Instagram has over 1 billion adults on their platform and an extensive, car-loving community that you can tap into for your dealership’s marketing.  

• 41% of Instagrammers share a photo of their new car after a purchase. 
• 52% of Instagram car enthusiasts watch videos to assess performance. 

If you haven’t set up your dealership Instagram profile, now is the time. L2T uses Instagram for its visual storytelling opportunities to showcase your vehicles and the personality of your dealership. 

Connect with a Younger Demographic on Social Media  

By creating an active account, you can interact and target younger audiences that are using this platform for research and social connection.  

• 85% of 18- to 24-year-olds say Instagram is their preferred social network. 
• Millennials are 1.41x more likely to use Instagram when looking for a new brand. 
• High earners in the 25- to 35-year-old demographic are the largest portion of people who use Instagram. 

Generation Z will soon be heading to college, starting their first jobs or moving out on their own, and Millennials are going through a lot of life transitions, from buying their first homes to starting families. This is a good time for dealers to start connecting with these younger shoppers who will soon be starting their research process. 

Growing Secondary Audiences on Instagram  

• 23% of the 50- to 64-year-old demographic say they’re using Instagram, which is up from 18% in 2016. 

While younger audiences tend to be the largest portion of the Instagram audience, more mature audiences are adopting the platform. This gives dealers an opportunity to connect with these audiences to showcase luxury or secondary vehicles, as many of these customers may no longer need their current minivans or large family vehicles. 

Connect with Car Enthusiasts  

There is a large and passionate automotive network on Instagram that you can interact with and get noticed by.  

• 53% of auto respondents use Instagram to connect with others who are passionate about cars. 
• 181 people on average follow car enthusiasts. 
• 3.5M posts with a #sportscar hashtag were posted in March and April of 2017. 

Spend time finding the right hashtags and following Instagram accounts that are passionate about cars to grow your followers for your page. This audience is great to tap into, especially when they purchase a vehicle from your dealership and post a photo of their purchase. That is a free promo for you and many of your sold vehicles! 

Best Practices and Ways to Effectively Utilize Instagram 

• Highlight your inventory on your lot. 
• Share customer photos after they have purchased their vehicle from your dealership. 
• Provide behind-the-scenes happenings with your staff and your operations. 
• Consider your grid. The grid is the layout of images you see on your personal homepage just below your profile picture. 
• Try Stories. They disappear after 24 hours, so stories are best used when they focus on things that are time-sensitive or recent. 
• Share posts about your community and sales events. 
• Utilize relevant hashtags to attract engagement with your business. You can use up to 30 hashtags!  

Instagram is a fun, highly interactive platform that allows you to connect with your customers that are using social media. Start building your page today and enjoy seeing the fun interactions you can with your customers!  

Want more information on how to set up your Instagram page or how to better utilize the platform?

Connect with us to talk about ramping up your Instagram strategy. 

Sources: Hootsuite, “Driving Success: How Auto Brands are Inspiring Action on Instagram”