The way people buy cars has fundamentally changed. The customer journey starts long before they ever step onto your lot, beginning with online research and a digital vetting process. In this new landscape, trust is the most valuable currency a dealership has, and the best place to build that trust is on social media. Too often, however, dealership social media feeds are a monotonous stream of inventory photos and sales promotions—a digital version of the classic newspaper ad.
To truly connect with your local community, you need to think less like a salesperson and more like a neighbor. The key is to create a social media presence that provides value, celebrates your community, and humanizes your brand. For a dealership, becoming a true community hub online is the most powerful way to build a loyal customer base that trusts you long before they ever need a new car.
If you’re ready to move beyond just posting your inventory, here are six ideas for using social media to build a real connection with your local customers.
1. Spotlight the People, Not Just the Products
People buy from people they know, like, and trust. Your team is your greatest asset, so make them the stars of your social media. Humanizing your dealership is the first step in breaking down the old stereotypes and building a sense of familiarity and trust.
- “Meet the Team” Mondays: Post a professional photo and a fun, short interview with one of your team members each week, from a master technician in the service bay to a sales consultant on the floor.
- Celebrate Work Anniversaries: A post celebrating a team member’s 10- or 20-year anniversary with the dealership is a powerful testament to your company’s positive culture.
2. Become a True Community Champion
Position your dealership as a business that is genuinely invested in the success of your local community. Use your platform to be a positive voice for your town.
- Sponsor a Local Team: Sponsor a local high school football team or a Little League team. Post pictures from their games and celebrate their wins.
- Highlight Other Local Businesses: Start a “Shop Local Saturday” series where you feature another great, non-competing local business each week.
- Promote Local Events: Share information about upcoming community events, like a local festival, a charity 5K, or a farmer’s market.
3. Create Genuinely Helpful Car Care Content
Your service department is full of experts. Use their knowledge to create simple, helpful content that provides real value to all car owners, not just your current customers. This positions you as the trusted local authority on all things automotive.
Create short, simple videos or graphics on topics like: “How to Check Your Tire Pressure the Right Way,” “What Do These Common Dashboard Warning Lights Mean?,” and “A Quick Checklist for Prepping Your Car for a Summer Road Trip.”
4. Feature a “Furry Co-Pilot of the Week”
One of the fastest ways to generate positive, emotional engagement on social media is with content that feels good and does good. A fantastic way to do this is to partner with your local animal shelter or humane society.
Create a weekly feature called “Furry Co-Pilot of the Week.” Each week, you can feature an adoptable dog from the shelter. Take fun, high-quality photos of the dog safely enjoying one of your pet-friendly vehicles, like an SUV with a large cargo area. In the post, tell the dog’s story, share their personality, and provide all the information for the shelter. To take it a step further, your dealership could even sponsor that pet’s adoption fee. This type of compassionate community marketing generates a huge amount of shares and positive sentiment, showing your dealership has a real heart.
5. Host Community-Focused Events
Use your physical lot as a venue for fun, low-pressure community events. This is a fantastic way to generate positive foot traffic and associate your brand with positive family memories.
- Host a “Trunk-or-Treat” event in your lot for Halloween.
- Organize a “Fill the Truck” food or toy drive for a local charity during the holidays.
- Host a “Cars and Coffee” event on a Saturday morning for local car enthusiasts.
Use social media, especially Facebook Events, to heavily promote these gatherings.
6. Use Hyper-Local Targeted Ads
Once you have a feed full of great, community-focused content, you can use the power of paid social ads to make sure your ideal local customers see it. The targeting capabilities are incredibly precise. You can run an ad for a new SUV and show it only to people who live within a 15-mile radius of your dealership and have expressed an interest in “parenting” or “family vehicles.”
Social media is your tool to show your community that you’re more than just a place that sells cars. You’re a trusted, helpful, and invested local partner.
