Should dealers be on Instagram?

[Lisa Lansing]

I am researching to see if it worthwhile for an automotive dealer to be on Instagram. We are currently on Facebook and Google+. Any insight or comments about this would be appreciated.

 

[Alex Snyder]

I would say it is a bit like a recent discussion that is worth taking a look at Lisa: http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/threads/pinterest-for-your-car-dealership.4747/#post-41475

and welcome to DealerRefresh.

 

[Karen Ann]

We like Instagram. Not sure how many cars we sell but lots of interaction...and our Owner is active on it. Our Instagram ads do very well for likes, but traffic has low page visits and high bounce rate.

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Great question @lisa , and thanks for joining the DR community.

Anyone have some great examples of dealers really leveraging Instagram?

I would highly recommend subscribing to Mercedes-benz on Instagram. They do an amazing job. Being a high profile luxury OEM gives them an advantage. PLUS MB is at the PRIME of their designs (inside and out). People here in the states "dream' about owning a vehicle like a Benz. Check them out, you may gain a few good ideas.

 

[Chris Leslie]

If you're going to do this...

• Make sure to tag the hell out of your pics.
• Don't try and create your own tags. Use already established ones (Nobody searches your made up tag)
• Use tools like dlvr.it to run a feed from instagram to your social channels.
• mix it up with video
• Don't take yourself to serious

 

[Alexander Lau]

Looks like something was developed via this site @ http://www.dealerrefresh.com/dealers-using-instagram-answers (2013).

Anything that's popular and free and allows you to connect with various individuals within your demographic is worth doing.

Granted, I don't see many Silent Generation or Baby Boomers on it and I'm not so sure Generation X cares, but are probably indifferent towards it, like myself. There's always exceptions. Although now an offshoot of Facebook (and there's a lot of older people on FB), Generation Y, Echo Boomers or Millenniums are who connect with Instagram the most, so it's probably worth exploring.

Here's an interesting post on Instagram Lead Generation @ http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/instagram-lead-generation.

Automotive related @ https://9clouds.com/2015/02/06/8-ap...-dominate-instagram-automotive-marketing-tips, https://9clouds.com/2015/01/28/is-your-dealership-doing-these-3-things-on-instagram

I've been contemplating going after the automotive retail market through my own platform, but haven't pulled the trigger yet.

 

[trappstick]

As a marketer that's watched IG blow up traffic stats for those patient enough to stick it out I have to say yet, but it really depends on the vehicles.

The higher end dealerships will get a lot of eyeballs on popular/exotic/luxury cars. Will it translate to sales? That's hard to say, since you're not exactly targeting local with IG, however, for what social beacons are worth it could be a good investment of 5 - 10 minutes of your work day. Any work you can do to bring attention to your website/business is a good thing in terms of long-term SEO and branding, so why not?

 

[Steve Stauning]

Does anyone have any ROI stats or even "in market consumer post views" for Instagram? Without these, the only reason I would suggest that a client waste any money or time (which, as you know, is money) on Instagram is if (A) They are an OEM; (B) They are known for selling exotic cars; or (C) They have already maximized every other marketing source and their in-store processes are perfect.

Time and marketing budgets are finite resources and need to be allocated to those sources and activities that best drive the goals for the business. If the goal is to post cool pics that get "dozens" of Likes, then go for it.

 

[Alexander Lau]

In social media marketing and especially with the display advertising aspect (most of it), it's not always about the calculation of ROI. Although I agree it's extremely important to measure and ultimately the most important KPIs, reach(ing) your demographic / creating an awareness of your products is part of the equation.

The same can be said for pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll video advertising. The CTR from video advertising is very low, but that doesn't mean it cannot be effective from a reach standpoint, etc. IOW, getting eyes on your display ads and videos is also important.

In terms of Instagram, you're going after the younger crowd. You should think about Snapchat as well if that's who you want to target. Mind you, this demographic isn't the richest (they don't have a ton of money = Bernie Sanders crowd) so your ads better reflect that fact, as much. You wouldn't want to target the wrong crowd; with the wrong ads.

 

[Steve Stauning]

Does anyone have any ROI stats or even "in market consumer post views" for Instagram? Without these, the only reason I would suggest that a client waste any money or time (which, as you know, is money) on Instagram is if (A) They are an OEM; (B) They are known for selling exotic cars; or (C) They have already maximized every other marketing source and their in-store processes are perfect.

Time and marketing budgets are finite resources and need to be allocated to those sources and activities that best drive the goals for the business. If the goal is to post cool pics that get "dozens" of Likes, then go for it.

To clarify my points above, I'm speaking only about dealers posting photos on Instagram. Determining the ROI for MARKETING on Instagram is simple, not worthy of discussion, and should simply be weighed against other digital marketing conduits like Facebook, Twitter, Ad Words, Etc...