Whether you love it or hate it, there’s no denying it: Social media is here to stay and it’s one of the most powerful marketing channels your automotive business can take advantage of. If you’re not using social to boost your shop’s brand recognition and connect with current and prospective customers, you’re missing a massive opportunity, and now is the time to fix that. If you are using social to promote your auto business but feel like your efforts are falling flat, you can fix that too.
What can you do to boost your auto shop’s visibility and engagement on social media? Take a look at 5 simple but highly effective tactics you can use below.
Create Quality Content, Consistently
When it comes to creating posts, pay attention to quality over quantity, but do be sure to post consistently. For many automotive businesses, that might mean you’ll need to create your own content rather than outsourcing it. While outsourcing social media can work, it’s tricky, especially if you work with customers who are educated in the automotive space.
Super-generic information may be a turn off to some people, too, so it’s typically better to focus on shop-specific content like:
● How you restored a specific vehicle
● A successful repair of a complicated vehicle issue
● New services you’re offering or state-of-art equipment you’re using
● Specials you’re offering
● Anything that’s unique to your business
Make sure you inject some of your personality into the content, so followers or viewers can get an idea of what your shop is all about. Promoting your automotive business on social media is about making genuine connections, engaging with your audience, and getting viewers to not only visit your shop but refer other people, too.
Show them how you stand out and why they should choose you over the local competition!
Share Before & Afters
When you finish a job, ask the customer if they’d be willing to snap a photo with their vehicle (staff can be in the photo too!). Not everyone will oblige, but the people that do are likely to show off their photo to other people, and those people could become referrals. It’s also helpful to encourage customers to reshare the photo on their own page using your shop’s unique hashtag.
By posting before and afters, not only do you get to show off the quality of your workmanship, but you also get to make your customers feel valued. Ultimately, sharing these types of photos gives you a better chance of getting referrals in the door. It’s a win-win-win.
Always Tag Your Location When You Post
Since you’re targeting the local area, make sure you tag your location on every post you make. You want to make it as easy as possible for people to find your auto business, and that’s exactly what a location tag helps prospective customers do. If they like what they see in your posts and know where to find you, they’re more likely to end up at your door.
Reply to Your Comments (Even if They’re Negative)
Sharing your automotive business on social media isn’t just about posting content; it’s also about listening and interacting with the people who are engaging with the content you post. Remember: You’re trying to create genuine relationships with your viewers and being part of the conversation plays a central role in the relationship-building process!
That’s why replying to your comments and DMs is incredibly important, whether they’re good or bad. Replying to positive comments shows you appreciate your customers and followers; replying to negative comments demonstrates a willingness to understand the commenter’s frustration and find a resolution.
Ignoring bad comments is one of the worst things you can do for your brand — turning a blind eye shows a lack of concern and in many cases, encourages upset commenters to write more negative things about your automotive business.
Highlight Giveaways or Contests
Conducting contests is a great way to engage with your audience on social media, and there are several ways you can do this. You can encourage customers to check in to your shop through a social platform when they visit, and when they do, that'll check-in will score them an entry into your giveaway.
You can post a giveaway on your page and encourage followers to tag local acquaintances in exchange for entries into the giveaway (one entry for every tag or something similar). Get creative! People love free and discounted stuff, so contests and giveaways are always great for drumming up engagement. Plus, positive mention of your auto shop on social media is always a good thing for business.
Thinking about selling? Check out our other tips on improving your marketing before you sell your auto shop.
Ready to Buy or Sell an Automotive Business? Get in Touch With AutoCenter Sales
At AutoCenter Sales, we’ve been facilitating automotive business sales and purchases nationwide for over 25 years. As one of the foremost automotive business brokers in the United States, our network of industry connections and extensive industry knowledge is unmatched. It’s our goal to help you make the most profitable deal possible, so whether you’re looking to buy or sell an auto shop, get in touch with our team so we can guide you through the process.
To get started or learn more about how we can help you, give us a call today at 1-800-874-5793 or contact us online, and we’ll get back to you promptly.