One of the most difficult things businesses seem to struggle with in the their online marketing efforts is social media. While it's not new by the web's standards, businesses have only just begun to tap into its true potential over the last couple of years.

In the automotive industry, car dealers who previously questioned the value of automotive social media marketing are beginning to understand its value. With Facebook becoming a great advertising platform, on top of a platform to connect with customers and brand your business, car dealers have an opportunity to  sell more cars for a fraction of what it would normally cost.

Let's take a look at ways dealerships can stand out on Facebook.

Stop Self-Promoting and Give the People What They Want

When thinking about content for your dealership's Facebook page, stop thinking about self-promotion. It may sound like the exact opposite of what you think a Facebook page is for, but you need to think about how people (including yourself) utilize Facebook on a day-to-day basis.

You don't care about whether Joe and Jane Schmo bought a Jeep Wrangler today because you came onto Facebook to check on friends and family, as well as read news and see other interesting stories from the web. For your dealership to stand out, you have to post compelling and engaging content that can relate to your business. The most effective way to do this is to draw out the excitement in the brands you sell.

Post high quality images of cars you sell to show what they're capable of, giving the action a story. Post about the evolution of a particular model and ask people to respond with memories. Post facts about these vehicles, such as fuel efficiency or interior features to spark interest.

Create Awesome Content on Your Site

Your website is one of the most important aspects of successful social media marketing. You want to make sure you're not only sending people there to increase business, but you want to create shareable content to help grow your online presence.

Great examples of this for dealerships would be lists of modifications people can make, or vehicle comparisons that show how awesome the cars you sell are compared to the competition.

This content is not only great for your dealership's social presence, but also great for its SEO as well.

Give Your Inventory a Story

Posting inventory directly to Facebook and other social media sites has been controversial in the automotive industry. But done right, it not only becomes useful content, it brings real ROI to social media as well.

So instead of just announcing you have a "White 2015 Jeep Wrangler" in stock, give it a unique story to draw users in to engage. Since it's a jeep, you can say:

"This white paint job looks so clean. Almost too clean, in fact! Who's going to take this off-road for us?"

Add a Local Touch

For local businesses, connecting with area consumers on Facebook is a the best way to get your name out there. For car dealers, standing out often means the difference between being the highest-volume dealership and the lowest-volume dealership.

To build more connections with car buyers in your area, post interesting facts and history about your local area and talk about area attractions. People like to be informed, and if you can add in the local connection, you'll help increase engagement and interest in your Facebook page.

Engage with Users to Build Loyalty

All of the above will help give your dealership's Facebook strategy a nice foundation, but to build upon that you need to engage with users.

This will not only help solidify the connections you've started to make, but will help create the loyal advocates that will help increase the consistency of your dealership's business.

This is a syndicated post. It originally appeared on Wikimotive's blog.