How Matt Hogan Uses Social Media to Drive Sales and Recruiting

Matt Hogan, Vice President of Infiniti North Miami and Palm Beach Mitsubishi, explains how authentic social media content can drive dealership sales, generate leads and attract new talent.

On the latest episode of Inside Automotive, Hogan shares how he turned personal, behind-the-scenes content into a major business development and recruiting tool. Since launching his social media strategy in April 2025, he has built an audience of roughly 40,000 followers across TikTok, Facebook and Instagram while generating about 1,000 paid leads and up to 300 organic direct messages each month.

Key discussion points include:

• Authentic content and why showing the reality of dealership life resonates with consumers
• Lead generation through organic social media and targeted Meta advertising
• Recruiting through personal branding, with social media driving 60%–70% of new sales hires
• Building customer trust through transparent pricing and real dealership experiences
• Getting started with simple videos and customer delivery content
• Avoiding common mistakes, including competitor-focused content and outdated advertising approaches

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Transcript

Welcome And Guest Setup

Announcer 0:06

Welcome to Inside Automotive with Jim Fitzpatrick.

Jim Fitzpatrick 0:11

Social media has become a big part of how dealerships connect with customers, but for some it goes beyond posting cars for sale. Matt Hogan has built a strong following by putting the people inside the dealership front and center. Today we're talking about what that looks like from the GM's seat. We're pleased to uh be joined by Matt Hogan, VP of Infinity North Miami and Palm Beach Mitsubishi. So thank you so much, uh Matt, for taking the time into your busy schedule there at the dealerships to join us on the show. Great. Thank you for having me.

Record Sales Month Snapshot

Jim Fitzpatrick 0:42

Sure. First and foremost, how is business at this at the stores?

SPEAKER_02 0:46

So business is great uh at our Infinity Store. We just had our best month in history, uh new and pre-owned. Okay. Um we we finished number one in the south of the United States, um, and number three in the whole country. Wow. Um with with 120 units, uh, infinities, and then about another 125 pre-owned. So it was a great month for us, and uh, we're excited to see what we can do in August.

Jim Fitzpatrick 1:11

That's fantastic. Wow, that that uh congratulations on that. So uh let's jump in

The TikTok Video That Worked

Jim Fitzpatrick 1:16

here. You've got uh you know you've built a quite a social following and you're a big believer in social media to uh to sell cars or you know, roll iron as they say. Um talk to us about that. How long have you been doing that?

SPEAKER_02 1:30

So I started April of 2025. Um I sold my first car uh two months in from that. Uh I posted a video of me getting uh somebody with not the best credit approved and you know going through the process, speaking with the customer, and you know, I ended up getting a bunch of uh messages from people that hey, you know, I I'm in the same situation, you know, can you help me out? Yeah. Um that was mainly through TikTok, was when it kind of first first started going. And um from there I I I became a believer in you know in the power of it, and I just started growing it from there, you know, posting, you know, two to three times a day, um, you know, doing ads on Meta, um having the whole content create, you know, creating team. So it's it's been a it's been a good ride, but yeah, uh April of 2025, so a little a little over a year.

Jim Fitzpatrick 2:20

That's fantastic. And now uh usually as the VP uh GM Um you're not looking to necessarily sell cars or have people call you, or are you? Are you in that in that situation where you want them to give you a call from your your presence on social media?

SPEAKER_02 2:36

Yeah, so I mean, I wish I could handle the volume. Uh to give you an idea, uh we we get probably a thousand leads, um paid leads through social media every month, and then another probably two to three hundred direct messages, like organic messages from customers. So I wish I had the ability to speak to everybody, but you know, that's why we have a sales team that you know I've trained to make sure that they're treated, they're treated well, and sure we take care of them and they're and they know what's going on. But I do get involved, you know, especially you know, when I leave my office and I'm walking around the showroom and um you know people all the time come up to me and say, Hey, you know, I saw you, that's why I'm here, and um, you know, you know, I love your stuff. So, you know, it's um so yeah, I I love to interact with them, especially when they're in the in the showroom, but I I wish I had the time to call

Behind The Scenes Content That Converts

SPEAKER_02 3:26

every single one.

Jim Fitzpatrick 3:26

What's the key to a successful uh campaign on social media from your from your perspective? Has it got to be funny? Is it gotta be serious? Has it gotta be show the card? Does it not have to show the card? Do you need to advertise prices? What's the key?

SPEAKER_02 3:41

So if we're talking just regular content, um it seems like just the stuff that gets people's attention is is the best stuff to do, like just your regular videos that you're posting, you know, stuff like behind the scenes, you know, because a lot of people they don't know how a car dealership works, right? They think that you know there's some you know weird dark magic happening behind the behind the scenes, but um, but when they see the real behind the scenes that it's just regular people trying to make a living, um, it really gives people the the the idea of you know how you know car dealers are just hardworking people, humans trying to try to make a a a good living, and um the behind the scenes stuff is definitely sometimes the best. And then we'll we'll post uh opinions about cars and things like that. Sometimes that'll go viral. Um but um but that that would be my my best advice as far as you know just organically posting. Yeah. But um we've had a lot of success you know posting um through our meta ads uh pricing, you know, payments, hey, you know, you can get this car for X payment, um, you know, a very aggressive deal, and that that will also generate a lot of leads.

Jim Fitzpatrick 4:47

So

Real Payments And Real Transparency

Jim Fitzpatrick 4:48

with the um with with the FTC cracking down on dealers and their advertising with payments and prices and things like that, are you under more scrutiny? Do you have to run those ads by your legal team or or your agency to make sure that they're compliant before you you run ads like that?

SPEAKER_02 5:06

So I'm uh so I my page is under myself, right? So I'm uh you know I am a social media influencer as far as that goes. Um so it's you know it's it's not the same type of uh type of thing, but you know, I'm a believer that you know if I'm gonna put my face out there and I'm going to say, hey, you know, I'm I you can get this car for X dollars, I'm gonna make sure it's a real deal, right? I don't want people to come in and then they say, hey, you said it was this, but now I'm here and it's this. Um, you know, now they're looking at me like, hey, why'd you say that? Right. So you know, the the ads that we post are real deals. Um and you know, we and that's why we were number one in in the South of the United United States with Infinity, because you know, real deal, great deal. Come in, we make it simple, we don't play games, we're transparent, and and

Training Sellers Without Making It Mandatory

SPEAKER_02 5:59

that's that.

Jim Fitzpatrick 5:59

Yeah, that's great. So um the the the salespeople, do you encourage them? Do you make it mandatory that they too follow in your footsteps with regard to social media? Do they all have their own social media platforms that they use?

SPEAKER_02 6:13

So, you know, I'm a believer personally when you're a leader is not to force anybody to do anything. Um, you know, eventually you'll see the way, and if you don't see the way, your performance will show, and then you know, it might just not work out for you. Yeah. But you know, we show you the way, uh, we tell you what to do, and it's up to you to do it. And if you don't do it, you know, it's you're just not gonna perform and then it's not gonna work out for you. So yeah, um, I don't have any mandatory social media things. You don't have to be on camera if you don't want to, but everybody sees, they see it, they want to be on camera, they love it. Um, but the the ones who are bought in and do post, they are our top performers and they you know they do the best in in the company.

Jim Fitzpatrick 6:55

So yeah, it's uh when you when you're when you're recruiting somebody into the um dealership for a sales position, is that now part of the presentation that you make is to say, hey, we're very big in social media, and uh it's a big plus if you uh you know have your own social media presence.

SPEAKER_02 7:15

Yeah, so the crazy thing is, you know, since doing this, since April 2025, I would say probably 70% of my sales staff, 60 to 70 percent of my sales staff came through social media. They saw us on there and they wanted to work with us. So, you know, they they they're most of them are are all believers.

Jim Fitzpatrick 7:34

So yeah, that's great. So they all they're all doing, for the most part, they're all doing their own social media as well to generate leads.

SPEAKER_02 7:41

Yeah, yeah, and then and that's how they found us, right? So it always helps when that's how they found us, which has been a really great recruiting tool. That was one of the benefits that I wasn't expecting is the the ability to recruit people. Like I have a manager, uh GSM from New Jersey that wants to, uh I just met with him yesterday. He wants to come, you know, be a manager at one of our stores um you know, because he found us on social media and wants to move down south. So it's been a great recruitment tool, it's been a great bonus on top of uh on top of the sales.

Jim Fitzpatrick 8:08

Yeah, that's fantastic. That's great. So

Best Platforms And Handling Comments

Jim Fitzpatrick 8:10

what uh what platforms do you find uh you you get the most traction on?

SPEAKER_02 8:16

So it's a it's really a mix. Um it's uh the top three are are uh TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. Those are the top three. Okay combined. I think I have somewhere around 40,000 followers between the three. Okay. Um so but it's a really a mixture, just because one time a video will go viral on TikTok, one time it'll go viral on Facebook, and depending on you know how well that video does, will depend on how many people see it and then send a message to to buy a car from us. So it's it's it's pretty evenly spread out.

Jim Fitzpatrick 8:47

Yeah, and you know, they say the key to uh good engagement is that you respond to the people that make comments. Do you do that, in fact?

SPEAKER_02 8:56

Uh sometimes, sometimes. You know, in the beginning I definitely did because you know, I didn't have as thick of a skin from you know doing this now for over a year or so. In the beginning, I definitely would uh I would I would uh get you know get back sometimes. But I realize that a lot of times it's people that maybe not they're not even in the country or they're you know you know not even adults or you know just people with too much time on their hands. So I don't answer back as much unless unless it's somebody saying, hey, you know, a question about the car or a question about the deal. Um but if somebody you know has something uh not too nice to say, I just uh I let it be and I just thank them to help me uh stay in the algorithm.

Jim Fitzpatrick 9:37

Yes, there are people out there that seem to want to make negative comments um when salespeople go on to social media, not everybody, but you know, those people that you know say car salesmen are all a bunch of crooks, and you know, you you you it seems like those people always pop up, right?

SPEAKER_02 9:53

Yeah, I think that's inevitable. Um car guys for that, you know, that's that's another topic. Yeah. Um but you know, we uh you know we don't have the absolute best reputation, and so when they they see us on on social media and they have the opportunity to you know take a stab at us anonymous anonymously, right? Not face to face, they feel like uh you know they can do it, but um, but yeah, so yeah, you you see that.

Jim Fitzpatrick 10:22

Yeah,

Why Human Content Beats Commercials

Jim Fitzpatrick 10:23

yeah. But it but it it's here to stay social media. I mean it's it's definitely a method or I should say an element that's gotta be part of a balanced marketing plan for dealers today, right?

SPEAKER_02 10:35

Yeah, it has to be. It definitely has to be. Um, and you know, but it's like anything else, right? You you need somebody with this social media, the type that we do, you need somebody that's gonna like take it, take the reins and and really and really make something of it. Yeah. Um, and that's why you'll see some dealerships they'll they'll try it and they don't get the same type of results as um some other other dealers have. Right. Um, because they're not you know, they're not taking risks, they're not um, you know, thinking outside of the box. They're basically just putting a commercial on online, and uh that doesn't really resonate with people. People know when they're getting advertised to, yeah. And they know they they they've they crave more of the the human aspect of it.

Jim Fitzpatrick 11:17

So sure. We've had uh Russ flips whips on our broadcasts a number of times. He was kind of one of the first ones out there that really took it to the next level. He's now training dealerships on on how to do this right. Um he's made uh some some big uh headway in this, but uh uh I will say that his videos can be very entertaining. It always kind of draws you in to see where is he going with this? Have you have you made yours or do your salespeople make theirs very entertaining more than you know, you're selling maybe more of the message than the car?

SPEAKER_02 11:50

Well, yeah, I mean Russ Flips Whips is definitely, you know, he's very good at what he does. He almost like I feel like he superseded like the car business social media world now. He's just like in, you know, he's just like a you know a global influencer now. Sure. I was just on his podcast. Um, but um, yeah, we try to be entertaining, of course. Yeah, we try to be a little controversial, a little entertaining. Uh we talk about the deals we're working. Hey, you know, we have this guy trying to buy, you know, a Lamborghini with $500 down. Like, you know, what is this guy doing? You know, we we try to push push the limit a little bit without, you know, without insulting anybody or you know, making anybody mad. But yeah, we try to be entertaining as best as we possibly can. And and listen, the car business alone, um, there's not many, especially at our dealership, there's not many boring days. So just kind of filming what's happening, you know, day to day is uh enough content to fill what we need to fill.

Jim Fitzpatrick 12:41

So sometimes I'll see dealers that will uh jump on social media, whether it be the salesperson, the manager, what have you, and they'll talk negatively about the competition. They'll say, hey, we don't play games like the other dealers do. We're not gonna, you know, cheat you out of your trade, we're not gonna do this, we're not gonna and I the first thing I think of is wow, you're really, you know, you're just feeding that stereotype that people have of automobile dealers and car salesmen and what have you. Have you seen that where it I cringe when I hear it because you're not doing any help, you're not helping the industry as a whole when you beat up on the competition to say those guys are scumbags, but we're not. Right.

SPEAKER_02 13:25

Yeah, I mean, honestly, that never I feel like that's never worked, right? Even before social media, when you had a customer come in and and they maybe they had gotten a quote from another dealership, and you know, if you sit there and say, Oh, well, they're you know, they're this, they're that, they're they're gonna look at you like, well, I was just there. They seem like they were pretty nice people, so I don't know what this guy's talking about. And now you look like a hater, and then now it just it doesn't look uh it doesn't look great. So I that was never a good closing tactic for me. No. Um I think just selling yourself and saying why it's such a good idea to do business with you as opposed to uh you know, is uh what makes you different instead of talking bad about you know another dealership. But people that doesn't resonate with people. That's right.

Jim Fitzpatrick 14:06

I

Live Deal Videos And New Revenue Paths

Jim Fitzpatrick 14:07

I agree, I agree. There's um some sales managers out there that really pull back the curtain on the auto industry to say, I mean, there's some that actually go on live. I don't know if you do any live uh streams that will will sit at their desk and and just work a deal, kind of like uh I think it's bow ties and benzes or benzes and bow ties. I think I've got that right. Um he does a great job with social media. I mean, the guy is has really um done just an outstanding job, but uh sometimes he'll just work a deal uh and you're watching that, you know, you'll you'll watch that happen, you know, in real time. Do you do any of that?

SPEAKER_02 14:41

That's actually what I started doing in the beginning. Um and it was really successful. He kind of inspired me in the beginning to do that style, and I put a camera next to my computer because I was I was working a lot of deals at the time. Yeah. And uh yeah, and you know what it is, people like to see the behind the scenes. You know, if you've ever been to a dealership and you talk to a salesperson, you know, the salesperson walks away, they go that's right to the back. You don't know where they're going, what are they doing? It's they want to know what that conversation looks like, as they should, right? I mean, I would want to know too. So um, so yeah, filming that that actual thing happening is uh was actually really successful for me in the beginning. I just don't work deals as much. Um, but we still show some of that, you know, we still show some of that, yeah. The those real scenarios, and that definitely works. Yeah, Benz and Bowties did a great job with that, and uh, you know, his success obviously shows that.

Jim Fitzpatrick 15:29

These these guys, I think Benz and Bowties is one of them where they've got such a following that now they're they're at that influencer uh level that companies are now coming to them with their products and saying, hey, would you pitch my product? Obviously, it's a whole nother revenue stream for them. Have you experienced any of that for yourself?

SPEAKER_02 15:48

I haven't, but I've had some uh again, some people trying to come work with us and some you know, some vendors reaching out to try to like, you know, um to work with us. But uh no, I haven't gotten a sponsorship deal, but if anyone's out there and wants to sponsor me, uh uh my uh my phone line is open for sure.

Jim Fitzpatrick 16:06

There you go. That's fantastic.

Social Media As A Career Advantage

Jim Fitzpatrick 16:08

What tips do you have for the for those that haven't jumped in, you know, the the social media pool yet, so to speak, and uh are sitting on the sidelines wondering if you know if this works and should they get started? What what tips would you have?

SPEAKER_02 16:23

Yeah, I mean you gotta you gotta take the leap of faith, right? You have to know that you know this is the this is the career you want to do. You want to be in the car business and and you're you're gonna be a lifer. Yeah. Um and once you make that decision, then it's an easy that's an easy decision to make that you would want to do social media, right? Social media, somebody put it this way, I thought it was a great, great way to put it. Social media is your resume. It's your new resume in today's day and age. So um if you can show that and you can have people look at you and know about you and network, um, it it cannot hurt. That's right. So you can't hurt. That's right.

Jim Fitzpatrick 17:00

I agree, I agree. And if you've got 10 or 20 salespeople out there uh on the showroom floor and they all have got their channels and their following, you can really do some some great uh work in in terms of driving more leads to your dealership, your website, and certainly to DMs and everything else to drive more traffic, right?

SPEAKER_02 17:20

Absolutely, yeah. Having your guys um get involved and and do their own thing. And even if they just post, you know, when they sell a car. Yeah. Right? You don't have to be a content genius to do this. You can just, hey, I sold the car today, I took a picture and a video of the car with the family with the keys. And you know, if you have if you have a thousand followers, that's a thousand people that that just saw that and they're gonna think about you next time they're looking for a car or something. And if you connect that, what did that take? That's that took one minute, right? It took two minutes.

Jim Fitzpatrick 17:49

And if you link to the person that bought the car and they've got a thousand followers, now you're infiltrating their network as well, right? If they if they repost it.

SPEAKER_02 17:57

Now you're collabing with people and etc. So that's right. I mean, there's there's so many ways to do it. And and you know, think about it this way. I can't tell you personally, last time I watched cable TV, and I get these advertising companies coming in all the time trying to sell me these advertising packages for cable TV. Oh, sure. I don't watch cable TV. Yeah, and I'm I would consider myself somebody that would buy an Affinity. Um, so you know, I'm gonna stick with what every what you see everybody doing. You see everybody sitting there with the phone and looking all the time. That's right. Yep. That's where I want to be.

Jim Fitzpatrick 18:30

It scares me when I look down and it'll pr periodically tell me how many hours I spent on social media or you know on my screen time. I'm like, whoa, I don't know that I want to see that. Yeah, I don't even look at that. I don't even look at that. It's too depressing, right? Yeah, yeah, no question about it. Well, Matt Hogan, VP of Infinity North Miami and Palm Beach, Mitsubishi. Thank you so much for joining us on the show. I know that our sales uh uh or the people that are viewing that are salespeople and managers will get a lot out of your visit with us. So thanks so much.

SPEAKER_02 19:02

All right, thank you for having me.

Announcer 19:03

I appreciate it.

Jim Fitzpatrick 19:04

Yeah, keep up the great job.

Announcer 19:05

Thanks. Thank you. Thanks for watching Inside Automotive with Jim Fitzpatrick.