At this year’s TMA Conference there was a survey sent out to gauge the number of dealerships using social media. The most surprising take out from the survey is that the majority of respondents did not have a social media strategy in place. Most of those surveyed had a holistic view on the role of social media for their brand – namely using it for lead generation, brand recognition, social listening and to be part of a bigger conversation – but without a strategy, there’s nothing to help these aspirations become realities.
Let’s have a look at some ways to get your social media momentum rolling.
Set goals: Map out what you want to achieve and set relevant measures against this. For example, if the business goal on Facebook is to create an active and engaged community, you wouldn’t just look at the number of likes – you would also look at the reach, number of comments and shares for your posts, as well as an increase in followers.
Choose how to connect: First, how much time can you devote to social media? If it’s minimal, then choose your platform (for example, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube) and dedicate yourself to it. Think quality over quantity. Invest some initial time researching which ones your audience spends time on and focus on those.
Mix up your content: Combine your content so it includes videos, copy and images. Don’t forget to home in on the imagery you can get of customers on-farm.
Watch: Have a look at which posts get the most attention. Then find out why. You’ll probably find a pattern in your most popular content. Is it videos of the equipment in use or being made? Or on-the-farm quotes from customers? Or myth-buster style trials? Once you find some common patterns amongst the most popular content, you can make this part of your strategy. If you want to get into the nitty gritty stuff, see what time of day your audience is most active and schedule posts for that time.