As we all know, consumers are on their phones now more than ever and spend a considerable amount of time on social media. According to DigitalMarketing.Org, on average, we spend approximately 2 and a half hours per day on social media. That means you have an ample amount of time to grab someone’s attention from your posts. Before we dive into the details of what content you should be posting, let’s discuss how to improve your page’s visibility to a consumer and tools to achieve more interaction with your followers.

1. Is Your Instagram Page SEO Friendly?

Instagram announced in late 2020 that it would become more “search friendly”. This means you don’t necessarily need to use hashtags to get more engagement on your posts. (That also doesn’t mean you should completely ditch hashtags since it is still a great way for potential customers to find you.) If someone on Instagram searches a term, relevant pages and posts populate. With that being said, make sure your Instagram bio includes relevant keywords to your brand. For example, including: Auto Dealership in Anywhere Town and your dealership’s brand(s) is a good start.

Another thing to consider improving are your captions. Are you being descriptive enough? It is important to include relevant keywords a consumer may be searching for. Instagram’s algorithm is based on the content you are posting and how relevant it is to the consumer. The more descriptive keywords that you include in your captions, the better chance you have of appearing on Instagram’s “Explore” page for consumers who have already been searching related keywords.

2. Take Advantage of Posting on Your Facebook & Instagram Stories

Since Instagram & Facebook’s algorithms are more complex than they used to be, posting on your story is a great way to ensure your followers will see your content. An organic post can get lost in sea of the feed and sometimes won’t be seen by some followers until 2-3 days after it was posted. Your followers are more likely to see your stories over your organic posts and will keep your followers engaged.

According to Sprout Social, Facebook produces a greater ROI than any other social media platform. Facebook also revealed that their stories are one of their most popular features. It is a no-brainer to take advantage of the stories feature. Facebook and Instagram stories are so valuable because of the location on the apps. They are shown at the very top of the app/web page. Aside from the prime location of the stories, they are a fun way to interact with your followers, such as using polls and a question box.

3. Top Content Ideas for 2021

Now that we accomplished how to make sure your page is getting visibility, let’s talk about how to keep your followers engaged, or possibly attract new customers and followers. We have compiled a list of the top content ideas for 2021!

• Giveaways: because who doesn’t like winning something free? Giveaways are a great and easy way to get your followers to interact with your posts. You can require they share or tag friends to win a cash card, free oil change, or all-weather mats, for example. This also is a way to get a customer back into your dealership if they win.

• Employee features: dedicating posts to an employee every so often with a short bio will give a more personable feel to your page and shows what friendly faces are working at your dealership.

• Dealership events & news: did your dealership recently just donate to charity, hold an event at the dealership, or anything along those lines? Sharing dealership news also makes your page more personable and shows that your dealership is a friendly environment.

• Happy customer photos: make sure your sales team is taking photos of the customers when they’re about to take home their new ride! The customer is likely to see the post and share it to their personal page, which is free advertising for your dealership to their family and friends.

As we always recommend, your social media posts should be following the 80/20 rule, which means 80% of your posts should be non-sales related posts (such as the content ideas listed above), and the other 20% are sales focused posts. On social media, you can take out the formality aspect in what you are posting. These posts are supposed to be fun and engaging, after all! Using humor and emojis are more likely to catch someone’s attention. You also have the ability to go back and see how many people interacted with your posts on Instagram and Facebook. This way, you will have a better picture of what your followers like to see vs. what they don’t care for as much. If you’re unsure of where to start, or don’t have the time to tackle the project (because we know how busy you are), talk to your automotive digital marketing agency. They should be able to provide the service for you or supplement what you’re doing. We have a great partnership with our social media clients to supplement on site posts and even come to the dealership to take photos and videos!

It’s no secret here that we are all on our phones, and social media, now more than ever. It is an easy way to engage your current and potential customers. If your social media pages could use some TLC, contact us today by sending us an email at info@digital2dealer.com.