Automotive Marketing on Facebook creates the possibility to build relationships in your local community. We say that “Facebook is a cocktail party” and urge dealerships treat it as such. It is important to build the number of likes that your public page has, but that doesn’t
mean that you have to do it on your own.

Creating social relationships with other businesses such as restaurants, not-for-profits, colleges and other local businesses and industries will help a car dealership brand itself as a community leader. Working with other public pages that are social leaders will help build your dealership as a social leader.

With being committed to conversing comes a consistent non-sales message. Everything your dealership does on Facebook appears on the News Feed and you don’t want to be ignored. Even worse, you don’t want to lose likes because you continually post messages that your fans can’t
relate to.

If your dealership promoted iPad or iPhone giveaways in the past, do you think you can promote low lease rates in the future? Maybe, but only if those messages are kept to a minimum and aren’t invasive. Your dealerships entire Social Media Campaign shouldn’t be based on Traditional Media Messages, but it shouldn’t be entirely based on giveaways either.

Keeping customers involved with updates on manufacturer warranties and recalls is important because it builds that professional trust in the consumer’s eye. Creating relationships with national manufacturer campaign’s is important, but your dealerships Social Media Campaign shouldn’t be based entirely on their message either. As a local leader in selling automobiles, you need to find the balance between promoting the national message with local messages like community events and news.

Making a good cocktail is all about mixing the ingredients. Automotive Marketing on Facebook should contain four key ingredients: National Messages, Giveaways, Local Messages and Sales Incentives. Dealerships need to show the product they sell and where they sell it. Dealerships also need to know when to reward their fans. All of these components should be visible in a social media campaign and shouldn’t drown any of the others. Let the cocktail party begin!

PAUL POTRATZ