I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's the main point, but it's definitely one of the keys. Exposure on social media is an extremely high-potential benefit of having a strong presence on social media sites, particularly Facebook.

There has been a lot of talk lately about social signals for SEO purposes. This is another key, but it's completely separate from getting exposure. There are other key points and goals - driving foot traffic, driving website traffic, and having a proper communication and reputation management tool are just some of the others. Today, we're talking about exposure. It's the one thing that has been very commonly used in the past by many dealers but it's also something that some have fallen away from in recent months.

In many ways, social media is like television. People don't go there to hear about car dealers, to see the brand, or to hear about the big sale this weekend, but that doesn't mean that the message doesn't reach them. Unlike television, there are algorithms in place to help or hurt your exposure. This is where managing your social media for the sake of exposure comes in very handy. When done right, a dealership can get exposure and help to improve their EdgeRank at the same time. Here are some of the things that you can do to make it easier.

Post Good Content

It sounds simple, but so many dealers and businesses in general simply aren't posting good content. In the car business, it's easy to find good content. We're surrounded by it at the dealership. We're exposed to it all the time on social media itself. It makes the news, fills thousands of blogs, and is the central topic of tons of videos that are posted every day. There's no reason to not be able to find strong automotive content to post on social media.

Local content can be good as well when done right. You have things happening in your community right now. You have places that make for amazing photographs or stunning videos.

The biggest challenge that some face is repetition. Depending on who you're using as a social media partner or the tastes of the people at the dealership who are doing the posting, it's very possible that the content getting posted is good but common. We've seen some vendors that will go so far as to post the same content to multiple dealership pages. This is just lazy. It doesn't have to be absolutely unique, but it shouldn't be so common that everyone has already seen it.

Keep it Steady but Don't Overload

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when social media gurus were recommending posting every single day no matter what. Many have changed tunes do to research, experimentation, and simple trial and error. Today, it's very possible to get a good bump on Facebook exposure without posting more than 2 or 3 things a week.

That's not what I'm recommending. I just want you to know that it can be done and works just fine. Ideally, you're able to post enough on a daily basis at the right pace based upon your fan engagement to get a strong momentum boost going with EdgeRank. However, if you don't have that boost, if you're not gaining momentum, it's better to slow down than speed up. Posting too much can do more harm than not posting enough.

Play in Other Yards

This is something that nobody's really doing. Sure, there might be a few, but for the most part Facebook pages are only interacting with those who are posting to their page. An easy way to get the brand out there, build interaction, and participate in the community is to venture forth onto other pages on Facebook and interact.

Sincerity is key. You do not want to like, share, or comment on local pages without a strong and valid reason. Interacting for the sake of interacting is easy to sniff out, so make sure that if you're representing the dealership with a like or comment on someone's Facebook post, you really mean it.

This helps in that it allows your brand to spread to people other than your fans and friends of fans. It's an ultra-simple way to separate your dealership from your competitors because nobody is doing it.

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There are plenty of ways to gain exposure through social media that we haven't talked about here. Think quality over quantity. Think sincerity over automation. If you do it the right way, you'll get the same type of benefit that you get from television at pennies on the dollar.