Social media is here to stay and it’s an excellent way to create lasting relationships with your customers and your community. If you have a dealership and you are not taking advantage of social media, you’re missing out on a valuable, brand-building opportunity! Read on to see what the best way to reach out is and how you can capture and convert leads by using social media.

Traditional advertising (billboards, print, television, radio, etc.) should still be an important part of any dealership’s marketing plan, but with nearly two-thirds of American adults using social networking sites, you can’t afford to ignore them. You might not think of Facebook or Twitter as a platform people use to shop for cars, however, considering they’re the primary way people connect in today’s world, you should utilize social media as a means to create a presence in your community.

One way of doing this is to drive customers to an engaging landing page.

Lead capture is critical in car sales, and social media can make this job easier and more inventive. One way to get lead capture is to offer an instant gain for people who will come to your dealership. For example: a free gift given with every test drive, a free oil change for every scheduled appointment or a free hot dog for every visitor. Promoted through social media, these offers can really work by making you stand out from the competition.

You can also obtain qualified buyers through lead conversion. Some of the most commonly used options are pop up dealership coupons, plug-in tools that can give you instant trade-in calculation, or a widget for online applications. These tools can be extremely effective in brings in new leads.

You should have email newsletter opt-in forms on your social media pages. To avoid losing visitors on your Facebook page, these can be custom-built so that visitors can fill out the form without being navigated away from social media. Promote your email newsletter in your social media feeds and watch your number of subscribers go up.

One tip to encourage engagement and interaction is to share fun videos, stories, and other content on social media that don’t necessarily promote your dealership but will make people laugh or want to connect. A good start is to remember that social media isn’t the classifieds. Don’t blast your followers with links to your inventory throughout the day. People follow social media accounts for insight and content, not to see what’s on sale.

Instead of pushing your inventory, use your social media accounts to promote your brand and what you can do for customers beyond just getting them in a car. Create a blog for your Website so you can produce informative content, such as a post about preparing your car for winter driving, and share those posts on social media. Sharing informative content gets customers back to your Website and lets them know you’re not just interested in landing the sale.

Social media also allows you a platform to manage your reputation. Encourage happy customers to leave positive reviews and that can go a long way to establishing a glowing reputation. If you do receive constructive criticism, use it as a tool to make changes to improve your business. Respond to unhappy customers or comments immediately and thank them for taking the time to leave their opinions, having other potential customers see you react fast and in a welcoming manner, which leaves a lasting impression. You can also try having an internal contest among your employees to see who can gather the most “5 star reviews” during a certain time period is a great way to generate great reviews from satisfied customers.

Using these marketing techniques to gain leads helps you establish a solid social presence that works. Social platforms offer a convenient and inexpensive way to reach out to your local community, and, if done well, can give your business an avenue to build relationships with the people around you. Social media can give your business a heart and even a sense of humor that people may otherwise not associate with a car dealership. Connecting on an emotional level builds better relationships. Social media, done right, can put your business on top with potential and current customers.

Our expert team is ready to help you drive new business and keep your customers coming back! Contact us today at (949) 305-4753 or email Contact@idealdirectadgroup.com or request a quote below.