GSNL-2_UK_A4_20pp_May2024

Walsall Wood Tyre and Service

We caught up with Nathan Taylor from Walsall Wood Tyre and Service, who’s blazing a trail in the aftermarket when it comes to marketing and social media.

So Nathan, how did you get here and why are you so passionate about the power of social media?

To cut a long story short, I started out selling sweets when I left school, before I fell into the family business – and now here I am. That’s all I really want to say about myself… because I don’t think it’s the most interesting thing I have to say! Social media is what’s interesting and important, and it deserves our attention – more of our attention than it’s been getting. I don’t believe most people in our industry are fully aware and able to take advantage of the opportunity that social media represents – and that means they’re exposed to the risks of missing out. Social media can completely transform your business. I’m passionate about my business, I’m passionate about the aftermarket, and I’m passionate about the role social media has to play in keeping all of us connected to our customers and set up to succeed.

Come and meet Nathan at the UK Garage & Bodyshop Event

on LKQ Euro Car Parts stand D40 on 5th June

The key thing to recognise is that just like the automotive industry, social media has many segments. You can’t compare an independent garage to a franchised dealer, and you can’t compare TikTok to LinkedIn. There’s a whole range of channels out there, each of which plays its part, but you need a different game plan for each. Even if you don’t use social media in a personal capacity – you might be far too busy during the day, which in a way What’s your advice to a garage owner who’s not using social media yet?

is no bad thing! This isn’t about you, it’s not about any of us. It’s about our consumers. They’re on social, it’s how they interact with, choose and become loyal to the brands and businesses they spend money with. Storytelling is everything. That’s not my opinion; it’s a fact. As the world becomes more commoditised, you and your brand need to mean something to people. That’s what you’ve got to trade on and if you don’t do it, someone else will.

We try and aim for 70 pieces of content per week. That probably sounds like a lot. It might even sound impossible! But if that’s what you’re thinking, it’s absolutely not the case that you’ve got nothing to say. People want to hear from you, they want to know what you’re working on, they want your advice, they want tips and insight – and entertainment. It you’re open minded about it, it will happen – even if you have to work your way up to the volume of content we’re Can you tell us about your approach to social media at Walsall Wood?

putting out at Walsall Wood. And it’s important to remember that you won’t get it spot on every time. Our approach is not to spend hours perfecting every piece of content within an inch of its life – instead we’re candid, we’re real, and most of the time what we do goes down well. We’ve had videos that have reached three million people – and we’ve had calls from people who live hundreds of miles away, asking for our help. That’s the power of social – or the power of the brand social has helped us to build.

Page 4 | Garage Support | 2024 Issue 2