NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -

Nearly every day, a dealership asks me this burning question: “How can I increase my engagement on Facebook?” What they’ve come to realize is that while it’s “easy” and “free” to set up a business page, it’s quite another to create fan engagement and foster a community.

This is marketing folks, and like all other forms of marketing, it takes a well-defined strategic plan and budget to be successful. In the old days (a couple of years ago), it was enough to broadcast a message because many would hear it and some would buy. Now, there’s so much noise, you’ll never be heard. The consumer has tuned you out.

Marketing on a social network requires listening to your audience and supplying them with useful information and interesting stories. You need to meet the customer where they are and engage them in conversation. Facebook is the largest marketplace in the world and delivers the best results for dealers. Engaging your social customer so they’ll feel comfortable and enthusiastic buying from you is the key to it all.

The goal for automotive social media marketing is to ultimately generate leads. These are not the “leads” you buy, they are the leads you nurture, support, engage and listen for. Posting status updates on Facebook that create conversation (engagement) are tricky. You have to investigate and learn from your audience what they want to know about, what keeps their attention. Posts need to be all about the audience. Unfortunately, too many dealership posts are all about the dealership.

This burning question about increasing fan engagement is blazing because there is no hard and fast rule — the answer is elusive. Social is not like the linear forms of digital marketing. Social media is social; and that, by definition, is non-linear. After all, how can you predict human interactions?

The good news is there’s one thing that remains constant in a social environment: People will most-likely interact with you if you ask them thought-provoking questions. Subjects can run from childhood experiences to the emotional milestones in their lives. It’s like when you hear a song from your past that meant something special or reminded you of a great experience … you always feel “that feeling” when you hear that song. Evoking emotions makes you and your business memorable.

Since the introduction of Facebook’s new design, engagement has never been more important. If people are not “liking” your updates and/or aren’t posting comments, whether you have 100 or 100,000 fans, your updates will never make it to their walls; they’ll never see your updates.

I’ve been using a fabulous tool called Post Planner. It allows you to schedule your posts in Facebook, and they’ll be custom branded with your company name. With the app, you also get “status ideas”, and I’ve been testing some for the last few weeks. The response has been amazing.

Here are 10 that have proven to boost engagement with fans:

1. What was your first car, and do you wish you still had it?

2. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

3. Who doesn’t love that new car smell? If you could afford any car in the world, what would you drive?

4. What’s your favorite comfort food?

5. Who makes you want to be a better person?

6. Where’s the most embarrassing place your cell phone has gone off?

7. What would you try if you had no fear?

8. What was your favorite sitcom growing up?

9. What’s the best book you’ve read in the last year?

10. What’s the last piece of advice you took?

These posts engaged customers and got a lot of traction. They increased ranking, and therefore, appeared on fans walls more often. Keep in mind, these posts/this tactic of asking thought-provoking questions is only a small portion of what your Facebook page content strategy should contain. Customer video testimonials, blog posts, service specials, recent news, community events, and of course, really great deals on cars are all part of a winning Facebook marketing strategy.

If I ask you to describe why a consumer should buy from you, would you be able to answer that question easily? It’s important because there are conversations going on right now about your store on social media, and if you don’t participate then others will speak for you. Your store has a personality. Your current customers know it, like it and trust it enough to buy … often repeatedly. Facebook is an open community, and it’s the ideal place to communicate your store’s personality. Engage with fans: attract their attention, listen, solve their problems, develop trust, reward their loyalty and be consistent with your message. That’s the formula for Facebook results … that’s what generates leads.

Kathi Kruse is an automotive social media expert, blogger, speaker, coach, author and founder of Kruse Control Inc. Born in the heart of Los Angeles to a family of “car people,” Kathi’s passion for the car business spans a 30-year career managing successful dealerships in Southern California.  Kathi is co-author of the book Next Up – Essential Social Media Strategies for Auto Dealerships. Her Kruse Control Blog is the leading Automotive Social Media blog in the U.S.