You know that your car dealership needs to be present on Instagram but do you know all the details of how to post on this social platform?
As one of the easiest social media platforms to use, Instagram is right for your business because of the widespread use of images and videos that you can share with your audience. If you’re not sure how to make the most of this platform, we offer some tips that will help you today.
Optimize Your Profile
Review your Instagram profile to make sure it’s properly optimized. This means making sure your business information is correct including the brand name, address, phone number, and website URL Make sure the profile picture is recognizable to your audience as either a landmark or the brands that you offer. Mark your profile as a “Business Profile” so that your audience knows that you’re advertising on this platform.
Plan Your Instagram Content Strategy
Rather than randomly posting photos of the cars on your lot or happy customers at your desk, create a strategy for your posts including a timeline for when each post will appear on your account. Some of the items that you should consider posting are:
• Car service and maintenance tips
• The latest inventory arrivals
• New promotions
• Staff bios
• “How-to” content
• Vehicle troubleshooting tips
These are just a few ideas, but it allows you to capture engagement with a larger portion of your audience.
Use Third-Party Tools to Your Advantage
Within the native Instagram app, you only have so much flexibility for your content. Thankfully, there are some third-party tools that allow you to schedule posts in advance, analyze your current performance, and plan out your feed appearance. These tools can help you find the best hashtags or make it easy for you to create the most engaging content.
Showcase Your Customers on Instagram
Of course, you need to have permission from your customers, but you need to show them and share their experiences on your feed. Whether you’re showcasing first-time car buyers, loyal customers, or those that are moving along their lifeline with vehicles that meet the needs of the next step in their lives, you can have a ton of great stories to share with happy customers.
Use the Analytics Tools
It does you no good to post content on Instagram unless you know for sure your content is performing the way you want. This tool allows you to have the information you need with insights into:
• Content Success –how many likes/comments,/saves our photos and videos are getting
• Audience and Community-track your audience growth and see what creates more growth and engagement
• Activity –follow what’s happening on your profile, including the number of visits, button clicks, and impressions
Hashtag Accordingly on Instagram
Hashtags help users find new, exciting content related to their interest, but if you have too many, you’re going to see many users turn away from your content. Try to make use of only the most relevant and high-performing hashtags and include them in your posts. These will give you the relevance and audience you’re looking for. This means you have to put in the work, and it’s certainly worth the time.
Use Customer Content to Your Advantage
Most of the online reviews we trust are written by other customers, but how does that translate on Instagram? Because this platform uses images, most images can tell more than a few words will. Your customers post about their experiences and will share them on this social media site. Encourage them to tag you and share their experience with your profile.
Take Your Instagram Live
Create a regular time to be live on Instagram to encourage your audience to engage with you directly. This can be a great time to offer a firsthand look at what’s going on at your dealership, feature a new vehicle, or showcase an event. Your audience will be glad to engage with you through a live stream on this platform to have the benefits of direct information from you.
Get Your Sales Team Involved
Your Instagram feed should include a variety of team members along with the vehicles that you sell. Encourage your team to be part of the featured group on this platform and showcase what’s going on that day. Some ideas to get them excited to share include:
• Posting creative content designed to educate and entertain potential customers
• Interact with local businesses to grow their professional network
• Engage with prospective customers
• Keep an eye on dealership marketing trends
The more your team uses creative ways to engage others on this platform, the more impactful it will be.
This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning a commission is given should you decide to make a purchase through these links, at no cost to you. All products shown are researched and tested to give an accurate review for you.
