Social media marketing may be the fastest growing platform for internet marketing. Next to video, it’s getting a lot of attention and rightly so. It’s where your potential customers are interacting with friends and finding out about their favorite brands. Whether or not you have embraced internet marketing for your shop, you will benefit from understanding the opportunities associated with running a strong social media campaign. Here’s what you should know:
Social Media Marketing Increases Exposure for Auto Repair Shops
For the auto repair shop that hasn’t yet incorporated it into its marketing activities, social media is an incredible opportunity to obtain valuable exposure with existing and potential customers. Given the competitive nature and investment in other on-line campaigns (like pay-per-click advertising), a well-planned social media campaign can be a wonderful opportunity to connect with your target audience.
Social Media Marketing Tip #1: When planning and implementing your social media campaign, it’s important not to sell too much. People view this as spam and will begin to disregard your business. In the delicate balance of social media posting, we say auto repair shops should provide posts with 85% quality content and information while selling only 15% of the time.
Social Media Marketing Increases Interaction with Your Auto Repair Shop Customers
Another unique element of social media is the opportunity to interact on a level that connects with your customers. In 2013, it was estimated that over 145 million people in the United States owned a smartphone. Google sites ranked the highest (at 92.2%) with mobile phone users, while Facebook ranked as the top smartphone app. Whether we like it or not, this is the way people are connecting these days. Use these tools to allow people to interact with you and your shop at any given moment of the day.
Social Media Marketing Tip #2: It’s your job to make sure the interaction is positive. As much as social media can help your business grow, it can also hurt your business. Customer service and the customer experience should always be your main priority. Make sure you have a plan to deal with the common auto repair complaints.
Social Media Marketing Increases Engagement for Your Auto Repair Shop
Building trust with your audience is imperative and something even the most established of brands cannot fail to embrace. There is a wide range of of ways to engage your customers and prospects within the social media world. The general push is to gain more “likes” and “shares” so your website and content will rank better on search engines like Google. This is all a waste if your website doesn’t provide visitors with quality content.
Social Media Marketing Tip #3: When it comes to social media marketing, think beyond the “likes” and “shares.” Work to build better relationships with your audience.
Final Thoughts on Social Media Marketing and Your Auto Repair Shop
Some believe social media marketing is a fleeting fad. Here’s the reality. Facebook has been around since 2004, and Twitter since 2006. Social media marketing is not going away. Over the next few years, social media will continue to dominate the world of on-line marketing. If your auto repair shop does not embrace and engage with this world of new media, you will be out-marketed by your competition.
Motorhead Advantage Can Use Social Media Marketing to Help You Connect with Your On-Line Audience
Do you have the time to post to your social media sites on a regular basis? Are you writing quality content for your website that shows visitors you’re an expert in automotive repair? If you answered “no” to either of these questions, you’re missing out on some valuable ways to market your auto repair shop. Our marketing professionals understand the importance of creating positive brand experiences and can help you implement a social media marketing campaign that increases exposure for your shop. Click here to schedule a FREE, NO-OBLIGATION 30-Minute Marketing Review with one of our marketing professionals.