Suds and Strategy: Taking Your Carwash Campaigns From Idea To Impact
(Part II of our Building Carwash Social Media Campaigns)
By Mel Ohlinger
You’ve scrolled through your socials and learned the basics of social media campaigns for your carwash. You know the value of showing up online, you’ve mapped out your goals, and you’re ready to get serious and expand your social media. But now what? Welcome to Part Two: this is where your good intentions meet real wash execution.
Building a social media campaign that drives traffic – online and through your tunnel – means dialling in your workflow to create a message, aligning your content with your business goals, and keeping the creative process simple (but smart). Whether you’re a one-location self-serve or managing a chain of express sites, your campaign needs more than just pretty pictures – it needs purpose, planning, and polish (but the pretty pictures and videos are important, too). Every great wash campaign starts with one clear idea. If your message gets muddy or cluttered, people will scroll right past it. Let’s say you want to run a water savings campaign for Earth Day. You could go in a hundred directions – but your one big idea might be: “We help the planet by reducing water waste with every wash.” However, using words that have a visual help people pause. Instead, say: “Every carwash saves enough water to make 64 glasses of lemonade.” From that, your content imagery drives itself. You could have a lemonade day, do a lemon giveaway, share feel-good triumph stories about how your employees or customers turned lemons into lemonade. Mix in more quick facts about more eco-friendly things at your wash. It could be rechargeable batteries, recycling containers, reusing towels, biodegradable soaps or eco-friendly hydraulic fluids. It doesn’t have to be new to be news. Most of your customers have no idea about the details of your wash. Look around you and share the things you already do to build your green-themed promotion. The key is to build everything around one concept -around existing things – and repeat that message in different ways. Repetition builds recognition in combination with those visual words and packs a punch, or a glass of lemonade, in short holiday-themed campaigns.
It helps to create a simple weekly content workflow to keep the process manageable. While you absolutely can wing it day-to-day, it will make your life easier to plan it out – even basic structure can save hours and reduce decision fatigue. A smart starting point might look like this: draft captions on Monday, gather your visuals and design graphics on Tuesday, prep short-form videos on Wednesday, and schedule everything through a social media scheduling platform (like OhmCo’s Co.Lab) on Thursday. Plan to engage with comments and wash reviews on your busy days – which are usually Fridays and Saturdays. And then check analytics on your slowest day to tweak your plan for the following campaign. Batching your content and assigning tasks to specific days makes it easier to stay consistent and keep the quality high – even if you’re running the show solo.
When it comes to the actual content, variety is your best friend. Your feed should reflect the rhythm of your wash and keep your followers interested but interesting things can be boring. You’ll be surprised how many people enjoy learning how a carwash does their laundry. Mix it up with reels that show off behind-the-scenes operations, carousel posts that explain your membership perks, clean and simple graphics for business updates or specials, and real customer content whenever possible. Don’t be afraid to repeat your message in new ways or styles—most people won’t see every post, and consistency helps build familiarity. And don’t be afraid to reuse a post if you’re tired. The goal isn’t just to post more – it’s to post smarter.
Another powerful tactic for expanding your reach is building relationships through community partnerships. Campaigns highlighting local connections consistently outperform generic promos simply because a tag doubles your audience. Working with high school students is fantastic because you get new drivers, their parents and their grandparents. A giveaway with the local homeowner’s association or coffee shop across the street directly targets a neighbourhood. Being a member of your local small business alliance garners support from other small businesses and these collaborations build trust, boost engagement, and create natural opportunities for shares. Highlight a nearby business you love, make friends, and cross-promote. It’s an easy way to tap into new audiences and build buzz without spending extra on ads.
Speaking of ads, sometimes it’s absolutely worth putting a little money behind your message. Organic reach is great, but paid ads can help when you really want to get noticed. Right now ad spend get better data than boosted posts, so consider running ads for membership promotions, seasonal offers, or grand openings. Social platform ad centers make it easy to geo-target your ideal audience and keep your spend in check, and Facebook is the easiest to give it a try. If you do boost a post, keep it simple and direct. Use one strong visual and a clear call-to-action, and always design for mobile—it’s where most of your audience will see it.
Once your campaign is live and rolling, don’t forget to look at the data. You don’t need a degree in analytics to figure out what worked because most platforms offer built-in insights that show impressions, reach, engagement, and basic demographics. Take note of which posts got the most traction. Was it the content, the design, or your biting sense of humour? Did reels perform better than graphics? What time of day worked best? Small tweaks based on real results can make your next campaign even better.
When it’s all said and done, don’t let your hard work go to waste. Just because the campaign is over doesn’t mean the content is dead. Repurpose your best-performing posts and turn a handful of captions into a short blog post for your website. If you have time to make a video, clip it down into a few bite-sized reels. Reuse graphics with updated copy to extend the shelf life of your work. If you’re collecting customer feedback, photos, or testimonials during a campaign, roll them into an email recap or save them for future use. One campaign can generate weeks of evergreen content, and plan around that to keep your campaigns rolling.
The truth is that social media campaigns don’t need to be complicated to be effective. Start with one strong message and build around it with intention. Involve your team, reflect honestly on what’s working, and stay open to change. Over time, those minor tweaks will compound into momentum. Focus on creating consistent, relatable, and easy-to-replicate content. With each campaign, you’ll better understand what resonates with your carwashers—both online and in your queue.
Remember, technology moves fast. What works today might not work next week, so stay curious. Keep an eye on your analytics, be willing to pivot, and don’t hesitate to try something new. While our industry and the tools we use continue to evolve rapidly, one thing remains constant: a well-executed campaign with a clear, conversational message won’t just earn you likes – it’ll drive real traffic to your socials and more cars to your wash.
Mel Ohlinger is the CEO of OhmCo, a leading carwash marketing agency based in Wisconsin. With over 20 years in marketing, design, and web development, she’s a creative force in the industry. A former cryptologic technician for the NSA, Mel’s background in Morse code and precision laid the groundwork for her expertise in branding and strategy. Holding a BFA from UW Oshkosh, she blends artistry with tech-savvy solutions. Beyond work, she’s a painter, aspiring author, and proud mom of two. Under Mel and her husband Mike’s leadership, OhmCo helps carwash businesses stand out, grow, and succeed.
