The Art of Storytelling Utilizing Social Media

It is no longer sufficient to merely post and broadcast content; what matters most in social media is the relationship between people. Storytelling on social networking sites is an excellent method to communicate with your audience, create relationships with them, and encourage their commitment to your company. Instead than using social media as a channel for advertising, use them as a channel for discourse. You can humanize your brand by sharing experiences with your audience. For instance, you may upload films of your employees, who serve as the public face of your company. Show your support for local organizations by sharing photographs with others.

Starbucks has done a fantastic job at telling stories on its many social media platforms. Coffee is about spending time with friends, unwinding, and indulging oneself more than it is about getting a buzz from the drug caffeine. Additionally, the car sector is capable of doing the same thing. A fantastic article entitled "How Storytelling is Shaping the Automotive Industry" was featured on the website of the firm Purple. The blog provides seven case studies of successful storytelling campaigns carried out by automotive manufacturers. Keep in mind that social interaction is a conversation that goes both ways.
You have contributed wonderful information, are telling stories, and sharing photographs that are entertaining, among other things. But do you engage in conversation with the people that follow you on social media? Be sure that you are replying to tweets, that you are thanking people who share your content, that you are answering queries, and that you are reacting to and answering complaints. A medium that exists entirely in the present, social media moves at a breakneck speed. Do not take a week to get back to me. Customers have come to anticipate prompt responses to any questions they post on social media. If you are not always watching, you run the risk of missing out on chances that could be very beneficial to you.

Provide Competitions and Promotions Tailored to Social Media

As was previously mentioned, using social media is not about brazenly proclaiming how awesome you are; rather, the focus should be on producing content that engages customers. Despite this, you shouldn't stop advertising your discounts and specials only because of this fact. Everyone enjoys getting a good deal, so feel free to advertise them. Use your imagination and consider rewarding the people who follow you on social media with exclusive contests and promotions that are only accessible through your Facebook page or other social accounts.

The Importance of Social Reviews

Inspire your customers to write reviews and share them on your social media networks. According to a study that was conducted by DealerRater and Dataium, if you have great reviews, prospective car buyers are much more likely to visit your website and 5.3 times more likely to visit your dealership. Consumers are reviewing reviews on social media in addition to the usual third-party review sites; as a result, you should encourage your happy customers to share their positive experiences with your business. Responding to unfavorable reviews is also quite crucial. Customers who have had a negative experience want to be heard, and immediate and swift care will reduce the amount of harm that has been done. Be sure that you are keeping an eye on rating and review sites as well as social networks, particularly over the weekend. After a bad encounter over the weekend, customers are 19% more likely to write negative reviews on a Saturday, Sunday, or Monday, and you don't want these complaints to go through the cracks.

Maintain total dedication

The automobile business stands to gain a great deal from utilizing social media marketing, including an increase in brand awareness, an increase in leads, and eventually an increase in sales. However, you must have complete dedication to the maintenance of a social media plan. After you have begun to create a fan base of social followers, you are required to consistently engage and connect with those people. If you don't publish anything new or answer to people's comments for several days, you'll find that your social credibility plummets quite quickly. When it comes to your digital presence, you have a very limited amount of time to engage with people who are interested in purchasing a car online. If you don't, then you can be certain that your competitors will go ahead and do it.

Maintaining a social presence may increase the number of appointments you book, the number of services and vehicles you sell, as well as the amount of money your brand brings in when done right. In the automotive business, what are some additional social strategies that you advise marketers to implement?