Accelerate the Potential of Automotive Social Media Marketing

Gone are the days when consumers must pull up to a car lot to find their next vehicle. Yes, that may be where the purchase is happening, but almost all car buyers’ research is now done online and on social media. Because of this, it’s more important than ever for automotive brands to have a solid automotive industry marketing plan in place. 

In this blog, you’ll learn about:

• Social media marketing tips for automotive lead generation.
• Successful automotive social media marketing examples.
• How automotive brands can drive engagement with Dash Hudson.

Social Media Marketing Tips for Automotive Lead Generation

As mentioned, generating leads through social media marketing is something that hasn’t always been a priority to the automotive industry — until recently. Luckily, there are a lot of tips and tricks you can use that will get your automotive brand ahead of the curve and perform like a natural on the most popular social media platforms. 

Use Customer Experience Automation

Automotive brands from dealerships to manufacturers can use AI tools like chatbots to provide instant 24-hour service. Other onsite features such as FAQ sections, resource centers and instant quotes can also improve the customer experience by providing answers and encouraging users to stay on your site. The longer a user browses your website, the higher the chances are they will become a lead. From there, customer relationship management (CRM) tools like Zendesk, and Salesforce can help internal teams manage sales pipelines and remove any friction between your automotive business and communicating with your customers. Ultimately creating a seamless experience and happy customers. 

Practice Local SEO 

Approximately 46% of all Google searches are aimed toward finding local information. It’s natural to expect that percentage to increase when it comes to automotive needs specifically. So, what does that mean? It means automotive brands near and far will benefit from taking the time to perfect their localized search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. Consistency with your Google Business Profile and social channels helps send positive signals to Google. Keeping this information consistent, especially the location information, enhances your brand's reliability and trustworthiness. This, in turn, boosts your visibility in the search engine results pages (SERPs). Performing a thorough audit of your social media and SEO can help identify any areas that need updating and cover all your bases.   

Create Short Form Video Content 

Everyone knows that short form video is king on social media right now. It is the main type of content that is keeping users who see endless amounts of content day in and day out, engaged. This means brands in the automotive industry should look for ways to get creative and spotlight unique services, products and narratives with this type of content on all platforms, but especially TikTok and Instagram Reels.

Personalize Marketing Outreach

The beauty of social media is the access to the information you have about your target audience. Based on engagement and social analytics, you can better learn preferences like the type of car, color and features your audience is most interested in to help create more compelling and engaging content in the future. Automotive brands can use these valuable insights to deeply understand their audience, hone their marketing strategy and report on campaign performance and their overall success.

Share Content Consistently 

One of the most important elements of any strong automotive marketing strategy is consistency. Consistency in both how often you’re posting but also consistency in the type of content you’re posting across different channels. This may feel overwhelming if you don’t have a large social team or a lot of assets, but repurposing content is here to save the day and is actually highly encouraged where appropriate. By repurposing content, you’re telling an extremely consistent story across all platforms, and that is what users historically respond well to. Just remember to adjust the ratios and sizes, remove watermarks and create original captions to keep the content still feeling fresh. If you're looking for a little inspiration check out these top auto brands on Instagram to jumpstart the creative process.

Tap Into Influencers 

Though influencers may not be top of mind for automotive brands, there are a number of automotive influencers out there — detailers, car reviewers and more to tap into. There’s also an opportunity for auto brands to use influencers to think outside the box. For example, a car brand like Subaru, who’s known for its vehicles that suit an outdoor lifestyle, might want to partner with a creator known for camping or other outdoor-centric content. 

The possibilities for automotive and influencer collaborations are endless.

Successful Automotive Social Media Marketing Examples

Marketing in the automotive industry isn’t always easy, and there is no better way to learn than from the best. Here are some examples of automotive brands that are doing social media marketing right. 

Ford

Ford is definitely one of the most impressive automotive brands on social media right now due to their ongoing collaboration with Sydney Sweeney. What originally started out as a passion project restoring her vintage Ford Bronco on her own account, @syds_garage, soon became a sensation that Ford was able to transition over to their TikTok account, gaining an entirely new audience they wouldn’t have had access to before.

Harley Davidson

Harley Davidson keeps it simple on social and it works very well. By showcasing the products and letting them really speak for themselves, it opens a really interesting conversation in the comments. Users are able to create UGC and share what they think, what products they already have and what they would like to see in the future. Sometimes simple is better. 

Car and Driver

Car and Driver does a great job of creating multiple points of interest in their posts. Of course, they highlight beautiful cars and interesting features, but they also pose questions in the captions to garner engagement and thoughts from users who are watching the video. Questions are a great way to gather consumer feedback, gauge sentiment and get a feel for the types of products and content they want to see in the future. 

Drive Engagement With Dash Hudson

Dash Hudson provides automotive brands with a full suite of tools to cover all of their bases and ultimately drive results and engagement. LikeShop, Dash Hudson’s custom link-in-bio tool, helps car brands guide users from their Instagram or TikTok to their website where they can gain more product knowledge. Brands can also utilize Content Library, a Dash Hudson tool that visually searches content galleries leveraging AI-powered performance predictions to provide insights into content that will resonate with your audience the most. And most importantly, foster and build your community with Community Manager which allows automotive brands to connect with their followers in real-time and understand how they feel about the latest content.

These features are just a test drive of the many benefits Dash Hudson can offer, buckle up, and cruise towards success on social. 

FAQs

Is it worth doing digital marketing for auto dealers?

Absolutely. Though this industry may benefit from more traditional means of marketing as well, digital marketing is one of the most effective ways for auto dealers to reach core and new audiences. 

How does digital marketing help in the automobile industry?

Like any industry, digital marketing helps the automotive industry in a multitude of ways. Digital marketing, particularly social media marketing, is an essential element to any robust marketing plan that is looking to reach different demographics, see ROI and launch all-encompassing marketing campaigns.

How to start digital marketing plan for auto dealers?

If you’re unsure where to start with your digital marketing plan as an auto dealer, the best recommendation is, to begin with research. Look into what your competitors are doing, what’s working for them, what isn’t and especially the types of content they are posting. Use your successful competitors for inspiration where you can.