For many auto dealerships, social networking might come across as superficial, oversaturated, and overblown. While this perception holds some validity, depending on which social media outlets you use and who you follow, it doesn’t represent the whole truth. In actuality, social networking has likely as many positive aspects as negative. The trick is to know how to use social media to your advantage in your auto dealership marketing practices.
One of the most popular social networking platforms that auto dealerships all over the country have taken to is Twitter. Have you created an account on Twitter for your car dealership, yet? If you have or if you’re thinking about doing so, here are some tips to help you use Twitter most effectively to boost your auto dealership marketing.
Make sure your website is top-notch.
Unfortunately, this is one of the biggest mistakes that business owners and marketing departments everywhere make: they’ll focus on their social media campaigns without getting their websites in order first. If you want to get the most out of Twitter (or any social networking, for that matter), it’s essential that you make your website a worthwhile place to visit. Provide great content, up-to-date shop information, plenty of photos, and crystal-clear navigation. If you lack a decent website, you won’t have anything to back up your Twitter presence.
Update your Twitter status very frequently.
Of all the social networks, Twitter has some of the most frequent updating around. In order to stay current, you will need to dedicate a significant amount of time and energy to it. Be sure to check your Twitter feed and post updates multiple times each day. However, if you know that you definitely don’t have the time to devote to it right now, consider waiting until you do or until you have someone on staff to assist you with it.
Be engaged with industry leaders and your followers.
The biggest benefit to Twitter and other social media outlets is the opportunity for social engagement. Take advantage of this factor and stay connected. Check out what people are tweeting about you, about collision repair, and about anything else that might be related. Ask questions of your followers and answer their questions promptly. Post updates on the work you’re doing each day, along with photos. Have fun with it!
Have a real voice.
When it comes to social networking, people are turned off easily by a voiceless entity, so be sure to use your real voice when posting anything on Twitter. In fact, when you set up your Twitter account, include the name of the person who will be tweeting on behalf of your dealership. That way, when you engage with people, it’ll be clear that there’s a real person involved and not just some generic marketing voice.
Need help with your auto dealership’s social networking?
At Stratosphere Studio, we specialize in auto dealership marketing and offer a variety of affordable services, including branding, blogging, social networking, website design, search engine optimization, and more. Tom, our company’s founder, once owned his own auto body shop before using his marketing expertise to help others in the automotive industry. We’ve even been featured in Fender Bender for our knowledge of body shop marketing. If you need an agency to help your body shop, give us a call today!
