4 Absolute Truths About Modern Automotive Social Media

A Quick Breakdown
4
Absolute
Truths
Modern
Automotive
Social Media
When it comes to strategy on social media, there are things that work and things that don't.
Some things that worked yesterday don't work today but may work again tomorrow. A lot of it has to do with goals. Style, demographics, brand, and intentions have a lot to do with it as well.
Opinions about the "right" and "wrong" ways of doing social are often in conflict. There are, however, four things that any reputable social media company would agree upon.
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#1
THIS IS BUSINESS
Facebook can be fun.
Twitter and Google+ can be informative.
We don’t care about any of that. This is business.
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It’s About Messaging
Let’s just assume that funny cat videos and internet memes from 9gag are behind us. There are still too many attempts to fit into the social media community. This is the wrong approach. Your message and the way you present it should be about standing out and gaining popularity with the locals through creativity and understanding the audience.
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3 Types of Content
Think of social media like television. You have to educate, entertain, and inform to keep the audience tuning in but you have to add in commercials for revenue. To stay relevant while getting benefit out of it, your content should be one of the following:
Automotive Related
Localized
Dealership Relevant
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Tell a Story with “Advertisements”
Even if you earn the right to put your ads in front of the local community by participating appropriately, you still have to craft a story around your posts. You can’t just say, “Check out this certified pre-owned Camaro”
Say something about it. Make it meaningful. Include a story.
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#2
PARTICIPATE SOCIALLY
Social media isn’t about you.
It’s about “me” and “my community”.
Turning it into a broadcasting tool is a path to failure.
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Converse
If someone takes the time to speak to you on any social media platform, you, as a local business, have a responsibility to reply to them. It doesn’t matter if the conversation is not relevant to your business. Respond. Sometimes, a like is enough. Most of the times, you should reply to comments with comments.
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Liking and Commenting as the Page
Your page itself should have certain other pages that it likes. It can like local schools, businesses, organizations, media publications, charities, celebrities, as well as OEM pages. Once you have a nice collection of pages that you like, visit your news feed as the page and start participating. It’s an easy way to get more exposure for the brand.
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Tagging Other Pages
A Facebook change in February now allows a potential boost in exposure when you tag other pages in your posts. It’s possible for those who like the other page to now see your post in their news feed as a result of the tagging. Warning: do not abuse it. Facebook is smarter than that. If you’re over-tagging, it will stop working.
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#3
QUESTIONS VS CONVERSATIONS
If you ask a question, mean it.
If you ask a question, care about it.
If you ask a question, make sure to converse.
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You’re Not an
Evil Genius
People will see content on social media that asks questions and gets hundreds of replies. They’ll think, “that’s how I’ll make my page popular!” This is a trap. People know. They get it. They can see right through your ploy. If you’re asking people to “Caption this” or wondering “What are you doing this weekend” then you may get replies but you’ll also turn off a lot of people.
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Make Questions Meaningful
It’s not just about getting people to talk. Make it count. If you ask people for help with something, even if it’s for someone else like a local charity, you’re much more likely to get organic exposure as a result. Start conversations instead of just asking random questions that your fans will realize are only there for engagement.
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Asking to an Empty Room
It’s a telling sign if you ask a question and nobody answers it. In fact, it could make your page and your overall social media presence an embarrassment. Be sure that if you’re going to go down the road of starting conversations and asking questions, that you’re confident people will respond.
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#4
IT’S PAY TO PLAY
Social media is free.
Successful social media costs.
Thankfully, it doesn’t have to cost a ton.
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It’s Really Expensive!
Actually, it’s not. A basic social media campaign can be effective at $150 per month. A strong one can get into the thousands, but there’s a plateau factor if you’re doing it right. Depending on the potential audience, you will hit a point to where more money starts yielding a disproportionate ROI.
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“Boost” and “Promote This Page” are Traps
Facebook has to make entry into social media advertising as easy as possible, which is why they added the “Boost” and “Promote this Page” buttons. They need it to be simple. Unfortunately, they made it to where advertising this way is so simple that it’s actually pretty darn ineffective.
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Dozens of Effective Advertising Campaigns
Demographic Targeting
Graduates
New Arrivals
Email Address Targeting
Service Customers
Prospect Lists
Lease Expirations
Polk Data Targeting
Owners
Buyers
Conquest
Similar Audiences
Limitless Possibilities
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Closing Notes
DO Social Media
BE Social, Be the red apple
Educate
Inform
Entertain
Tell a story
Converse with your audience
Like/Comment as your page
Small ad budget
Stay nimble, Evolve
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Closing Notes
At the end of the day, social media or any digital marketing service must have the end goal of delivering more customers to your showroom. Dealer Authority was born from the desire to focus on that individual success indicator. We aren’t here to make your social media fun or exciting. We’re here to help you sell more cars.
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