Tips to Increase Sales and Retention at Your Dealership with Social Media

by Kristine on July 27, 2022

Social media provides many benefits to dealerships. With it, you can reach out and connect with your customers in unprecedented ways, which can be used for marketing, branding and retention of current clients. It’s important to note that social media is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It will depend on your dealership, your customers and their needs. We have outlined below how you can use social media as part of your overall digital strategy.

Here are the steps to help you make the most of your social media strategy.

Navigate to the section that interests you.

Let's take a closer look at each step.

Step 1: Creating Awareness

Social media is a powerful tool in the hands of a dealership. It can be used to build awareness of your brand and increase trust, credibility, and sales. The first step to using social media effectively is to create an engaging, authentic content strategy. If you want your audience to engage with your brand, it’s important that they know who you are as a company and what makes you different from others in the industry. This will help them understand why they should choose one dealership over another when purchasing or servicing their vehicle.

When used properly, social media is a great way to create awareness for your dealership, and get people talking about your vehicles. Here are three ways you can use social media to build buzz around your dealership:

  1. Start a Hashtag Campaign - Creating a hashtag campaign is an easy way to get people talking about your brand. They're also a great way to track what people are saying about your brand, so you can monitor trends and respond accordingly. Hashtag campaigns can be used for anything from promoting new products to getting feedback on current offerings. Use hashtags that are relevant to your dealership and customers, such as #carloans or #autoinsurance.
  2. Ask for User-Generated Content (UGC) - This is a great way to get people talking about your brand. It's also a great way to get customer testimonials and feedback on your business, so you can use what people say in future marketing efforts. You can use social media campaigns like Twitter chats and Instagram takeovers to encourage UGC from customers.
  3. Run Contests - Contests are a great way to generate interest in your dealership. You can run them on social media or through email marketing, depending on your goals and budget. For example, if you want more people to come into the dealership, consider running an Instagram contest that asks people to post pictures of themselves with their cars.

Step 2: Creating Interest and Showcasing Dealership Events and Activities

An event is a place where people can go to learn about your dealership’s products or services. The goal of an event is to draw people in and create interest in your dealership. If you don’t have any special events planned, consider hosting a “meet the car” day or a customer appreciation event. These are two easy ways to get people excited about what you have to offer!

When you post an event on social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter it will show up in the newsfeeds of those who follow you. It will also show up on their calendars if they have connected the platform with their phone calendars. This way customers who don’t use social media get notified too!

There are so many ways to utilize this feature: from small special events such as test drives or customer appreciation days; to large local charity auctions for worthy causes (such as veterans organizations).

Here are three tips that will help you create awareness for your dealership and showcase what you've got going on:

  1. Showcase Dealership Events and Activities - Social media can also be used to show off the great work employees are doing and to promote employee recognition programs. It can also showcase perks that customers get at your dealerships like a courtesy shuttle service, free coffee, and wi-fi. To create interest in your dealership, it's important to post a variety of content that covers different topics and interests, not just one thing over and over again. This will help you reach a wider audience.
  2. Build Relationships with Customers - Social media gives dealerships the opportunity to build relationships with customers by listening to what they have to say, responding quickly to posts, and sharing interesting content. This will help build trust between you and your customers, which is essential for retention.
  3. Develop New Leads - Social media is also a great tool for developing leads by targeting potential buyers who may not even know that they want or need your product yet! Try looking for tools that scan social media for people saying they “need to buy a car” in your area.

Step 3: Showcasing Your Product Knowledge, Your Team, and Your Process

Once your social media channels are set up, you can begin using them for marketing your business. But before you launch into a full-scale social media marketing campaign, it’s important to know why these channels are so effective at attracting potential customers—and what exactly makes them so engaging. Social media has the ability to put a face on your business in a way that traditional advertising can't match. With the right content strategy, it can also establish trust with customers while they're browsing through other posts on their newsfeeds or timelines.

But how do you create that kind of content? And what should it look like? Here are some tips for using social media effectively.

  1. Showcase Your Product Knowledge - Social media is a great way to show off your product knowledge by posting interesting facts about a product, or even better, a product demonstration. If you're feeling really ambitious, you can even create videos showing how a product works, or how to use it properly. This will give your customers the feeling that they can trust you when it comes to their purchase decisions—and what kind of business owner doesn't want that?
  2. Showcase Your Team - post pictures of your team hard at work and let people know what they do in each department. If they have specialties, this is also a great place to mention those, such as your master technicians! And if there's something unique about them (like an employee who has won an award), include that as well. Your employees will love being featured on social media!
  3. Showcase Your Process - Showing off your processes can help build trust with customers because it makes them feel more comfortable with their purchases. Customers want assurance that their needs will be met by purchasing from your company, so showing them how your business works is a great way to build this trust over time. And for dealerships that offer a courtesy shuttle service, Quickride can give you a way to show off your dealership's transformation from an old-fashioned, paper-based method of arranging transportation for customers into a sleek, digital experience. You can also use Quickride’s driver feedback feature to get customer reviews on the shuttle service, which will help you improve your processes over time.

Step 4: Use Social Media as a Deciding Factor for Consumers When it Comes to Service and Repair

We all know that social media has become the new word of mouth. It's a place where people can give their opinions and share their experiences with the world, so naturally, it's also a great place to turn if you're looking for feedback on your business. Whether it's getting an idea of what customers think about your product or service, or seeing how you're faring against your competitors, social media can provide valuable insight into how consumers are feeling about your company and its products.

Here are some tips for using social media as a deciding factor for consumers when it comes to service and repair:

  1. Use social media to get an idea of what customers think about your product or service by following up on online customer reviews. If you see a lot of people complaining about something specific (for example, if there's a lot of negative feedback on Yelp), then it might be time to make some changes!
  2. Use social media as a means of gauging whether or not your company is doing well against competitors by keeping track of mentions online and seeing who gets mentioned more often than others in similar industries (or even at all). This can help you identify who the competition is and where they're doing well. You can also use social media to see what people are saying about your own company and whether or not there's room for improvement.
  3. Use online surveys and polls to learn more information about customers' preferences and likes/dislikes, which can help you tailor your business model in accordance with customer needs.

Step 5: Encourage Customer Engagement, Testimonials and Reviews on your Social Networks

The final step is to increase customer engagement by encouraging customers to share their experiences with your brand. This can be done by using social media to solicit feedback and testimonials from customers, or by encouraging them to leave reviews on sites like Yelp, Google, and LinkedIn. You can also create your own social media profiles for each of your brands so that customers can follow along with what you're doing and where you're headed as a business.

Step up your game and start encouraging customer engagement, testimonials, testaments, and reviews on your social networks. Here are 3 ways you can make this happen:

  1. Consider the platform - The first thing you need to do is consider where your customers are spending time online, and what social networks they use most. If they're on Facebook, you may want to invest time in Facebook Ads. If they're on Instagram, you might look into sponsored content or influencer marketing. And if they're on Twitter, you might want to set up a weekly tweet chat for your business.
  2. Listen for mentions - Once you've figured out where your target audience spends time online and how they interact with brands that interest them, it's time to start listening for mentions of your business name or products. You'll want to pay attention to both positive and negative mentions as well as neutral ones—and don't forget about hashtags! They can be a great way for people who have already bought from you or interacted with your brand before to find new customers who might be interested in what they have to say about it next time they post something online.
  3. Respond quickly! - If someone has something good to say about your company or product on social media like Facebook or Twitter then respond quickly! You can even ask them if you can use their post as a testimonial or something like that. If they give you permission to use it, then do so! Don't forget that people love it when companies listen to them and respond quickly.

Step 6: After-Sales Service

No matter how great a salesperson you are, helping customers find the car of their dreams is undoubtedly hard work. It requires time, effort, expertise, and a sincere desire to meet consumer needs. That said, it’s critical for dealerships to put the same attention into customer service once a transaction is complete.

Customer service is not just about sales: It's about the entire process from start to finish—and it starts with capturing your customers' attention and making sure they keep coming back for more. It's also about being proactive, not being reactive. The best dealerships put their customers first and create an experience that consistently meets or exceeds expectations.

The best way to do that is by offering a strong after-sales service. After all, your customers aren’t just buying a vehicle; they’re also investing in their relationship with your brand. So it's important that you don't let them down after they drive off the lot.

Here are a few tips that dealerships can do to ensure that current and future customers are happy.

  1. Make sure your service department is in sync with your sales staff. The two departments should be on the same page when it comes to customer service and satisfaction.
  2. Offer a complete package of services, including loaner cars, shuttle rides, and free maintenance for the life of the vehicle.
  3. Use technology to your advantage. It’s important that you have a strong digital presence, including a website, mobile app and social media accounts. These tools will allow you to communicate with current and potential customers more efficiently than ever before.

Conclusion

The world of social media is constantly evolving, so it’s important to keep up with the ever-changing landscape. There are numerous ways that your dealership can use social media to boost sales and increase retention rates by creating engaging experiences for your customers. Social media is an essential part of any business today and should be used appropriately by dealerships. When properly managed, it can help generate leads while also increasing retention rates among customers who already have a relationship with your brand or business.

The secret to building your brand, and increasing sales and retention is customer experience, which is by giving people what they want in a convenient manner.

And what do they want? They want to feel like they’re part of something. They want to feel like they matter—that their voice matters. And you can do that with social media by creating a community where everyone feels welcome, and where everyone feels heard.

If you're looking for more information about how Quickride can help you build a stronger business and brand, then check out our website or contact us today.

Topics: auto tips, customer retention, car dealerships, digital strategy, social media, digital marketing strategy for car dealerships