While many automotive leaders still view social media as little more than a digital billboard to post inventory, Matt Hogan sees it as the modern engine of dealership operations.
As the Vice President of Infiniti North Miami and Palm Beach Mitsubishi, Hogan has leveraged personal, authentic content to transform his stores into powerhouse locations. His Infiniti store recently celebrated its best month in history, finishing No. 1 in the Southern Region and No. 3 nationwide after moving 120 new Infiniti vehicles and 125 pre-owned units in a single month.
During the latest Inside Automotive episode, Hogan shares how putting the human element front and center on social media generates thousands of leads and solves one of the industry’s toughest challenges, which is recruiting top talent.
What content resonates?
Hogan started his social media journey in April 2025, and just two months in, he posted a raw video showing how he helped a customer with challenged credit get approved for a vehicle. The post triggered a flood of direct messages from shoppers in similar situations asking for help.
Today, across TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, Hogan commands roughly 40,000 followers and pulls in around 1,000 paid leads and up to 300 organic direct messages every month. The secret, he says, lies in dropping the corporate polish and pulling back the curtain on daily dealership life.
"A lot of people, they don't know how a car dealership works, right? They think that there's some weird dark magic happening behind the scenes, but when they see the real behind the scenes that it's just regular people trying to make a living, it really gives people the idea of... how car dealers are just hard-working people, humans trying to make a good living…”
Rather than running stiff online commercials, Hogan creates content centered on day-to-day showroom reality, including working through unique financing deals, responding to wild trade-in offers, and sharing honest car reviews. For targeted paid ads on Meta, he emphasizes total transparency, advertising real, aggressive payment numbers that build immediate trust when customers walk through the door.
The unexpected recruiting goldmine
While driving sales volume was the original goal, Hogan uncovered an even bigger dividend via recruitment. Over the past year, between 60% and 70% of his new sales hires came directly through social media. He said candidates saw the dealership’s culture online and reached out directly for job opportunities, including a General Sales Manager who moved all the way from New Jersey to join the team.
"Social media is your new resume in today's day and age. If you can show who you are and build a network, it can only help you."
According to Hogan, he doesn’trequire his staff to appear on camera, opting instead to set an example himself. Still, the overall culture clearly reflects this approach.
Actionable tips for dealerships
For sales representatives and managers hesitant to step in front of the camera, Hogan offers straight advice:
- Start small: You don’t need to be a content genius. Simply taking a two-minute video celebrating a customer delivery and tagging the buyer exposes your store to their entire personal network.
- Avoid hating on competitors: Criticizing rival stores or feeding negative “car salesman” stereotypes alienates customers. Focus on selling your own process and why customers should trust you.
- Fish where the fish are: With traditional cable TV viewership declining, consumers are glued to their smartphones. Meeting buyers on social platforms ensures your dealership stays top of mind.
For Hogan and his team, taking the leap into personal branding has proven that when you put human connection ahead of the sales pitch, the revenue follows naturally.
