Successful Social Media Strategies For Car Washes

[Buzzie8]

Has anyone implemented a successful social media strategy for their car wash? I am on Facebook and Twitter and find it difficult to provide engaging content on a daily basis. Twitter seems more difficult than Facebook. Any help or reading in this area would be appreciated.

 

[MEP001]

I've started a Facebook page but haven't done anything with it. I bought some of the Poster-Grip frames and keep meaning to make different instructional signs I can move around - I did one with a QR code link to a YouTube video and put the Facebook address in the bottom corner.

It might be helpful to have some weekly or monthly event at the wash or to run some contest on the page.

 

[JustClean]

I don't like Facebook and had no intention to go there. HOWEVER, Facebook forced me to:
Once a while I check my car wash name on Google and here we go - My carwash on Facebook -
Facebook created a page for me with my company name in it and underneath was written: If you are the car wash owner you can claim you Facebook site here. I claimed my site but didn't do anything with it. One reason was out of protest because of this, the other because I don't have anything to say either.

 

[cdreed06]

We have a Facebook page. So far what we do is post pictures and when there is something new we put it on there. I would like to use it more... all our new signage at the wash has the facebook logo with "find us on facebook". I was thinking about doing something on our automatic wash slow days by having a facebook day, send facebook friends a discount code. But been too busy to do that...

 

[pgrzes]

I have what I feel is a pretty active page, actually 2 pages. During my remodel I was getting a lot of views and comments, now that our new touchfree is up and running I will throw occasional discount codes on the page and get very little activity from it!?! I dont get it, but I have about 4000 followers on the 2 pages and I figure that for the cost $0 it keeps my name in front of people.

 

[Buzzie8]

I have what I feel is a pretty active page, actually 2 pages. During my remodel I was getting a lot of views and comments, now that our new touchfree is up and running I will throw occasional discount codes on the page and get very little activity from it!?! I dont get it, but I have about 4000 followers on the 2 pages and I figure that for the cost $0 it keeps my name in front of people.

Wow! 4000 followers! Was there any one thing that was more successful than others in gaining fans?

 

[pgrzes]

Wow! 4000 followers! Was there any one thing that was more successful than others in gaining fans?

Well, like I said I have 2 pages. the one I started with was early on in Facebook. So I originally started with a personal Facebook page and I just kept clicking on names of local people to friend. You really cant do that any longer. When they started getting bigger with business pages I just keep inviting everyone to that, so I really have about 3500 on the original page and about 5-600 on the other. When I post I just share to both pages.

 

[bigleo48]

Hmmmm...this thread should be called "Unsuccessful Social Media Strategies For Car Washes"

Social Media is a funny thing and I don't feel enough is going on with car washes to create much of a buzz.

Having said that, I have a webpage, facebook and google biz info on the web. None do very much. But I made this really bad youtube video on how to wash a car in the SS bays and it approaching 300,000 views and makes me about $20/month...so go figure?!

 

[MEP001]

...I made this really bad youtube video on how to wash a car in the SS bays and it approaching 300,000 views and makes me about $20/month...so go figure?!

This one?

[video=youtube;jchhNm42VSQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jchhNm42VSQ[/video]

 

[MEP001]

I planned to do a whole series of them like this one and to post links to them via QR codes on signage:

[video=youtube;YaY4vygsxAQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaY4vygsxAQ[/video]

(One video per post, evidently.)

 

[bigleo48]

Yup...pretty awful. Not sure why the aspect ratio got messed up...it use to be OK.
I actually decided not to use it but it kept getting so many hits!

 

[bigleo48]

I was thinking the same, but I had visions of people standing in the bays on busy days watching each option video. I also did an unofficial pole on using who had QR readers on their smartphones. Nobody I asked did...heck I worked in cellular/wireless for 19 years and consider myself an early adopter and I don't have it. I use too, but deleted the app as I never used it

 

[robert roman]

Social media should not be used directly to advertise or promote.

Social media like FB is a portal to share things (i.e. photos, ideas, interests). Through the process of sharing you become friends with people.

These friends may share their “like” of you with their FB friends.

If their friends FB you, your page would serve as information for these potential new friends to learn about your wash (perhaps becoming customers).

So, social media can be a market research tool for consumers.

Like a ground up wash, building a community takes time (ramp-up period).

The more people learn about your brand and from others this may open up conversations like on Twitter.

Consequently, I wouldn’t hold much benefit from tweeting about as I would from something like FB.

 

[MEP001]

I was thinking the same, but I had visions of people standing in the bays on busy days watching each option video. I also did an unofficial pole on using who had QR readers on their smartphones. Nobody I asked did...heck I worked in cellular/wireless for 19 years and consider myself an early adopter and I don't have it. I use too, but deleted the app as I never used it

I'll try to remember to post the flyer that I made just to get a feel of what it would look like - I didn't plan on having one for every function, just one in each bay about a different function, and to move them around every few days (People do have their favorite bay to use). My videos won't be more than a minute long.

 

[SHINEY2]

Mep what wand do you use?

 

[MEP001]

It's a blue version of Kleen-Rite's wand cover with a GinSan tip protector.

http://www.kleen-ritecorp.com/p-4058-full-cover-protector-wand.aspx

Hamel made them special for me - the original design was done to my specification.