Attention car dealers: Facebook is a powerful marketing tool—give it your time and attention. Here are six tips to make the most of your profile!

Facebook is here to stay, folks. Social media, as a whole, is only growing. In today’s world, if you want to run a successful car dealership, you need to learn how to use this tool properly. And guess what? It’s not difficult! With a little bit of effort and strategy, Facebook has the potential to reap big rewards.

The great thing about social media is that it’s easy to study competitors. Watch other car dealers’ Facebook pages. See what tactics connect best with followers and compile research. Once you have an idea of what’s working right now, begin the process turning your page into a well-oiled marketing machine.

Six tips for your car dealer’s Facebook page

Hire a “go-to” social media mananger

Herein lies the biggest hurdle for car dealers—not making social media a full-time responsibility. If you want to make the most of your Facebook presence, you need someone to run the operation. Not a salesperson; not your marketing manager. But one person dedicated to maintaining the “digital face” of the dealership.

This position should be full-time, but not a typical 9-5 schedule. Ideally, the candidate monitors social media interaction seven days a week, during the most appropriate times you establish.

Here are the responsibilities of the position:

Daily engagement with social media followers via Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, etc.
Working with the marketing manager for creating and sharing quality content.
Maintaining a daily publishing schedule and overseeing social media promotions.

Make it easy to contact the dealership

Always include the information customers need to contact the dealership. Many car dealers’ Facebook pages are not completely filled out. That’s an easy mistake to fix. Here are the essentials you need to include:

Addresses for every dealership location.
Phone numbers.
Hours of operation.
A short and long description of services.
A mission statement provided for the “general information” box.
Direct links to the dealership’s website.

Align pictures with your brand

A car dealer’s Facebook page should reinforce the dealership’s brand. Use your profiles pictures wisely. The banner photo at the top of your page is crucial. Don’t fill it with a mindless stock photo!

Your profile picture shouldn’t be static either. Change up your photos on a regular basis and keep them fresh. New photos attract attention and engagement.

Ideas for banner pictures:

A group picture of employees posing together in front of your vehicle inventory.
A picture of something that stands out at the dealership (collection of classic cars, award wall, etc.)
Make it a promotional ad. Include your brand logo, byline, and main services.

Ask for Facebook reviews

Facebook reviews are a powerful way to gain new followers (and customers!). Make it habit to ask your customers to provide a review online. More and more, Facebook is expanding its features to compete with other social media pages (Yelp reviews, Twitter news feeds, Instagram photo albums, etc.) Use this to your advantage.

Train your sales staff to actively ask for reviews.
Ask for reviews through email follow-ups and other marketing materials.
Familiarize yourself with Facebook’s promotional guidelines. Don’t be penalized for asking for reviews!

Share content regularly

If you want to gain more “likes” and followers on Facebook, you need to share consistent, quality content. That’s the big difference between high-performing pages and standard ones.

Car dealers who share engaging, click-worthy content attract more viewers. But what “content” should you be sharing?

Video testimonials from recent customers
Employee interviews and inventory presentations
Blog posts on topics your potentials clients would be interested in

Interact with followers every day

Social media is all about being, well, social. That might seem obvious, but it’s the truth: the more you interact with people via Facebook, the more interest you will gain.

You want to share content, get people interacting with it, and then engage with them. The faster you can respond to questions, comments or likes, the higher level of respect and trust you’ll have.

Respond to questions and comments asap. Both during and after business hours.
Maintain a constant presence. Interact with friends and followers every day.
Monitor your posts. Don’t let any inappropriate comments or suggestions be shown.

Want to stand out from other car dealers? Facebook is the place to start

Facebook is a tool just like any other: if you know how it to use it, it will perform well; if you let it sit, it won’t do anything for you. If you want to use this powerful marketing tool in full force, you need to give it the time and attention it needs. Hire a “go-to” person for the job and treat it as an important task.