Like dealership teams all over the place, Jones Junction had to determine easy methods to proceed attracting prospects’ eyes to its out there autos through the COVID-19 pandemic.

As companies scaled again in-person operations final yr, the dealership group in Bel Air, Md., employed a method it had been testing since early 2018 by ramping up digital retailing in any respect eight of is shops.

Amid social distancing and lockdowns, Jones Junction started showcasing car residence deliveries on its social media pages to emphasise that individuals have been nonetheless shopping for automobiles.

Because of this, the group was in a position to extra shortly adapt to the pandemic than different shops in its market, mentioned Jeffrey Ramsey, Jones Junction’s e-commerce and advertising and marketing director.

“I do really feel like we have been forward of the curve earlier than” the pandemic, Ramsey mentioned. “We have been a pacesetter in social media. The pandemic hit … and we noticed what actually might be carried out and the way we are able to attain our prospects.”

Ramsey joined Jones Junction in late 2017, employed on for the aim of accelerating gross sales and general enterprise. His objective since then has been to market automobiles whereas additionally humanizing the group, utilizing social media to showcase occasions reminiscent of new workers beginning, birthdays and anniversaries — very similar to individuals publish on their private accounts.

In March 2018, Ramsey began placing collectively an in-house advertising and marketing crew targeted on utilizing artistic and social media to seize shoppers’ consideration.

Its duties included redesigning the web site, enhancing SEO, answering prospects’ Fb inquiries as shortly as potential and promoting giveaways and contests.

“The automotive market has been fairly robust the final couple of years, however even on prime of that, our progress since we carried out an in-house advertising and marketing crew that is linked to our neighborhood … we’re promoting loads of automobiles,” Ramsey instructed Automotive Information.

In 2020, the group offered a report 12,500 new and used autos. It has offered practically 30 p.c extra autos a month this yr by means of Might.

Ramsey mentioned the advertising and marketing technique has elevated the group’s market share and the standard of its social media site visitors.

“Every part is measured to see what converts finest,” Ramsey mentioned. “We began utilizing emojis in our social advertisements and noticed a click-through improve of 75 p.c. Each element issues.”

The crew, at present made up of Ramsey, graphic designer Hannah Busenitz and social media specialist Sydney Segal, plans so as to add somebody devoted to Fb and Instagram within the coming yr.

The final thought was to present the group a novel character, Ramsey mentioned, and the advertising and marketing crew welcomes enter from different staffers. Gross sales professionals, managers, human sources employees and even the group’s president, Bryan Kilby, have reached out with concepts.

That has translated into extra buyer engagement, Ramsey mentioned.

Three years in the past, Jones Junction was averaging just one to 2 likes per Fb publish. Now, every publish repeatedly will get 10 to fifteen, and a few draw greater than 100.

“We have carried out some giveaway posts on-line the place we have gotten 3,000 to 4,000 mentions on it,” Ramsey mentioned.

Fb messages to the dealership group have shot up as properly, to a mean of greater than 10 a day.

“I feel we have proven our prospects that our Fb is being dealt with by us, so once they message us or they impart with us, they’re speaking to an actual individual,” Ramsey mentioned.

Whereas the dealership’s major connection to the neighborhood comes from Fb, the crew is experimenting with platforms reminiscent of TikTok, the place it posts music-backed snippets of workers showcasing new autos. One video that includes a 2021 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon with an influence roof has garnered greater than 162,000 views.

“That is my favourite factor — when prospects say, ‘We noticed the content material,’ ” Ramsey mentioned. “You may’t observe it, however when individuals point out they’re seeing it, they’re going to bear in mind it. That is what I would like.”