Darren Williams, managing director, Grants Seat

Dealers should embrace social media as a chance to engage with customers, not use it as a marketing channel.

However, Williams urged dealers not to jump on to the social bandwagon.

He said: “If you do decide to get involved you need to find the right people to manage content.

"Are your marketing people the best candidates to handle it?

“Think about the tone, the language and the content you’re putting out there.

Products and offers are fine, but just pepper them in throughout the week.”

Williams said dealers should use free tools to help monitor their customers’ Facebook activity and “understand your likes”.

Dealers should operate on social media at peak times and tailor their content to fit with when the best time will be for customers.

Williams said: “Our content all links back to our website, but we use each channel quite differently.

“Social media gives our business a human face which enables us to engage with people in the same way as if they walked through our doors.”