8 Reasons Your Dealership Facebook Page Isn't Working

“Why isn’t our Facebook page taking off? We need more fans!” This phrase is something I hear on a regular basis from dealers. Growing a community on Facebook is an elusive task for some dealerships. We used to advertise and the community would come to us…now we need to go to them, attract them and engage them before they step on the lot. Is achieving consistent engagement on Facebook a struggle for your store? Here’s a list of 8 reasons why your Facebook page is not growing as fast as you’d like it too:

1. You’re Not Posting Regularly. Facebook’s algorithms are set to foster and reward engagement. If you’re not posting 2-3 times per day, you won’t have built enough momentum to appear on the News Feed.

2. You’re Not Promoting Your Facebook Page. A month or two ago I did a mini-market study to see how many dealerships in the Orange County, CA area had icons for their Facebook Page on their website. I’m sorry to say, the results were dismal: About 35% had a link on their site. If you promote Facebook and offer the “Like” button in all your other media, then your customer doesn’t even have to leave your site to give you that coveted “Like”.

3. You’re Posts Look Counterfeit. Social Media cannot be automated. It must have a realness, an authenticity to it or people won’t engage. Is your provider’s branding apparent on your posts? Does it look like someone other than you is doing the work? That’s the quickest way for a user to by-pass you and look at the next post on their wall. Real people are behind your dealership’s name so let that shine through in your content.

4. You’re Not Posting Quality Content. Your fans need a trusted resource when they or someone in their network needs to buy or service a car. My motto for content is “Share or Solve, don’t Shill.“ Think about it, what attracts you to reading something or watching something? It has to be relevant to your audience or they won’t engage.

5. You’re Not Engaging Your Fans. Evoking emotion or playing into the natural human tendencies of seeking pleasure and avoiding pain can work to your advantage. Ask questions like, “What car would you drive to your ex-wife’s wedding?” Simple giveaways like “We’re having a contest for dirtiest car. Post your picture here and the winner gets a free detail.” Also, monitor your page at least 4 times a day. When someone responds to your post, you need to respond back quickly. It’s a SOCIAL medium.

6. You’re Not Leveraging Customizations. You need to leverage every opportunity you can for people to like your page. Install a nice landing page to welcome your new visitors. Point the user in the right direction by using a nice graphic, make it easy for them to do what you want them to do. It’s also a perfect chance to use a lead-generation graphic to schedule a test drive. For these customizations, you can hire a designer (prices are reasonable) or if there’s someone in the store that can do it, here’s a great tutorial on how to do it yourself.

7. You’re Posting at the Wrong Times. Dan Zarrella (Hubspot’s Social Media Mktg Scientist) has a great Webinar called The Science of Timing. He says generally that nights and weekends are the optimal sharing times on Facebook. That’s when most people are home relaxing and have time to really engage. There are certain times of the day that work better too. The best way to know for sure is to experiment with different times and track the results.

8. You’re Not Paying Attention To Your Analytics. You can’t manage what you don’t measure. Most stores don’t spend time looking at their results on Facebook. Facebook Insights is your best friend. It allows you to see what content got the most interaction. It allows you to see what you did right and what didn’t work so well. Spend a few minutes each week getting to know your fans better with Insights. You’ll deliver a better experience for them and make better decisions on your content.

Kathi Kruse

Kruse Control Inc.

www.krusecontrolinc.com

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Comment by Kathi Kruse on May 4, 2011 at 7:05pm: Thanks Ken for commenting. We have had tremendous success with regular morning, noon and evening posts. We did find that Mondays and Thursdays didn't get as much engagement so we pulled back a bit on those days. If a dealership doesn't have regular posts with engagement, the posts will not show up on the News Feed. People unsubscribe when the content is spam or not relevant so I guess I'd have to argue about what kind of posts Enteract looked at in their research. Also, as we all know, information obtained in research studies can be spun depending on who commissioned them ;-)

Bottom line, dealerships need to engage their fans and keep them engaged. Good content never gets unsubscribed.

Comment by Ken Hillyer on May 4, 2011 at 4:32pm: Kathi - Great post. Especially agree with #8 - it's always about results. However, I would argue that posting 2-3x day is far too frequent for a dealership (or friends for that matter). In fact, Enteract Media research has shown that posting 3+ times per day leads to the highest unsubscribe rates for dealerships

Comment by Kathi Kruse on May 4, 2011 at 11:44am: Hey Cathy, thanks for reading my blog!

Comment by Cathy Aron on May 4, 2011 at 1:50am: Thanks Kathi! Great tips.

Comment by Kathi Kruse on May 3, 2011 at 11:55pm: Hey Marsh, thanks for your comment. Congrats on making the decision to go beyond "post it and forget it". Please keep me posted, I always like to hear how it's going :-)

Comment by Marsh Buice on May 3, 2011 at 11:37pm: Kathie, gr8 post. I appreciate the guidance and tips. We have done the "post it and forget it," which doesnt work. Thanks for the inspiration. I'm going to be engaged with it more.

Comment by Kathi Kruse on May 3, 2011 at 11:26pm: Hey Carlos that's pretty cool. Please let me know how it goes for you...and your store :-)

Comment by Carlos Amador on May 3, 2011 at 11:17pm: Putting this to work right now!

Comment by Kathi Kruse on May 3, 2011 at 8:49pm: Thanks for the comment Alex. Your question is valid. Trust is why people don't like to go to dealerships. The old way of doing things just won't cut it anymore. Consumers buy from companies they know, like and trust. With Social Media, the consumer is met where they are by those companies. Dealerships create a community for their fans and foster enthusiasm. It has nothing to do with sales or service. If a dealer can give them good information, attract them with great content, then the community will grow. When a member of the community needs a car (or someone close to them does), they'll choose that dealer. Respectfully, I choose not to "take a step back" because those that do, will not survive.

Comment by Alex Chew on May 3, 2011 at 8:31pm: Lets take a step back, why would John Smith or Jane Doe want to follow a dealership on facebook? What does a dealership have to offer other than a special discount on service? Generally consumers compare going to a car dealership as much fun as going to the dentist