Social media for the motor trade
Automotive social media marketing that fills your inbox
Social media marketing for car dealers and garages: honest walkaround videos, stock catalogue ads that follow interested buyers, and a reply process that turns messages into viewings.
- Walkaround videos that build trust
- Catalogue ads from live stock
- Messages answered fast
Quick answer
ProntX provides automotive social media marketing for UK car dealers, van centres and garages. We plan walkaround and handover content, run stock catalogue ads on Meta and TikTok, set up a fast message process with your sales team and keep finance posts compliant. Plans start from £650 a month, rolling, with ad spend paid direct.
Automotive social media marketing uses Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube to put your cars, your team and your workshop in front of local drivers before they start searching. ProntX runs social media marketing for car dealers and garages across the UK: short walkaround videos, stock catalogue ads that follow interested buyers, and a clear process for answering messages fast enough to turn them into viewings.
Why social works differently from search
Search catches people who already know what they want. Social reaches the much larger group who will change their car in the next few months but have not started looking. A good walkaround seen in a feed on Sunday evening can be the reason a buyer types your name into Google on Monday. That makes social a demand builder, and it should be judged over weeks, not by individual posts.
What usually goes wrong
Plenty of dealer pages post a forecourt photo with “Just arrived!” and nothing else, alternated with deal flyers. Engagement is low, so the page goes quiet for weeks. When someone does message about a car, the reply arrives the next afternoon. By then the buyer has asked three other dealers. Fixing the reply process often matters more than the content itself.
Content
What content works for social media marketing for car dealers?
Content that shows real cars and real people, filmed simply on a phone. Polished brand videos rarely beat a salesperson walking round a car and pointing out what matters.
Stock
Walkaround videos
Under a minute, filmed in portrait, covering condition, spec highlights and any marks a buyer would want to know about. Honest flaws build trust.
People
Handover moments
A photo or short clip of a customer collecting their car, posted only with written consent. Shows volume and happy buyers without claims.
Prep
Behind the scenes
Inspection, valeting and workshop preparation. Buyers worried about used cars want to see what happens before a car goes on sale.
Aftersales
Workshop explainers
What an MOT checks, why a warning light matters, winter tyre advice. Useful posts that keep you in mind between purchases.
Comparison
Choosing between models
Two cars side by side for a family, a commuter or a first-time driver. Answers the questions people actually ask on the forecourt.
Team
Faces and names
Short introductions to the people buyers will deal with. A familiar face makes the first message easier to send.
Platforms
Which social platforms should an automotive business use?
Facebook and Instagram suit most dealers and garages because of their local reach and stock ad formats. TikTok and YouTube earn a place when someone on the team is comfortable on camera.
| Platform | Best for | What we run there |
|---|---|---|
| Local reach across age groups, Marketplace browsing | Stock posts, catalogue ads, Messenger enquiries, community groups | |
| Reels and stories, younger and premium buyers | Walkarounds, handovers, story polls on incoming stock | |
| TikTok | First-time and younger buyers, personality-led content | Short videos and, where it suits, TikTok’s automotive ad formats |
| YouTube | Longer reviews that people search for | Full vehicle tours for higher-value and specialist stock |
| Fleet, van and business buyers | Commercial vehicle stock and fleet services |
Two platforms run well beat five run badly. We pick based on where your past buyers came from, the stock you sell and who on your team will appear on camera, then add channels once the first two are working and enquiries are tracked.
Paid social
How do stock catalogue ads work for car dealers?
Your stock feed becomes a catalogue inside Meta’s ad platform, so ads show the exact cars a person viewed on your website, or similar ones, with current price and photos.
Someone looks at an estate car on your site on Tuesday and leaves. On Thursday they see that car, plus two similar ones, in their Instagram feed. Because the ads come from the feed, a sold car drops out automatically and price changes show up without anyone editing an ad. We set a radius from your real customer postcodes so budget is not wasted on people who will never travel to you.
Catalogue ads depend on a clean feed and accurate tracking on your website. If either is missing we fix it first, because otherwise the platform cannot match viewers to cars. Our paid social page explains our wider approach to Meta and TikTok budgets.
Messages
Who answers social media enquiries, and how fast?
We agree a response process with your sales team before any campaign launches, because an unanswered message is the most expensive lead you will ever pay for.
- Saved replies for common questions: is it still available, finance, part exchange
- Clear handover from our team to your salespeople during opening hours
- Out-of-hours replies that set expectations and capture a phone number
- Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp enquiries tracked as leads
- Weekly check of response times shared with your sales manager
- Public comments answered or moved to private messages the same day
Reporting
How do you measure social media for a car dealer?
By enquiries and viewings, with reach and engagement as supporting signals. Follower counts on their own tell you very little about whether cars are selling.
Leads
Messages and calls
Enquiries from Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and social-tagged calls, counted by car where possible.
Visits
Viewings booked
Test drives and appointments your team logs against a social source.
Paid
Cost per enquiry
Catalogue and video ad spend divided by the leads they produced, tracked monthly.
Halo
Name searches
Growth in people searching for your dealership by name, a sign social is building familiarity.
Rules on social
What rules apply to car dealer posts and ads on social media?
The FCA has published examples showing that social posts about car finance follow the same consumer credit rules as any other advert, and the CAP Code governs how driving is shown.
- A weekly or monthly payment in a post needs a representative example that is no less prominent
- Incentives such as “instant decision” need a representative APR of equal prominence
- Brokers include the credit broker statement and the firm’s name and postal address
- Videos must not suggest speeding or unsafe driving; on public roads cars are seen within limits
- Customer photos and videos are used only with recorded consent
- Paid partnerships with local creators are clearly labelled as ads
We build these into post templates, and your compliance lead approves any finance content before it is published.
Pricing
How much does automotive social media marketing cost?
Social media marketing with ProntX starts from £650 a month. Ad budgets for catalogue and video ads are paid directly to Meta or TikTok, separate from our fee.
| Scope | Typical monthly fee | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Garage or small dealer | From £650 | Two platforms, content plan, posting, message process |
| Dealer with paid social | Typically £1,000 to £1,800 | Adds catalogue ads, video editing and lead tracking |
| Multi-site group | Typically £1,800 or more | Per-site pages and ads, group reporting, filming days |
Fees exclude VAT, depend on scope and run on rolling monthly terms. Details on our pricing page.
Social media marketing
from £650/month
Organic content plus paid social management
What is includedPPC and Google Ads
from £450/month
Management fee. Ad spend is paid direct to Google
What is includedSEO and AI search
from £595/month
Local and small business SEO, GEO and AEO included
What is includedWe will review your pages, recent posts, message response times and any ads, then send a personal video with what to change first, within 2 working days. Request your review. Social works best alongside automotive PPC and an automotive digital marketing plan that tracks sales.
How it works
What happens after you get in touch
- 01Free audit
We review your site, search visibility, ads and competitors, then send a short video walkthrough with the quickest wins.
Request audit - 02Plan and price
A one-page plan with goals, channels, timeline and a fixed monthly price. No surprises later.
See prices - 03Launch in weeks
Tracking first, then quick wins, then the bigger builds. You see progress in the first month.
See our work - 04Report and grow
Monthly report in plain English: leads, sales, cost per result and what we do next.
Talk to us
Same industry
More for automotive
FAQ
Automotive social media questions, answered
Still unsure? Ask us anything. We reply within one working day.
Does social media actually sell cars?
It rarely sells a car in one step, but it often starts the journey. Buyers see a walkaround or a handover post, then search for your name or message about a specific car. Catalogue ads add a direct route by showing people the exact cars they viewed. We track messages, calls and website visits from social so you can judge it on enquiries.
Is TikTok worth it for a car dealership?
It can be if someone on your team is comfortable on camera and you sell cars that appeal to younger or first-time buyers. TikTok has introduced automotive ad formats, but organic reach depends heavily on personality. For many dealers we start with Facebook and Instagram and test TikTok once a filming routine is in place.
How often should a dealer post?
Consistency matters more than volume. Three to five useful posts a week, plus stories on new stock, is a sensible starting point for most dealers. Posting ten forecourt photos a day with no context tends to perform worse than a few strong walkaround videos. We plan content around stock arrivals and quieter sales periods.
Do you film the videos or do we?
Usually your team films short clips on a phone using a simple shot list we provide, because stock changes daily and a salesperson on camera builds trust. We edit, caption and schedule. For groups or launches we can plan filming days. Either way, you approve content before it goes live.
Can we put monthly finance prices in social posts?
Yes, but a monthly figure triggers a representative example that must be no less prominent, and brokers also need the broker statement and firm details. That is hard to fit neatly into a short video caption, so we often feature stock and price, then explain finance on the landing page. Your compliance contact approves finance posts.
Should we list cars on Facebook Marketplace?
Marketplace is where many local buyers browse, so it is usually worth having your stock there, either through a listing partner or your stock system. It works alongside, not instead of, catalogue ads and your page. The main requirement is fast replies, because Marketplace buyers expect answers within minutes.
How long before social media shows results?
Catalogue ads can bring enquiries within the first couple of weeks once the feed and tracking are working. Organic growth in reach and followers usually takes three to six months of consistent posting. We report enquiries from day one so you can see which part is working.
Who owns our social media accounts?
You do. Pages, ad accounts and catalogues stay registered to your business, with ProntX added as a partner. If you stop working with us, you remove our access and keep everything, including the audience data, catalogues and post history, with nothing to negotiate.
Works well with
Related services
Free growth audit
Find out what is holding your growth back
Tell us about your business in four quick steps. Within two working days you get a short video audit of your website, search visibility and ads, with the three changes that would make the biggest difference.
- Personal video walkthrough, not an automated PDF
- Covers SEO, AI search, ads and conversion
- No obligation and no hard sell