How to Increase Your Social Presence

Did you know that social media advertising outperforms all traditional media? It also exceeds nearly every digital ad format on both a Cost-Per-Click (CPC) and Cost-Per-Thousand Impressions (CPM) of the ad … when targeted, optimized, and tracked! You’re probably thinking, “Great! So how do I get started?”

To get your actual consumers or prospective consumers to follow you, you need to give them a good reason. Below are some quick tips that you can utilize on any social platform.

1. Accept the importance of social media. You need to realize that social media is here, and it’s not going anywhere. If you resist the change, you are sure to fall behind. So what’s the good news? A little bit of effort goes a long way!
2. Be visual! Pictures drive engagement, regardless of the platform! Content with relevant images gets 94% more views than content without related images. Utilize images that will immediately intrigue, delight and connect with your audience. (And no, I don’t mean just pictures of your inventory!)You might want to think about it this way: Images are bold, beautiful and simple to scan. Visuals are especially important in our quick-paced society. People love to see themselves online, and pictures draw them in, so consider posting photos of happy customers (with their permission). Do you have an animal mascot at the dealership? Involve them! Pets and animals seem to get a lot of “likes.”
3. Engagement is essential. Keep your customers engaged with games and giveaways. Think about your target audience. What do they want? What are their hobbies and lifestyles? In Lexington, I might offer tickets to a University of Kentucky basketball game. What would appeal to your clientele? You also need to think about how much effort from your consumer are you asking; match the giveaway with your ask. If you give too little, you won't get a lot of motivation, and you won't gain followers or increase engagement. You might get a ton of followers when you offer a grand giveaway, but you also run the risk of consumers not trusting you. Our industry already has an issue with distrust, so don’t prove consumers’ worst fears right! A quick note about giveaways in social media: Most channels have pretty strict rules about contests and giveaways, so be sure to check terms and conditions. These rules change frequently, so review them before any contest, just to be safe.

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