Social media is as popular as ever and Facebook continues to be the most popular channel of them all, a study found at Statista.com claims that, 2.45 billion active users are logging on to Facebook each month. In addition, Facebook also owns Instagram, which has over one billion monthly active users, the same study reports. It’s safe to say that a huge number of your dealership’s target audience members are active on one or both platforms.
Facebook presents a huge opportunity for search advertising. While the social media channel does not initially appear to be like familiar search engines such as Google, people are utilizing the platform to search for things they “like” – literally – including businesses, products, activities, and more. The fact that Facebook is social in nature provides an added element of personal connection that is hard to beat.
Due to that social aspect, audience targeting can narrow in on prospects quite a bit, in different ways than it can on Google. Not only does Facebook audience targeting take into account the basics like demographics and location, but it can also include all social activity that the Facebook user has participated in on the site – posts they have “liked,” accounts they have followed, pages they have interacted with and more. Advertising on both platforms simultaneously helps your dealership check all its boxes in terms of reaching the right audience at the right time, and the two strategies complement each other very well.
Facebook Advertising also offers a wide variety of ads to choose from allowing you, the advertiser, to create a custom marketing plan that fits the needs of your business.
- Newsfeed ads, the standard option with ads that appear on a user’s homepage when they log into the platform, are generally designed to drive “likes” and engagement on your dealership’s Facebook Business page. Analytics track traffic and conversions to your website, and they appear on Instagram as well for additional exposure.
- Carousel ads allow you to show multiple images in the same ad, perhaps showing different trailers or different views of the same trailer.
- Conversion ads are specifically designed to drive certain actions – for example, clicks to your website directly from your ad.
- Engagement ads are specifically designed to draw “likes,” comments, shares, and other reactions.
- Video ads are exactly what they sound like, allowing you to show your trailer units in action.
- Dynamic Remarketing ads allow you to connect your website inventory feed to Facebook, using a pixel to advertise to people who have already shown interest by visiting your site and viewing units.
- Lead Generation ads allow users to fill out a contact form directly on their newsfeed, without having to leave Facebook. These forms can be tailored with custom questions and can come in the form of a quote or demo request, email subscription, event registration, and more. The lead forms you receive can be integrated with your CRM or downloaded directly from Facebook.
- Event ads can target users by demographics or by interest in specific trailer models and brands that the users have demonstrated.
Today’s customers have tons of options to choose from when they go online, making it harder than ever before for your dealership to earn their business. Forming and building relationships with customers that are social in nature can help put you above the competition. Facebook Advertising allows you to connect to customers in a way that feels more natural, largely due to audience targeting-related capabilities.