Social Media Marketing for Auto Repair

Ready to get social? It’s a must if you’re looking to gain exposure for your auto repair business and gain loyalty. As a vital part of your overall marketing strategy, it must be approached in the right way. It should be proactive rather than reactive, and it should keep your customers and potential customers involved in what you do. The purpose of social media is to form lasting bonds, and you can achieve this in many ways – from sharing posts with the community to encouraging questions from your followers.

Exposure is at the heart of any social media campaign. And with roughly 1.94 billion monthly active users on Facebook alone, your social media platforms are gold mines for potential success. Instagram, YouTube, Twitter… the possibilities are endless. We understand many auto repair companies may feel intimidated by social media. But even if you don’t know which way to turn when it comes to promoting your business on social media, Today’s Local Media can help you get started, as well as maintain your presence.

As an auto repair mechanic, it’s critical to establish yourself in a virtual space that is conducive to lead generation, referrals, and reputation building. Creating and sharing content on a regular basis is the crux of any social media campaign – plus you need to show your customers you are positioned at the forefront of the auto repair industry.

Keep Tabs on Your Online Reputation

Are you concerned with your online reputation? You should be. One bad review can put a mark on your name. Our skilled team can recommend a specialized social media marketing strategy that will create more positive feedback and limit the risk of having an upset customer ruin your reputation.

You already know gaining visibility on social media isn’t just an ideal way to capture more business. It’s also a great way to keep tabs on your professional reputation in the community — online and off. Your auto repair company needs to have a strong social media presence to market in the most efficient way. If people don’t trust you, they won’t bring their cars to you. Period. How will they learn to trust you? You need to get in their faces and show them. Social media is the perfect way to put your business in a positive light. Even positive reviews have to be taken with a grain of salt. You can never rest on your laurels because people will expect continual excellence from you.

Respond to All Types of Reviews

Swift and decisive action must be taken on all reviews, good and bad. The bad ones sting the most, but it’s important not to get angry and retaliate, or worse, ignore the poster. Even if you know you’re in the right, the way you react is key. Resolution is the end game, so keep it positive and react quickly. Getting into a back and forth argument about who is right and wrong won’t win you the respect of your followers, so it’s best to just accept blame and offer an olive branch (money off a future service usually works well). Remember, you’re not just trying to appease the reviewer; you’re trying to show others who may be reading the review that you are an expert at conflict resolution. If they see you took steps to make it right for that one customer, they will be more apt to trust you.

The things people say about your auto repair company can either damage or enhance your reputation with one post. Having a constant presence online is the only way to effectively mitigate that risk. If you don’t have the time, tact or patience to check and react to your social media platforms every day, a lot of reviews can fall through the cracks. You need a professional behind you to perform these time-consuming tasks. There are certain sites that are more conducive to auto repair companies; we’ll determine the best fit for you and get your website set up with buttons that take visitors directly to those platforms.

If you search online, the one thing all top auto repair companies have in common is the five-star review. People love to see those five stars. You know who else loves it? Google. From Yelp profiles, to Google+ reviews, to Angie’s List, reviews on your auto repair company are popping up everywhere. Google is placing more of an emphasis on customer reviews these days more than ever.

Transform Past Customers to Referrals

Put your past customers to work for you — by asking them to pass on your good name.

They are valuable resources, so be sure to use them well. Everyone has a friend or family member who may need auto repair work. Your company is likely built on referrals, especially if you have a small, grassroots operation in one community.

There’s no better way to spread positive word of mouth recommendations than through client referrals, so don’t be shy about asking your satisfied clients if they wouldn’t mind sending you a testimonial. You can add it to your website or ask them to post a quick review on your Facebook page so your followers can see it. Additionally, set up profiles on multiple review sites, placing direct links to your review profiles in follow-up emails, newsletters, and your website.

Create Leads from Social Media

Creating leads is your ultimate goal when it comes to your social media marketing campaign. We can help you focus your efforts to meet your lead generation goals and recognize just how powerful this marketing tool is to every auto repair company out there. Did you know you can get almost double the marketing leads of trade shows, telemarketing, direct mail and PPC with social media?

Looking to generate inbound marketing leads? You can draw inspiration from anything from Twitter chats and LinkedIn groups to YouTube videos and Google+ Hangouts.

Let Today’s Local Media start you off on this endeavor by evaluating what your company is currently doing in the mainstreams of social media, then developing an effective strategy to implement so your auto repair company can grow further. Call Today’s Local Media today at 972-479-5009 to get started.