Get specific with your content. Depending on your intended audience, your ad copy, image, and call-to-action will change. Smart audience targeting is important to reach the right people with your ad spend! According to a Facebook study on targeting auto buyers, the quality and scale of their platform’s lookalike audiences are in the top 10% of advertising publishers. This means Facebook ads are highly likely to reach the interested car buyers and fans you’ve been chasing. Just like the search engine results page (SERP), there are two types of traffic on social media: organic and paid. There is a major difference between organic and paid reach on social media, especially on Facebook.
It is becoming increasingly clear that businesses on Facebook must pay to play: in a study by Buffer, 55% of marketers saw a significant decrease in their Facebook page’s organic reach. Simply “boosting” a few posts won’t do the trick, and you’ve got to pay (and play) strategically.
Tailoring your content to the right audience, allocating a sufficient budget, and taking advantage of audience targeting options through your social platforms can exponentially increase your social marketing success by driving shoppers who exist beyond SERPs to your dealership.
With so many ad types available, here are two fundamental best practices:
What does the data really tell you? How can you tell if social media is really working for your dealership? While social statistics can seem murky, pulling impactful data is possible once you know what to look for. We know how to do this.
First, remember that likes, shares, and clicks matter. They indicate that people are responding positively to your brand and dealership, and want to learn more. Second, watch your website to see where referrals are coming from. An increase in social referral traffic reflects that your hard work is paying off in driving interested customers down the funnel!
Remember to also set goals and parameters to measure the data that really matters to your dealership. Want to promote a seasonal event or new model promotion to help hit your numbers for this month? Set up a social campaign promoting it, and use it to attribute social media data directly to car sales.
While the slew of data available from social can be daunting, distil it down to what matters. It can reveal social media as an impressive sales opportunity for your dealership.
Create a social media calendar with a variety of new, business-specific content paired with social ads every week. Use data and look at historical results to increase engagement.
Be clear and concise so your audience doesn’t see a lengthy post and keep scrolling. Monthly contests are a good way to generate and capture fresh leads from customers who fill out your form to enter to win, as long as you have an action-based plan for follow-up.
Speaking of plans, have a dedicated person, process, and technology to help you respond to all reviews, comments, and mentions on your social sites. This will make your dealership more relatable and connected to your community. If that sounds like too much work, consider this:
Making your life easy:
How Simply Social Media can help your business:
Social media for auto dealers is one of our specialties. Our social marketing specialists develop relevant and unique content specifically for your dealership, and execute smart ad spend strategies that reach potential customers and fans who convert.
We work with you to post the things you care about on your favorite social platforms, while consistently managing your online communities. This fosters long-term interaction and movement of your social followers down the sales funnel. And, the social numbers you care about come standard with our dedication to transparent reporting practices.
If you are working hard already, adding a social media sector to your work day can be overwhelming. Here are some things that we can do for you professionally:
- Develop a general understanding of who your customers are to curate content for your social media campaign.
- Share things that your audience will be interested in to spark awareness or engagement. We can do the research needed behind the scenes.
- Get your marketing expert at your dealership to do a little research and provide the CRM. We can find out the general income, professions and interests of residents within a 5 to 10-mile radius of your dealership.
Simply Social Media is here for you. We can lighten your load and professionally master your social media experience.