In today’s digital environment, social media is essential for car dealerships who are looking to build a strong brand identity and connect with car shoppers. With so much competition in the automotive industry and in your backyard, creating differentiated branding on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Pinterest, and Twitter can help your dealership stand out. This article will provide car dealers and general managers with tips and best practices for leveraging social media to promote their unique dealership story.

Learn more about Dealers United’s social ads solutions designed specifically for driving more traffic and sales to your dealership.

Defining Your Dealership’s Brand Identity

The first step is to clearly define what sets your dealership apart. What is unique about your dealership, and what makes you different from your competition – aka, why should someone choose YOU? Key elements that make up your brand identity may include:

• Your mission/vision statements
• Core values
• Messaging, voice & tone
• Visual elements like logo and color scheme

Make sure you have clarity around these components before developing social media content. Understanding your intrinsic brand identity will allow you to translate it consistently across different digital channels.

Creating Content Aligned to Your Brand Identity

With your brand identity pillars defined, all social media content should align back to it. For a car dealership, content may include:

• Introducing new inventory with custom images/videos
• Behind-the-scenes posts highlighting dealership facility or staff
• Customer testimonials/reviews
• Personalized offers or specials
• Community events and partnerships

Whatever you share, ensure it feels cohesive with your brand personality and style. This consistency and authenticity will resonate more with your audience.

Optimizing Your Social Media Profile Elements

In addition to content, optimize key social media profile elements to further strengthen brand identity.

• Profile image: Use your logo or imagery that captures the essence of your dealership
• Bio/description: Succinctly explain core focus, competitive differentiators and personality
• Cover image: Hero imagery or branded graphics that represent your dealership
• Hashtags: Brand-centric hashtags to unify content from different platforms

These visual identity markers will help viewers immediately understand and recognize your brand when engaging with your profiles.

Here are a couple of examples of what an optimized social media profile looks like:

Measuring Success on Social Media as a Car Dealership

Finally, your dealership will want to actively monitor social media analytics to benchmark how your online brand identity impacts key performance indicators. Relevant metrics include:

• Brand awareness and reach
• Website referral traffic
• Lead generation/sales inquiries
• Audience engagement and growth

Continuously assess what content best resonates with your followers. This will allow you to refine your social brand strategy over time.

Start Amplifying Your Dealership’s Brand Identity

At Dealers United, we specialize in helping car dealerships showcase their one-of-a-kind identity on social media. Our automotive advertising experts will work closely with you to understand your brand character, voice, and strengths in order to develop an impactful social presence. Click here to learn more about how we can expand your dealership’s reach and influence through custom ads across the most popular social platforms.