In this blog, we’ll share with you how social media for auto repair shops can help improve your engagement rate and get more leads!
Social Media for Auto Repair Shops
Why Social Media for Auto Repair Shops?
The majority of social media users spend an average of 2 hours and 31 minutes on a daily basis. In addition with that, 59.4% of the world’s population is on social media. With that information, it’s a no-brainer that promoting your auto repair shop on these platforms will help you reach out to your potential customers (which is great for brand awareness).
Aside from that, it has tons of features that can help improve your engagement rate. Some of the features that you don’t want to miss out on are the reaction buttons, the live video feature, the comment section (where you can interact with your audience), as well as the share feature (which helps improve your visibility).
Social media marketing also helps you stay in touch with your previous customers. By sharing relevant posts and applying the marketing strategies which we will be sharing with you in a bit, you’ll be able to stay on top of the minds of your target audience.
How to Create a Social Media Marketing Strategy for Auto Repair Shops?
You’ve probably heard about social media sites where most of your competitors are. These are Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok. But before we proceed with the types of social media posts you can share with your target audience, it’s important that you build an effective strategy to make sure you are getting results from your marketing efforts.
1. Identify your goal
The first step in creating your social media marketing strategy is by identifying your goal. Think about what you want to achieve or the results you expect to get out of this. Is it to generate leads, increase web traffic, keep in touch with your customers, or reach out to your potential customers?
The reason why you should have a clear goal is that it will serve as your guide in creating your future posts. At the same time, it’ll be easier for you to plan out strategies that are aligned with your marketing goals.
2. Identify your target audience
After identifying your goal, you have to identify who your target audience is. It’s important that you know who your target audience is because it helps you create posts that are suitable for your potential customers.
Not sure if you’re targeting the right audience? Check out your competitors’ social media profiles.
Just remember that you shouldn’t limit yourself from creating posts for individuals who are in the decision stage of the buyer’s journey. Make sure to create equal posts for each stage.
Stages in the buyer’s journey:
- Awareness Stage – this is the stage where individuals are aware of the problem they have with their cars
- Consideration Stage – this is the stage where individuals are considering other options on how to fix their car problems
- Decision Stage – this is the stage where a person is evaluating which service provider will help them fix the problems they have with their car
3. Plan your content
When it comes to the content you post on your auto repair shop’s social media page, it’s important to plan ahead. This way, you stay organized with your posting schedules, don’t miss out on important dates when you can showcase your promos (like the holiday season), and stay consistent when it comes to posting.
If you are looking for calendars that can help you plan out your content calendar, you can try Sprout Social, Trello, and Google Calendar.
4. Keep track of your social media posts
Once you start sharing posts on your auto repair shop’s social media posts, it’s important that you keep track of the following KPIs: engagement rate, number of likes, number and quality of comments, shares, conversion rate, follower growth, and social interactions. This gives you an idea if your posts are effective in attracting your target audience or if there are improvements in your marketing strategies.
5. Optimize your posts
Once you start tracking the performance of your posts, you’ll be able to see which strategies worked for you and which ones don’t. With that, you have to keep on sharing posts that give positive results on your marketing strategies and work on improving the ones that need more work to achieve your marketing goal.
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Social Media Marketing Best Practices
Social media is not just about sharing promotional posts about your auto repair shop. There are other things that you need to do for you to grab the attention of your target audience. In this section, we’ll share tips that can effectively help you achieve your social media marketing goals.
1. Complete your social media profile
To increase the chances of your auto repair shop showing up on relevant search queries on social media platforms, make sure that you include the important details about your business. This includes the name of your auto repair shop, your business hours, your exact location, as well as your contact details.
Like this auto repair shop’s Facebook profile:
Another example is this auto repair shop’s LinkedIn page. As you can see, they used their business logo as their profile photo and the exterior of their shop as the header. They also used “motor vehicle manufacturing” as the category to which their business belongs.
They’ve also used relevant keywords in their profile’s “About Us” section. This includes the name of their auto repair shop, some of the services that they offer, as well as where they are located, and a little bit more about their target customers.
Additional tip: If you have a social media page on more than one platform, make sure that you are using the same name, profile picture, and header. This way, potential customers will know that it’s your official account and they’re on the right page.
2. Engaging captions
Captions, just like images, add context to what your post is all about. It’s something that sets the tone of your post. Here, you can use hashtags and add emojis along with your post.
Tips for creating engaging captions:
- Tell a story. People get emotionally invested especially if they relate to what you’re talking about.
- If you’re sharing tips that are related to auto repair, divide your tips into digestible chunks (so that it’s easier to read).
- Add a call to action on your captions. This will serve as a guide on what your target audience should do after reading your post (e.g. “Share your opinions in the comments section” or “Like if you agree.”)
- If you’re planning to use emojis, use them to emphasize a thought not to replace a word.
3. Create aesthetically pleasing visuals
Visual content also plays a role in encouraging potential customers to engage themselves with your auto repair shop. In fact, a human brain can process images 60,000 times faster than walls of text alone. So, if most of your social media posts consist of plain text with no relevant images in them, you might want to start adding relevant visuals along with it to get the best results.
If you don’t have that much time to spend creating visual content, there are tons of templates that you can use on Canva. From there, you can create social media posts without worrying about the image dimensions and designs, because they have pre-made templates that you can use and modify based on your preference!
4. Engage with your target audience
There are lots of ways how you can interact with your audience. Some of them include leaving a comment under tagged posts, hosting a giveaway or contest, conducting polls, or simply asking a question that’s relevant to your auto repair business.
The more you engage with your target audience, the more likely you will be able to reach customers who are actively looking for auto repair shops. So, if you just recently opened your auto repair business and want to reach potential customers on social media, you might want to start building a strong relationship with your target audience.
5. Stay updated with the latest algorithm changes
Social media algorithms change from time to time. With that, you have to make sure that you regularly check the performance of your posts to see if there are drastic changes that are currently happening.
To stay updated with the latest changes in the algorithms, you can participate in relevant discussions, and forums, or check out articles that discuss the same issue that you might be encountering. You can also use Google Alerts if you want relevant news delivered to your inbox.
6. Hashtags
Hashtags help you get found online. Although the recommended number of hashtags that you should use for each social media platform varies, it’s best to use 1-2 relevant hashtags to get more visibility.
Types of hashtags
- Industry hashtags like #autorepairshop or #autorepair
- Branded hashtags like #F1AutoRepairShop
- Community hashtags like #automotive
- Event hashtags like #TrunkOrTreat or #HappyStPatricksDay
Tips when using hashtags on your auto repair posts
- Keep it short
- If you’re using more than one word, make it readable by using big letters at the beginning of each word
- Only use specific and relevant hashtags on your posts
- Don’t use too many hashtags on every post you create since it will make your post look spammy
- Test to see which hashtags give your auto repair shop increased visibility and generate lead
7. Be consistent in posting
Consistency is one of the important factors in social media marketing. When we say consistent, it’s not just about the frequency of your posts, but also when it comes to the tone of voice you use as well as the type of content you share with your audience.
Tone of voice
The tone of voice refers to how your auto repair shop communicates and stays in touch with your target audience. There are several tones of voice you can use for your auto repair shop. Some of them include formal, casual, fun, and inspirational.
Having a consistent brand voice helps your potential customers identify your auto repair business from your competitors.
Type of content you can share on social media
Just like the tone of voice, there are also a wide variety of posts you can share on social media. It could be in video format, image format, live videos, educational content, promotional posts, and entertaining posts.
Let’s talk a bit more about each type of content.
- Live videos
- These are great especially if you’re hosting an event or preparing something that you want your audience to get involved in. One example is by doing live videos to announce winners of your contest/giveaway like this one:
- Image posts
- These are images that can be anything that’s related to your auto repair shop. It could be a promotional post, an image of your team, an image of the before and after you fixed a broken car, or a 360° view of where your car repair shop is located.
- Educational posts
- If you want to share your expertise in the automotive industry, you can share educational posts in the form of infographics, short clips, and or Q&A posts.
View this post on Instagram
- Entertaining posts
- You can also take a break from promotional posts and share fun yet relatable (and timely) posts.
@paulcampanellasauto A little competition never hurt anybody… #delawarethings #autorepair #signwars2022 #onlyindelaware #pca ♬ ABBY USED MY SOUND – livinonthedancefloor💋
- Milestone posts
- Another type of post you can share on social media is posts about the milestones that your auto repair shop has received. You can use this as an opportunity to thank all of the customers who have been a part of your success in the industry.
View this post on Instagram
8. Share relatable posts
Some of the reasons why consumers follow business pages online are that they want to be heard, stay updated, and be understood. And if a potential customer isn’t currently looking for an auto repair shop to have their cars fixed but found that your page posts highly relatable posts, that could be a driving factor for them to follow your page.
As a matter of fact, relatable posts can help improve customer engagement. With that, you have to do lots of research to find out what topics suit the interest of your target audience.
Tips on how to create relatable posts on social media:
- Keep up with the trends (e.g. memes)
- Make sure that if you’re using memes, it’s relevant to your auto repair shop
- It should be something that is useful to your audience and at the same time, helps maintain your good reputation
9. Follow the 80/20 rule
One of the main reasons why consumers unfollow brands on social media is that there’s no balance when it comes to the type of content you’re posting. Maybe you’re posting more about your business and less about your customers.
When it comes to sharing posts on your auto repair shop’s social media pages, you have to make sure that you’re following the 80/20 rule. This means that you shouldn’t be posting too many promotional posts, instead, 80% of them should be something that’s useful to your audience, and the remaining 20% should be promotional posts.
10. Share testimonials
Online reviews are important in establishing the credibility of a business. So, if you have tons of good reviews on your Business profile, you might want to share them with your audience on social media. Sharing positive experiences from your previous customers will help build trust among your potential customers especially if you just recently opened.
Don’t know how to get your auto repair shop listed on Google? Check out our blog about Google My Business for Auto Repair Shops to learn more.
Want to know more about how effective testimonials are in bringing in more new customers to your auto repair shop?
Social Media Post Ideas for Auto Repair Shops
Now that you have a background on how you can start creating your social media marketing strategy, you might be wondering, “What types of posts should I share with my audience?” In this section, we’ll give you some post ideas that you can use for your auto repair shop.
1. Re-share tagged posts
If one of your business partners or customers mentioned your auto repair shop in their posts (like the example below), you can share it on your social media pages. This added exposure will give your target audience the impression that your auto repair shop is one of the reputable and most trusted businesses in the automotive industry in your area.
2. Host a giveaway
Hosting giveaways, when done right, can help you get more new page followers, post shares, and more leads!
Tips when hosting giveaways:
- plan the duration of your giveaway
- provide clear and easy-to-follow instructions
- come up with a tempting prize
- create a detailed plan on how you will select the winner(s)
- make sure that the giveaway that you will be hosting is in line with your marketing goal
- think of how you will implement your giveaway
Here are a few examples of a giveaway hosted by auto repair shops on social media:
View this post on Instagram
@theautomotiveclinic #fyp #giveaway #mechanic #autoelectrician #autosparky #automotive #melbourne @Allautos Advanced Tuning @The Grumpy Technician @Stephane @Snakey #mekanik @djmobileautoservices @All dinky mechanical @Avon Tuning @Baz Meredith 🤙🏻 @BLG @Cody’s Auto Diagnostics’s @Kurt Simms @Ell’s Auto Care @JezzaSidewayz @Kyles corner automotive @NMRDIAGNOSTICS @N Burke Diagnostic @Omarionolv @Paulie the auto elec @Peninsula ute conversions @sitecomm ♬ original sound – theautomotiveclinic
3. Create a referral program
Customer referrals are one of the effective ways of bringing in more new customers to your auto repair shop. Since you’ll be asking for a referral from previous customers who have first-hand experience with the services you offer, you have to make sure that you’re providing high-quality and excellent services. This way, they will have no reason to decline your request.
Tips for creating a referral program for your auto repair shop:
- briefly explain how your referral program works
- reach out to your previous customers
- think about your referral incentives
- plan how you will promote your referral program (e.g. on social media, your auto repair shop’s website, through emails, or website pop-ups)
Here’s an example of a referral program from an auto repair shop:
4. Behind the scenes of your team working
Sharing posts of your team working behind the scenes adds a human touch to your auto repair shop. It gives your potential customers an idea of what vibe your employees give off or the type of personalities that they have. Aside from that, behind-the-scenes content also helps establish trust in your auto repair shop.
@royaltyautoservice Busy day today! Blessed to have an awesome crew! #automotive #mechanic #mechaniclife #carguy #cartok #duramax #acura #lexus #bmw #ford #work #suv #car #fyp #foryou #mechanicsoftiktok #autoshop ♬ Storytelling – Adriel
@royaltyautoservice We take our time during a brake job. Step by step through the process helps save our clients time and money! #auto #carrepair #autorepair #mechanic #mechaniclife #car #autoshop #cartricksandtips #cartok #automotive #cars #repair #nissan #autoindustry #cartroubles #brakes #brakejob #brakecheck #foryou #fyp #viral ♬ Aesthetic – Tollan Kim
5. Testimonials
You can also use customer feedback to share the positive experiences that your previous clients have encountered at your auto repair shop. For example, if a customer left a good review on your Google My Business listing, you can copy the review and turn it into visual content like in this example:
View this post on Instagram
Or if you want your customers to read the review themselves, you can also link the page where the review can be found like this:
Here’s another example posted on Pinterest:
6. Staff appreciation post
Show how much you value your team by sharing staff appreciation posts. You can share posts like these whenever a staff got mentioned in some of the good reviews from your previous customers, it’s their birthday, or if they achieved a milestone that deserves some praise. Not only will it increase their morale working as an employee in your auto repair shop, but potential customers will have a positive impression of your business.
View this post on Instagram
@supercheap_auto Meet Darren, he is our product tester and all round legend! Let us know if you want to see more of Darren and the things he tests! #fyp #foryoupage #fypシ #fypシ゚viral #cars #carsoftiktok #cartok #Supercheapauto #SCA #foryou ♬ original sound – Supercheap Auto
7. Humor posts
Everybody needs a good laugh from time to time. So, if you have relevant jokes that you think your target audience will find funny, don’t gatekeep them! Instead, give it a shot and share it on your auto repair shop’s social media page (who knows, you might get viral if tons of people find your post funny).
Like in this example:
@paulcampanellasauto Free shuttle service, no bones about it! Spook your car with killer service this Halloween. #autorepair #spooktacular #automechanic #delawaretiktok #trickortreat #spookyseason ♬ Halloween – Scary Ringtones
@stageautocenter Things in our #repair shop that just make sense 🤷 #mechanic #mechanicsoftiktok #mechanichumor #mechaniclife #flatrate #automotive @rob._.jr ♬ Che La Luna – Louis Prima with Sam Butera & The Witnesses
8. Promotional posts
Promotional posts are primarily focused on getting more new customers to your auto repair shop. It could be a post about the current promos you have, vouchers that your customers can use, or a post about what makes your services better than other car repair shops.
@clippingpointautoclub We have gift cards! Until December 25th, get 50% off lift hours when you load them onto a gift card. #winnipeg #transcona #giftideas #diyautorepair ♬ The Rhythm of the Night – Corona
View this post on Instagram
9. Season’s Greetings
Another tip to stay relevant with your target customers is by sharing a greeting post on your social media profile whenever there are events, holidays, or other important occasions that are celebrated regularly. You can also encourage your customers to visit your auto repair shop if you have some freebies in accordance with the celebration like in these examples:
@supercheap_auto 💥FIRE IN THE HOLE💥 It’s easy to make Christmas SUPER🎄 with a Supercheap Auto gift card! (they also make great decorations) Pick up a present that can’t go wrong this Christmas🎁 #christmas #christmastree #christmastiktok #fyp #fypシ #fypシ゚viral #foryoupage #foryou #SupercheapAuto #sca #car #cartok #carsoftiktok ♬ original sound – Supercheap Auto
View this post on Instagram
@paulcampanellasauto We asked the technicians at our Pike Creek shop what their favorite car to work on is. Mechanics of TikTok, tell us about your favorite car(s) to work on in the comments! #TeamCampanellas ♬ original sound – Paul Campanella’s Auto
@paulcampanellasautoAsking more of our automotive techs about their favorite cars to work on! Mechanics of TikTok, tell us your favorites in the comments:♬ original sound – Paul Campanella’s Auto
Looking for a guide on how you can create ad campaigns for your auto repair shop? Check out our blog about Google Ads for Auto Repair Shops to learn more.
10. Create a mini-series about your auto repair services
If you want something to capture the interest of your target audience and give them something to look forward to, you can divide a long video into two parts like in this TikTok post from an auto repair shop:
@paulcampanellasauto We asked the technicians at our Pike Creek shop what their favorite car to work on is. Mechanics of TikTok, tell us about your favorite car(s) to work on in the comments! #TeamCampanellas ♬ original sound – Paul Campanella’s Auto
@paulcampanellasautoAsking more of our automotive techs about their favorite cars to work on! Mechanics of TikTok, tell us your favorites in the comments:♬ original sound – Paul Campanella’s Auto
Don’t have time to set up Google Ads for your auto repair shop?
Key takeaway
Social media marketing is one of the most effective ways in expanding your auto repair shop’s reach. When done right, it can also help you stay in touch with your previous customers and most importantly, get more new customers! Just follow the best practices we’ve mentioned earlier and you’ll eventually see results in no time.
