In this 6-minute read:
- Create a Facebook page and add photos to it
- Get customer reviews
- Post regular content and increase your following
- Boost posts and create ads
Every day, Facebook increases its position as not only a social media powerhouse, but a highly popular mode of communication from consumers to businesses. When customers are in research mode, they often don’t want to have to call several businesses to learn about their prices and services. So, they’ll use other methods, like Facebook messenger and website chats.
Attract new customers and keep them happy with reputation management software. Learn more, plus get free reputation monitoring and customer insights when you sign up for Womply Free!
How can you get your auto shop in front of consumers on Facebook? We’re glad you asked. There are several ways to promote your auto shop and Facebook, and we’ve got just the list to get you started.
Create a Facebook business page
You can’t promote your auto shop on Facebook with a Facebook business page, so the first step is to create one. Before you do this, do a quick search on Facebook to see if there’s already an “unofficial” business page for your shop.
If there is, claim that so you don’t have to start from scratch. If there isn’t, then you can get started with this easy tutorial from Facebook.
Once you create your business page, be sure to include as much information as possible about your business and services so customers can make an educated decision. Here are a few must-haves for your page:
- Your auto shop’s business name (this should be the same name that you list when you claim your Google My Business listing and claim your Yelp listing)
- Address
- Phone number
- Hours open (including holiday hours)
- Description for the “about us” section
- Website
- Email address
- Profile picture (your logo is perfect for this)
- Cover photo or cover video (use candid shot of your mechanics working or a nice shot of your storefront)
- Services and prices
When you have all of the relevant information that your customers will need, you can really get started on ranking your business page better on Facebook.
Add photos of your shop
We mentioned photos in our list above. People are very visual and will determine the type of experience they will have with a business based on their photos. Take professional quality pictures of your customer lobby and waiting areas, as well as of your employees and workshop.
Before and after photos of repairs are great to include on your Facebook page too. If someone sees damage similar to what their vehicle has and the great work you’ve done for other customers, that will entice them to choose you.
Get recommendations on Facebook
Recommendations and reviews are powerful conversion tools. Consumers want to know they are going to get the best experience, so they rely on the experiences of others to determine whether or not to do business with someplace new.
And with Facebook, you can see when your Facebook friends “like” a business page or recommend them. Seeing someone you know connected with the business in a positive way sends huge trust signals and is worth so much more than a bunch of reviews from strangers.
Not sure how to get Facebook reviews? Here are a few methods that we’ve found can work well:
- Provide excellent service and ask customers for a review. Yes, ask them. Happy customers don’t always think to leave reviews but are usually more than willing to do so if you simply ask them.
- Place “Rate us on Facebook” signs strategically in your lobby and storefront. These are great reminders for customers to leave a review as they check out and leave with their newly repaired vehicle.
- Add “Rate us on Facebook” verbiage and instructions on your receipts. Whether these are emailed or printed, you can provide another reminder by doing this.
- Consider reputation management software. Some systems can connect with your CRM and send out invites via text and email for your customers to leave you a review, saving you time and building up your online reputation.
Post regular content
When you have a Facebook page, you want to make sure it stays active. If someone lands on your page and sees that you haven’t posted on it in three years, they likely aren’t going to reach out to you.
But posting on Facebook does more than just let consumers know that you are still in business and relevant. It allows you to engage with your customer base in meaningful ways. You can provide valuable content to them and post fun things that your staff does behind the scenes.
Here are a few ideas you can use to post content on your auto shop’s page:
- Video tutorial for “how to change a tire” and other simple fixes customers could do at home
- Quick tips to know when to bring a car in for maintenance or repairs
- Employee features
- Discounts and promotions
- News about your business – if you move locations, get a renovation, etc.
Build up your following
The larger your Facebook page’s following, the better your visibility will be on Facebook and the more people you can reach. These “followers” (people who “like” your page are followers by default) are the people who will interact with and share your posted content, so they are important!
Try some of these methods for increasing your following:
- Post regular content
- Invite all of your Facebook friends to “like” your page
- Place “Like us on Facebook” signs on your website and in your lobby
- Boost Facebook posts locally
- Invite people who “like” your Facebook posts to “like” your page
Boost your Facebook posts to local audiences
Boosting a post on Facebook is another term for turning it into an advertisement. When you boost a post, you can reach audiences beyond your Facebook following. If you’ve seen those “sponsored” posts in your news feed, it is often a boosted post.
When you boost a post, you can target local audiences and choose specific demographics like interests, age, and gender. These targeting capabilities are perfect for getting your ads in front of the right people.
You can then set a specific daily or total budget for your boosted post and how long you want it to run. The best part about this is it’s pretty inexpensive compared to other advertising platforms.
Set up Facebook Ads Manager
If you want to get a little more advanced with your Facebook ads or don’t want them to be posts from your page, you can set up Facebook Ads Manager to create new ads campaigns.
Ads Manager allows you to select goals for your campaign, like more conversions or brand awareness. You have more options to customize your ad copy and can utilize a video or multiple images. Then you can select your target audience, budget, and duration, similarly to how you would when boosting a post.
The cool thing about Facebook ads with both boosted posts and Ads Manager is that you can connect your account to Instagram and it will automatically show your ads there too.
You can set up your Ads Manager account with these instructions.
Now you’re ready to start getting more views and, hopefully, conversions with your Facebook page. But if you need any help managing it or are worried about getting new customer reviews, solutions like reputation management software can help put your mind at ease by simplifying the process. Learn more, plus get free reputation monitoring and customer insights when you sign up for Womply Free!