It’s easy for a brand to get swallowed up by the world of social media. With so many brands vying for the attention of consumers, how do you set yourself apart from the crowd? The car industry is awash of brands trying to catch the eye of potential customers.

Whilst a number of car brands are doing great things on social, we’re going to take a closer look at three of them and pinpoint exactly what they’re doing right.

1. Ford

Ford has been leading the way amongst car manufacturers on social media for a long time now. With localised social media profiles and specific accounts for their flagship models, they’re making sure they give their fans as detailed an insight as possible.

One thing that puts them at the top of the pile is their active engagement with online users. One look at Ford‘s ‘Tweets & replies’ on Twitter shows how active they are in engaging in conversation:

Twitter is the perfect platform for conversation, and research shows that many consumers will take to Twitter as their first port of call when trying to contact a brand. Ford are taking the time to reply to users and also going out of their way to engage with those who haven’t tagged @Ford in the first instance.

This gives the image that Ford are a brand who care about their consumers and are willing to go the extra mile for them. In an industry with such fierce competition, this could prove priceless.

2. Jaguar

Facebook can prove to be one of the tougher social media platforms to master. With their ever-changing algorithm, and crackdown on organic reach for business pages, brands are striving to find a way to stand out.

Six out of Jaguar‘s last ten posts on Facebook (as of 9am on 27/9) are video posts. It’s no secret that Facebook typically rewards video content with more organic reach than pictures or text, and Jaguar are making sure they cash in.

User behavior has been changing for the last few years. Users don’t want to spend time reading text or clicking through to websites. Video content autoplays in the Facebook feed, and a good video will automatically catch the attention of a user.

Jaguar are making sure they’re giving their audience what they want, and at the same time are ensuring that their content is reaching as many people as possible.

3. BMW

User engagement is great, as Ford have shown. User-generated content is even better, and BMW are ticking all the right boxes.

A quick scan of their Instagram profile shows that 17 out of their last 20 posts are “reposts” from BMW fans. That’s a massive 85%. BMW repost user images using the hashtag #BMWrepost.

This shows consumers that BMW are a brand who value their online audience and will take the time to look at their content. For a consumer, the chance to have your content published to BMW’s Instagram audience of 8.8 million is invaluable and gives you a feel good factor.

BMW only post user content of the highest quality, ensuring that their brand image is upheld. It also pushes BMW users to get out there and take stunning images of their vehicles, thus doing BMW’s job for them!

There are a number of car manufacturers doing great things on social – we’ve just looked at three in particular. Which brands do you think are doing a good job on social? Tweet us and let us know!

If you’re in the automotive industry and looking to upgrade your PR and marketing activities why not get in touch with Red Marlin to see what we could do for you?