Creating social media business pages is an important element of your business in this current day and age, however, oftentimes dealers have trouble grappling with what the return on investment is with social media. If this is you, then Total Landscape Care says you might be taking the wrong approach to social media marketing as a whole.

First, let’s start with some important statistics about why your dealership should already be on social media:

• More than 1 in 3 Internet users say they go to social networks when looking for more information about a brand or product. (Insight Global)
• There are now more than 50 million small businesses using Facebook Pages to connect with their customers. (Adweek)
• Almost 90% of marketers say their social marketing efforts have increased exposure for their business, and 75% say they’ve increased traffic. (Social Media Examiner)

So while you can utilize social media as another revenue-producing resource, it’s important to not think of it in a way that necessarily produces direct sales. Here’s what we mean by that:

You wouldn’t just go to a random individual and try to sell them your equipment right off the bat would you? No, you’d begin to form a relationship with the individual, get to know his/her needs, and then introduce him/her to your product or services based on that.

Social media works the same way. It fosters that relationship with your customer, either current or prospective, long-term and builds the trust between you both. It’s also a great way to manage your dealership’s image and reputation. But you might be wondering, how does this make you money?

When a customer trusts you, it leads to increased repeat business, upsells and referrals. Additionally, frequent posting on social media and engaging with your followers creates a better brand perception, higher customer retention, and increased word of mouth.

Overall, social media can be best described as subtle way of nurturing relationships both new and existing.  It’s all about creating value, but not asking for much in return. Focusing on the relationship building aspect of social media and the potentially lucrative results that come from that should be at the forefront of your mind when looking at social media for business. Switching your mindset from assuming you’ll get direct sales to understanding that social media is a way to keep your customer connected and engaged is what will ultimately make the performance of your social media thrive.