Social media can be a great way for car dealerships to generate leads, and if you’re not yet using platforms like Instagram and Facebook for automotive lead generation, now is a great time to start.
In this article, we’ll discuss how you can use automotive social media marketing to attract more customers, how AI in social media is changing the way dealerships market, why having a great CRM system is important for capturing leads, and how automotive social media content can help you convert more buyers.
Choose the Right Social Media Platforms
Not all social media platforms will work for your dealership. Here, we break down some of the most effective platforms for automotive social media marketing, as well as the type of content that does best on each.
FacebookFacebook is still one of the best platforms for lead generation with its targeted ads and business pages. This is a good option for dealerships who want to use tried and true automotive social media marketing.
InstagramInstagram is perfect for showing off car images and stories that can attract potential buyers. You can also reach a wide audience organically with the right strategies.
TikTokTikTok is great for short-form video content that can go viral, especially if you have a humorous or unique take on your content.
LinkedInLinkedIn works best for networking and B2B sales, especially for fleet vehicle deals.
YouTubeYouTube is ideal for in-depth car reviews and test drives. If you want to put out longer-form content, YouTube is great for that as well.
Create Automotive Social Media Content
They say content is king, and when it comes to automotive social media marketing, the right content can make all the difference. You can increase engagement by sharing behind-the-scenes looks at car deliveries, featuring happy buyers, hosting live Q&A sessions to answer common questions, and posting educational content on things like financing and industry trends. You can also jump on viral challenges that make sense for your brand to help bring in new followers. Generally, it’s important to stay consistent with social media content, meaning you should plan out a content calendar and stick to a posting schedule to keep your audience interested.
Use AI in Social Media
AI is changing what we can do with social media marketing, making it easier to generate leads without spending hours analyzing data. Here are a few of the ways you can use AI in social media.
Automated Social Media PostsIf you’re running out of content ideas or want to save time, AI tools like ChatGPT or Hootsuite can generate content ideas and captions for your posts. This is a smart way to keep your dealership’s content fresh without requiring you to brainstorm new posts daily.
Targeted AdsWhen you run ads on social media, the platforms use AI to analyze which ones perform best and automatically adjust your targeting to reach the right audience. This means that you’ll get more eyes on your best offers and waste less money showing your ads to people who aren’t going to convert.
Feedback AnalysisWant to know how people feel about your dealership? AI can scan social media comments to gauge people’s sentiments. If people love a specific offer, you can highlight it in future posts. If there’s a common complaint, you can also address it.
Lead Scoring and Follow-UpsWhen you gain new leads through social media platforms, the next step is to put those leads through your sales funnel. AI-powered CRM software can help you score leads based on how likely they are to turn into buyers and then send automatic follow-ups to keep them interested.
Run Paid Social Media Ads
While organic social media posts are a good strategy, paid advertising can increase your reach and lead to more customers. Here, we cover a few of our tips for running social media ads.
Try Video AdsOn average, video ads have a 25 percent higher impression rate than static ads since they grab attention fast and keep people interested longer. Video ads are great for showing off vehicle features and creating an emotional connection with potential buyers.
Use Retargeting Retargeting involves showing ads to people who have previously visited your page but didn’t convert. Since these people have already shown an interest in your dealership, they’re often more valuable leads.
Create a Lead Nurturing StrategyGetting a new lead is a great first step, but if you don’t have a solid lead-nurturing strategy in place, you may end up losing those prospects. To get started, you should look into CRM software that can automatically reply and follow up with prospective buyers.
Ask for User-Generated Content
Nothing builds trust like real people sharing their positive experiences with your dealership. Encourage your customers to post about their car-buying journey and tag your dealership. You can try creating a branded hashtag for customers to use, offering incentives for customers who share photos, and reposting people’s content to your page.
Go Live
Live streaming is one of the best ways you can connect with potential customers in real time. You can use live videos to show off new arrivals at your dealership, host Q&A sessions about car models, give virtual tours of your showroom, or stream test drives. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok all have live features that make it easy to stream content to your followers.
Track Your Automotive Social Media Marketing Performance
If you want to know whether your efforts are paying off, it’s important to track your performance. Most social media platforms offer analytics tools to measure engagement, click-through rates, lead conversion rates, ad performance, and more. If something isn’t working, try new ideas.
Learn More About Social Media for Automotive Lead Generation
Social media works for automotive lead generation. No matter which platform you choose, having a CRM system in place can help make sure no lead falls through the cracks. Here at TECOBI, we’ve developed intuitive automotive CRM software that allows you to divide leads based on their stage in the sales funnel, track conversations, automate follow-ups, and more. To learn more about how you can include our software in your marketing, contact us today.
