Marketing a Shop Via Social Media Videos

March 12, 2019
Stan Medina, the owner of Certified Collision Works in Corpus Christi, Texas, explains how shop operators can quickly reach their customers via social media videos.

Stan Medina can’t quite understand it.

Medina, the owner of Certified Collision Works in Corpus Christi, Texas, often hears from colleagues who are intimidated by social media. And, in Medina’s experience, they’d be well advised to embrace it.

“I talk to a lot of veteran shop owners and they’re terrified of social media; they feel like it’s for kids,” notes Medina, a 25-year industry veteran. “But the reality is, that’s where all the traffic is at.

“If we want to improve our industry … we’ve got to attract attention, for [potential customers] to want to know more information about what we’re doing. Because it’s becoming a cool industry, with the way that technology has changed and the way vehicle manufacturers are designing cars now—I mean, the next few years are going to be exciting.”

These days, Medina focuses much of his social media marketing on short, informational videos that he posts on Certified Collision Works’ Facebook and Instagram pages. The videos, like this one, aren’t elaborate, and they don’t cost much to produce.

Yet, they garner attention for Medina’s shop, and help the owner appear accessible to potential clients.

An example of a possible social media video that any shop could do, Medina says, would be one focused on 10 frequently-asked questions from customers, addressing issues like what happens if someone endures a vehicle collision in which one driver doesn’t have insurance.

“Think about that,” Medina says, “if you just make a list of all the common collision repair problems, that’s content for a whole year.”

Medina, who recently appeared on FenderBender’s CollisionCast podcast and provided several tips for making social media videos, says that shop owners simply need to commit to trying to learn and understand social media. He feels shop owners need to embrace their weaknesses and focus on making them strengths.

“What I’m seeing a lot is that [shop owners] are starting to outsource social media,” Medina notes, “and that’s going to be a waste, because [third-party marketing companies] don’t really understand what you’re doing.

“Making the video content, it’s a process. You’ve got to get comfortable with it, and it just gets better and better.”

Social media is a powerful platform, Medina says. And it’s one he feels all shop operators should embrace.

“It doesn’t take long to understand social media,” the Texan says. “Commit 30 minutes a day, or maybe an hour per week. Say, ‘You know what, I’m going to understand Facebook. I’m going to understand Instagram, and YouTube. It’s not going to be very difficult to get in the routine of posting some stuff and getting your shop out there.”

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