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Most car dealership feeds look the same: a straight-on photo of a car, the price, a finance disclaimer, repeat. It is not that dealerships are not posting. Many post constantly. The problem is what they are posting, and how a handful of small, repeatable mistakes quietly cost them leads before anyone even calls. Here are seven of the most common ones, and what to do instead.
Endless straight-on inventory shots with price and finance text look like a stock list, not a business people want to follow. It is the single most common reason people scroll past or unfollow a dealership account entirely.
Tip: mix inventory posts with lifestyle shots, customer handovers, and behind the scenes content so the feed reads as a dealership, not a spreadsheet.
A flurry of ten posts one week followed by a fortnight of silence reads as inconsistent to both people and the algorithm, and it undoes whatever momentum the last burst built.
Tip: a realistic, sustainable weekly cadence beats an unsustainable daily one. Plan a smaller number of posts you can actually keep up every week, not just when someone remembers to post.
Dealerships often put real effort into the content itself but miss replying when someone comments or sends a direct message, even though that is usually the exact moment someone is deciding whether to visit.
Tip: reply within a few hours where possible. A quick, human reply to a comment about a specific car often does more to move someone toward a visit than the original post.
A feed built entirely from static photos looks dated next to competitors using short walkaround videos, feature highlights, or quick clips from the workshop. Buyers increasingly expect to see a vehicle move before they will book a test drive.
Tip: start small. A fifteen to thirty second walkaround of a new arrival, or a quick clip from the service bay, is enough to shift a feed from static to active.
Buyers are choosing a place to deal with as much as they are choosing a car. A feed with no faces, only vehicles, gives them nothing to connect with and nobody to recognise when they walk in.
Tip: introduce sales and service staff occasionally. A short post on who someone will actually be dealing with builds more trust than another stock photo ever will.
A customer picking up their new car is one of the easiest, most persuasive posts a dealership can make, yet it is often skipped in favour of more inventory.
Tip: ask permission and post the handover photo. Pair it with a genuine review where you have one; real customers are far more convincing than another price tag.
This one is not just a style mistake, it is a compliance risk. In March 2026, the FTC sent warning letters to a wave of dealership groups over social posts advertising prices or payments, such as a monthly figure or a discount, without including mandatory fees. The Commission treats an advertised price on social media as a genuine commitment, not casual content.
Tip: have every price, payment, or discount claim checked against your actual advertised terms before it goes out, and be cautious with "call for price" wording paired next to a specific discount claim.
There is no single correct posting schedule, but this mix works well for most dealerships:
• Two to three inventory or feature posts, mixing photo and short video
• One customer delivery, review, or staff spotlight post
• One behind the scenes or workshop clip
Consistency matters more than volume. A realistic four to five posts a week, kept up every week, will outperform a burst of daily posting that quietly stops after a month.
How often should a car dealership post on social media?
Most dealerships do well posting four to six times a week across a mix of inventory, video, and customer content. Consistency across weeks matters more than any single burst of activity.
Do car dealerships need video on social media?
Yes. Short video, even a simple twenty second walkaround, consistently outperforms static photos for reach and tends to be the format platforms currently favour.
Can dealerships advertise finance prices on social media?
Only if the price shown reflects the full cost the customer will pay, including mandatory fees. Following FTC guidance from March 2026, a price or payment claim that leaves out those fees can be treated as a genuine advertising violation, not just casual content.
None of this needs a full agency behind it to fix. What matters is treating the feed like a showroom people actually want to walk into, not a static list of stock. If keeping this consistent every week is not something you have the time for, this is exactly the kind of content strategy work we do for automotive clients across Perth.