Preparing for August's Marketing [E157] - The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast

August might feel far off, but now’s the time to get your marketing dialed in. Back-to-school season, college car checkups, fall event prep, it’s all coming fast. Brian Walker and Caroline Legrand break down what shop owners should be doing in June to stay ahead of the game.

You’ll hear why now’s the time to smooth out your schedule for slower months, how to build campaigns around national days (yes, even Tug of War Day), and what themes you can tap into to keep your shop top-of-mind.

If you’re looking for simple, practical ideas to stay ahead, fill your bays, and have a little fun doing it, this one’s for you.

Thank you to our friends at RepairPal for this episode. RepairPal will introduce your shop to new customers through repairpal.com, the largest site for auto repair. Learn more at

RepairPal.com/shops.

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Lagniappe (Books, Links, Other Podcasts, etc)

August Social Media Content Topics

Days of the Year

National Calendar

Show Notes with Timestamps

• Introduction and Sponsor Thanks (00:00:10) Brian introduces Caroline, thanks sponsors, and sets up the episode’s focus on August marketing preparation.
• August Marketing Overview & Back-to-School Themes (00:00:59) Discussion of August marketing, back-to-school prep, safety, community drives, and planning for fall events.
• Planning Ahead for August & September (00:02:15) Emphasizes planning marketing in advance, scheduling repairs for slower months, and balancing shop workload.
• August Monthly Themes (00:04:40) Covers National Dog Month, Happiness Happens Month, and National Back to School Month as social media topics.
• Back-to-School Drives & College Car Prep (00:06:05) Ideas for school supply drives, prepping college students’ cars, and timing service appointments.
• August Weekly Observances (00:07:37) Highlights National Management Training Week and its relevance to fall conference season and staff training.
• Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Campaign (00:08:24) Discusses the national safety campaign before Labor Day and ways shops can promote safe driving.
• National Composites Week (00:09:28) Educational opportunity to discuss vehicle materials, composites, and new trends in automotive manufacturing.
• National Aviation Week & Coast Guard Day (00:11:18) Ideas for local collaborations, celebrating aviation, Coast Guard, and sharing personal or community stories.
• Stop on Red Week & School Zone Safety (00:14:23) Promoting back-to-school safety tips, school zone awareness, and safe driving reminders.
• Sturgis Motorcycle Rally & International Clown Week (00:14:59) Mentions the Sturgis Rally and shares humorous stories about clowns, with ideas for lighthearted shop content.
• August Days of the Month Overview (00:17:01) Notes that August has fewer auto-repair-relevant days, but highlights a few for creative marketing.
• Worldwide Web Day (00:17:22) Encourages shops