If you think having a social media presence means announcing discounts or promotions now and then or posting sales pitches, think again.
The reality is, people typically don’t interact with an auto glass company on social media. You have to give them a reason why they should. It’s a challenge, but it can be done, as companies in all types of industries have proven.
The goal is to create content that is interesting enough for people in your local business area to share, comment on, like, and act upon. By doing so, your company’s name stays in the forefront of their minds so when they do need to replace their vehicle’s windshield or window, your company automatically comes to mind.
Auto glass repair marketing works best on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, Foursquare, etc., because it’s putting your auto glass business where your customers are. The more visibility you have on social media, the more credible your company becomes as a key part of the community.
Key Point: In order to excel in social media marketing, plan on spending three to five hours a week building and growing your audience on various social media platforms. If you’re short on time, divide tasks between one or more employees or hire a digital marketing professional.
Social media platforms have been around long enough for businesses to learn best practices from companies that are leading their competition with their social media marketing campaigns. Based on these best practices, here’s how auto glass companies can dominate their competition with social media.
Post From a Customer’s Perspective
Think about how people view an auto glass shop and why they would interact with your social media page. Typically, there would be very little interaction unless the service was needed, so you need to make your social media content relatable to things all vehicle owners have in common.
For example, just about everyone notices that windshield dings show up more when the sun is shining directly onto the windshield, so you can post content relatable to that topic. Another topic might focus on how people tend to find small windshield cracks when they’re washing their car.
Also, keep in mind any specific demographics you want to reach. Are you targeting males, females, young drivers, the elderly? How do they view your business and how does that viewpoint impact whether they bring their car to you for windshield repair?
Put yourself in the mind-set of your target market and think of ways you can promote events or provide information to specifically engage your customer base on social media to get them into your business.
Think about what your customers like, do, or are concerned about and write content and tag photos that are relatable to those topics.
Key Point: When you know what your customers’ concerns are and put them first, you will gain a loyal and engaged social media community that translates into a great business reputation.
Engage With Conversation Starter Questions
People enjoy expressing their opinions on social media, so use it to your advantage. Pose a topic relevant to the auto glass industry and ask people to weigh in on it. Be sure the topic is interesting or current to engage a lively conversation.
Consider posting content that asks how drivers got a windshield crack or a shattered window. Or, ask vehicle owners how many chips or bullseyes they had on their windshield before they got it fixed.
Other conversation starters might be popular spots where dings occur, windshield or window mishaps while traveling on vacation, commuting horror stories, or how people feel when they see another driver with a cracked windshield.
Join the Discussion
Read content posted by people in your target audience and join in on the discussion. You’ll also learn what’s important to them so you can apply it to your content marketing strategy.
Share Your Expertise, But in a Fun Way
Consumers do business with reputable companies, so you should use social media to build your company’s reputation within the communities you serve.
One way to build trust is to demonstrate your expertise. But, be sure to keep it light and fun. For example, you could post a weekly fun fact about auto window safety or share auto news of importance to consumers.
In addition to posting text and images, create videos on topics that customers would want to know about auto glass repair. These could be how-to videos, impact videos of a windshield or window compromised by a crack, customer testimonials, a tour of your auto glass shop, or employees talking about their jobs as it relates to fixing a customer’s windshield or window.
Become Friends With Your Customers
Since you work, and possibly live, in the area where your business is located, you should become friends with residents of that community, both in person and online.
Share or post on social media things you would share with friends. For instance, you could seek advice about a community event, such as the best place to watch the holiday parade or a must-have food specialty at a local festival.
Also consider posting a survey or quiz to see how much people know about windshield repair, window replacement, or auto glass in general.
You also want to share the friendly, family atmosphere that exists within your business, so post photos of employees, such as the employee of the month, or a birthday or special accomplishment celebration.
In addition, post about the work employees do in the community, such as volunteering, attending a community event, or catching a big fish.
Also make an effort to tag customers’ photos, especially those at community events your business sponsors, to establish a personal connection. Don’t forget to tag employees who are on social media as well.
Key Point: By building friendly online relationships, people get to know who they are doing business with, which, in time, builds trust and loyalty.
Establish Roots in the Community
As a local auto glass business, it’s important to be involved in the communities you serve. Join local groups, support local charities, or partner with vocational or technical schools.
Use social media to tell about your community experiences. Perhaps you provided a free windshield repair to a needy family in the community. Or, maybe you donate time to teach students interested in pursuing a career in auto glass repair.
Be sure to post photos of you and your employees participating in community or charitable work. Nonprofit organizations typically have a good social media reach when it comes to sharing posts.
Likewise, promote the community that your business serves by posting community events, seeking opinions on a topic of interest in the community, and tagging photos of popular events in the community.
Make Social Engagement Worthwhile
Content that is beneficial makes it worthwhile for people to engage with you on social media. Along those lines, providing value also helps to build a following. From time to time, consider providing a special deal on windshield repair.
You can plan these special offers during your slow months or in months when people are more likely to seek out an auto glass company.
Social media provides various ways to offer a promotion. You can run a Facebook ad, offer a discount directly to your social media followers, provide double points when someone checks in on Foursquare, or run a contest through your Pinterest board.
Use Helpful Social Media Tools
Several social media platforms have tools available to help you target your audience in the most effective way. Take advantage of them because they are valuable when trying to dominate your competition with social media. Here are some of the more useful ones:
Meet Edgar – This platform helps you organize your social media content so you know what you posted where and when. This avoids duplicating content to the same social media platform.
LocalTweeps – This app helps in finding and following Twitter users in your local community and people looking for your auto glass services.
BuzzSumo – This tool determines if your content will be effective in terms of social shares.
By following these best practices, your auto glass business will dominate your competition on social media. What’s more, your business will build company awareness and develop an emotional attachment with members of the communities you serve.
As a result, when consumers in your local area need window or windshield repair or replacement services, your company will immediately come to mind. And that’s a good thing for your bottom line.