This article was originally published in Dutch in 2011 and has been translated and updated in October 2026.
Recently on LinkedIn, we took part in a number of discussions about the use of social media in the automotive industry. What stood out was that many people in this sector were not yet convinced of the benefits of social media. Its use met with a lot of resistance, and the question we heard most often was what it actually delivers in terms of the bottom line.
Be where your audience is
In the car business, the bottom line is of course about selling more cars. That requires people in the showroom and test drives. There can be no misunderstanding about that. But to get people into your showroom, you will have to make contact with your target audience one way or another. At the time this article was written, the figures showed that a staggering number of people in the Netherlands (millions) used social media every day, and that they spent as much as half of their time online on social networks. So why not try to reach your audience in the places where they spend so much of their time?
The orientation process
What we see is that people now research online before they buy a new product. That also applies (perhaps even more so!) to buying a new car. During the purchasing process, the consumer uses several channels to get oriented. They hear an advert on the radio, see something on TV, read about it in a car magazine, search online (websites, blogs, forums) for information about the model, ask colleagues, family and friends (in the pub, at a birthday party, on Facebook, Twitter or Hyves, the Dutch social network that was still popular back then), look online for a dealer nearby and then decide to book a test drive (online) or visit a dealership.
Trust is an important factor
Of course, several factors play a role in choosing a dealer. There will certainly be differences between older and younger customers, and between lease drivers and buyers, but for everyone the trustworthiness of a dealer is an important factor in deciding whether or not to pay a visit. People check online reviews and value the opinions of other customers. This applies both to the choice of a dealer and to the choice of a particular car or model. Consumers no longer believe in pure advertising; they rely far more on the opinions of others (their peers). As a car manufacturer or dealer, you can choose whether or not to make use of this. But by being active in as many relevant places as possible, you will greatly increase the chance that potential customers will find you. And social media are one of those places.
Making and keeping contact
Social media not only give you a way to get in touch with your target audience, but also a way to stay in touch with them. After all, someone who shows interest now but does not buy may well decide to buy a car a year from now. When that moment comes, you want them to choose your brand and book a test drive with you as their dealer.
Social media are distribution channels
That is why it is important to build a ‘social media base’ that allows you to convey your message, your product and your brand to a highly relevant audience. In other words, it gives you a new distribution channel. A channel that lets you not only broadcast but also receive. On the one hand, you can provide your audience with interesting and relevant information, new models, special offers and new products and services. On the other hand, it becomes possible for the consumer to communicate with you, your brand, the manufacturer and the dealer. Consumers can tell you what is on their minds, what they want, what they think of you, your products and your service, what is bothering them and what their experiences are. All this feedback and these insights are invaluable for any kind of business, whatever its size and whatever its industry. What is more, when a consumer writes positively about you, a very large number of other interested people can see it. They in turn can be positively influenced and let these messages from others play a part in their own decisions.
Added value only for importers and large dealers?
One question that kept coming up was what small dealers stand to gain from social media. In our view, smaller businesses, and therefore smaller dealers, can also benefit from social media. They also need people in their showroom, so they also need to be found. Moreover, they too can give potential customers a reason to visit their showroom rather than a competitor’s (a personal approach, service, you name it).
Social media under the microscope
As mentioned above, the bottom line is selling more cars. That applies to social media too. But the question of what something ultimately delivers should be asked of every form of marketing and advertising. It is just that with other media, it is not asked nearly as emphatically as it is with social media. I never hear anyone ask how many test drives Toyota’s latest TV commercial generated, while in my opinion that question is just as relevant (or irrelevant) as it is for social media.
The impact of social media depends on many factors
Whether social media will lead to more test drives and more sales depends on several factors and cannot be determined in advance. But again, that is true of every form of marketing and advertising. That said, online channels, and therefore social media, make it much easier to measure what your efforts deliver. Of all the visitors to your website, for example, a percentage X decides to book a test drive and a percentage Y decides to visit your showroom. And of the people who come into your showroom, a number will eventually go on to buy.
Of course, you cannot say that 100 fans on Facebook will lead to 5 cars sold, but you can certainly see how many extra visitors reach your website through social media channels. A study published around that time even suggested that a single Facebook fan led to an average of 20 additional website visits. So you can in fact measure certain results this way. That is much harder (or rather, almost impossible) with an advert in the newspaper. And once the newspaper with your advert has been read, it ends up in the recycling bin. That will never happen to an article about a dealer or brand on a blog!
Social media contribute to more sales
We hope this piece has made it a little clearer what social media can add for the automotive industry. Naturally, there are many more possibilities and applications, the approach differs for importers and dealers, and the size of the company is also a factor in deciding how to go about it. In our view, however, that does not change the fact that social media can be genuinely useful for smaller businesses in the car trade too.
That said, we will never claim that you can expect miracles from social media. Success depends on many factors. We do believe, however, that success can be influenced. That takes vision, strategy, a good concept and a little patience. If you get those right, the car industry too can reap the rewards of social media and ultimately sell more cars. Of that we are absolutely certain.