Social media in general (and Facebook in particular) can be an invaluable outreach tool for used car dealerships. Powerful though it may be, it’s by no means foolproof. Social media marketing only works when there is a right strategy in place, and many used car dealerships frankly don’t have one.

Indeed, there are a number of ways in which used car dealerships go off the rails with their social media. Here are some of the most common pitfalls—all of which, of course, we’d urge you to avoid.

Avoiding Social Media Failures at Your Orange County Dealership

Neglecting the two most important social marketing tools available to dealerships. In our estimation, there are two social media marketing tools that no dealership should neglect—Facebook Ads, and Craigslist. If you’re not incorporating both into your online strategy, you’re simply not getting the most out of digital marketing.

Bombarding your followers with promotional posts. Your social media presence should educate, entice, and engage. What it shouldn’t do is irritate or frustrate your followers with a constant stream of promotional posts. Sharing one picture a day of your latest inventory is fine; one picture every hour is overkill.

Going off topic. Social media users come to you for information about used cars, and they expect you to be an authority on the subject. As such, all your posts should pertain to car ownership in some way. A post about the latest Netflix show, or about last night’s big sporting event, simply doesn’t help your dealership.

Copying your manufacturer’s posts. Your local Toyota dealership won’t stand out if the only thing you do on Facebook is copy and paste content from the corporate Toyota page. It’s vital that you provide your content with its own identity, its own point of view.

Not learning enough about Facebook Ads options. We don’t mean to beat a dead horse, but really: You must use Facebook Ads, and you must school yourself in all the options for targeting, bidding, etc. When used correctly, this can be an incredibly efficient advertising platform, and it can have a real, bottom-line impact for your dealership.

Assuming that social media is a waste of time. The main complaint we hear from used car dealerships in Orange County is that social media just doesn’t sell cars—but actually, it can be a powerful way to build and maintain an audience of paying customers. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!

Social Media Marketing for Your Used Car Dealership

These errors can all be grim in their effect, but they are also easy enough to avoid—if you know what you’re doing. And if you don’t, seek help from the pros. Get My Auto provides social media marketing for used car dealerships exclusively, and we’d love to talk with you about the results we can achieve on your behalf. Reach out to Get My Auto today!