In building your successful automotive business, it’s important to stay as relevant and connected to your customers as possible. What’s the easiest way to do that today? Staying connected through social media. Using social media to boost sales and build relationships has gone from a novelty in marketing, to a “should have” marketing element, to an essential part of every auto shop marketing plan.

Why Social Media Helps in Boosting Sales

There are a number of surprising reasons why social media is valuable in the automotive industry, and the help in boosting sales might top the list. Here are just a few reasons why automotive businesses should make social media a priority in boosting their sales:

1. Having a social media presence builds your brand in a competitive environment. Not everyone knows about your shop, your offerings, or what makes your shop unique. Social media provides the best platform for getting the word out.

2. Social medial helps you develop and expand your contact list through social shares, groups, and networks.

3. A social media presence helps you build your trust and credibility. It shows people on the web that you’re a shop full of real people- people they can get to know and trust.

4. Staying involved in social media lets you gain sales intelligence and identify gaps of service in the community which you could fill.

5. Promotes your business 24/7, even when the shop is closed.

How to Use Social Media To Boost Sales

Now that we know the why, it’s time to tackle how to use social media and make it work within the automotive industry. Here are just a few practical and creative applications.

1. Use social media in developing “warm” referrals. One of the most helpful elements in social media is the value of your current customers. When a potential customer sees that one of the people in their network of friends or followers also follows your shop, it serves as a warm referral without effort on your part or that of your customer. One way to tap into these warm connections is to offer specials for your current followers to share with their connections.

2. Use social media to promote informative blogs on your service offerings. Customers might forget or put off certain automotive services. Promoting a blog on the importance of regular maintenance, for example, could encourage followers to schedule service.

3. Encourage customers to communicate with you through your Facebook page. A solid social media presence helps you stay aware of problems in customer service and resolve those issues quickly.

4. Measuring analytics can tell you what topics and posts interests your followers most, and you can focus on providing more of what works to further increase sales and minimize inefficiency.

5. Use social media to personalize your business. For example, if one of your employees is getting married, you can have a buy-one-get-one special and promote the occasion and the promotion simultaneously on social media.

Want more? Check out these blogs for more tips on Social Media marketing!

The Non-Blogger’s Guide to Kick-butt Blogs

Automotive Facebook Essentials

How to Increase Word of Mouth Referrals

Social Media Science: 9 Ways to Increase Your Twitter Followers

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