Does your car dealership have a blog? What kind of content should you post on your blog? How can you use this great social media tool to engage with your customers and become a better car dealer? Writing material for your auto dealership blog is as simple as putting yourself in the shoes of your customers.

Ask yourself, if you were a potential customer of your dealership, what kind of information would you like to know? What information would you find useful? A typical car dealership offers multiple products and services to its customers, and each of these products and services is a short blog post in the works.

Let’s start with your new vehicles. Potential buyers want to know the pros and cons of the new vehicles they are considering buying. When buyers come to your dealership, what kinds of questions do they usually ask? The answers to these questions are what make up an informative blog post. The engine power and fuel economy of the new models, the safety features, the new technological advancements such as collision avoidance and wireless are examples of great things to write about with the new vehicles you drive. If the manufacturer you represent is preparing to launch a new model, take some time to write a post telling your readers when the new vehicle will be on site and to inform them of its exciting new features. These “new version” blog posts are often the most popular, as car buyers search online for when and where they can find the latest models available.

What about used vehicles? Since you have vehicles of different years / makes / models on your used car lot at different times, how do you write about a specific car? It is not like this; however, you can post helpful blog posts on how to find a great value used car, how to best clean your current car for trade-in, or maybe you can share some information about the extended warranties you have available for your used car or certified used programs.

Vehicle sales are just one part of the car dealership’s business. Service, parts and accessories offer many more opportunities for blogging. Do you have any current specials with your service department? Write about them. How often do you recommend that someone change your oil? Write about it. When should tires be replaced and how do you properly check for uneven wear? Write about it! If the writer hangs, go talk to the person who handles the calls from your car dealership every day and ask “what questions do you constantly get?” and then write a blog post that answers those questions.

Writing blog posts is good, but what makes a blog a successful social networking tool is when you use it to interact with your customers. Ask your readers a few questions that will encourage them to share information with you. For example, “What are you looking for from a great car dealership? We’d like to know” or “The new 2009 Toyota Tacoma launched last month, what do current Tacoma drivers think about it?” Browse their blog every day and take some time to respond to any comments and most importantly listen carefully to what your customers are saying as this is invaluable information that will make you a better car dealer.

Your car dealership has a wealth of information that blog readers would benefit from. Share this information in a way that encourages interaction with your customers, and blogging will become a social media tool that will benefit your dealership and your customers.