9:51 am, July 20, 2022
Why should you use social media for your automotive business?
The first answer, really, is you don’t have to. Much like you didn’t ‘need’ a website 20 years or so ago.
The fact is, most social media-savvy automotive businesses have more traffic go through their socials than they do their website.
When you think about it, that shouldn’t really surprise you, even though it initially may have.
Seventy-five per cent of car buyers and 68 per cent of service customers say internet research, including social media and review sites, was the most helpful medium when selecting a car dealership, according to v12data.com.
A more pertinent answer would need to begin with how you view social media and where, if at all, it fits into your overall marketing strategy.
Is it advertising or marketing to you?
If advertising, then save yourself some money and lots of frustration.
If marketing, then you are in the right place.
Social media as a blunt sales tool doesn’t work; it is not a classified platform and people, mostly, use social media to be sociable. They don’t want to be bombarded with pictures of cars/offers, etc.
When you have an omnichannel approach to marketing, the first objective must always to be at the forefront of a customer’s mind when they are ready to buy, not when you are ready to sell.
Educate, Engage and Inform are the pillars of successful social media marketing.
Here are a few points to consider:
1. KPI Strategy Alignment – Your OEM will issue your business with, usually, quarterly campaigns, new models launching, special offers, etc.
How do you present this information to your target audience? How do you educate your audience?
Ensuring that your quarterly marketing programmes are briefed into your social media plan is critical to ensuring that you have a consistent approach.
Do you ‘talk’ the same way online as you do in store?
Nailing this helps to keep your audience engaged, in the know and you close to the passive audience.
2. Customer First – By building your social media marketing strategy around the pillars mentioned earlier, with your objectives laced through said pillars, then you will appeal to a wide and varied audience who will become followers and engage with your business.
Adopting this approach will give you the best chance of getting to the individual first before they enter the market.
Be this for a new car, used car, MOT, service or finance, by being ‘front of mind’ could mean a better margin.
3. The Big Picture – Think about what you would like to follow and build from there. Remember the pillars!
Educate your audience with useful hints and tips on maintaining their vehicle, how-to guides, top five best family cars, why finance with you, what are your options when funding, etc.
Engage by telling stories from happy customers, long-serving employees, life moments, competitions, test-drive events, etc.
Inform them of what you do and why. For example, recruitment is hugely popular, so get informing people of why they should come and work for you!
Social media as part of your overall sales and marketing strategy, built around your core objectives, is no longer a ‘nice to have’.
Those that do it well know the benefits to their business and, sticking our neck out, would say that social media is their most important route to hitting their objectives.
With 23 per cent, or nearly one in four car buyers, using social media to discuss or communicate a recent purchase experience and 38 per cent of consumers reporting they’ll consult social media next time they purchase a car (v12data.com), is it really an option for your business NOT to have a social media strategy and have it contained within your marketing strategy?
If you would like to know more about how we manage this for our automotive clients and what you can expect from working with us, then get in touch via [email protected] or call 020 3701 0389.
Alternatively, check out some of what we do here https://motorsocials.co.uk/portfolio-pdf.
