February 12, 2025
The Value of Instagram for Car Dealers

The Value of Instagram for Car Dealers

There are many ways to advertise and market your dealership. Old school, traditional advertising, including TV and radio commercials, are still viable options and can be lucrative. However social media marketing is the new sheriff in town. It’s no surprise since nearly half of all car sales start online. And when it comes to cars, Instagram is leading the pack. Auto is huge on this social media platform. People drool over car photos and especially car videos. If you’re not already using Instagram – go sign up, like right now!

Cars are one of the biggest draws on Instagram

Cars are one of the biggest niche interest groups on Instagram with more than 5 million active U.S. users claiming their top Instagram passion is auto. Armed with this statistic car dealers should be flocking there in droves to take advantage of this already assembled audience, just waiting to check out what you’ve got to say and show.

Visual storytelling

The best way to connect with your audience and potential future customers is through visual storytelling. Local TV car ads tell you the price of the car, finance options and where to buy it. But they don’t tell you about the experience of owning that particular make and model. What does it feel like to get behind the wheel? Big auto brands do this in their commercials. They sell the emotion of the brand, convincing you that this particular car will define who you are as well as get you safely and comfortably from A to Z.

Since more and more people are moving away from traditional media for news, shopping, and entertainment – swiping their phones instead of switching on their TV’s – dealerships can easily emulate these marketing techniques on Instagram.

Inspire, entertain, and inform your audience

As a dealership you can use all of Instagram – the regular feed, stories, and live streams, allowing you to reach different segments of your audience to inform and inspire with your content. Create a rapport by offering your followers what they need and want, which is the content of value to them. Earn their trust and respect through answering questions and engaging with them, rather than just telling them why they need to buy your product. This makes for better sales in the long term and creates loyal customers. At the same time, you can entertain with stunning visuals to really build up a strong car dealer social media strategy!

Types of Content to Share

Instagram users want to learn more and indulge their passion for cars. So your well-crafted content, storytelling and messaging fulfill a need – you’ll be helping the very people who are seeking your advice, recommendations, knowledge and tips.

You can also share the experiences customers enjoy in and through their cars – such as photos of a road trip to beautiful places, in a super comfortable, reliable vehicle, where you can get to your destination relaxed, with no worries and enjoy the scenery!

Also, research what car enthusiasts are sharing on their Instagram posts – are they adventurous off-roaders? What are they driving? People love attending car shows -– what did they like?
It’s a good idea to pay attention to what’s going on all over the site.

You can make Instagram work for you on so many levels and although there’s a bit of a learning curve, it ain’t rocket science! It’s easy and fun and the end results could mean better business for your dealership.  And if you need help there are a number of reliable marketing agencies with social media managers that can help you implement these Instagram strategies.

Enjoy the ride!