By Anna Tozzi-Barbay, Boatmart.com, an MRAA Education Champion
In the age of digital media, creating engaging digital media content for your dealership across various platforms can greatly increase your reach to potential customers. By ensuring that you are optimizing the benefits of each platform and utilizing the unique features that each offer for business accounts offer by putting out content that is tailored to your target customer base, your chances at a successful campaign are increased. Below are a few tips for creating engaging content for your dealership on digital media platforms so that you can create the best reach for your target market.
The Art of Content Creation
Creating content that is both informative and engaging will allow for your dealership to stand out in a competitive market. To do this, you must first understand your target audience. Understanding your customer base and their needs will allow you to create tailored content that will answer their questions, solve their problems and meet their expectations. This can be achieved in a few ways, depending on the platform you are using.
Professional-quality visual content is just the tip of the iceberg where catering to your specific audience is concerned. It must also be streamlined and concise. Among the content creation tools that you will find most valuable:
- Engaging visual content created on a digital design platform like Canva, Designer, Adobe InDesign or something similar.
- If you are building or maintaining your own website where you will publish a blog, find a user-friendly website builder or hire a webmaster who can maintain a website for your dealership.
- Utilize social media management tools like Meta business suite.
- Employ Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tools like Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising or similar ad management software to help you optimize reach.
- Utilize video editing software to create more professional looking visual content.
Benefits of Digital Media
Digital media platforms offer a variety of different ways to reach your target audience. While some rely more on simple visuals, others support more video content and still others like dealership blogs offer more in-depth information on topics that might interest current and potential customers. Social media allows you to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach and reach a broader audience for the following platforms:
Blogs
A dealership blog offers several benefits. It allows you to establish yourself as an authority on your product, showcase knowledge on topics related to your business, build trust with your target audience, make finding your website easier by utilizing SEO methods, build your reputation as an industry leader and provide educational and engaging content.
A blog is going to offer your customers more in-depth information on a variety of topics and can be published on a schedule so that you are continuously publishing engaging and informative information. While you may want to hire someone in-house to create blogs for your dealership, outsourcing options are also available.
While Facebook has been around for quite some time, Meta Business Suites by Facebook is a relatively new initiative that offers businesses a way to create and manage posts across both Facebook and Instagram, scheduling content to go up at peak hours and getting it in front of your target audience more efficiently.
Facebook can be best utilized to post professional photos, announce sales and promotions and engage with customers through both collecting reviews and engaging in posts. Facebook Live is also a great tool for offering visual tours of your dealership and engaging with your customers base in real time, allowing you to create more trust with your target audience.
Make sure your visual content is not over-edited and easy to read. Using the alternative text options is also a great tool for those customers who may benefit from this inclusion.
Instagram is a great platform for visual content like photos and video reels. You can link your business Instagram to your Facebook account and schedule posts, reels and stories from the same Meta Business Suite that you utilize for your Facebook business page.
When creating content for both platforms, take your target audience into consideration for each post and tailor the content so that it finds those who will benefit best from its content. Remember, you are offering your customers a solution to a problem. When creating visual content, keep factors like age, location and interest in mind. Knowing your target audience demographic will not only help you to create more specific content, but also to know when to post this content throughout the day.
It’s best not to over-saturate your Instagram page with too many posts each day. Sticking to peak hours instead, which will optimize your posts visibility.
Using relevant hashtags is also a great way to increase reach, but keep those limited and relevant, as well.
TikTok
TikTok is the least formal social media platform in terms of what you can post for customer engagement. It offers a more personalized approach where you can perhaps have a bit more wiggle room to have fun. Much like Instagram, utilizing hashtags will increase your reach allowing your account to be more easily found. Fifty percent of TikTok users are over the age of 30, meaning you have the potential to reach tens of thousands of potential customers who are actively searching for boats.
TikTok is great for engaging in some of the platforms trending challenges that are designed to find a bigger audience. Come ideas for content, weekly how-to videos, fun showroom clips, maintenance videos and other promotional videos. Using a video editing app like CapCut to create professional reels will allow you to promote more professional looking content while still enjoying the more casual approach the TikTok offers.
Unlike the above social media platforms, LinkedIn is more business-driven, connecting you with industry professionals and keeps you informed on industry trends and insights. While you can still share engaging visual content, LinkedIn’s more professional focus. By allowing your dealership to showcase its achievements and network, professional relationships can be fostered in a setting that allows for business growth.
Consider a Social Media or Content Manager
Does this all sound a bit overwhelming? Consider hiring a social media or content manager with expertise across these platforms to maximize your dealership’s digital reach and impact. A Social Media Marketing Manager will have the knowledge and experience to allow you to get your content in front of the most potential customers.
About the Author
Anna Cecilia Tozzi is a freelance writer with a passion for learning new things. With over five years of experience working as the business manager for a successful custom motorcycle and auto-rebuilding business, she specializes in creating engaging content that resonates with readers who have a passion for everything on wheels. When she’s not typing away, you’ll find this Jaqueline of all trades working as a personal trainer or performing with a dinner theater. For more articles by Anna, visit https://boatmediakit.com/blog/.
