Social Media - What’s the point?
Social media in a garage is a bit like adding another ramp; on the surface it looks clever, more capacity, more visibility and more opportunity. In reality, if you don’t know exactly what it’s supposed to do for your business, it just takes up space and gets in the way.
If you can’t say why you post, why are you even posting?
The truth is that social media is a complete waste of time if you don’t know why you’re doing it, you don’t post regularly, and what you do post is not interesting to actual human beings. Most garage feeds are a mix of forgotten tyre offers, rushed pictures of jobs, and the odd Christmas opening hours message.
Frankly, it’s embarrassing and does nothing for customers, nothing for the team and certainly nothing for the bottom line. You may as well delete the lot and focus on things that you’re good at.
Then there’s the circus of people wandering around with phones. From an owner’s chair this looks painful - you are paying good money for labour and ramp time, and every time someone stops mid job to film a reel or pose with a clutch, the clock is still ticking. From the younger member of staff’s point of view, they are trying to help the business, but feel caught between getting the job done and creating content. Neither side is wrong, the problem is that social is treated as a hobby that happens in the gaps, not as a task that needs proper time and direction. If you want content, you have to allow time in the diary and face that there is a cost.
When you do that, social can actually work for you. A steady flow of simple, honest posts that show what the garage already does well is powerful. A tricky diagnosis explained in plain language, a nervous customer put at ease, an investment in training or a new piece of equipment. This kind of content quietly proves your value without shouting about price, it reassures existing customers that they are in safe hands and gives new ones a reason to pick you.
Customers are not the only audience
It’s also not just about customers, it’s about staff. Potential recruits will also check you out online before they ever send a CV. If your online footprint shows a tidy, professional operation with people who look like they actually get on, you are already ahead. If it shows chaos, it suggests a business that has not really woken up to where the industry is going. Social can be a window into your standards, your training ethic and how you treat people.
Post genuine content
There’s a potential internal benefit too. Most technicians and service staff do not get daily praise, even when they deserve it. However, when their work appears online, with a genuine story and maybe a nice customer comment, it gives them a lift and says, “we see what you’re doing”. The danger is when this becomes fake smiles for the camera while pay, workload or support are not where they should be. Staff are not daft - if the reality in the workshop does not match the glossy posts, the whole thing becomes a joke and another reason not to trust the management.
You’re a marketing expert, are you?
Social media management needs skill, and just because you’re brilliant at fixing cars it doesn’t automatically make you a marketing genius. Expecting techs and service advisors to become content creators with no guidance or training is unfair. If nobody fits and you want serious results, buy in help in the same way you would bring in an expert to sort your accounts or your processes.
If the only reason you’re posting is to generate immediate bookings, then you will almost certainly need to pay for reach and make the customer journey from post to booking seamless. Click, book, confirm, done. If that journey is clunky, all you are doing is paying to show more people how awkward you are to deal with. For many independents, the smarter move is to use social to support reputation, recruitment and awards, while sales come from a strong process, fair pricing and consistent service.
Social media is not automatically good, and it is not automatically bad. It is just a tool. If you treat it with the same seriousness as a new ramp or a new piece of diagnostic kit, it can earn its place. If you expect it to somehow sort itself out in the background, it will only add noise to an already busy day.