Share More Original Content
It’s 2020, and there is still a misconception somehow that businesses utilizing social media have to be reposting content all the time instead of branching out and trying new things more frequently. There is certainly nothing wrong with reposting inspirational quotes or stock images, but what happened to the excitement of sharing original content with the internet?
There can be a certain level of intimidation when it comes to posting on behalf of your business on social media — with local competition, not having a large following quite yet, uncertainty about the best things to post, etc. But the more relevant social media becomes to businesses and dealerships alike, the more value there is in posting more original content than the other stuff.
If you don’t have a social media calendar that you work off of, it might be time to sit down and schedule how your dealership wants that to look. Take into account seasonal posts, events your staff may be attending, customer appreciation posts, your dealership’s participation within the local community, etc. If your dealership has a blog, make sure the blog posts and social media posts align and take advantage of being able to use all of your platforms simultaneously.
Consider the kind of content you like seeing when scrolling on social media. What kind of things catch your eye? What kinds of things do you find too cumbersome? Maybe this is large paragraphs of text and not enough photos to keep your attention or stock images that don’t reflect a business and their brand. Don’t shy away from the opportunity to take candid photos of your dealership lot or the work that your staff is performing. If you’ve recently spruced up your lobby area, why not snap a photo and show that off on social media? Test out what kind of content receives the most engagement on social media and find a good balance of original and reposted things to share with people.
Don’t Be Afraid to Get Personal
When I’m looking through a particular business’s Facebook or Instagram accounts, there is always a certain kind of post I’m more likely to linger on and remember days after I’ve seen it, and that is: the personal ones. When a business takes the time to share individual photos of their employees, as well as information about what their role within the company is, how long they have worked there, some highlights about their personal lives and achievements, it really reels me in.
To me, the way a dealership portrays their staff and work environment is equally as important as the quality of their products and services. I want to frequent businesses that treat their teams with respect and see the importance in sharing that with their current audience or future customer base.
It also helps to create a personal connection between the customer and the employee. A friend told me once that a customer came in specifically looking for her because the customer had seen a post on social media about how my friend’s first car was a Volkswagen Rabbit GTI. It turns out that was also this customer’s first car, and they were able to connect and reminisce about this happy memory before my friend was able to eventually help her select new tires for her current vehicle.
In a hyper-connected and fast-moving society, there should be space and avenues for businesses to get a little more personal. Everyone likes to feel seen, heard and represented when they are seeking a new purchase of any kind. Why not use your social media presence to connect on a personal level with your customers before they even walk in the door to your dealership? If people on your team have recently attended an event within the community, share photos of the occasion and what it meant to them to get to go and participate in something. No matter if you are a small owned or family business, you can still work on creating that feeling if you take the time to share more personal aspects of your business.
No matter if you are looking for new strategies to get your social media presence off the ground, or just replace some old methods and techniques that maybe aren’t working as well as they once were, pay careful attention to the ways your audience engages with the content you are putting out there.
Don’t be afraid to share original content and get personal, even if it is a huge leap outside of your comfort zone or goes in a different kind of direction than what your dealership is used to at first. Trial and error are the only ways to see what works and what doesn’t. Be sure to get these practices in motion as winter wraps up and before spring gets underway.
